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Whats wrong? :(

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jhp

jhp

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Something is wrong with 1 of my piggies, he has lost ALOT of fur and underneath is very very thin around the inside of his back legs are pretty much bare. His body from where the fur has gone is all dry and flaky and in some areas quite scabby too :(

He is eating and drinking fine, if anything drinking slightly more. He's never been a veggie piggie anyway stange i know he will ocassionally have a very small amount of kale but thats about it. but thats nothing new for him, i do give him vitimin c drops in his water to help and he has plenty of dry food and loves his hay.

Any ideas? I cannot afford to take him to the vets what so ever right now, I'm in contact with the pdsa to see if i can benefit from their services. I'm a student on a very very low income and could afford my animals but an unexpected bill had to come out of my piggy bank.
 
Poor piggy. It could be mites or a fungal infection. I am sure other members will advise you.

In the meantime, have you any photos of the piggy for us to look at? I think that would help.
 
yes i will take some after, its awful and i feel so awful and so so guilty. when i went to the vets with my others last time i got some treatment for hay mites, the vet gave me double because p@h were paying so i still have that but will get pics up asap and the name of the treatment before i do anything else.

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It could be fungal but another possibility is scurvy, he isnt getting enough vit C. Putting drops in the water is hit and miss and they often dont drink it all. He really needs a course of vit C tablets-50mg a day until he improves, at best it will help him recover and it certainly wont do any harm. He needs a variety of veg daily.
 
As well as a water bottle on each hutch, mine also have a bottle of Tesco (not value, next one up) orange squash (weak solution) for added vit c, they love it and theres always more water left than there is orange!
 
pigginrescue said:
As well as a water bottle on each hutch, mine also have a bottle of Tesco (not value, next one up) orange squash (weak solution) for added vit c, they love it and theres always more water left than there is orange!
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Should have also said the no added sugar one :p
 
lavenderjade said:
It could be fungal but another possibility is scurvy, he isnt getting enough vit C. Putting drops in the water is hit and miss and they often dont drink it all. He really needs a course of vit C tablets-50mg a day until he improves, at best it will help him recover and it certainly wont do any harm. He needs a variety of veg daily.
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my pig jack needs to take some vit c but he wont go near the tablets and never finishes off his food so there's no point in trying to crumble it over the food. Do you know any other products that can get vitamin c into him? (He doesn't drink from his bottle either!)
 
The vit c tablets I use are oxbow GTN and each tablet is 50mg and is formulated for guineas. They like them as they taste of carrot! I just pop a tablet on the back molar and they chew it. I only use them if they are poorly to give them a boost as they get a good variety of fresh veg.
 
jhp said:
yes i will take some after, its awful and i feel so awful and so so guilty. when i went to the vets with my others last time i got some treatment for hay mites
8...8...8...8...8...8...8...8...
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Don't feel guilty. You have seen that he may have a problem and you are looking for advice on how to deal with it - so don't feel sad.

Hay mites are different to the mites that burrow under the skin which can cause mange. This will make the skin red and sore and your piggy will be scratching alot. It can be very distressing for them.

Hay mites, however, just live on the hair shaft and don't usually cause any problem. A simple wash with an appropriate shampoo will get rid of hay mites.

Hair loss can be related to stress or lack of Vit C but from my experience it isn't usually associated with dry, flaky skin or sores
 
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that sounds just like it, i have tried him with all sorts of veg incl cucumber, carrot, romain lettice, cabbage, corn on the cob, kale, caulleflower, spinich, basil and so much more i still offer it to him daily but it always goes untouched.

Any ideas where i can get the vit c tablets from?
 
Personally I wouldn't just trust the judgement of the forum, I think he needs to see a vet to rule out mites which can kill if left untreated.

Signs of Scurvy are weakness unwilling to move, hopping and stiff joints, not eating and losing weight, diarrhea, eye and nose discharge, rough coat, tenderness to the touch. Lack of vitamin c is usually secondary to other medical problems.

1/8th of a green pepper has all the vitamin c in that a pig neegs per day.

I know times are tough right now, but some vets allow you to pay by installments, if it is mites it won't cost much £24.00 was what I paid.

Hope he will be ok.
 
jhp said:
that sounds just like it, i have tried him with all sorts of veg incl cucumber, carrot, romain lettice, cabbage, corn on the cob, kale, caulleflower, spinich, basil and so much more i still offer it to him daily but it always goes untouched.

Any ideas where i can get the vit c tablets from?
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you can also give him parsley, the c vitamin level is higher then green pepper, and my piggies loves it.
I think that it sounds like sellnick. but my advice is that you take him to the vet.
I know how it is to be low on money, but I find a way everytime, and my piggies came to the vet when they have to.
when you get animals you also have to expect that there can come unexpectet bills. :)

Hope that your piggy gets better soon, and good luck. :)
sorry my bad english, but I'm from denmark. ;)
 
Sellnick is a mite investation, does it look like this jhp? http://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=68

As for the parsley it has 33.2mg of vitamin c per portion and can be fed 2-4 times a week. Green pepper have 80.4mg of vitaminc c per portion and can be fed Almost Daily.

Don't forget you do have to worry about the calcium. Parsley has 34mg of calcium, green pepper only has 10mg.
 
SunshineAndTwinkle said:
Sellnick is a mite investation, does it look like this jhp? http://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=68

As for the parsley it has 33.2mg of vitamin c per portion and can be fed 2-4 times a week. Green pepper have 80.4mg of vitaminc c per portion and can be fed Almost Daily.

Don't forget you do have to worry about the calcium. Parsley has 34mg of calcium, green pepper only has 10mg.
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Ahh, i've forgotten, my bad.
 
Haha I do that and try and bribe my lot with carrots then I think oops shouldn't do that! :)

How is piggy now jhp?
 
he does seem brighter sorry ive not got the pics up yet. i have put some xeno 50 i think it is called i googled it and it came up with stuff they need to put on to match his symptoms and i googled what needed to be put on, it began with an I and that is in the xeno or what ever it is called that i already have.

he has some orange diluted up has had a vit c tablet which he wasnt keen on and has more drops just in water i have tried him with some green pepper and he wont touch it! but ill keep perservering thank you so much
 
yes mites or a fungal infection is probaly it, some vets give them an injection that help them get better or you can just buy a shampoo
 
The injection that the vet gives would contain Ivermectin. This is also the active ingredient in the Xeno 50 Spot-on stuff.

If you have already got the Xeno 50 how recently did you dose him?
 
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