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Severe mange and seizures.

RosieLily

RosieLily

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Hello and thanks for reading,

Tomorrow I will drive ca 4-5h to pick up a very poorly guinea pig. He was put up for adoption on an online forum.

He is said to be 10 months old but from the pictures he looks no more than 3 months. He has severe mange and suffers constant seizures according to the owner and the pig’s vet. The owner does not have the financial means to take care of the piggy, my guess is that the guinea pig has been left without help for months on end due to the severity of the mange. The photos I received are very graphic. Bloody wounds from scratching, severe hair loss and scabbing.

I am bringing some vitamin C with me, I have some Metacam for pain (my vet will instruct me on the quantity once I get to weigh him).

We will be seeing an emergency vet the same night, but is there anything else I can do for the pig? The drive back is 4-5 hours, the owner said that the scratching may be causing seizures, and the pig wants to scratch A LOT. Would wrapping him up with something help? Coconut oil, anything over the counter?

Thank you.
 
Poor piggy! Getting him straight to the vet is the best plan, nothing topical can realky soothe mange mites, though the metacam may help with the itching and inflammation. Remember too that any bedding or fleeces you travel with will need disposing of or hot washing to get rid of the mites. Ivermectin injections from the vet or a very strong prescription strength spot-on treatment that is absorbed into the skin repeated every 2 weeks are needed to get rid of the mites, but it will be a long process for you both and need expert vet treatment and support throughout. Best of luck x
 
Poor little man, thank goodness you have come to the rescue, how awful for him. Keep us all updated with his progress. Good on you for caring x
 
Hi and welcome

Good that your poorly boy has found a loving and committed owner. Severe mites is not something I have personal experience with but I am linking in a rescue fosterer member who does so she can help you with practical care tips in combination with vet grade ivermectin or selamectin - ideally by injection in such severe cases. @pig in the city
Your vet may also want to check whether your poorly boy also suffers from fungal problems; in the badly neglected, they can be both present.

Here is more information on either: New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites
 
He certainly sounds in a bad way, thank you for helping him.
Seizures are fairly common with severe mange mites and your vet may be able to give medication to help with these. Pain relief and treatment for the mites with injectable ivermectin.
Have you any information as to any treatment he may have had already, it's really important he isn't overdosed with ivermectin. Had the previous owner given any over the counter treatment do you know?
Do not put any creams or lotions on his skin
Good luck and keep us posted
 
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I have no experience with mange or mites, so I am incredibly grateful for the tips and advice that helps me prepare for what’s coming.

The owner mentioned baths with “some products” over the phone but that’s it, I will get to chat with them a bit more tomorrow. I will definitely ask all about treatment thus far, diet etc etc.

I’m very nervous about seeing him tomorrow, I have a transportation cage ready with food and warm blankets, I’ll bring some critical care as well... I got very very lucky with my vet, she has a lot of experience and a lot of love. She’ll be staying in tomorrow night just for us.

For now I’m crocheting a few “socks” in different sizes with holes for his paws, I want to make sure that he cannot scratch himself anymore. I have no access to medical wrap currently so had to find alternative... I hope it’s a good idea.

If you have any tips for us, I kindly ask you to leave them here for me! I will update tomorrow once I’ve picked up the little boy, but I will be reading and browsing!

Thank you!
 
Be careful with wool and it catching on his nails. I would actually recommend you not put anything like that on him. I hope he gets some relief once treatment is started.
 
Poor piggie! I haven't had any experience with seizures or mites. The only way you could try to cut down on itching is trying to give veggies to distract him, but it may not work, just because of how itchy he sounds.
 
Happy New Year, friends.

I’ve got the boy safely in my car, doing a very quick coffee/update break.

Very very upset. He is even worse than I thought, apparently the pictures I got were a month old already. He’s been like this for well over 2 months, seizing for the last 1.5 weeks. He is very tiny, but eats well. I’m not sure how his little body has been putting up with the seizures. He has had multiple already, when I touched him to pick him up and put him into his transportation cage, he cried and went straight into one.

The owners have bathed him with anti-fungal shampoos. Maybe it soothed his skin, but actually did nothing for the mange. I noticed some “dust/powderiness” on his nose, perhaps he has ringworm as well, despite the shampoo? I’m not sure, our vet will check him thoroughly tonight.

We’ll keep driving now! Around 5 and a half hours to go, the roads are very icy today.
 
I'm so glad he's found a loving Home 🏘️ Hopefully this year will be his year ☺️. Keep us updated on how everything is going. x
 
Have a safe journey and let us know how you get on at the vet. You’re doing a tremendous thing taking him on b
 
You are so good taking on such a sick piggy.
It sounds to me as if he couldn’t be in better hands.
Hope everything works out for him and for you.
Will keep you in my heart
 
Oh goodness. Thank you for taking this poor boy on, your vet sounds great, fingers crossed you can get him feeling better asap.
 
