Is this normal? Picky piggy

Neesy95

Neesy95

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Good evening!

Today Zorro (the gorgeous piggy in my profile pic) has decided that all the veg they usually eat on a day to day basis, he just doesn't like anymore. (romaine, cucumber, coriander and they get some parsley a couple of times a week)

I got scared this morning when I realised I put breakfast in for all of my piggles (they wheeked and wheeked, to wake me up!) and everyone was happily munching except for my daddy/husband pig, Zorro. He just looked from a distance and turned his head, I managed to get him to take some cucumber and he nibbled a bit of romaine, but I thought let's try parsley (his absolute favourite!) he got mad and ran off.

I thought omg he must not be feeling well! So I pick him up, and check him out. His weight is fine, his poos are healthy looking and he currently has conjunctivitis in one eye (he has drops for this and it seems to be improving), everything seemed fine, except for some matting near his bum. So I thought maybe he's uncomfortable? So I cut all the matting off (not too much, he's very long haired and it happens sometimes in the space of a week). All matting removed, I have been attacked and he's chattered his teeth at me to tell me he is not very impressed with me hanging around his bum area! I then put him back, and still he's not really interested. He went to eat a few nuggets and devoured hay like a normal enthusiastic guinea pig, but did not want any veg! This is normally the piggy, who is there first, waiting, eating and pushing his way past his 3 ladies to make sure he gets all the good stuff!

He was being very still in the corner essentially sulking, he's angry at the wooden arch (the ones made out of sticks) and he's chewing it and getting angry at us. And I was worried he wasn't really being himself, so I move the arch out completely and he's back to walking around and discovering. Its cage clean day anyways, so I deep cleaned and he's seems more like himself and he's eating loads of hay and had a few of his evening nuggets!

So now I'm like hmm, how weird, maybe he's just bored. So I got some cavalo nero and some tenderstem broccoli (I know both of these are cruciferous and shouldn't be given too much) but I know he's liked these foods in the past, I stopped giving these veg because I cut out all the really cruciferous veg completely as Zorros tummy can get a bit funny sometimes.

Anyways, just to see if it was he is just bored I thought let me see if I can tempt him. He lost his mind when he got the (pretty small piece) of tenderstem broccoli, ran off into the corner and hid it away from his girlie's and munched it up. He then walked around the enclosure and went to sniff the other daily veggies and just looked in disgust. Completely not interested.

And then i gave them a snack for the evening, and thought let's see if he takes a piece of romaine, he took it from me and then stood on it and turned away, as if to show me exactly what he thinks of this food! So I then cut a small piece of cavalo nero for him, and again he was so happy - ran far into the corner with it to hide from the girlie's and finished it completely.

When I was cutting his bum hair this morning, he did sneeze (i was worried he might be getting sick) and he was on my leg and I saw a tiny bit of a white speck after he sneezed that landed on my leg (it was white and tiny, a bit like slight spray that can come out when a human sneezes) but he hasn't sneezed since and doesn't seem sick? He's just not being entirely himself?

Have I just got a naughty piggy who has decided he just doesn't want the food he's been having daily for basically all his life? Is he just bored?

Or is something wrong and I'm missing an obvious sign?

He went to the vets not so long ago and they said he was perfectly healthy except for conjunctivitis in his eye. His other eye has now got conjunctivitis, and we think it's the hay. So we are changing the hay. This one seems pretty dusty and the vet said his eye had lots of hay dust in it, but they love this hay more than any other hay I have ever gotten them, but I think they love it too much, they jump right into it and bury themselves in it, which is probably how the dust gets in their eyes in the first place!

Is Zorro just being picky? And how do I combat this?
 
I would have him checked by a vet. Even if he was seen recently something could have changed. Personally I regard any changes in eating habits and behaviour as red flags. His change in appetite, sitting still in the corner and being a bit aggressive all suggest he may be in some sort of pain or discomfort. I would also start weighing him daily to see if he is losing weight, which if he is would also point to there being something wrong.
 
To be fair, Zorro is a pretty chilled guinea pig, who likes to snooze and let all of his ladies do the work for him whilst he gets pampered by them. So him staying in one area, isn't really too different. And the moment I removed the wooden arch, he stopped being sulky and angry. And his earlier aggressive behaviour when I was cutting his bum hair, is no different to other times I've cut his bum hair, he hates me touching his bum. So that wasn't too out of character for him.

I should probably mention that I have a boar in a seperate enclosure that has mites (the walking dandruff kind) that has been diagnosed by a vet. I have to wait to put the medicine (ivermectin) on the piggy with confirmed lice because I previously gave him a lower dose than I should of, and I have to wait the full 2 weeks to give the correct dose.

My vet knowing that I have more than one piggy, kindly prescribed me ivermectin for all of my piggies, so that they could all be treated as a precaution. I was meant to wait for the 2 weeks to treat my other piggies too, but as they are not living in same enclosure, and I noticed Zorro was scratching a lot this morning, I decided to medicate the piggies in zorros enclosure today, and deep cleaned the enclosure aswell. So I think Zorro might just be very irritated from the walking dandruff mites, and that could be another reason why he's so angry.

