Should I give alfalfa to my guinea pig?

[Mizuli]

Hi eveyone
So after losing his cage mate a month ago, my guinea pig, boar, Carlos got skin infection.
The vet says it is ring worm and most likely he got stressted and got skin disease due to loss of his cage mate.
Treatment started since last Sunday but he is losing his weight gradually and infection's getting bigger as well - I think him losing weight affects to his immune system so that is why his infection is growing even with the medicine.

My question is if I should give him alfalfa to him to gain weight to fight the infection?

I actually have not asked the vet about giving him alfalfa yet.
The vet says depends on his condition and how strong the ring worm is, it can take two weeks or so to get the medicine working. Also, she suggested that the wight loss is probably due to the effect of medicine and the stress of having infection so the weight should be back to normal once it heals up and for now I should focus on treating him.

I am worried he will lose quite a lot of weight during this time and he gets another kind of sickness because of that - so I thought it might be a good idea to give him alfalfa.

Do you think that could work or maybe a bad idea?

 

[Piggies&buns]

No please do not give alfalfa. It isn’t suitable for them, it isn’t a grass hay and it is too high in calcium.

If he starts to lose weight then its because his hay intake has reduced. It's wrong to concentrate on treatment and not worry about the weight loss at this point because the weight loss and reduced hay intake is a problem in itself and you must step in and help him by syringe feeding him a fibre rich recovery feed - waiting for treatment to end isnt an option as if he doesnt eat enough then his guts will stop working long before you have dealt with the ringworm and he will become very poorly very.
Syringe feeding a fibre rich recovery feed such as critical care or emeraid is important. Alternatively if you don’t have CC or emeraid, use his normal guinea pig pellets and mush them up with water to make a paste which is liquid enough to pass through a syringe.
Weigh him daily so you can monitor food intake - you need to feed him enough in a 24 hour period so that his weight stabilises and he stops losing weight.

Ringworm usually gets worse before it gets better.
What treatment are you using?
Please also ensure strict hygiene for yourself as it is something you can catch from your piggy - ensure you wash your hands and clothes after handling your piggy. Please also exercise strict hygiene in the cage - use a disinfectant such as F10 if you can get it, as well as throwing away anything you cannot wash in the cage (cardboard for example). You need to really hit ringworm hard to stop it from coming back - spores can live in the environment for over a year so you do need to be strict with all hygiene.

The guides below will help further

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures

 

[Mizuli]

H

No please do not give alfalfa. It isn’t suitable for them, it isn’t a grass hay and it is too high in calcium.

If he starts to lose weight then its because his hay intake has reduced. It's wrong to concentrate on treatment and not worry about the weight loss at this point because the weight loss and reduced hay intake is a problem in itself and you must step in and help him by syringe feeding him a fibre rich recovery feed - waiting for treatment to end isnt an option as if he doesnt eat enough then his guts will stop working long before you have dealt with the ringworm and he will become very poorly very.
Syringe feeding a fibre rich recovery feed such as critical care or emeraid is important. Alternatively if you don’t have CC or emeraid, use his normal guinea pig pellets and mush them up with water to make a paste which is liquid enough to pass through a syringe.
Weigh him daily so you can monitor food intake - you need to feed him enough in a 24 hour period so that his weight stabilises and he stops losing weight.

Ringworm usually gets worse before it gets better.
What treatment are you using?
Please also ensure strict hygiene for yourself as it is something you can catch from your piggy - ensure you wash your hands and clothes after handling your piggy. Please also exercise strict hygiene in the cage - use a disinfectant such as F10 if you can get it, as well as throwing away anything you cannot wash in the cage (cardboard for example). You need to really hit ringworm hard to stop it from coming back - spores can live in the environment for over a year so you do need to be strict with all hygiene.

The guides below will help further

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures

HI
Thank you so much for your reply and links. I will switch to the syringe feeding.
The medications are anti-biotics and ring worm medicine provided by the vet as well as stomatch calming medicine for him eat (provided by vet) but none of these medicine is not seems to be working now.

Also thanks for the cleaning tips! I will do so!

 

[Siikibam]

What is the stomach camping medicine called? And what kind of medicine was he prescribed to treat the ringworm? Please be really vigilant with hygiene as it can be passed onto you. Make sure you thoroughly clean the cage (F10 if you can get it) and any wooden hides and bedding. he turns a corner soon.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Exactly what medications have you been given?
Treating ringworm isnt instant - it often gets worse before it gets better.
To encourage his gut function, he needs a gut stimulant as well as syringe feeding

 

[Mizuli]

What is the stomach camping medicine called? And what kind of medicine was he prescribed to treat the ringworm? Please be really vigilant with hygiene as it can be passed onto you. Make sure you thoroughly clean the cage (F10 if you can get it) and any wooden hides and bedding. he turns a corner soon.

Thank you!
I am at the vet again to tell he isnt eating well. I do not have the name of the medicine so i will ask the doctor again as well.

 

[Mizuli]

Exactly what medications have you been given?
Treating ringworm isnt instant - it often gets worse before it gets better.
To encourage his gut function, he needs a gut stimulant as well as syringe feeding

I do not have a name of a medicine but I am at the vet to check that he isnt eating enough so i will check with the vet.
What would be the good gut stimulant?

 

[Siikibam]

How did you get on?

 

[Mizuli]

How did you get on?

Hi so the stomatch had a big of gas possibly due to from a medicine so the doctor injected the medicine for his gut to be properly working. He had a bit of pllet and hay since then and I also got proper force feeding food from oxbow from the vet.

The medicine is
Itraconazole for his fungus
Enrofloxacin for antibiotics
Metoclopramide for his stomatch gas

I also was given
Neutral electrolyzed water to clean his fungus.

The vet suggested the antibiotics to stop for a few days as this may caused his less appitite in the first place.
I think I force feed him and also give stomatch medicine and see how it goes for his weight loss.

He always refuse to take anything from the syringe even though I try wrap him in a towl etc - if you have any advice let me know!

 

[Mizuli]

Exactly what medications have you been given?
Treating ringworm isnt instant - it often gets worse before it gets better.
To encourage his gut function, he needs a gut stimulant as well as syringe feeding

Hi,
So the medications are the following

Itraconazole for his fungus
Enrofloxacin for antibiotics
Metoclopramide for his stomatch gas

I also was given
Neutral electrolyzed water to clean his fungus yesterday at the vet.

Are they sounds familier medication to you and if so are they good? So far, all of them seems okay to me but here in Japan, exotic vets aren't very common so I am wondering if there are better medication you give to piggies in other countries.