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loose skin flap at rear UPDATE FLY STRIKE!

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ferboz

ferboz

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Hello ,
I posted earlier about my dear piggie Maisie. I went into her hutch later after posting & saw she looked glum so gave her a cuddle & to my horror i found maggots. I rang my vet as an emergency & took her straight away. The vet sprayed her with F10 Germicidal wound spray with insecticide & said that would kill the live maggots, which it did. He then sad he would have to shave her as he had to check if there were any open wounds. When he bought her back he said it was good news - no bad - she had no wounds at all, although her bum is a little red at the base. He advised me to keep check of her esp if any more maggots appear around the head & shoulders. ( he shaved a third of her coat). He then said to spray her again with the F10 on a daily basis & then when sure there were no more to do it or prevention on a weekly basis. He said he wanted her to be as de-stressed as possible as the stress can kill pigges. I bought her home & put her on the bottom of the hutch so she could graze. I have noticed she is quiet now & sounds a little chesty. I asked why this has happened as i clean them out twice weekly & havent ever had this happen thru many years. He said quite often the piggy isnt feeling well or is obese so the fly attracts itself to a less mobile piggy. He said i had caught it early & on a scale of maggots was 1-2! I hope this is good............ am seriously concerned, but the vet didnt seems overly worried..........he doesnt want to see her again, although he said if i had left it another couple of days she wouldnt have survived - he also said that it had been a maximum of 48 hrs since the out break.
Guilt, sadness, how, all my emotions are running high. I just hope there are cases of piggies surviving this, as most of the notes i have read see it as fatal. I was prepared to have to put her to sleep but the vet didnt even mention it. I just hope his optimism is well founded.
finally her boyfriend is fine & i have sprayed him too, but he doesnt seem to want to go near her at the moment, hope thats not a bad thing...........
If anyone has any positive words please let me know, maisie & i could use some good news.
 
yes the costs involved NEVER come into it, i just want her to get better. I have read up on the F10 germicide & that seems to penetrate the skin so hopefully she will recover. The worse things ( well another thing i guess ) is that i want to keep checking on her but dont want to stress her out. I mean what she has been thru today is just awful. I keep thinking at least she must feel more comfortable now. I havent seen anymore live maggots on her so hopefully that dreadful part of her lllness is finished, but i am still going to be extra vigilent. I just want her to pull though.
 
Well done for spotting it and getting her to the vets so quickly. Hopefully you've caught it in time and she recovers.
Its a good warning to us all to be extra vigilent - thanks for posting,
x
 
Oh how awful! Poor Masie. You have done all the right things. Maybe her friend thinks she smells strange due to the spray and that is why he is not coming close to her. Please keep us updated on this. I really hope she recovers soon.
 
Oh no! Well done for getting on it so quickly! I hope she gets better soon! Give her some of her favourite veggies, may make her feel a bit better :)
 
So glad you caught it in time! Flystrike happens - maybe you could think about putting a fine mesh over the hutch (I assume she's in an outdoor hutch?) over the summer months, like a fly screen.

Fly eggs can be laid and hatch within the space of a day, and as soon as they hatch, the maggots immediately start eating, so you did well to catch it so early!

Hope she's ok and makes a full recovery
 
thanks to all for your good wishes, i have told Maisie! Have just been to see her for what seems the hundreth time............she seems a little brighter, & has eaten some food. Hopefully this is a good sign that she is still happy to eat. I have picked her boyfriend up from the run & i think you are right, he can smell she is different, esp before i guess cos she must have smelt bad. He soon forgot the smell tho as he started chomping his tea! I have sprayed him also with the F10 as the vet recommended. Another good sign is there still is no sign of any maggots dead or alive. I thought about the mesh idea & i think that would be a good idea as i am paranoid about a fly getting in, although the vet said the F10 acts as a deterrant against flies. One thing is will the mesh/ netting stop ventilation? The piggies have a two tiered hutch with sleeping quarters & food on the top floor, with the run on the bottom. They are shielded by conifers & tons of parasols, if it gets warm, but i still like them to get fresh air if i can.
Again thanks for all the replies & good wishes. I will keep you all updated, & Maisie is a tough little girl, very stroppy, a right Diva, so i know she will give it her best shot to annoy her bf Mungo & recover. I will try & post a pic for you.
Thanks again.
 
Ooh, every slaves worst nightmare :...
Hope she's doing ok and well done you for your prompt actions :) - your vet sounds very good :))
 
"One thing is will the mesh/ netting stop ventilation? "

No, it should be fine. I think Scratch and Newton do hutch covers with built in fly screen at the front which might be worth investigating.
Goodluck - what a worrying time for you, hope she mends soon.:)
 
Oh no I hope Maisie is feeling better this morning. Thank you for the reminder though as I always associate flystrike more with bunnies than I do guineas, it'll remind me to be extra vigilant.

Lets us know how the little one is doing x
 
hello all,
little maisie is still holding strong. this morning i went to see her & admitedly she is still a little quiet, she seemed alert. her eyes are bright. she shuffled around her bedroom, & i didnt pick her up but again closely checked for maggots. happy to say none were found. she didnt seem over enthuiastic at her brekkie, but after yesterday she probably will take a few days to recover. she probably cant understand why she feels different, esp wth no fur on her bottom. i am trying to ease off the constant checks as stressing her out s not good. however am soon due to spray her with the F10 again. Mungo her boyfriend seems ok & is hs usual clumsy self, which is good. i will check out the hutch covers.
 
Would you consider housing them indoors? You do not get fly strike when guinea pigs live indoors. They would be so happy in a c & C cage and you would be able to spend more time with them.
 
Another cheap way of fly proofing is to use net curtains over mesh parts of their hutches and runs.
 
Pleased to hear your girl is doing well after having flystrike. It's good to hear a positive outcome of this and I hope it continues!
 
Glad she is doing well , I never knew much about fly strike and my boys are indoors so thanks for the info and well done to * for spotting it and letting us all know about treatment for this x
 
well i have just a little time before work, but i wanted to let you all know that Maisie seems to be getting better day by day. This morning, i went to feed all my babies ( forgetting the cucumber which did not go well!) and Maisie was bossing Mungo about & managed to get to her salad before him - just like she usually does. Then all i saw was her munching away. I wll keep checking & putting on the F10 & hopeully post an update at the end of the week with a pic, if Maisie feels up to it..............she is a total diva, so i cant promise!
Yes my vet is great, he is probably the only local one that deals with 'exotics'. He was lovely with me too as i was in bits! I
To the posts who asked about having her indoors. I would love too, however i live in a small bungalow with 2 indoor cats. Now my cats are the biggest whimps around but i wouldnt trust them with looking after my piggies. They do have an outdoor house, which they go in when its cold or damp but of course i cant put them in it at the moment as its hot. Thank fully the weather s playing its part, just right for Maisie. Perhaps she has somone high above looking after her................
Thanx for all your good wishes.........
 
Soo glad Maisie is doing well - we lost a Rabbit to fly strike when I was a child and it was an absolutely dreadful thing to find.

I HATE flies....Vile things inbreeding

xx
 
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