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Ladies, I need your help :(

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StannyUK

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Got in from work tonight and set about cleaning the girls out. Picked up Shiraz and she didnt feel right, I checked her belly and it looked flaky. My missus and I tried to take a clear pic, I'm not sure if you can see what is going on. I called the vet but they are fully booked so I have an appt at 9.40 tomorrow. We have a spare hutch so for tonight only she is in the house with us. I hate doing it but I would rather she be lonely for about 14 hours and stop the illness spreading than putting her back with the flock.

Please ladies, take a look at the pic and let me know (if you can see anything!)

Shirazs Belly :(

She has appeared to be a little thinner recently too but she is a very active piggy so we put it down to that. Please put my mind at rest ladies, I cant bare the thought of losing my first piggie :'( :'(
 
EDIT: May I add we recently brought a heat pad which goes in the microwave, it goes inside a cover which we then put right at the bottom and cover we hay. My first thoughts was she had burnt herself. Any thoughts?
 
Looks more like mites to me, albeit a strange place for them to start :-\ It doesn`t look like a burn and I would have thought it unlikely if you put it in for the correct amount of time. See what others think, good you have an appt tomorrow though :)

Keep us posted O0
 
oooh it looks just like a slight hair loss to me ? it may be mites but like lavendarjade said an unusual place to start - I'm sure the vets will make it clear to you what it is O0 Let us know how she gets on and i doubt itll be from the heat pad 0:)
 
My cat is an overgroomer and obsessively cleans his belly if he's a bit stressed, it comforts him lol, no health problem its just a behavioural thing, the hair on her belly looks just like his :-\ reckon pigs can overgroom? hope you get it sorted soon for her x
 
Does her belly touch the floor?
Is she an Abby type/with rossettes?
What bedding is she on?

You could send the pigture to Gorgeous Guineas too, they are the skin experts :)

[email protected]
 
thank you all, as soon as I knew I couldnt get to a vet tonight i whipped the camera out to get a pic on her.

She seems settled in the hutch and there is a big plate of veg for her. I think she is a little confused and she is missing 5 other piggies...

I will update you all ASAP and thanks for the email addy
 
karenrgpr said:
Does her belly touch the floor?
Is she an Abby type/with rossettes?
What bedding is she on?

You could send the pigture to Gorgeous Guineas too, they are the skin experts :)

[email protected]
Click to expand...

She is a thin piggy so her belly doesnt touch the floor
I'm crap with breeds so the pic below shows her in her full glory
She is on shavings and hay but I did change the shavings this week. Possible allergic reaction?

Shiraz
 
Can i answer this?As i'm male... ;D

And yes it mostly looks like mites and taking him/her out of the flok for the night was the best thing to do dont want it spreading.

hope your piggies gets well soon. ;)
 
oh shes gorg- looks abit like my choc choc 0:)
It may be the change of bedding :)
 
Does she have an ovarian cyst?,this can cause hair loss over the belly.There is often bi lateral hair loss on the sides of the belly as well.

As Karen said,might be a good idea to email the pic to Chrissie.

[email protected]
 
Gosh Shiraz has grown from when you first got her :o :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
Good luck at the vets, keep us all posted, we'll have our paws crossed for you all O0
 
daz94 said:
Can i answer this?As i'm male... ;D

And yes it mostly looks like mites and taking him/her out of the flok for the night was the best thing to do dont want it spreading.

hope your piggies gets well soon. ;)
Click to expand...

lol sorry mate but we are a minority here :)

Cyst? Oh god that sounds bad :(
 
Only ever seen the bilateral hairloss not underneath?

What shavings were you using? Were they scented with anything?

Yes to possible reaction, you say you changed the shavings- being a bit thick here, but, do you mean changed as in put fresh ones in, changed as in now use a different bedding or changed brands? ;D

She's a Dolly Mixture :)

A Gorgeous Guineas CocoNeem Melt and shampoo and a visit to the vet might be a good idea :)
 
i agree with emailing chrissie. ive just emailed her with an update on one of my piggies. she is very helpful.
 
Shes sweet! I hope the hair loss clears up. To be honest it doesn't look like mites to me, but hope she is ok. :smitten:
 
It doesn't to me either, a GG treatment would rule it out though :-\ Has she been to the vet to see if its a symptom of something going on inside perhaps? Would be interested to know about the bedding :)
 
StannyUK said:
daz94 said:
Can i answer this?As i'm male... ;D

And yes it mostly looks like mites and taking him/her out of the flok for the night was the best thing to do dont want it spreading.

hope your piggies gets well soon. ;)
Click to expand...

lol sorry mate but we are a minority here :)

Cyst? Oh god that sounds bad :(
Click to expand...

