Cushings disease :(

[Handy]

My beloved pigs Stormy and Raven died last year (Raven suddenly following what appeared to be a stroke and Stormy over a period of a few weeks with presumed bladder cancer). They were both around 6-7 years old and had lived a decent life. My daughter was devastated (as was I) and when someone at work was looking for someone to re-home two girl pigs shortly after we jumped at the chance to take them in. Ethel and Delilah, two gorgeous but timid piggies.

Eight months on Delilah developed a bald patch on her side. I assumed it was mites (they had them when I took them in), so I treated them with some ivermectin and hoped it would improve. It didn't and continued to get worse, and she got a bald patch on the other side too. So today I took her to the vets (not a guinea pig specialist), still assuming it was mites, but thinking it odd that I hadn't seen any sores or itching. The vet says it's definitely not mites, and coupled wi

 

[Siikibam]

good for you getting her to the vet. We don’t recommend home treatments. Firstly because you’re not sure what is wrong and treating could mask/make it worse. Second is that over-the-counter meds are t strong enough.

I think you posted before you finished typing. Did the vet suspect cushings? How old is she?

 

[Handy]

good for you getting her to the vet. We don’t recommend home treatments. Firstly because you’re not sure what is wrong and treating could mask/make it worse. Second is that over-the-counter meds are t strong enough.

I think you posted before you finished typing. Did the vet suspect cushings? How old is she?

Ha my post just disappeared all of a sudden and I didn't have the energy to write it all again, was going to re-type it later, thanks for commenting. I'll edit it and finish it shortly now I know it's here!

 

[Handy]

OK, so I can't find how to edit it so I will continue instead.

The vet says it's definitely not mites, and coupled with the fact I've been refilling the water bottle way more than usual and that I think she's lost weight, he thinks it's most likely either Cushings disease or an adrenal tumour. I'm trying to get an appointment with a proper guinea pig vet to get some blood tests and an ultrasound to get a better idea of what's going on, but in the meantime I've been googling and I'm finding the info on Cushings disease limited. I've seen a few threads on here, but didn't notice any that talked much about beyond the immediate diagnosis. Does anyone know what kind of outcomes we're talking here please? Does anyone know if at this point she's suffering? She doesn't look particularly unwell. It's just really not what I was expecting and I'd just like some kind of idea of where this may head. The person I got the girls from said they were only a couple of years old, so they'd be around 3 now, I wasn't expecting to have to be worrying about losing one of them again already

Thanks for reading, my profile pic is my boys I lost last year, so here's some pics of Ethel (black) and Delilah (ginger, this is the poorly one).

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

So sorry to hear about your girl. I personally don’t have any experience of Hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing’s) in guinea pigs; I’m sure our more experienced members will be along to help and advise.

I have however had and worked with many horses with Cushing’s (PPID-Pars Pituitary Intermedia dysfunction as it’s known in horses) and have found it to be a very manageable condition with correct medication, diet and husbandry. Though again, no experience of it in piggies but I’m keeping everything crossed for a promising prognosis for you

 

[Bill & Ted]

Aw, your girlies are lovely Hope you can get to the root of the problem soon x

 

[Handy]

So sorry to hear about your girl. I personally don’t have any experience of Hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing’s) in guinea pigs; I’m sure our more experienced members will be along to help and advise.

I have however had and worked with many horses with Cushing’s (PPID-Pars Pituitary Intermedia dysfunction as it’s known in horses) and have found it to be a very manageable condition with correct medication, diet and husbandry. Though again, no experience of it in piggies but I’m keeping everything crossed for a promising prognosis for you

Thank you, that's good to hear at least!