As it's the middle of the night and his weight is stable, there's not much I can do except for monitor him. I will see what he's like in the morning, he is eating hay just fine and has eaten his share of his nuggets too. And he's had a few veg today, and he just went to where the fresh veg usually are to sniff around so hopefully he's now becoming interested. I also have him some probiotics just to see if that helps his apetite (and I know it can't really do any harm either way). Will check on him during the night and hopefully in the morning he's better. Not sure how long the ivermectin takes to work, but I do know he's been very irritated with the scratching today. It only just dawned on me that it could possibly be that he's got mites like my other piggy and that's what is making him act a bit different.

I really appreciate your advice though and actually yes you saw it in a way I didn't, so I definitely will be more observant. Didn't think that all those signs combined point to him not feeling well. It's good to get perspective sometimes. Thanks so much!
 
Sorry to hear Zorro has not been feeling himself.
Was his reaction after the Ivermectin treatment? I only mention it as we recently had to treat our boys with Ivermectin and Hector always reacts and gets jumpy at everything afterwards. (This isn’t the first time he has reacted to mite treatment in the same way.) After 24hrs he is back to a normal happy bumbly chilled pig.
Hamish however takes it all in his stride, and doesn’t outwardly show any signs after the treatment.
I always wonder if Hector can detect a smell from the Ivermectin that puts him in edge.
 
After the ivermectin treatment I could see that Zorro did indeed have the walking dandruff type of mites, as I can see many of them have died and are showing on his fur.

He seems a little bit more perkier, but Zorro was showing these signs since yesterday morning and he still doesn't seem to be fully himself and I hate seeing him like this. Even for a chilled out snoozy guinea pig, he's really not acting like himself.

I emailed the vet, as I'm worried and I read somewhere that guinea pigs sometimes have conjunctivitis when they also have pneumonia! And I have decided I am not taking any risks, I'm going to call my vets the moment they open (8am) and get him down for an emergency appointment! I'd rather be told he needs antibiotics for something else entirely, than wait and it be potentially fatal. If anything, I don't mind if they see he's absolutely fine just being sulky. It's well worth the £48 (consultation £38 and hospitalisation £10) for piece of mind.

Waiting anxiously for 8am!
 
They do secrete a white fluid from the eyes normally for grooming purposes. When George sneezes I can see a little drop appear like a thick, milky tear in each eye corner near his nose which freaked me out at first because I'd not seen it before! But George is black - that's why it shows up. Your little white speck might just have been this.

If Zorro is living with or near females and he can smell the new boar he might well be tense. Boars don't share. You absolutely won't be able to keep two boars together with females in a group. If you have a nicely bonded pair of boars and females are kept in the same area the scent can be enough to break the bond and cause fighting so the introduction of a strange boy to a male/females group is not going to end well. If new boy is neutered and you are thinking of pairing him with a female you'll have to choose carefully - she might be happy about it - she might not. Zorro likely won't be! But I've never kept separate males and females in the same room so I've not got personal experience.

If he's still eating hay and pooping well and he maintains his weight he'd seem physically well to the vet.
 
Oh, the boar isn't new and they are very happy and have been living in this set up for a while. I have 2 boys in their own enclosure (Zorro babies) and Zorro (is neutered) with his girlie's in their own enclosure. It definitely isn't the boys that's stressing him out!
This has been set up like this for months!

I have taken him to the vets as a precaution because his apetite isn't what it usually is, and I'd rather be safe than be sorry. He does have conjunctivitis (that has come back) and I noticed during the night he was sneezing a little bit. So just incase it is something like maybe a URI or something, I gather the earlier to catch it the better. I obviously wouldn't be able to know the sound of his lungs or anything and I just know his behaviour isn't normal for him and his personality. So I'd rather they see him.

Some of his symptoms, lack of apetite, and not really being himself and then the repeat conjunctivitis, when they all add up could mean something else? I'd rather not risk it. My vets are pretty good and he's in safe hands now and they will observe him and do some checks, and they will call me when I can go and pick him up.
 
So Zorro is fine and just got back home!

They have given him some baytril for the crusty eye and conjunctivitis as a precaution really. They said if baytril doesn't help after a week they will try a different antibiotics.

They said they can't find anything like clinically wrong with him, he chest sounds fine, he seems fine, nothing concerning has popped up. But then because we have had the mites and he's had his ivermectin treatment yesterday, maybe the irritation from the mites is what is annoying him.

They have also given him some metacam to help him feel more comfortable, I'm to keep an eye on him and go back if there are any other concerns.

He's had a beautiful reunion with his girls, they have all nuzzled his face, and popcorned around him, and he's quite happily sitting under a hidey eating hay.