Don't panic! :D If she's eating and drinking and generally okay, then don't panic. ;) I agree that you should send your pic to Gorgeous Guineas. They make aromatherpy guinea pig shampoos and soaks which are very good. Also, I would have said mites at a guess, but yeah it's a bizarre place for mites to start... they usually go for the rump first in my experience! ? A trip to see your vet should clear it up. Please let us know how you get on. Give her a hug for me! :smitten:
 
OK, so I went to the vets this morning. Shiraz was an extremely good girl. I showed him her belly and he said the first thing they always check for is mites. He got a razor blade, coated the end with some vaseline and scraped her belly. He went off to look at it under the microscope. Whilst he was gone, I'm embarassed to admit my eyes were welling up a bit. I havent been in a vets since I was young lad (now 27) and I have a real thing about vets/doctors/hospitals as I just relate it to death...

I gave her some chopped carrot (she was sitting on my shoulder/chest) and was happily playing a bit of tug-o-war with me like she usually does (a good sign?)

The vet came back and said he couldnt see any mites so its possible its "self trauma" or a cyst. I mentioned we have 5 others and none of them have been affected (ive even just checked them before tucking them in for the night). He used Ivermectin on the back of her neck in case it is mite and then gave her an injection of Dexafort to help boost her immune system. He said I should do a weekly visit for 3 more weeks to give her more of the mite stuff but I dont know if I should. That will cost me almost £19 a time, surely it would be cheaper for me to buy Ivermectin and administer it myself?

He asked if she drinks and urinates a lot, I have noticed her drinking more than the other but it could be a coincidence, the urinating is anyones guess as i dont watch them 24/7.

What do you guys think? She seems her usual self but her coat isnt as shiny and smooth as usual. The others are all their usual selves.

Oh and I dont like hearing a piggie when they get a jab, BLESS HER! she never wheeks like that! :o
 
Have you wormed her lately?

We had a piggy with similar weight loss and loss of coat, he was wormed and is now recovering his weight and hair.

I use a product called Bimectin and its given orally. You can contact Cambridge Cavy Trust and they will help with worming as well.
 
Piggies only need to have Ivermectin on day one and ten, three is a bitover the top. I don't know if you saw Mr Melt but he was bald on the back end and only had one course :) Worming is something I do if they're losing weight too, there's also a herbal wormer out that is not packed as full of chemicals as Bimectin, but the spectrum of parasites it covers is different.

LOL @ you not being a young lad at 27 ;D Young enough I'd say 88)
 
karenrgpr said:
Piggies only need to have Ivermectin on day one and ten, three is a bitover the top. I don't know if you saw Mr Melt but he was bald on the back end and only had one course :) Worming is something I do if they're losing weight too, there's also a herbal wormer out that is not packed as full of chemicals as Bimectin, but the spectrum of parasites it covers is different.

LOL @ you not being a young lad at 27 ;D Young enough I'd say 88)
Click to expand...

Firstly Karen, thanks for the age compliment LOL 30 is looming up fast. Really should stop reading Spider-man comics and playing video games :)

I brought Shiraz in the morning for some extra love and attention and found some scabs on her skin whilst running my hand through her coat. Is this a sympton of Worms/Mites? I really didnt ask enough questions when at the Vets as I was so shellshocked and all that kept running through my mind was that I might be leaving without her (total drama queen i know 98) )

I think I will take her back next week, maybe thurs or fri and try to keep it together more to ask more questions.

My local pet store where I get my supplies from said that mites arent that easy to find.

Sorry to keep asking you guys questions but i have no experience with poorly piggies!
 
Hey if you don't ask you don't know so don't worry about asking. When Cuzzy had mites he had 3 injections. His area near his back end where the mites were did look scabby. I know what you mean about vets, I always forget to ask questions, I just want to get in and out, I always fear the worst with hospitals and vets.

Hope Shiraz is ok!

Louise (who is 30 in February and still loves the Beano and computer games!)
:D
 
Yep scabs are i sign of mites as louise said, mine had 3 doses of ivermec too when they mites. It shoudnt cost £19 each visit thats a bit expensive! Mine was something like £17 for the initial visit which was the consultation and two ivermec doses, then somethig like £8 the other two times because there was no consultation fee :) x
 
I would treat her for Mites and fungal. Ivomec on day one and ten (I give it orally) and a GG CocoNeem Melt 48 hours after. What bedding is she actually on :)
 
Hi,

I use Exeno 450 for mites - the active ingredient is Ivermectin, and is it simply applied from a tube to the back of the neck (but do NOT come into skin contact with it yourself) this avoids the need for an injection and it can be administered at home (it is prescribed by the vet). Hope this is helpful.
 
just to let you lot know, Shiraz is fine again, nice soft coat again on her belly :smitten:

Thank you all for your help and advice
 
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