Guinea Pig Connection

What Relentless TLC Can Do To Mites

When I left off with Rolo's story, the excruciating itching caused by the mites had led Rolo to self-mutilate, adding more open wounds to the ones he came to us with. Cindy and the vet had put him in a body wrap and started a course of prednisone. To comfort him, Cindy spent many evenings with him on her lap watching TV. On weekdays, Rolo went to work with her due to her concern that he'd try and scratch himself and get a leg caught in the bandage.

Although many of the open sores had closed up, the itching was still intense enough that whenever the body wrap was taken off, he'd immediately start scratching, hurt himself, cry out in pain. Even if he didn't scratch right away, the new skin was tight and the smallest movements pulled and tugged at it, upsetting him.

The first day that Cindy left him at home while she went to work, Rolo tore his bandage off and opened a wound on his back. So back to work he went. Cindy kept him in small cages to restrict his movements; with one cage in the kitchen and one in the bedroom, Rolo was always with her and she could always catch him quickly if he tried again to tear off the bandage.

In mid-July, Rolo returned to the vet. Dr. Albin prescribed an antibiotic ointment called Animax to put on Rolo's back each day when Cindy changed the bandages. The recommendation was to keep Rolo bandaged until the sores completely healed and his hair grew back.

By early August, his skin was healed and his hair was filling in all the bald spots (though not fully grown in). But Rolo was still having trouble with itching and discomfort, so Dr. Robbins took some cultures and sent them to the lab. The result: Pantoea Bacteria, which is associated with, among other things, wound infections. The vets had never heard of this in guinea pigs before. The godsend was that the bacteria was sensitive to familiar antibiotics like SMZ, Baytril, and Doxy.

Understandably, after such a hard battle, Rolo's exhaustion was palpable and his eating choices narrowed exclusively to leafy greens. His front teeth showed some mild, uneven wear; Cindy prayed that he wouldn't have dental problems on top of everything else. As the new antibiotics started working on the pantoea bacteria, Cindy and Rolo settled in for a long recuperation.

These days you would hardly recognize Rolo from those photos you saw in Part I and Part II of his story. He has a thick Abyssinian coat, and he's plumpety-plump-plump. His eyes are bright and his coat has a good healthy color. But his battle aged him, and in his energy you feel the been-through-it-all wisdom and fatigue only found in those who have been to hell and back.

Moderately social, he's more reserved than most piggies and Cindy is his Preferred Human. A little too withdrawn, Cindy attempted several introductions to find him a roommate. After a getting-acquainted phase, a successful match was found in Bentley.

Sociable and a little rambunctious, Bentley seems to have easily found a balance between pulling Rolo out of his shell and giving him the space he needs on his quieter days. In many of the photos Cindy has taken of them, there's yet to be much (if any) snuggling between them--yet Bentley is rarely far from Rolo.

Rolo will almost certainly remain in the sanctuary. When you see him and Cindy together, it's impossible to envision him with any other human caregiver. They've left imprints on each other's heart and separating them would replace the imprints with holes.

What Mites Do To Guinea Pigs (Part 2)

In the first installment of this mini-series, I introduced you to Rolo and shared the story of how he found the rescue. I admit fearing that in my effort to make a needed point, I might have gone too far with the photos and the emotion. It was hard to be around Rolo on July 2 and not be emotional and angry; it's hard to remember that day and not feel all the same emotions again. 

Reassurance came from one of the blog's email subscribers, Jennifer Wright from Texas, who emailed to say that Rolo's story helped her put the pieces together about what was troubling her new guinea pigs (who, it sounds like, came to her with mites). So, onward... 

You'll remember that I said in Part 1 that Rolo got worse before he got better. Once Cindy started throwing the full course of medicine at him, the mites took their last stand on Rolo. A gently administered bath removed the dirt, mite debris, loose hair, and flaky skin; if nothing else, getting rid of all that old icky stuff raised his spirits and strengthened his will. 

But the mites didn't go away quietly and Rolo was consumed by the itchiness. He itched and he itched and he scratched and he scratched. And he tore himself up in the process -- wherever his nails could reach. His back and his neck...

...his sides...

...and his face...

Nothing calmed down the itching. Rolo scratched and he cried, and he scratched and he cried. When the blood dried and the wounds would start to scab over, it was one more thing that pulled at his tender skin and made it itch. And so he'd scratch and he'd cry -- and cry louder. And when he cried, Cindy would flinch and run to him. 

She was running out of ideas, and so was the vet. Then, a brainstorming exchange on the GuineaLynx forums yielded an idea. 

The wearable piggy wrap, constructed of gauze and bandage, gave Rolo some peace. He couldn't scratch at himself, and the wrap seemed to help calm down the itching. As the healing started, Rolo had some free time on his paws. Time to rest, socialize with other pigs, and eat -- eat a lot. And so he stayed wrapped for the rest of the summer. 

