Guinea pig losing fur and messy bottom

amyfw

Post   » Fri Apr 20, 2018 9:16 pm


I will keep everyone updated. If you can think of any further tests I should run or things I can do to help her, please let me know.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Apr 20, 2018 10:21 pm


At the very least, get your two guinea pigs treated for mites with either ivermectin or Revolution.
mites.html
antiparasitics.html

amyfw

Post   » Sun Apr 22, 2018 12:27 pm


Help! Things have taken a turn for the worse! Yes, I have been in contact to my vet about this and we have been seen by Cornell emergency overnight last night. Butterscotch is home resting now waiting for her big exam on Monday morning. Cornell said she would get better monitoring at home until then unless she fell into crisis. But, Saturday at 5:30 pm and again at 9:25 pm, she had seizures.

The first one I noticed because I heard banging in her cage. I looked over and saw that her laying down with her legs splayed behind her. Her front end was ok, raised and she looked shocked but alert. Eyes bright and shiny, no signs of the whites of her eyes (maybe Guinea pigs don't have whites though?) but her back legs were twisted and spasming in a seizure like way (spastic, not rhythmic) as though she had no control over them. It ended in about 10-15 seconds and she was able to struggle and get her legs and body back under her control, she wobbled for a second and and then walked away ate a full meal, had some water and looked totally fine. In fact, she seemed more alert than normal.

I called Her vet and she said at this time to keep an eye on her but that Cornell does not have their usual exotics staff in on weekends so they would not be able to do much for her. Vet said she did not sound critical and that home care would be about as good as hospital care due to the shortened staff on weekends. She also said her quick recovery was a good sign and maybe this was just a fluke. I did wonder if seizures were causing the messy urine bottom since maybe she is having the more often without me knowing and she is urinating on herself each time.

I stayed by her side from 5:30-9:25 with no incidents. At 9:25 pm she ate more hay and was walking across the cage when she suddenly flipped in the air and landed on her back and her legs began convulsing in the air. Again, it lasted about 15 seconds. She was able to roll over and get back up and then wandered away again.

This time I called Cornell amd told them I was bringing her in. She arrived at 10 pm. Heart rate was good, eyes alert, no sign of current neurological problem. I told them about the skin issues, low heart rate and cushings disease concerns. They said they could not do any testing then and could not give medication for anything anyway because the pharmacy was closed. Not even treatment for mites. Took a drop of blood to check for hypoglycemia. Blood sugar was good. Not high. Not low. Said she might have multiple issues going on such as parasite issue and heart or cushings or maybe all three. Suggested she get better care at home and so she here with me now. I stayed by her all night with only a little cat nap here and there in between. She is itchy but eating well and drinking well. Hiding a little bit due to the vet trip but mostly acting herself.

One thing we did not check for was an ear infection since an ear infection can rest on the brain and could cause seizures. The vets at Cornell seemed to think it was not a seizure and that she was just itchy and have a scratching fit. They said she seemed fine to them. They said maybe she just fell over itching herself. But, I can tell the difference between scratching and uncontrollable spastic movements. Although, from what I have read, it could be that mites cause seizures. Can anyone clarify this? Does mite infestation cause excessive crazy itching that looks like itching or could is actually cause the convulsions I was describing?

I am at a loss for what to do for Butterscotch. Please advise me on what I should be directing the vets to look for on Monday. I need to bring up the ear infection idea, mites, heart problems, and any tumors or enlargements in her abdomen. Anything else?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Apr 22, 2018 10:12 pm


Yes, a severe mite infestation can result in fitting. Have you completely read over www.guinealynx.info/mites.html ? Note the treatments listed on the page.

Read over www.guinealynx.info/urine_scald.html too.

amyfw

Post   » Sun Apr 22, 2018 10:33 pm


Thanks. I saw all the articles on mites and wanted to get started but My vet said that mite treatnets can kill so they need to be carefully dosed. It made me afraid to try it on my own this weekend knowing she will be seen again by Cornell Monday and they have a pharmacy on site.

