Lyd1
Junior Guinea Pig
Hi, please help me make sense of what to do. My teddy piggy, Murphy, had a couple of episodes of spooked behaviour last year. The first vet visit last Sept showed nothing wrong, the next visit (Nov) he had a slightly swollen cheek, sore throat (they examined his teeth and said his throat was raw, possible hay spike injury) and a poorly eye. He was given antibacterial eye drops and was prescribed metacam. He recovered fully.
Two weeks ago the terror returned - he couldn't stand still, he was tearing off in all directions, exhausting himself, and pawing at one ear and crying at times. Also shaking his head a lot. I saw a lump of wax in said ear. The vet cleaned his ears but said he had lots of impacted wax on both sides. He was prescribed Otoact ear cleaner.
Not much came out of either ear but he seemed better until last thurs eve when he started panicking again. We went to the vets on friday and happened to see a different clinician. They said he still has impacted wax, so continue with Otoact twice a week. Thankfully this vet gave me some metacam (the other one said there was 'no need'). She also advised me to get him some ivermectin (they didn't have any there!) and prescribed Panacur worming paste. She said the problem is neither bacterial or fungal so the next step is to eliminate a possible parasite issue. Both my piggies do get a small bald patch on their back now and again (very small and seems to flare then recede again) so I agreed ivermectin was a good idea. Worryingly, the vets didn't seem to think it mattered whether I gave Beaphar or Xeno, but I knew from reading here that Xeno was best.
SO, it's now monday, Murphy has had metacam nightly since then, which has certainly calmed him down, but the Xeno! I applied it yesterday eve and he was so much brighter this morning! (Please note I treated both piggies as recommended). He's very quiet and hiding away this eve but he's eaten lots of food today and I can tell by the position of things in his hutch that he hasn't gone crazy while I've been at work.
So my questions are:
- could parasites cause the kind of ear symptoms and spooked behaviour that he was displaying? Atm it is very hard having a vet consultation when you leave your piggy with the vet and they come and talk to you from a distance, from the way she spoke I don't think she was entirely confident in her diagnosis, it was just the next step of investigating. She did think it possible that he could have a parasite. Anyone experienced this? His behaviour did seem as if it could be neurological, no head tilt, just mania and panic.
- i don't know if the Xeno alone has made a difference, or the metacam, or both. So I am still giving metacam but obviously don't know when I can stop that. He has to go back to the vet for a follow up (and he is ALWAYS absolutely terrified going to the vet) this week. I will be repeating the Xeno at the required intervals as I am using it as if he has got a parasite problem.
-she prescribed Panacur paste as prophylactic treatment for internal parasites. Is this something people give their piggies as a routine preventative treatment? Could it harm him? He's been through it lately so I don't want to do the wrong thing by him as I know how fragile piggies are. I haven't given him any yet. Could worms be the cause for any of his symptoms?
I know this is a long post, I just need some trustworthy advice from fellow piggy people. I've had guineas for over ten years so please be assured that the manic running I refer to us NOT popcorning!i can definitely the difference, this is fear/agitation.
Thank you so much in advance x
Two weeks ago the terror returned - he couldn't stand still, he was tearing off in all directions, exhausting himself, and pawing at one ear and crying at times. Also shaking his head a lot. I saw a lump of wax in said ear. The vet cleaned his ears but said he had lots of impacted wax on both sides. He was prescribed Otoact ear cleaner.
Not much came out of either ear but he seemed better until last thurs eve when he started panicking again. We went to the vets on friday and happened to see a different clinician. They said he still has impacted wax, so continue with Otoact twice a week. Thankfully this vet gave me some metacam (the other one said there was 'no need'). She also advised me to get him some ivermectin (they didn't have any there!) and prescribed Panacur worming paste. She said the problem is neither bacterial or fungal so the next step is to eliminate a possible parasite issue. Both my piggies do get a small bald patch on their back now and again (very small and seems to flare then recede again) so I agreed ivermectin was a good idea. Worryingly, the vets didn't seem to think it mattered whether I gave Beaphar or Xeno, but I knew from reading here that Xeno was best.
SO, it's now monday, Murphy has had metacam nightly since then, which has certainly calmed him down, but the Xeno! I applied it yesterday eve and he was so much brighter this morning! (Please note I treated both piggies as recommended). He's very quiet and hiding away this eve but he's eaten lots of food today and I can tell by the position of things in his hutch that he hasn't gone crazy while I've been at work.
So my questions are:
- could parasites cause the kind of ear symptoms and spooked behaviour that he was displaying? Atm it is very hard having a vet consultation when you leave your piggy with the vet and they come and talk to you from a distance, from the way she spoke I don't think she was entirely confident in her diagnosis, it was just the next step of investigating. She did think it possible that he could have a parasite. Anyone experienced this? His behaviour did seem as if it could be neurological, no head tilt, just mania and panic.
- i don't know if the Xeno alone has made a difference, or the metacam, or both. So I am still giving metacam but obviously don't know when I can stop that. He has to go back to the vet for a follow up (and he is ALWAYS absolutely terrified going to the vet) this week. I will be repeating the Xeno at the required intervals as I am using it as if he has got a parasite problem.
-she prescribed Panacur paste as prophylactic treatment for internal parasites. Is this something people give their piggies as a routine preventative treatment? Could it harm him? He's been through it lately so I don't want to do the wrong thing by him as I know how fragile piggies are. I haven't given him any yet. Could worms be the cause for any of his symptoms?
I know this is a long post, I just need some trustworthy advice from fellow piggy people. I've had guineas for over ten years so please be assured that the manic running I refer to us NOT popcorning!i can definitely the difference, this is fear/agitation.
Thank you so much in advance x
