New Guinea Pig owner, Mites, need help

[jackieo]

Hi everybody,

I am new to Guinea Pig ownership and I really need some help. About 2 months ago I got my two guinea pigs, Andy and Popcorn. My boyfriend built me a cage made out of Pine because after researching I could not seem to find one that was as big as I would like. My problems started when I noticed that Andy was losing hair on his foot and that he was biting at it, I thought he was nervous about being in a new place and also that Popcorn was a little bit of a bully. Andy was a sweet guinea pig and Popcorn is more dominant. A week later it had spread to his front paw as well. I took both of my guinea pigs in to the vet clinic where I work. The doctor wanted to do a skin scraping, ringworm test and also Ivermectin injection. Andy was doing fine during the visit, had not received his shot yet and was about to, when he went limp. The doctor tried to save him for a long time but said that he had a heart attack. Andy was such a sweet guinea pig.

Popcorn never showed any signs of mites or hair loss. A week after I got home, I noticed that now he too has started to loose hair around his eye and also by his nose. I have scheduled an appointment to bring him in to the vet.

I am confident that once Popcorn has his shots that he will fine, my problem is that I do not know how my guinea’s got mites. Is there any way to tell if they got them from the cage itself or the bedding. I was using pine shavings, then started using a mixture of Aspen and the granules by Kaytee. I read online that Pine is bad but is it the same for Aspen? It seems like everything I read online is contradicted by something else. I have read that Carefresh is a good brand and also that it can have mites. Can someone tell me what they use and also what to stay away from.

The cage that my boyfriend built is really nice but I think that I am going to have him build me a new one. It is made out of pine, on the bottom we lined it with plastic sheeting that can be wiped and cleaned easily. The problem (besides possible mites) is that where the bottom meets the sides, is becoming stained with urine. I did not put any coating on the wood because using a sealant or stain scared me because they chew on it. Does anyone have a wood cage that they built, and could share a few pointers on how to make one that will last? Like wood type, how to protect it from mites, make cleaning easy, what stains, paints, sealant, etc to use that is pet friendly. I really do not want to buy a plastic cage or make a C and C (I think it is called) cage. Also how can I treat my cage that I currently have for mites while my boyfriend makes me a new one? I do not want to treat Popcorn and then have him come home to a mite infested cage.

One more thing I wanted to ask about is if I should get another guinea pig so that Popcorn is not alone. It makes me sad to go and get another guinea pig because I just want Andy back but I do not want Popcorn to be sad. He seems like he is okay, when we got home from the vet it seemed like he was looking for Andy. Popcorn seems like a dominant guinea pig. Popcorn would chase Andy around, push his butt and they would put their noses in the air at each other. Andy would make this weird movement and purr at him. I googled and looking at this website cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm, they never showed any of the “Fighting with intent to harm” signs. I do not want Popcorn to be lonely however I do not want to get another guinea pig if Popcorn will make the other one sad or bully him.

Alright I know that was very long but I would really appreciate some help. Also if anyone has any other guinea pig tips that would be great.

Thank you,
Jackie

[Orlaith]

Welcome to the forum

I use c&c cages so I can't answer your question on wood, etc, but perhaps I can help with the other issues.

Mites is serious but it's very easy to treat. Popcorn doesn't even need to get injections, you can treat with a spot-on instead if you want that you buy from the petshop (or your vet if he has it). It's much less stressful than getting injections and works just fine. It usually comes in little pipettes and you just apply the liquid to the back of the neck and do it again a week later (and perhaps for a 3rd week if the infestation is bad). Is your vet 100% sure it's mites and not fungal? If you post pictures we can help.

As for getting a new friend, how is Popcorn doing without Andy? It's normal for a lot of chasing and mounting behaviour to occur; that's just how pigs exert their dominance. So long as no blood was drawn then they were just being boys and so Popcorn might like a friend. Since you know he has a dominant personality, if you contact a rescue they may be able to give you a boar with a very docile personality to match Popcorn's bossiness. Otherwise, how old is Popcorn? He might accept a baby boar instead and be able to establish his dominance without any fighting.

[Kayleigh]

The hairloss around the eye/nose area sounds like it could be a fungal infection. A picture would help. If he has had a ivermectin injection then he should be protected against mites. I would avoid injections in the future, they stress guinea pigs out and its not needed. Topical or oral ivermectin is just as effective but wont hurt/stress the pig.

Pine shavings are fine to use as they are kiln dried. Aspen is also dried so ok, but on the slightly more expensive side. As for the pine cage/hutch, if you have treated it, it should be ok. Its more the sap ect that the pine tree produces that is bad. You can use general purpose paint to paint the hutch just make sure its low odour and is 100% dry. You can however buy pet safe wood preserve, usually in pet stores.

