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Guinea Pig First Aid Box

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Cozmo

Cozmo

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Hey guys, I've been wondering lately about keeping some emergency supplies should I run into any troubles with my Guinea Pigs. If anybody has things they keep in case of mites, limping, poisoning etc. What would be useful to keep?

If you can say what's a good idea to keep at the ready, and what it can be used for, I shall prepare a box for them in case of emergencies.

I'd be really greatful and hopefully it won't need to be called upon often, but with piggies you can never be too careful!

Oh and PS. I'm a firm believer in giving alternative treatments a chance, so if you think things like tea tree, arnica & aloe vira is a good thing to have, I'll get them too.
 
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First aid is exactly what it says...you are not setting up a pharmacy on a desert island.
 
I think AP means that you just need the essential things in your first aid kit, such as syringe's, critical care, as if you have a good cavy vet you shouldn't have to worry to much about your piggy getting the correct treatment, but alot of people do have first aid kits just for piece of mind and I'm one. :)
 
The First Aid question is asked quite often. You need very little in the way of drugs etc.
My usual comment is that it seems to be a competition as to who has the biggest First Aid box!
Over the years I have reduced the amount of bits and pieces that I keep for emergencies.
 
Ah I see. I'm certainly not bothered how big my first aid box is. I wouldn't want to keep things like calpol considering I may never use it and it would probably go off before I used it.

Just wanting to know the basic's. Cheers. -c
 
The thread I posted on it covers the most common problems, each persons first aid kit will vary depending on what particular problems they are facing/expect to face. It doesn't mean you have to keep every single item on that list, it's not a competition about keeping the biggest chest (as you so worded it not long ago AP). Each item has its use in first aid.

If you're talking complete basics then:

Vitamin C
Pain relief e.g. Calpol/children's Nurofen
Bepanthen
Vicks (or, if you prefer, Olbas Oil)

Saline (salt water) can always be made up at home, as can a syringe-feed preparation. A rehydration solution can be made up at home. Probiotic can also be 'created' by taking the healthy faeces of another pig.

In terms of tools the absolute minimum I would recommend is 1ml syringes and weighing scales.
 
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Poop from a healthy pig...crush...mix with a bit of water, instant probiotic to syringe into sick pig. If you don't find it too gross. :))

Good point on the Buscopan, that one slipped my mind at the time of posting. It is a useful drug to have to hand as it can help with numerous illnesses, but not many people see it as such a useful drug and, as with most drugs, they'd rather run to the pharmacy if it's ever needed.

I also keep Ivomec (Ivermectin) and Panacur in as I treat each of my pigs routinely with both. Is there any point keeping Ivermectin to hand if you're not treating routinely...it's up to you. If you feed UK-grown hay or you bed on a traditional bedding (i.e. woodshavings, hay and newspaper, Megazorb etc.) then you are perhaps more likely to face a mite problem.

The point of a FAB is to be prepared to treat an ill guinea pig until you can get to a vet. I suppose therefore the potential life-savers should be the essentials that go in the box - syringe-feeding tools, pain relief, Buscopan - along with either items to cover the most common ailments or at least a list of the drugs so you know what you need to get from the pharmacy if/when the need arises.
 
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Laura? If I regularly treated my piggies with Ivomec and Panacur...would that then rule out the chances of them getting mites etc altogether, or can it still happen? Also do you use Panacur for Rabbits and half the dosage or something?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm really curious..lol.
 
It was discussed a while back, quite a lengthy dissection of it all as I remember... :))
We all learnt something from it though, if you fancy a good read through here are the two threads:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=40044
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=40177

The basic idea is that regular treatment with Ivomec and Panacur does not rule out the chances of parasitic infection, it only treats what is present in the system at that time, but because the treatment is regular it regularly eradicates the parasites, usually preventing them from affecting the pig too severely. There is a particular parasite Vedra dubs the "silent killer" because it burrows deeper down and does not cause any symptoms until weight loss is noted and a degree of damage is done internally. Treating with Ivomec and Panacur once every three months reduces the chance of this parasite reaching this stage.

In particular, hay quality plays a big part in whether worming is going to prevent parasitic infestations or not. There isn't a great deal of use in worming a guinea pig if the pig goes straight back to eating the very hay which could have caused a parasitic problem. It kind of defeats the prevention side of the worming! Thus a hay that is known to be free from parasites should be fed. Oxbow is said to be the best as it is imported, thus quality- controlled - the authorities won't allow products likely to be infested with parasites enter the country. Alfalfa King is along the same lines, imported and good quality. UK-grown hay may be more likely to contain parasites or fungal spores due to the climate in which it is grown and harvested; the dampness of many bales are ideal homes for such nasties.

At the end of the day, no hay is going to be 100% guaranteed parasite-free, but it's seriously worth considering the highest quality you can afford.

It is only in the past year I have treated my pigs routinely. I was pretty much convinced after Jasmine suffered unexplained weight loss. No other symptoms, but she was consistently losing 1-2oz a week for a short time. Out of interest I gave her a one-off dose of Panacur and the weight loss stopped straight away, she regained the weight. Since dosing the pigs regularly, there have been no cases of such unexplained weight loss.

No idea on how the Panacur Rabbit can be used, alcesterpigs mentioned that he may try to find out. At the moment, the recommended product is the 2.5% sheep worming solution. The Ivomec is either the cattle injection fluid, or the Xeno 450 topical treatment (since the Xeno is said to treat both internal and external parasites).
 
Even if you treat pigs with Ivomec on a regular basis they can still get mites. I only give it to my pigs when they need it.
The same comments apply to Panacur.
If neccesary, I treat my pigs with 2.5% sheep worming Panacur.
 
I have used rabbit Panacur to treat one of my rabbits but have never used it to treat a pig. I must look at the information leaflet and see if there is a suitable dose rate for pigs.
 
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