Can anyone tell me what the fits look like ? I have seen frantic itching but that was still voluntary. The things she experienced which made me think it was seizures were more like her body involuntarily twitching. When her back legs went out from u dear her I actually thought she was paralyzed but she was able to get them working again.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Apr 23, 2018 8:01 am


I am extremely skeptical of your vet NOT immediately treating for mites. There is actually a fair margin of safety if you are treating with ivermectin. He/she should have jumped on this. This site lists specific doses but there are even studies where somewhat higher doses are used safely.

The information you need is on that mites page.

kailaeve1271

Post   » Mon Apr 23, 2018 1:59 pm


If the might treatment doesn’t work it could be seziures. Was she ever dropped? I would immediately treat for mites though.

amyfw

Post   » Mon Apr 23, 2018 9:11 pm


UPDATE- we had our consult at Cornell today. They suspect mites and are treating her for it with Revolution. I begged my vet for weeks to treat for mites and she just agreed. She kept saying you can see them but I read in this site many times over that that is not the case. Anyway, at least we are headed in the right direction now. They also noticed her heart issues. 120 bump which is very low. Noticed arrythmia as well. We have an echo cardio gram scheduled in a month. I wish it were sooner so I am going to try to get on their wait list. Other things to note- they do not suspect cushings. Instead they suspected ovarian cysts. They did an ultrasound and found ovarian cysts as suspected. We are going to recheck in 6 weeks to see if her hair has grown back and to try to see if they have grown and if they are hormone defendant or not because of they are she could start hormones to help. She is not a candidate for surgery due to her heart issues. Final thing- they prescribed melaxicam for possible arthritis. I am to do a 2 week trial on it. Anyone have info on this drug? I did not start her on it yet because I wanted to research it first. Any thoughts on this med? We are staggering her medical appointments so that she does not have too much done at once to keep her calmer and help her heart. Doing our best to keep her comfy.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon Apr 23, 2018 9:49 pm


Meloxicam is widely used for guinea pigs. Some vets prescribe it to be given once a day, but many of us have found that pigs in pain do better if you divide the dose in half, increase it by just a bit, and give it twice a day. I know the literature says it will keep pain at bay for 24 hours, but it just won't do that.

I'm glad you got in at Cornell. Can you use them as your regular vet, or will you have to use another? If so, I'd find a different one than the one who refused to treat for mites.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Apr 23, 2018 10:17 pm


There is a sticky in the medical forum on arthritis. It might be in the master sticky.

I am glad they finally chose to treat for mites! It is unconscionable that they waited so long! Revolution will treat a number of parasites.

amyfw

Post   » Wed Apr 25, 2018 8:13 pm


I agree that mites should have been considered a LONG time ago. I missed the signs at first but once I heard about the under the skin mites I asked and asked with no se cuss. I kept being told they did not see mites and if they had mites the pigs would jump when touched. So glad we finally got into Cornell.

Yes, I can make Cornell my main vet. Butterscotchesccage mate ( her son) is a patient there since he was neutered in 2015 and now that she has been seen by them we can return. They make me a little nervous because they have the students do a lot of the exams and procedures so I do like my other vet for nail clippings and things like that.

Also, my usual vet did fins,my agree to rest for mites. It just should have been done from the get go maybe or at least when our measures to fix their "dry skin dandruff" failed when humidifiers, vitamin c and skin and fur vitamins did not work.

How do you know when a piggie needs metacam? Cornell thought at her age (4) and due to extreme obesity she may have arthritis but this was not,confirmed by X-ray as thy suggested. Instead, they offered a 2 week trial to see how she responds. I am not sure she needs it but they thought due to the pee around her bottom that she may be in pain and therefore not moving away from her pee. I support this idea but want to make sure it's a good idea first. I read up on metacam but still was hoping some seasoned metacam users would chime in.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Wed Apr 25, 2018 9:33 pm


I wouldn't hesitate to try it.

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