• PLEASE NOTE - the TEAS facebook page has been hacked, take extreme care when visiting the page, for further information visit here
  • 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

Is Prevention Better Than Cure ?

Status
Not open for further replies.

The Codfather

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Nov 9, 2014
Messages
17
Reaction score
6
Points
85
Location
Darlington
Do you treat your guinea pigs as prevention (every so often) rather than waiting till they need cureing ?
 
Do you treat your guinea pigs as prevention (every so often) rather than waiting till they need cureing ?

In what respect do you mean? Sometimes people will use xeno on there piggies as protection against mites. A rescue we have re-homed from xeno their piggies before they leave.
Things like Antibiotics should never be given unless their is an infection as unfortunately as in the hooman world antibiotic resistance bugs are building up due to overuse of AB's
 
Yes....being a newbie to GP's etc I am still reading stacks on them and learning and have seen xeno mentioned several times. I know there are different types of xeno for different animals etc and I know people who have cat & dogs etc use the likes of xeno, spot on etc on a reqularish basis to try and prevent mites, flea's etc and was wondering if this somthing people do for there piggies.
 
To be honest, it doesn't make much of a difference whether you treat well kept guinea pigs with a high dosed product whenever there is an outbreak or whether you treat with a low level product as a prevention. Many guinea pigs come with mite eggs in their skin; these are not reached by preventative treatment, which only kills the emerging mites.

Mange mites typically hit when a guinea pig has a lowered immune system either from a stress/bereavement or after a major illness. Wehn treated promptly and correctly, they are usually more in the way of a nuisance and not a big issue. I only treat whenever there is an outbreak and have so far always been able to get on top of it quickly.

It is of course a different situation in rescues that take in guinea pigs from a background of neglect. These piggies are usually treated for mites and fungal as a matter of course upon arrival. Many rescues also administer another course just before rehoming to bolster their piggies during the stress of moving into their new homes and lives. ;)
 
I don't treat my girls, unless they show any signs.
However I do spray fly strike prevention every week, as it does kill off mites and fleas if there are any.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top