Please Stop The Witch-hunt!

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Unfortunately in many cases, guinea pigs are too exotic for most general vets and not exotic enough for most exotic vets. Simon is a general vet but is very interested in rabbit and guinea pig veterinary surgery and care and has done many CPD courses and has a huge amount of practical experience too. He probably sees more guinea pigs in a week than most exotic vets see in a couple of months, with people travelling from all over the UK to see him, and not just for dental issues. He is also a very skilled surgeon. @biscandmatt your vet may be very experienced with guinea pigs and that is fantastic, but unfortunately not all exotic vets have the same amount of knowledge and experience with this particular species. Whether general or exotic, you need to find a vet who is interested in the veterinary care of guinea pigs.

 

[Kerrie74]

Our vet doesn't have exotic qualifications but from what my son was saying when he's taken 6 (not all together, 2 and 4) he does seem to know what he's talking about although I did get one of his diagnoses checked by another vet who then gave antibiotics (it was in reference to a tilt and non of the vets could see any ear problems at all) he still tilts his head BUT it's not nearly as bad as it was. He'll be going for an health check at an exotics at some point as we're having him neutered there.

 

[biscandmatt]

Unfortunately in many cases, guinea pigs are too exotic for most general vets and not exotic enough for most exotic vets. Simon is a general vet but is very interested in rabbit and guinea pig veterinary surgery and care and has done many CPD courses and has a huge amount of practical experience too. He probably sees more guinea pigs in a week than most exotic vets see in a couple of months, with people travelling from all over the UK to see him, and not just for dental issues. He is also a very skilled surgeon. @biscandmatt your vet may be very experienced with guinea pigs and that is fantastic, but unfortunately not all exotic vets have the same amount of knowledge and experience with this particular species. Whether general or exotic, you need to find a vet who is interested in the veterinary care of guinea pigs.

i can understand your point. hopefully alot more regular vets will start to do these additional courses.

it does frustrate me that there isn't anything in place that means vets have to tell you if you could get your pet better treatment elsewhere. i know they are a business but it just seems so wrong. i have to admit that i do have a bad view of regular vets practices due to my own experience with them. i've never heard these views about an exotics vets before if i'm honest. they generally do work with alot of guinea pigs day in and day out due to them being alot more common than other more unusual exotics species. i did think this would be the case with all of them. i guess from your experience you know this not to be the case though.

alot of people won't go to these lengths to find out sadly and that really upsets me. so many must be getting incorrect treatment and it's so wrong. it's a particular gripe of mine!

we are certainly very lucky to have our vets it would seem

 

[Critter]

I wish I could amalgamate several vets into one. My original vet is very good to be fair, and he has quite a following. He's caring, very fair with money and I rate his surgical skills. He does see plenty of piggies, but he knows what he knows if that makes sense, ad I don't think he's kept up with developments in piggy vet care. I don't always trust his diagnosis, but when right, he's great.
However I swapped to another, actually a P@H vet and she seemed really lovely, and seemed better able to diagnose than my original vet, but I am not convinced her treatment of Shadow was right..... to Shadow's cost. These are the best two vets that can actually get to locally that I have found so far.
I have swapped to one of the recommended ones and am happy, but it is too far for me to get to by myself and have to rely on others, so there we have it. Perfection is hard, but we all want the best for out piggies....... it's a problem.

 

[pig in the city]

I think we expect a lot from our vets, and sometimes no matter how experienced or well trained they are, there really is a limit to what they can do. No vet is perfect and they get it wrong sometimes, they are only human. I think the main thing is that they listen to what the owner has to say, they respect all animals whether they are dogs, cats, guinea pigs or rats, and they are not afraid to say they don't know and ask a more experienced vet for advice. I would rather that than them blindly treating an animal.

 

[Freela]

Sadly, pigs are overlooked by many vets. A vet who has chosen to train in exotics will often specialise in something more 'interesting' - avian or reptile medicine. Pigs (and rabbits) aren't unusual enough, nor do they carry enough equity. We have heard instances of exotics vets saying that it would just be better to get a new pig. Normally after costing the owner hundreds of pounds. Disgraceful!

Although pigs fall into the exotics category, many of the vets with this title don't train in the treatment of small furries. After all, why would you, if you can look at the more obscure - parrots, insects, zoo animals? They are far more lucrative and bring in much more profit. And, they allow you to make more of a name for yourself. How do you make a guinea pig a viable money spinner? You conduct ever conceivable test/scan before you even offer treatment to an animal.

Sadly, unless a vet show a particular interest in piggies specifically, the title 'exotic' can be of very little use to us.

This may vary according to area (there seems to be more care for guinea pigs in the UK than in Canada, where I live), but my vet has told me that a lot of vets don't learn much about small mammals (guinea pigs, rats, rabbits, etc.) because, frankly, there's no money in it for them because people simply don't seek vet care for those species of animals. Whereas people here will take a sick dog to the vet, they often won't take a sick guinea pig. They bought the pet for their kid, if it dies they simply say that guinea pigs don't live that long anyhow and buy a new guinea pig. I can't tell you how many people are shocked that my guinea pigs have a vet, let alone that Sundae has had a couple of surgeries and long-term therapy of a chronic problem. Not only did they not know that it was an option, but they think I'm completely insane to have spent that much on a guinea pig! I always tell that that with the help of me and the vet, she has lived to old age and is still kicking and that she is worth every penny spent, but I can vouch that I'm the minority of pig owners as far as that goes.