Frost's New Hobby: Barbering

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PinkRufus
Contributor in 2020

Post   » Fri Apr 13, 2012 2:12 am


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.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Sun Apr 15, 2012 3:14 am


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 ;-).

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Sun Apr 15, 2012 4:08 am


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.

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:06 pm


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.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Apr 20, 2012 11:23 pm


I hope the vet works out well for you guys!

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Sun Apr 22, 2012 1:56 am


Ditto. That would be an enormous relief all the way around.

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Fri Apr 27, 2012 11:38 pm


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.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Apr 28, 2012 8:47 am


Glad to hear you found a good vet! They make such a world of difference!

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Fri May 04, 2012 1:03 am


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.

Tracis
Let Sleeping Pigs Lie

Post   » Fri May 04, 2012 10:01 am


Good news about the perfect teeth, and I hope they find answers to Milo's weight loss.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri May 04, 2012 10:02 am


Ditto Tracis. 40 grams is within the range of not worrying too much so I hope it is not significant (and there is no more loss). At least you are on top of this!!

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Sun May 06, 2012 2:47 pm


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.

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