Frost's New Hobby: Barbering
Honestly, the skin looks pretty healthy. It's not scaly, dry, scratched or otherwise chewed. He's just attacking the fur.
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PinkRufus
- Contributor in 2018
It may only be the lighting, but his abdominal area looks squishy to me?
This may not even be related to the affected area of skin and hair. If he is anxious or in pain, he could just be barbering because he is nervous (kind of like when people bite their nails or wring their hands).
This may not even be related to the affected area of skin and hair. If he is anxious or in pain, he could just be barbering because he is nervous (kind of like when people bite their nails or wring their hands).
I felt around all over his abdomen and limbs, and I don't feel anything out of the ordinary. Nothing more squishy than normal, nothing harder than normal, etc.
He seems to be a lot less itchy, and we have not seen him doing any obvious barbering.
We'll continue with the ivermectin (second and maybe third treatment) and see if his hair regrows without further barbering.
He seems to be a lot less itchy, and we have not seen him doing any obvious barbering.
We'll continue with the ivermectin (second and maybe third treatment) and see if his hair regrows without further barbering.
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PinkRufus
- Contributor in 2018
That's a relief. I guess it just looked strange to me because of the pattern the hair is barbered off in.
I would be suspicious of mites showing up out of the blue. Since mites are opportunistic it may not be a bad idea to get Frost a senior check-up. I always take mine in for that when they turn five.
I would be suspicious of mites showing up out of the blue. Since mites are opportunistic it may not be a bad idea to get Frost a senior check-up. I always take mine in for that when they turn five.
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Talishan
- You can quote me
Ditto PR. I'd be very suspicious of mites turning up out of the blue, especially with good husbandry. If there's an underlying stressor that's giving mites an advantage, you'd want of course to find out what that is.
Ours will eat their final feces obsessively for a day or two if they get emotionally upset, but I've never seen this in ours (and we have some very emotionally delicate pigs ;-).
Ours will eat their final feces obsessively for a day or two if they get emotionally upset, but I've never seen this in ours (and we have some very emotionally delicate pigs ;-).
During the past few months, we lost Tom and Linus (both shared a cage wall with Frost) and we moved to a new city and built a new cage - a change considering Frost had lived in the exact same space for almost five years. So there are definitely some potential stress triggers there.
Still, I think he should see a vet. I am just trying to find one closer than K-State (and less expensive, too, as our K-State trips can easily hit the $500 to $1,000 range) that is cavy savvy.
Still, I think he should see a vet. I am just trying to find one closer than K-State (and less expensive, too, as our K-State trips can easily hit the $500 to $1,000 range) that is cavy savvy.
Some good news: I think I've found a good exotics vet in Lawrence, which is only a half-hour away. Friends of ours with rats highly recommended them. I've got an appointment to take both Frost and Milo in next Friday. Other than the fact that he's still chewing on his hair, Frost seems fine. His weight is steady, his appetite is fine and there haven't been any changes in his behavior. Milo is the one we're a little concerned could be exhibiting signs of heart issues. I decided to take him in now and size up the new vet before we had a major emergency.
I'll post again when I know more.
I'll post again when I know more.
We made our trip to the exotics vet in Lawrence today. I'm really excited about this vet...she is very much a guinea pig specialist and Milo and Frost took to her right away.
She feels very sure that Frost's issues are allergy related. She said his skin is healthy and that the hair is healthy and strong. She is going to start him on an antihistamine after -- surprise -- she fixes his teeth, which become maloccluded at some point since we moved.
Milo, on the other hand, concerned her. She noted all the things I brought up - the feet hinting at bumblefoot, the hint of pea eye, the gunk in one ear, the boniness in his hips. She said his heart and lungs were great, though. She wants to really thoroughly check his teeth and do some blood work, so he's going back with Frost next week.
Incidentally, she was thrilled to see the GL weight chart and said she wished all owners kept them. She's also familiar with GL.
She feels very sure that Frost's issues are allergy related. She said his skin is healthy and that the hair is healthy and strong. She is going to start him on an antihistamine after -- surprise -- she fixes his teeth, which become maloccluded at some point since we moved.
Milo, on the other hand, concerned her. She noted all the things I brought up - the feet hinting at bumblefoot, the hint of pea eye, the gunk in one ear, the boniness in his hips. She said his heart and lungs were great, though. She wants to really thoroughly check his teeth and do some blood work, so he's going back with Frost next week.
Incidentally, she was thrilled to see the GL weight chart and said she wished all owners kept them. She's also familiar with GL.
We had our second appointment with the exotics vet in Lawrence. Both Frost and Milo were very, very good about letting the vet examine their back molars, and the report is that they have perfect teeth. The bad news is that Milo has lost 40 grams since Friday. They did a blood draw today to see if we can find some answers as to why. We won't know for a few days.
Milo has been losing weight throughout the past few months. A few grams here, a few grams there, then he'll put on a few grams. Nothing to be alarmed about, until you realize he's dropped about 200 grams since we brought him home. We just want to make sure we're not missing anything.
We had a freak water bottle accident. The part with the sippy straw broke free of the bottle while Milo was drinking and the bottle fell. He broke his teeth.
What do we do?
What do we do?
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slavetofuzzy
- 4 the Good of all Pigs
I want to say just leave them and hand feed veggies/weigh daily/make sure he's eating on his own. The should self correct. I know others will chime in and let me know if I'm wrong, but if I recall correctly, you don't want to trim or he won't be able to pick anything up.
Poor buddy.
Poor buddy.
Frankie ran into the wall last week doing zooms, and both his teeth broke below the gum line. One fell out in the waiting room of the vet, and the other was hanging by a thread, so she pulled it out. It's been a week, but they are already starting to grow back. I just put some critical care in the cage, and julienned his veggies. He was able to eat pellets and hay by gumming them back to his molars like Ed.
Weigh him and make sure he is eating, drinking, and pooping. They will grow back and wear like they should. Just keep an eye on him.
He still has four teeth, they're just all different lengths. I'm so frustrated. We just had a good checkup at the vet. I can't even take them to the vet right now because I have a broken car window (the mechanics inside the drivers side door broke in the open position) and the vet is 45 minutes away by highway.
So is lettuce safe if it is cut into strips?
We have no immediate access to critical care right now. One bottom and one top incisor seem to be mostly okay.
Is hay safe?
So is lettuce safe if it is cut into strips?
We have no immediate access to critical care right now. One bottom and one top incisor seem to be mostly okay.
Is hay safe?