I hope he gets the treatment and recovers well. Really wonder what vets will do and what treatment they'll prescribe. I don't even know if they can do skin scrapes on pigs...!

I've never seen piggie with sarcops, but have cared for several dogs and it really is case by case scenario and how much it progressed. Some are just uncomfortable and others are in agony...
No matter the species, it's shocking to see on 21st century.
 
Betsy said:
Have you been able to get your boy in to see your vet yet? What did he/she recommend?
Click to expand...
I have the little gentleman home with me now, I do have other pigs so he is in full quarantine and I will be very vary when going between the pigs. I’m glad my vet trusted me with this.

During the drive, he seized multiple times. It really was due to scratching, I tried to distract him with snacks but when he really started itching, nothing would help. So I went with plan B and quickly pulled the “sock” onto him, he cried a lot but no seizures, he was a bit pissed at me and was uncomfortable but at least he couldn’t scratch anymore. The seizures luckily lessened.

He got drops of Ivermectin behind his ears which we will repeat in 5 days, my vet didn’t want to bother him with injections since his skin is already so painful. Currently we have booked an appointment for 3 rounds of Ivermectin. Once he feels a little better, I will also start applying topical ointment on the bad ringworm spots he has on his face and neck. I will also be giving him Benadryl multiple times a day for at least some comfort. My vet cut his nails and filed them just in case and wrapped him up with medical wrap that I will be changing once a day, we also put the “sock” back on since he doesn’t have much fur left and it will continue falling out before he gets better. For now, no baths, no touching, except for when I have to take him out for meds, “outfit change” and cage cleaning. It’s heartbreaking because I wish I could comfort him, but even gently petting him will cause pain.

He is really out of it currently. My vet has never encountered such a bad case before so she promised to read up on some more info and see if there is anything we could add to his treatment for more comfort and quicker recovery.

I really hope he’ll feel better soon, he’s been such a champ..
 
Hath said:
I hope he gets the treatment and recovers well. Really wonder what vets will do and what treatment they'll prescribe. I don't even know if they can do skin scrapes on pigs...!

I've never seen piggie with sarcops, but have cared for several dogs and it really is case by case scenario and how much it progressed. Some are just uncomfortable and others are in agony...
No matter the species, it's shocking to see on 21st century.
Click to expand...
It really makes me angry. I didn’t mention this but the previous owner was extremely nonchalant about the situation. While I was handling the crying pig in utter shock, the owner was laughing, making jokes and what not. Thinking back, I’m just baffled.
 
I’m glad he was seen so soon. Hopefully he will start slowly improving over the coming days. Ringworm needs something more than a topical cream. You will also have to be extra careful with hygiene as you could ‘catch’ it and subsequently pass it on. Everything will need to be washed on hot regularly (if you’re using fleece or anything like that) and wooden hides soaked in a pet safe disinfectant (F10 is a good one). The cage will also need to be cleaned with the same.

New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites
 
Good on you for taking in this poor little boy! I hope the treatment you have for him now starts to make him feel better quickly.

I found this thread about another piggie that was taken in suffering from severe mange, it might have some useful ideas. ( I think one suggestion was Panomec but I don't have any experience of the condition to know if it would be appropriate)
Severe mange and seizures.
 
Aw, I hope the mite treatment kicks in really fast and the little man gets some relief. How utterly dreadful these cruel people are who can laugh and make jokes about an animal suffering in pain, it beggars belief! We are all rooting for him, don’t know if you have named him yet? But come on little man, you can do it, you have a bright new future awaiting you now x
 
RosieLily said:
It really makes me angry. I didn’t mention this but the previous owner was extremely nonchalant about the situation. While I was handling the crying pig in utter shock, the owner was laughing, making jokes and what not. Thinking back, I’m just baffled.
Click to expand...
Her house must be riddled with parasites. It's always hard to deal with people who are oblivious to the pain they're causing to the poor animal/s.
Fingers crossed and hope vet will come back with good treatment plan.
 
Oh no! what a very uncaring original owner. How can anyone leave an animal of any kind to suffer like that? At least now this poor boy has a loving home and a lovely owner. Do you have any pigtures? If he is so bad you don't want to post can we at least have a before and after pigture?
 
Giving a quick update.

I hope I won’t end up eating my own words but it looks like he is feeling better already. He doesn’t fear me touching him and I even got to pet his nose a little bit, he seemed to like it. He eats well, is very active and talks a lot! He licks me quite a bit when I handle him, I like to think it’s kisses he’s giving me. I’m excited about what our vet has to say when we go back.

Regarding the pictures, I will wait until his wounds are a bit better.. He has some very very deep ones, some he still manages to scratch open, though I always try to stop him when I’m there. Hope it’s okay, I just think it all looks too graphic currently..

Hope everyone’s having a lovely day.
 
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