jessica*rabbit
Junior Guinea Pig
Hi, I have a boar of about 4 years old called basil. In the last year he has lost weight but is happy, still eating etc. He lives with his two girlfriends, both of which are chunky and healthy.
A couple of weeks ago i noticed that basil had a very dirty penis, i soaked it and cleaned it off. a week later it had started to get dirty again so i guess he hasn't been cleaning himself. Yesterday when i checked him and noticed that his bottom was very swollen. I soaked him and managed to expel the hardened poos out and the swelling immediately went down.
Today we took a trip to the vets and i explained the problem, the vet didnt seem very interested in the impaction or my concerns of a yeast infection.
He checked his teeth, temperature and quizzed me on his diet (variety of veggies, hay, gpig pellets). He prescribed loxicom a painkiller which he said might be needed to give daily for the rest of his life and told me to up his vitamin C intake by buying some vitamin C and putting it in his food. I think he mentioned something about Basil maybe having a sore back and not being able to clean himself so the painkillers should help.
I just wanted to know if this all sounds ok, i think basil probably needs routine cleaning due to him being an older male gpig and impaction being a common problem. How would i know if he has a yeast infection? His penis is always 'out' nowadays, is this normal?
Also, is it worth using the painkillers 'for the rest of his life'?
any other advice would be great! Sorry for the long post!
A couple of weeks ago i noticed that basil had a very dirty penis, i soaked it and cleaned it off. a week later it had started to get dirty again so i guess he hasn't been cleaning himself. Yesterday when i checked him and noticed that his bottom was very swollen. I soaked him and managed to expel the hardened poos out and the swelling immediately went down.
Today we took a trip to the vets and i explained the problem, the vet didnt seem very interested in the impaction or my concerns of a yeast infection.
He checked his teeth, temperature and quizzed me on his diet (variety of veggies, hay, gpig pellets). He prescribed loxicom a painkiller which he said might be needed to give daily for the rest of his life and told me to up his vitamin C intake by buying some vitamin C and putting it in his food. I think he mentioned something about Basil maybe having a sore back and not being able to clean himself so the painkillers should help.
I just wanted to know if this all sounds ok, i think basil probably needs routine cleaning due to him being an older male gpig and impaction being a common problem. How would i know if he has a yeast infection? His penis is always 'out' nowadays, is this normal?
Also, is it worth using the painkillers 'for the rest of his life'?
any other advice would be great! Sorry for the long post!