Stay tuned...the story gets better from here...

What Mites Do To Guinea Pigs (Part 1)

The call came in at 5:15 on the evening of July 2: a guinea pig had been found abandoned in a cardboard box on a path near a reservoir in Fairfield by someone who was out walking a couple of dogs. The day had been hot, one more in a series of uncomfortably hot days, and our first concern was heatstroke and dehydration. 

When I retrieved the pig, he was in a cardboard box with a Chube, a half-filled water bottle, and a food dish with a few food pellets in it. Gisella, the young lady who'd found him, said she'd been unable to get a good look at the piggy (because he wouldn't leave his Chube) but thought she saw a bite on his back. It was by the grace of God she'd found him; the piggy was left on a path she walked only infrequently, but that afternoon something -- Something -- pushed her down the path, she thought, to give the dogs a change of scenery. 

What I could see was dull eyes, dirty fur, and a lot of flakes in the fur. The piggy had no trouble accepting the romaine lettuce and carrot that I placed in the box. I called Cindy to tell her I was bringing him to Durham that night, instead of fostering at my place until the weekend, because something was very wrong and I knew she had a variety of medications on hand that I didn't.

When she lifted the piggy out of the cardboard box 60 minutes later, she was as horrified, angry, and worried as I was when she saw his condition. Considering some of the horrific cases she's taken in over the last 8 years, it said something that she wasn't sure if he could be saved. 

He was thin. His eyes were surrounded by crusted discharge. Easily 75% of his hair was gone. Where there had once been hair was bare, scratched-up skin and layers of dandruff-like flakes. A couple of places were scabbed over, where he'd scratched himself until he bled. 

He cried out in pain when Cindy gingerly lifted him from the box. He cried -- I'm not exaggerating -- when you lightly touched the tip of a small clump of hair with a gentle finger. He cried at every kind of touch in between. Each time Cindy touched him to give him medicine, she'd have to wait over a minute to touch him again because physical contact left him quivering, twitching, and almost seizing. In record time, she managed to give him Metacam (for pain), antibiotic, ivomec (for mange mites), and Vitamin C. We both cast up prayers, because neither of us thought he'd live through the night. 

Every time he cried I alternated between wanting to cry and wanting to put my fist into whoever neglected and abandoned him (and I'm not a violent person). Every time we looked into his dull, listless eyes, our hearts broke. Every time he twitched and flinched, pieces of us died inside. 

This doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't happen over a weekend. It doesn't happen in a week. This takes time. We've had people surrender pigs to us who were missing half the hair that this little guy was, and listened to them try to convince us that it "just happened in the last couple of days"...as if Cindy wouldn't know better after 950+ pigs and 8 years.

This is what mites do to guinea pigs.

This is what a neglected guinea pig looks like. 

Cindy named this little guy Rolo. His story gets worse before it gets better. 10 weeks. $600 in diagnostics and treatment. Numerous vet visits. Boundless patience and compassion. 

I'll be telling his story in installments, because the story and some of its pictures are too overwhelming to take in at once. 

Stay tuned...

Guinea Pigs Can't Handle Heat & Humidity

Here in the Northeast, it's hot. Brutally hot. Blistering hot. The kind of hot that fries eggs on sidewalks and reduces Italian ice to syrup in a mere handful of seconds. And it's going to be ungodly hot over the next few days.

Folks, it's just too hot to mince words. This weather is the kind of weather in which outdoor livestock needs to be brought into shade with unlimited water, and domestic animals need to be inside with air conditioners running. Not just lots of fans running with all the shades drawn to keep out the hot sun. Air conditioning.

About a week ago, I not-entirely-diplomatically tweeted a correction to another organization's tweet that guinea pigs cannot tolerate temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Diplomacy went out the window in the face of the propagation of dangerous advice.

In actuality, guinea pigs' ideal temperature range is 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit (the species originated in the cool mountain regions of South America). My observation of middle-aged and senior pigs has repeatedly shown that the high end of the ideal range actually caps at about 72 degrees. The farther the thermometer climbs past 75 degrees, the greater the likelihood that a guinea pig will suffer from heat stress, heat exhaustion, and (usually fatal) heatstroke. I can't stress enough how quickly these conditions kick in, and how quickly they can take a guinea pig down. With all of the small exotics, little bodies quite often mean little time to conquer a dangerous illness.

I know there are people and care guides out there that try to put qualifiers on guinea pigs' temperature sensitivities, such as "Guinea pigs can't tolerate high temperatures unless XYZ is in place." I think it's a risky gamble to assume that people are going to remember all the if/then/however qualifiers. I'm not being pessimistic. Cindy and I have seen and heard too much over the years. We know that the 65-75 degree range has helped keep a lot of guinea pigs out of trouble, and we stand by the species' innate, genetic tolerances.

