• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

'self-harming' piggie

Status
Not open for further replies.
abmo

abmo

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 16, 2011
Messages
107
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Hi all,

I've just taken in a one year old male rex whose owners said he was 'self-harming' and they could no longer take care of him as no matter how short they kept his nails he keeps scratching himself. He also doesn't like being handled & doesn't like other pigs. mallethead

I went to collect him keeping :x to make sure I got him and could get him some help. He has nasty open wounds on his back. Obviously I'll be taking him straight to the vets but just wondering if others has seen this before. I was thinking mange maybe?

SNB25793.jpg


SNB25797.jpg


Many thanks x
 
Mite or fungal infestation - that pig isn't doing that for no reason! Please do take him to the vet.

He may even need a steroid injection to help remove the itch poor pig, did they say how long he's been like that?
 
Yes that's what I thought, don't worry he'll be going straight to the vet! He's been like it a looooonnnng time poor chap. Must have been driving him crazy.

So weird he doesn't like being handled! grrrr
 
I've heard it all now a 'self harming' guinea pig. He's itchy for goodness sake! Well done for taking him. I hope he has a speedy recovery now he's in the hands of someone with some common sense. Do keep us up dated with his progress. Sending him healing vibes. x
 
he probably doesn't like being handled because of the itchiness on his skin? that must be so so horrible for him - like if we had chicken pox and someone wanted to rub our skin we'd be like GET OFF!

Hope he gets better soon, sending love his way and glad he has a proper carer at last x
 
I'm part of a small rabbit & guinea rescue so I keep my eye out for piggies in need. I actually saw him on the dreaded 'free to collecter' but went into it knowing what it could be and fully prepared to pay whatever it takes to make him better.

As he was advertised as 'self harming' but also good for breeding, I couldn't wait to get him before god-knows-what happened to him, let alone the daily suffering he must be in.

Sadly they had others that I couldn't get because she wanted to keep them. Only this piggie's dad was symptomatic among the others that I could see. Its very frustrating.
 
Do you think you'd be able to go back to them and say " it turns out it was just...(mites etc) and was easy to cure, I think his dad might have it aswell, shall I give you the details of what you need to treat him?" You never know they might just be uneducated rather than being cruel and just not know what to do. It would be great if they took your advice and helped his dad as well.
Thank god it was you that got him and not someone who was going to breed him.
 
katiepops said:
Do you think you'd be able to go back to them and say " it turns out it was just...(mites etc) and was easy to cure, I think his dad might have it aswell, shall I give you the details of what you need to treat him?" You never know they might just be uneducated rather than being cruel and just not know what to do. It would be great if they took your advice and helped his dad as well.
Thank god it was you that got him and not someone who was going to breed him.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm defintely going to do that. I didn't tell her I was from a rescue because I don't think she would have let me taken him if she'd known. So I'm just joe-bloggs decided to get it checked out & you'll never guess what ... etc etc

Luckily, she gave me her email address & wants to know how he's getting on so the doors open for me to go back to her with info.

Gosh I don't like being devious but sometimes its all that works! {:|
 
abmo said:
Gosh I don't like being devious but sometimes its all that works! {:|
Click to expand...
You have to do what you have to do.
It's great that the door's open for hopefully helping the others as well.
Well done.
I'm looking forward to seeing his 'after' photo when he's all better.
 
Poor thing... my guess would be that he has a fungal infection, mites, mange... obviously something is itching very badly! Seems like they would have had a vet rule out obvious health problems before jumping to 'self harm' as a diagnosis! I hope he feels much better soon with treatment- good on you for giving him a good home and good care!
 
Mites or fungal looks like and yes an ivomec injection and fungal treatment will sort him out no doubt.

What has the vet said today?
 
Oh poor little soul :(
So sad - some people just see animals as so disposable, as soon as something is wrong they're out the door.
Lucky you were the one who came to rescue him!
Fingers crossed for him, hope he makes a speedy recovery - let us know how you get on at the vets and with contacting the owner again.
 
Hi all, just a wee update on this fella, as suspected it was mites. He is about to have his 2nd treatment tmrw & has already stopped scratching & his skin is starting to heal.

If anyone is interested when he is all better he will be neutered and be up for rehoming in the new year. We are a rescue based in Bristol: http://boardingbunniesathome.co.uk/rescue-and-rehoming/

By the way, the vet said that animals DO NOT self-harm. The only cases he could think of that could be classed that way is over-grooming sometimes seen in cats. As with everything there is always an underlying cause.
 
oh the poor boy I am glad he is starting to recover though, how could they not think of getting him treated. I had a hamster who started "self-harming" took him off to the vets and the poor thing had cancer and a tumour in his stomach he was trying to get at... had to have the little fella PTS after that :(
 
I'm so glad he's recovering! It boggles my mind that the previous owner jumped to 'self harm' before considering the fact that he was just plain itchy! Poor little man... glad he's in good hands now!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top