• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Guinea Pig Strange Behavior..need Help

S

Scha

New Born Pup
Joined
Nov 30, 2016
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Points
55
Location
Bangalore India
Hi, I need help on a couple of things.

One, I see my guinea pig body shaking while breathing..this came to my notice few months back , however, it never really bothered me earlier but just thought of clarifying once. Is it normal or could be a sign of illness as I also see some changes in her behavior (mentioned below) Could this be inter related?

Two, since past few weeks I noticed my piggy itching couple times a day. Adding to the point, I noticed some additional changes in my piggy behavior since last few days i.e. while cuddling and playing with her one night she bit me thrice. Next night something similar happened. This time I knew something is wrong...I immediately took her to vet the very next day. Vet told me that he couldn't find any cause of concern. (Here, I would like to make a point that there is no specialist for small animals in and around my area, so reqlly not sure about his statement) Anyway, he gave her 2 injections- One, for anything related to internal infection. Two, ivermectin (which I mentioned.. moreover, he was not considering the weight/injection ratio seriously..however, i did ask him to do so)
I still see her itching... not as much as she used to but don't really notice a huge difference.
Nowadays, I pet her inside the cage but have never really tried holding her again after that incident as even I am a bit scared.. can you please guide me as to what to do. How do I know what's wrong with my piggy?
 
The biting sounds like a reaction to feeling itchy from mites. The Ivermectin given by the vet is for mites but you need a longer course to kill off all of the mites.
 
I agree with Jaycey, the itching and the bite is because your piggy is in discomfort. The injection of invermicin is probably a good call. I routinely treat my piggies with Xeno and I do check their weights before doing so.

When you say your piggy is shaking when breathing, are you stroking your piggy at the time?
 
Jaycey said:
The biting sounds like a reaction to feeling itchy from mites. The Ivermectin given by the vet is for mites but you need a longer course to kill off all of the mites.
Click to expand...

It usually takes three rounds of ivermection at product specific intervals to kill off any mange mites. They bury their eggs in the skin, which are immune to ivermectin, so you need to catch them when they emerge in an acute outbreak. the first round catches all existing mites (which are invisible), the second the emerging mites and the third (and if necessary fourth round in a severe case) takes care of any stragglers.
Guinea Lynx :: Mange Mites
Guinea Lynx :: Fungus
Gorgeous Guineas Identification

You may also want to check for signs of a fungal infection.

Shivering can happen when a guinea pig is feeling cold; I have seen it with guinea pigs of mine when drying after a bath or when sitting in a cold draft (can also be from a fan or air conditioning). Sometimes it can also be from apprehension when you are holding a guinea pig that is not comfortable with it.
Otherwise, I am rather stumped. Could you please investigate in which kind of situation you notice the shivering? It is not something that a guinea pig usually does.
 
Mother Hubbard said:
I agree with Jaycey, the itching and the bite is because your piggy is in discomfort. The injection of invermicin is probably a good call. I routinely treat my piggies with Xeno and I do check their weights before doing so.

When you say your piggy is shaking when breathing, are you stroking your piggy at the time?
Click to expand...

Thanks for replying.

As mentioned before, I don't have any specialised piggy vet in and around my area. The vet that I had gone to says that she healthy and perfectly fine, however, from her behavior I feel she's not okay.
Could you guide me how to go with the treatment? Or what is Xeno? How it helps? I will go to the vet and ask him to follow the process as he doesn't seem much experienced on guinea pigs treatment. I had gone to various vets before but this one is the best from the lot.

Also her weight increased in last 2 weeks.. last to last week she was 1.213 pounds whereas last week she weighed 1.301 pounds. She is around 2 years old.

Nope, her body shakes the most when sleeping. I dont know how to explain this but while eating or standing still, i can see her body shaking in sync to her breath. this also reminds me at times when I hold her close I can hear some noise when she breathes..somewhat related to the sound of bubbles. I am really not sure whether its fine or not. How can I know ? Any specific checkup for something related to this? Does this seem normal? Waiting for your reply..
 
Wiebke said:
It usually takes three rounds of ivermection at product specific intervals to kill off any mange mites. They bury their eggs in the skin, which are immune to ivermectin, so you need to catch them when they emerge in an acute outbreak. the first round catches all existing mites (which are invisible), the second the emerging mites and the third (and if necessary fourth round in a severe case) takes care of any stragglers.
Guinea Lynx :: Mange Mites
Guinea Lynx :: Fungus
Gorgeous Guineas Identification

You may also want to check for signs of a fungal infection.

Shivering can happen when a guinea pig is feeling cold; I have seen it with guinea pigs of mine when drying after a bath or when sitting in a cold draft (can also be from a fan or air conditioning). Sometimes it can also be from apprehension when you are holding a guinea pig that is not comfortable with it.
Otherwise, I am rather stumped. Could you please investigate in which kind of situation you notice the shivering? It is not something that a guinea pig usually does.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the links. I had gone through them and need to clarify few things.

Fortunately, I don't see any hairloss or any mark on her skin. She looks perfectly fine from outside. But, after going through the links you provided i.e. Typical symptoms of mange mites and fungul infection..I am forced to think that can there be both at the same time? I see the following symptoms from each :

Fungal infection -" Intense scratching, biting and irate squeaking ( this happens rarely) Nerves are often affected and if you touch them around the hip area they will often turn round and try and bite you."

Mange mites - "Intense scratching / irritation which may lead to fitting if left untreated."

I have a doubt here.. what I am referring to shaking here could this be a form of fit?

Also she has been grinding her teeth alot lately. I really need suggestions on how to go ahead with this. Vets in and around my area are no specialist for guinea pigs. However if you guide me on how to go with the treatment..it will be really helpful. I will go to the vet and mention the process.

Is it normal for a guinea pig to have a scratchy skin or symptoms mentioned above? Am I overthinking?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top