I've been in people's houses on 85+ degree days, with no air conditioning on, where the homeowners said their animals "do fine" in heat waves with the household's window fans, ceiling fans, attic fans, all shades and curtains drawn, and so on and so on. "Do fine" is relative. The animals might not have been showing signs of heatstroke, but their quality of life was debatable. Lying around all day, lethargy apparent in every step they took to their food and water, not visiting their water nearly as much as they should have been because they were too hot to move. Their owners chattered on, saying things like, "The pets come back to life when the sun goes down" -- and seemed oblivious to the volumes that the observation spoke.

I've written about hot weather care in previous years and have, admittedly, taken a softer hand in those posts. But this is dangerous weather this week, and it's mandating direct, straight talk. Our pets are counting on us!

Related Posts

• 12 Tips For Warm Weather Care
• Guinea Pig Care In Hot Weather -- Revisited

Help For Arthritic Guinea Pigs

A while back, my middle-aged male guinea pig started slowing down -- way down. He didn't move around a lot, didn't like to be touched on his lower back, and didn't appear comfortable when he was held, unless he was on a thick towel and cozy sack on my lap. Cold days, and damp days, made the symptoms even more pronounced.

The vets at South Wilton Veterinary Group examined and X-rayed him, and discovered he had arthritis in his hips. For a while, daily 1ml doses of Vitamin C (0.5ml twice a day) seemed to manage the inflammation of the arthritis because his activity level visibly increased. But with time and age, Vitamin C alone didn't do the trick as well.

Then, Dr. Sitinas suggested that we try Cosequin, a nutritional supplement for joint health in cats that contains chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine hydrochloride. He had me open a capsule, dump the contents out onto a flat surface, divide the powder into four parts, and give one part to my little guy once a day. In less than a week, I saw a visible increase in his activity level, a decrease in his general fussiness, no objections to being petted, and no discomfort while being held. The longer he was on Cosequin, the better he got. Upon seeing these results, I started giving my two elderly females -- who both have mild to moderate arthritis in their back legs -- Cosequin on a daily basis.

Cindy also worked with the vets at Pieper Olson to put the rescue's most elderly sanctuary pigs on Cosequin and saw a visible change in their behavior and demeanor. Like me, she now makes sure she always has Cosequin on hand. In all cases, the vet-prescribed daily dose for an adult guinea pig weighing 2 pounds or more has been 1/4 of a capsule's contents. 

I put the powder on the center of a slice of cucumber, because it doesn't fall off onto the cage bedding or the towels on the bottom of the play area. Although Cosequin for Cats comes in chicken and tuna flavor, none of the guinea pigs has objected to the flavor; in fact, mine inhale their cucumber chunks even faster than without Cosequin (so something is tasting good to them...perhaps it tastes a little salty).

The Cosequin powder doesn't stay on carrot chunks or lettuce leaves; so much of it drops off that you feel all you've done is waste it. The pigs have turned away when Cosequin has been offered on chunks of sweet bell pepper or any kind of fruit (so something is not tasting good to them).

So if your middle-aged or elderly guinea pig is acting achy and creaky, talk to your exotic vet. We recommend you consult with a vet before starting your guinea pig on Cosequin. A thorough exam, a quick X-ray, and a detailed health and diet history compiled by you and your vet will be able to confirm whether arthritis is, indeed, the cause of the observed achiness and creakiness -- or if something else is afoot. Once arthritis is confirmed, Cosequin can become part of your pig's daily routine.

When Is A Sneezing Guinea Pig Something To Worry About?

In the comments section of an earlier post, Elise asked about a pet guinea pig that seems to be sneezing a lot.

Without any other information to go by, it's difficult to know if her pig's sneezing is worrisome or not. At its worst, sneezing could be indicative of an upper respiratory infection (URI) if it's accompanied by any of the symptoms listed on this GuineaLynx reference page. 

At its simplest, a pig's sneezing could be due to dusty bedding, which happens frequently with pine bedding and sometimes with aspen or wood pulp products (like Kaytee Total Comfort).

Slightly more complex, but still solvable with some diligent observation and detective work, is the possibility that a pig's sneezing is due to an allergy or sensitivity to any of the following:

• pine or aspen bedding
• laundry detergent and/or fabric softener being used for washing cozy cups, cozy sacks, fabric tunnels/tents/hideaways, towels or blankets used in the play area, towels or blankets used to cover the cage at night
• air freshener products used in the home (including the low-intensity plug-in fresheners)
• carpet cleaning or deodorizing products (which leave strong odors)
• household cleaners (which leave strong odors)
• perfumes, colognes, after-shave products, and other scented body care products

If your pig isn't showing any other signs of a URI (and continues not to), and the bedding you use isn't dusty, you will want to start working through the above list of allergens. It will be an ongoing process of elimination for a few weeks, but if allergies/sensitivities are the culprit, your hard work will pay off.