How old is your pig? Pigs do very well in pairs and its always lovely to give them company if they will allow it. Once he has been given the all clear and is back fighting fit, then maybe getting a young boar as a friend would be good for him.

Mites are usually brought in, in hay or shavings. You would need to treat the pig (ivermectin) and clean the cage out and spray/wash it down, you can buy mite spray for cages in pet stores also. If it is indeed mites you will be best getting rid of all current bedding and getting fresh stuff in.

But it sounds like it could be fungal over mites. Best treating for both just to be safe though.

Pictures always help.

Welcome to the forum

Kayleigh

[madmommy]

Welcome! The others here have a lot more information than I do to give, but that's why you've chosen the right forum! I love having a "home" to get all of my piggie questions answered. So sorry for your loss

[madmommy]

Sorry about that, the sad faced guinea emoticon looks angry lol

[jackieo]

Thank you so much for all of your advice. I brought Popcorn to the Vet and the doctor did a skin scraping and a DTM test. The DTM test takes a week so I do not know the results yet. Dr. Lee said that it looks like he has mange. When he looked at the skin scraping under the microscope he said that he did not see any mites. He said that it would be best to treat for both a fungal infection and also for mites/mange to be safe. Popcorn got an injection of Ivermectin and also a topical fungal cream to apply twice a day (the same cream I use for my dogs ear infections). The doctor said that injections would work a lot faster and that it seemed like Popcorn was uncomfortable so I decided to go with that because I really wanted him to get relief fast. His sores look so painful. I have given up on trying to have a wood cage, there are too many variables involved. I talked to people at Lowes (a hardware store) about wood type and sealants which are pet friendly and no one seemed to know any pet safe sealants for wood. I called an Organic Stain/Sealant company to double check that it would be alright to use in a cage but they never called me back.
I ended up buying a C and C cage online, I had never wanted one just because I thought they did not have lids on top (which my dogs would have loved) but am happy to find out that they can have them. Popcorn is about 6 months old. I think that he misses having a friend. I can not tell though if he is just sad because he does not feel well. He still scratches a little but it is way better than before. I also got rid of the aspen shaving at the doctors request and he has stopped sneezing all the time. I did not know how often Guinea Pigs sneeze so I asked my doctor, who asked me if he stopped sneezing when he was out the cage. I had never thought about it but when I have him out playing and running around on the floor/ in his play pen area he never sneezes. I switched bedding and now he rarely sneezes at all. Thank you again for all the advice.

[Orlaith]

Glad to hear things seem to be working out for you. Keep us informed on how the cream works :-)

[madmommy]

Glad to hear it! C&C cages are really nice. We built one for our two pigs with a lid.
What are you using for bedding? Fleece works well. I'm not surprised Lowes was clueless...piggies don't seem as popular/well understood than other countries on this forum.
I would think a piggie companion would be a good idea, since yours is still young.
Good luck!

[popcornpiggy]

Having just read through this thread, would you advise treating for mites eg cleaning cage with mite spray and using drops regularly as a matter of course ?

[Kayleigh]

Apr 27, 2013 17:17:50 GMT popcornpiggy said:

Having just read through this thread, would you advise treating for mites eg cleaning cage with mite spray and using drops regularly as a matter of course ?

I use trigene to spray my cages down with weekly, this kills bacteria etc. I also treat pigs with ivermectin every 6 months.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using proboards

[popcornpiggy]

Lovely

So, looking at Vet UK ivermectin spot on every six months ( Xeno 450 6 Pipettes Ivermectin Spot 19.31 ) and Anigene HLD4V High Level Lavender Scented Disinfectant Cleaner (is this trigene ?)

Found Easimec ivermectin cheaper 10.99 at Hyper Drug The anigene is cheaper with Vet UK

I'm hoping that prevention is better than cure after seeing some of the pictures on the internet for mites. How can people let their animals get so bad ?

[Orlaith]

If you get the ivermectin directly from your vet it should be cheaper again. Just make sure it's the liquid they dispense into a separate bottle for you and not the individual pipettes, which are really expensive. I know for 5ml from my vet (which is enough to give my 14 pigs two doses a week apart and have almost enough left to do them all again in 6 months) costs me €15 (so around £13). The brand that my vet uses is Ivomec. It comes in a big glass bottle and the active ingredient is exactly the same.

[Kayleigh]

I use bimectin for my pigs its £21 online (free delivery) from medicanimal. It does my lot twice a year and i pass it on to another breeder so it doesnt go to waste. Much cheaper than iv found elsewhere.

Also i use anigine (trigene) but just the normal stuff. I dont like scented things.

Kayleigh

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[popcornpiggy]

Great thank you for the advice, prevention is definately better

Will check there coats when I pick them up and also ask the breeder whether she has treated them and when

And then look into supplies