 

[David Piggie Lover]

I had a piggie who died from Cushing, thats what vet said after she died , , not 100% sure but most likely cause,
She was Chloe 2nd of my 3 I adopted. , Rapid weight loss and we tried to help her . . Rainbow world called, I miss her as she was special as all our loved piggies are,
I hope your piggie gets better and sending you vibes x

 

[Handy]

I had a piggie who died from Cushing, thats what vet said after she died , , not 100% sure but most likely cause,
She was Chloe 2nd of my 3 I adopted. , Rapid weight loss and we tried to help her . . Rainbow world called, I miss her as she was special as all our loved piggies are,
I hope your piggie gets better and sending you vibes x

Sorry to hear that, I'm so sorry for your loss, thank you for your reply x

 

[Wiebke]

OK, so I can't find how to edit it so I will continue instead.

The vet says it's definitely not mites, and coupled with the fact I've been refilling the water bottle way more than usual and that I think she's lost weight, he thinks it's most likely either Cushings disease or an adrenal tumour. I'm trying to get an appointment with a proper guinea pig vet to get some blood tests and an ultrasound to get a better idea of what's going on, but in the meantime I've been googling and I'm finding the info on Cushings disease limited. I've seen a few threads on here, but didn't notice any that talked much about beyond the immediate diagnosis. Does anyone know what kind of outcomes we're talking here please? Does anyone know if at this point she's suffering? She doesn't look particularly unwell. It's just really not what I was expecting and I'd just like some kind of idea of where this may head. The person I got the girls from said they were only a couple of years old, so they'd be around 3 now, I wasn't expecting to have to be worrying about losing one of them again already

Thanks for reading, my profile pic is my boys I lost last year, so here's some pics of Ethel (black) and Delilah (ginger, this is the poorly one). View attachment 170064View attachment 170065

Hi!

Cushings in guinea pigs is rare; we have seen perhaps a handful of diagnosed cases in 15 years of our forum existence and by now probably over 20,000 enquiries in this section alone - just to give you a bit of an idea.

Because of its rareness, it is more difficult to treat in guinea pigs since not so much research into adrenaline levels in guinea pigs has been done. In the early years there was none at all - nobody even had the faintest idea what a normal adrenaline level in guinea pigs was in the first place.

Since we haven't seen much in the way of Cushings recently, I can't say how much further things have advanced in that respect, considering the massive strides veterinary knowledge is currently making. I am very sorry not to have any better news for you.
You can look up previous threads on this issue via the Search function on the top bar if you wish to but you may find them rather depressing.

Wishing your little ginger fluffball all the best!

 

[Handy]

Thank you, I appreciate the response. Hopefully the vet will have been wrong and it will turn out to be something simpler if it really is that rare x

 

[Freela]

How experienced is the vet with guinea pigs? Often balding on both sides in guinea pigs is due to ovarian cysts. You've said you're looking for a second opinion already and I think that's the best thing to do. Best wishes and hope your second opinion is a lot more reassuring!

 

[flintstones]

Where in the world are you; perhaps we can suggest a Cavy Savy vet?

I had a suspected guinea pig that had Cushing's we never treated as the medication could have did more harm than good. We found the lab was not comparing Milo's results to a guinea pig;

This was his thread -
Milo - has cushings disease.

 

[Handy]

Where in the world are you; perhaps we can suggest a Cavy Savy vet?

I had a suspected guinea pig that had Cushing's we never treated as the medication could have did more harm than good. We found the lab was not comparing Milo's results to a guinea pig;

This was his thread -
Milo - has cushings disease.

Thank you, sorry to hear about Milo. I'm in Manchester, I've had one vet recommended which is where I took my first guinea pigs to get checked over when I got them, but it's the other side of town with opening hours that i won't be able to do. I've messaged a couple that are closer that call themselves exotic pet vets to see if they would be suitable, I'm just waiting for replies.

 

[Handy]

Just realized I never updated this - managed to get her booked into the decent specialist vet a few days later, it's not Cushings, it's ovarian cysts, she's had a couple of injections and the hair loss does seem to have stopped so it's at least working as a temporary fix, and a much better diagnosis than the non-specialist vet suggested! Thanks for all your help