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My Mom Refuses To Take My Guinea Pig To The Vet Again

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Flowur

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Hey... So last month, my male guinea pig had a small bald patch at the end of his back. I suggested we take him to the vet so we took him to the vet and they gave him 1 skin scrape and said it wasn't mites, so they gave him ciproflox oral syrup. After using this syrup, he stopped eating so we stopped using the medicine. After a few days he started eating normally again. For a few days in between, he started to let out big clumps of very soft poop but that eventually stopped when we stopped giving him much watery veggies. The bald patches got bigger as the days went by.

My mom says we are never taking him to the vet ever again and she got him this spray called Banixx for his bald patches. The spray did help the wounds to close up and not be raw but he was still itching. 2 weeks later, he is still biting himself. It's not bloody anymore but he still itches and the bald patches got bigger and longer, almost half his entire back is bald now.

I told my mom we absolutely have to find a new vet and take him to it. But she says no, that the vet will just make him more sick again and to just use the banixx and that he's just itchy because of his long fur and the hot weather..

She won't listen to me. I told her it could be mites and that the vet could have misdiagnosed him because mange mites usually are misdiagnosed, that guinea pigs could have seizures because of severe itching... and she said no all of that is impossible. It's been a month now and half his back is becoming bald, my guinea pig is now biting underneath his legs and scratching behind his ears. This banixx spray is not helping. I don't know how to convince my mom... she says everything is fine because he is eating, pooping and drinking normally now. Am i just being paranoid?
 
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I have just looked up Banixx and it is a horse, cat and dog medication and is probably making the condition worse instead of better. I hope someone with more experience comes along as I do not want to upset you.
 
theoretikos said:
I have just looked up Banixx and it is a horse, cat and dog medication and is probably making the condition worse instead of better. I hope someone with more experience comes along as I do not want to upset you.
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Thanks for telling me that. It was actually the vet that recommended to my mom that we use banixx for him. I won't let her spray my piggy aith it again.
 
I think from what you're describing your piggie needs ivermectin injected into him. It sounds similar to what my piggie has and he had to have the injection last week.

I'm sorry your mum won't take your piggie. It's cruel to let an animal suffer but I understand your powerlessness if you are a child and cannot get him to the vet yourself.
 
Are you in the UK or the US? If you are in the UK it is against the law for an animal to be denied veterinary attention when they need it which your pig obviously does. It could be mange mites and if so he needs 3 rounds of Ivermectin by injection a week to 10 days apart. However, he needs a proper diagnosis by a vet as it could also be fungal for which he would need different treatment. If the hairloss has got worse since you have been using this product, please explain this to your Mum and tell her that he needs to see a vet to be treated.
 
I have just found your old thread and see that you are in Hawaii and so understand that guinea pig savvy vets are going to be difficult to find but please go back to your old vet and explain that he has got worse. From what I recall you were going to tell him how the medication made your pig stop eating? Your vet also thought it may be a skin infection and so I suggested a topical cream but now with the hairloss I am more inclined to think this is either mange mites or fungal.

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...t-didnt-call-me-back-yet.112383/#post-1525789
 
I agree with helen.

Please show your mum and the vet you are seeing these two links here. Skin scrapes and ultraviolet light test are unfortunately not very reliable and give often false results.

It sounds either like severe mange mites, where only an ivermectin product helps (with severe mites ideally as an injection for best results) or a fungal problem, where at this stage, a systemic fungal would be better than just topical cream. However, we cannot give you a valid diagnosis via the internet. Please make it clear to your mum that mange mites can kill when left untreated or wrongly treated - and it is a very painful, slow death. :(
http://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html
http://gorgeousguineas.com/indentification.html
The links contain the names of US products that are safe to use on guinea pigs.

Your mum is welcome to join the forum; we are not going to bash her, but want to work out a way on how to best help your poor piggy under the circumstances. We are aware that vets in the US cost a lot and that not everybody has access to a good, piggy savvy vet (which the vet you have been seen does not seem to be!)
 
I agree. I'm sure a lot of experienced guinea pig owners on here would be more than willing to talk things through with your mum and give her advice.

One of my girls had mange once, fortunately it was just a little scaley patch on her back which cleared after treatment. As I'm sure you're aware, mites will not go away on their own. The dog/cat/horse treatment you're using is more than likely making the condition worse unfortunately. It's a shame that your vet isn't more experienced but either way, it's very important that you make another trip.

If you decide to try over the counter remedies - please stay clear from the brand 'Bob Martin' as that has been linked to dangerous side effects. Over the counter treatment is very unlikely to work at this stage anyway, but I felt better to warn you.

Good luck with your piggie, the others have given more advice that's useful and I hope he is clear if the infestation ASAP x
 
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