As Weibke says, we have had a discussion on this before. However, the forum has moved on a lot since that sticky was put up, many of the older more experienced forum members have moved away and the forum has seen a healthy influx of people, many of whom clearly haven't had that much experience of sick piggies. So I would like to add my own comments which I think is more relevant to the forum community today....and also takes account of the Animal Welfare and Vet Surgeons Acts (and make the point that giving your piggie human meds could potentially cause more harm than good)
In my opinion, the most essential thing for a first aid kit.... which you can get on-line is:
Digital scales for weighing .
These are often overlooked but if you weigh your piggie according to a weekly/twice weekly regime at the same time of the day, this will provide you with a much earlier warning that your piggie is not well and enable you to act on it to give your piggie a much better chance of proper treatment and recovery. All too often, because piggies are prey animals and don;t show their illnesses, they are found to be ill far too late for any treatment to have a chance of curing them. If nothing else then you should include a regular weighing regime as part of proper care.
Closely followed by (again available online/supermarket etc):
Supreme Recovery sachets (or Oxbow critical care)
1.0ml syringes
Vit C tablets (without zinc or other vits/supplements)
Pro-biotic (personally I prefer fibreplex to avipro as it also provides fibre)
Cotton buds/cotton wool
Hibiscrub (lloyds - disinfectant and for cleaning/flushing wounds)
Straight-edged springbow cuticle/toe nail clippers
Cornflour (I use this instead of a styptic pencil)
Sudocream (nappy rash cream that is good for all types of skin conditions incuding sore feet, stinky willies, itchy skin and urine scald)
I also have easimec ivermectin (for mites/lice) Nizoral shampoo (anti-fungal) , imaverol (anti-fungal "dip") and johnsons insecticidal shampoo (good for lice). Unless I have a possible problem however I tend to use Johnsons baby shampoo for the pigs if, and only if, they need washing and I don;t "preventatively" treat for mites unless they have been in contact with "foreign pigs". I also have Savlon dry iodine antiseptic spray as this is least harmful for clearing up a single ringworm lesion providing you ensure there is no danger of the piggie inhaling it or getting it in their eye (mine have tended to have end of nose or back lesions)
For urinary issues I have dried pearl barley, holland and barrett concentrated cranberry juice and cymalon cystitis treatment (again over-the counter)
For cage cleaning I have Johnsons insecticidal cage spray (used with great care only on wooden hutches following a mite problem and then left for three months to biodegrade) , and Trigene disinfectant for plastic cages...and bleach. I am soon going to be changing from Trigene to F10 as that seems to be more effective against fungi and is the only disinfectant I have found that is actually sporicidal against ringworm
In terms of prescription meds, I have most of those mentioned above that I have "accumulated" with the co-operation of my vets who are happy for me to keep a "small pharmacy" owing to my piggies having recurring conditions (and also my having a lot of piggies)...PROVIDED I DON;T SELF-MEDICATE.....so we have reached an understanding that I will make a point of talking to them first on the phone (still saves me a consult fee and 2hour round trip!) (I should also add that, even though I am medically and microbiologically trained, I have spent a long time building up this trust with my vets such that they know that I really do know my own limitations and will always defer to them before giving meds )
The routine prescription stuff includes metacam (Pain relief for my arthritic pig) , baytril, septrin, (both antibioitics) fortekor (for heart pig), frusemide (diuretic for heart and respiratory pigs), metoclopromide (gut stimulant) and fucithalmic ointment (for gunky eyes)
One thing I wouldn;t be without now is zantac which you can buy over the counter as this really helps piggies with gut motility problems especially those with squishy poos (not diarrhoea). Again, I only give it following telephone consult with the vet...(and not all vets are aware of the fact it can be used to great effect with piggies with gut problems)
Perhaps (contraversially maybe?) its also worth saying what I have previously bought that, knowing what i do now and following a lot of discussion with my very experienced exotics vets over the years, I wouldn;t EVER use now without vet consultation as some of these over-the-counter human meds it seems can actually do more harm than good for guineas, esepcially if given without proper diganosis of the cause by a fully trained cavy-savvy veterinary professional:
These include:
Panacur (I don;t subscribe to regular worming based upon both theoretical and practical experience from having poo cultures done of all my herd......piggies actually don;t get worms in the UK and my vets and the labs have confirmed this).
Daktarin oral gel, canestan and mycanazole spray (all antifungals and you really need to know what you;re doing with these as piggies groom and ingest...and they can cause liver damage and, if you get the wrong one with steroids added, can cause even worse harm).
Buscopan, infacol and immodium.....all for different gut problems/bloat/diarrhoea....again you really do need experience to use these meds and unless your vet has ruled out an obstruction and bacterial infection these meds can actually kill your piggie if given without vet consultation
Finally I;d just like to say to all forum members..it really doesn;t matter what you have in your medicine cabinet.....if you are inexperienced with piggie health then the best thing you can do for your piggies is
a) weigh regularly
b) ensure you have a cavy savvy vet you can take them to
c) ensure you have a savings plan to make sure you can cover the cost of (emergency) vet treatment
d) commit to taking them to your vet as soon as you notice a problem....don;t delay!
HTH
x
|) I have similar to ZaraPiggie6, never know what you may need and when.
Oh goodness! I bet you need to double check lest you smell like guineapig after using their shampoo, haha!
