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strange behaviour- licking furniture, walls, chair legs-

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ThreeBoars

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Hello. My eldest Abyssinian Guinea Pig, a Boar, who will be six years of age in January, has begun to do very uncharacteristic licking of walls, chair legs, furniture, wood frames to doors, et c. The boys are freewheeling, and have been their entire time with me, although they have their own room which is where they prefer to be- because of their belongings/food/water/safety/quiet, and so on.

Has anyone ever experienced this licking of non-food items- it's really almost obsessive, and yes, he has not been eating like usual for the past few days either. He seems to have little interest in pellets, orchard/timothy hay, and usually runs to the Hay Party with the other two boars. I gave him critical care, fresh grass, and ground up Oxbow pellets with a squeeze of fresh juice from an apple over the past few days, and he picks through his hay. He is drinking this evening, more than the past few days- I have to encourage him more often than not. They all have Vitamin C daily.

Please pardon any typos, or confusion- I am on the Autism Spectrum, and sort of worried at the moment for my Boar!

This licking of walls, furniture, door frames, and the chest is very strange, and I am worried for him.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you ever so kindly!
 
I would suspect that he is short of some mineral/trace element, especially as he is not eating properly.

Please weigh him daily on your kitchen scales and have him checked over by your vet. Make sure that the vet also checks the back teeth (molars). Your boy is a very good age, which speaks of your good care.
 
Wiebke,


Thank you for your contribution to this puzzling health scenario. I love my boys, and two have had lipomas removed [due to their location and size increase], health check ups, and are loved tremendously. The third pig is probably a bit younger, came from Animal Control, as the Chief Officer contacted me about him. I was then introduced to the incredible world of mites- all three were successfully treated- [fun-fun!].

A little update, please- since my initial post, I made a pen with the cubes for Star, and he has taken a few bites of hay. He seems happy to be inside of his pen- which was constructed for me to monitor fluid/food ingestion, as well as inspecting visually his beans/urine.

I do appreciate the mention of teeth [molars]. There are no vets available for me at this hour; however, he is all set to be seen in the A.M., and may need to have labs drawn.
 
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PS: I have seen my free roaming guinea pigs lick things like radiators and very occasionally furniture, but if he does it with such an intensity, there needs to be a medical reason for it.

Here is a link to causes of loss of appetite; it is worth checking it through:
http://www.guinealynx.info/anorexia
 
oh yes :)

I've read the sites pages thoroughly- from years ago, and just today! Thank you!

I love Peter Gurney, and a few others. CavyCompendium was where me and the boys used to hang out [before the database error message].

The concern my vet had was for the dosages listed on GL- he said some were incorrect, but the information freely shared is overall good, the rest a great guide.
 
Just a thought - could he be impacted and unable to eat his caceotrophs? I have noticed one of my boars with impaction issues likes to lick things alot.....especially the leather sofa.

The other thing that occurred to me is that guinea pigs rely heavily on a sense of smell and if they have a slightly stuffy nose maybe licking is an alternative way of findingout what's good to eat?

x
 
The vet went to work straightaway with Star this afternoon. Apparently, Star has a motility/impaction issue up high- in the caecum, between small and large intestine. [note: this kind of impaction is not the same kind we help to ease out of the perineal sac, typically older boars]. There is a lot of trapped GAS, which caused his rear end weight to shift forward, and give him a somewhat lopsided effect; vet said his tummy felt hard, and should be soft to touch. X-rays were unnecessary, he said.

Medication therapy, 3 times daily for star,and should find pig greatly improved by monday/sooner as follows:

1 ML syringe of combined drugs: cisapride, mineral oil, and prednisone PLUS [add into syringe with other meds] 1-2 drops of simethicone “little tummys gas relief dropsâ€.


I found this for further reading:
http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/avhc/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=648139&sk=&date=&pageID=5
 
Sorry to hear he is not well but good to hear the vet has taken immediate action.
 
Wow great to hear your vet is on the case.


HOWEVER......Please be a VERY careful about giving repeated doses of the mineral oil - it is an extremely harsh chemical and normally only one single dose is recommended for piggies as it can strip the gut mucosa and cause more harm than good......(source Peter Gurney)

Personally i would talk to the vet about either removing the mineral oil from the cocktail after the first dose (as the simethicone and cisapride combined should get things moving)....or substituting olive oil as per AgentF's post on another thread -olive oil should provide lubrication for dehydrated poos that are stuck and break down surface tension and help disperse gas bubbles/foam in the guts.

Also your vet might want to consider zantac 4mg/kg twice daily -my vet swears by it for guineas with "irritable gut problems" and it certainly sorts out Beechie when he is having one of his episodes.....

Hope Star is back to normal soon

x
 
thank you to everyone-

dear pebble, i cannot remove the mineral oil as it's mixed in with the other meds; however, as i look over the print out/receipt of services provided, it appears that only one dose was administered in the cocktail of prednisone and cisapride:

cisapride per ml quantity = 5
mineral oil quantity = 1
prednisone 20 mg quantity = 1

i appreciate your knowledgeable response very much!

i've been using a pellet mixture every four hours, and the med therapy every eight. he's VERY interested in the med, and takes it on his own. some eating of hay on his own, and he's very alert. i love him to pieces, and whenever anyone else holds him, he cracks me up- turning head to find me, and wanting his human.
 
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