I do think it's just a case of being a little bored of the veggie selection, but the naughty little bugger doesn't like many other veggies! So I'm going to have to try to make it interesting for him again!

I'm pretty pleased I took him to the vets, because even though there was nothing majorly wrong at least I can rest (and sleep!) without stressing about him being unwell. All night I was worried and barely slept a wink!

I will keep weighing him everyday to make sure there's nothing concerning happening.

Hoping this is all just a fluke for my gorgeous little man, and can hopefully soon be a distant memory!
 
Hi everyone, I'm just giving Zorro his first doses of medication and I have just realised, his baytril is 10%? Is this normal for piggies. He's been prescribed. 0.16ml twice a day?

I have only ever seen 2.5% baytril, and just wanted to make sure this sounds right?

Sorry if it's a silly question, please help.

Thank you
 
We've only had the 2.5% and typically 0.2ml for pigs of 1.1 or 1.2 kilo. But we did once get prescribed a higher volume for 5 days to hit something 'fast and hard' said the vet. Can't remember the mls but it was different enough for me to notice and query it. Might well have been 0.5ml, which would correspond to your 0.16ml of 10%. She said it was towards the top end of the range of strengths that vets have to choose from anyway.
 
10% concentration equates to 100mg/ml, so .16ml is 16mg. You didn't mention how big your piggy is, but generally dosage is 2.5 - 10 mg/kg. My girls normally got about 9 mg/kg for UTIs. 16 mg would be 10 mg/kg for a 1600 gram piggy. If your piggy is under a kilogram, the dosage sounds a bit high; if your piggy is closer to 1.5 kg, then it seems within range.

Converting between the concentrations is pretty simple ... 10% concentration is 4 times stronger than 2.5% concentration. In other words, .16 ml of 10% concentration is equivalent to .64 ml of 2.5% concentration.
 
Thank you for the advice, I confirmed with the vets who assured me it was just an error in labelling and the bottle contains 2.5% strength baytril.

I am happy to announce that Zorro seems much more happier and perkier today, he's popcorning and chasing his ladies around and has been eating well. Despite still not really having an appetite for veggies as much as he usually does, he has a very stable weight and seems to be quite happy and content!
 
Oh he's absolutely fine. I discovered, he just doesn't like coriander anymore 😂.

I was wondering why he was going over to the veg, and sniffing and walking away angrily. I normally cut the veg in a salad and mix it all up. So I got some veg that hadn't touched other veg, he took a bit of cucumber and was munching, took a little nibble of parsley and was happy, romaine - Absolutely fine. Coriander? Turned his head in disgust and wouldn't believe me when I told him he's been eating it for the best part of a year and not been too bothered by it. He looked at me like I was trying to poison him. When he was a little baby he didn't like coriander, but then he started to love it. But now he's decided he doesn't like it anymore.

His human dad is also in agreement with Zorros opinion and also does not like coriander or the smell of it. And even insists it just infects all the other food with its smell.

Zorro is eating fine and is very happy, Faye and Momo (2 of his ladies) went into heat a day or 2 after his vet visit, and right after each other - So he's just been chasing them around and eating non stop.

Definitely back to his usual self, wooing the ladies and getting pampered!

Thanks for asking!
 
Comet would have agreed too, he didn't like it either. The goblins love it - I don't mind the taste but the smell makes me queasy, lol.
 
Ahh see I'm the opposite. I'm Asian, so coriander is a staple in my diet. I love the smell, taste, pretty much just everything about it! The first time my other half told me he didn't like corianders smell, was whilst I was cutting some and I just looked aghast and picked up the bunch and sniffed like I was smelling roses. And then he looked at me like I was crazy 😂😂

Coriander is a staple in Asia! The smell is comforting even though I've never been to where my family are from, the smell reminds me of the home cooking and the great food! Very nostalgic!
 
It's an olfactory gene that affects the smell and taste (smell plays a large role in taste). Coriander contains compound(s) that some people are sensitive to ... it comes off as a soapy flavor to some people, which is probably because similar compounds are used in perfumes, soaps, and detergents, so the displeasing scent is often best described as soapy to those sensitive, much like too much lavender or rose in cooking will taste like soap or perfume.
 
We have a TV gardener over here (James Wong) who has Malaysian heritage and he raises the coriander question a lot: here's a jokey tweet

"Coriander should be banned. ~20% of the population (like me) possess a genetic quirk that causes an aldehyde it contains to taste like metallic soap. When food manufacturers use it, it’s basically genetic discrimination. "

It's interesting because I don't like it much but I still sometimes use it in cooking to make things authentic! My pigs avoid it but probably because it's not in the house much so it's an unusual thing here.

Personally, I love the smell of fresh leaves of sage that appear in the springtime. I rub the leaves on my skin like a perfume. But later in the summer those older leaves just smell like sweaty b*lls and I don't know why! It's a tough perennial plant so it turns up in sensory gardens a lot... but not in mine :eek:
 
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