Hello all. I have a group of 3 female guinea pigs in a 3x5 (panels) C&C cage that I have had for around 5 months now. I have two abyssinian ones and a skinny pig. Unfortunately the skinny pig with the least amount of hair has always been the most submissive. I noticed a large white scab on her neck around last week that I immediately soothed with coconut oil when I noticed it. When cleaning their cage today, it has lost almost all of its roughness. However, she had a few other marks, including two on her back and a small one on her foot and one on her face. I gave her another coconut oil bath today as a precaution. However for the last few days I’ve notice white discharge coming from her eyes that seems just like quite a lot. It disappears so it may be to clean herself, but I’m not sure. She eats well and drinks and gets along with the others, but she will sometimes get jumped at or nipped at. I also have considered I have been feeding them more calcium than I should lately which I want to pull back on, if that would affect any of this. I’m not sure if the marks are injuries or some type of infection. I only got a picture of her eye discharge since her spots disappeared with the coconut oil for now, but any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Skinny Pig with white dry spots that heal and Latge amounts of White Eye discharge
- Thread starter gatortrax
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- eye discharge white spots
Siikibam
Forum Donator 2022/23
Hello and welcome.
Next time they appear (or even now), I would have her given the once over by the vet. The issue with bathing her/the spots is you don’t know what they are. You wipe the ‘scene’, making it hard for the vet to work out what may bed going on.
The cleaning fluid is white so maybe that is what it is. Again, if it seems excessive then there is no harm having her checked over.
Too much calcium in their diet usually shows with gritty urine. What do you usually feed them and how often?
Hopefully it’ll be nothing though.
Next time they appear (or even now), I would have her given the once over by the vet. The issue with bathing her/the spots is you don’t know what they are. You wipe the ‘scene’, making it hard for the vet to work out what may bed going on.
The cleaning fluid is white so maybe that is what it is. Again, if it seems excessive then there is no harm having her checked over.
Too much calcium in their diet usually shows with gritty urine. What do you usually feed them and how often?
Hopefully it’ll be nothing though.
I probably will bring her to the vet just for an overall check up soon, but if I notice any new spots again I will make it over there later this week. I feed them timothy hay and Oxbow Young GP pellets, but I believe I have been feeding them too large quantities of veggies like celery because I have noticed the gritty urine on their fleece lately. Thank you for the help, I've been in reptiles and fish for years but this has been my first time with any rodents so I still get worried about things I don't have experience with. If anything, what would be your suggested amount in grams of veggies per day? I believe it's just an overfeeding issue with the veggies I give them sometimes.
Siikibam
Forum Donator 2022/23
Have a read of the guide I’ve linked to below on diet. The daily staples are cucumber, bell pepper, coriander and lettuce.
They don’t need young guinea pig pellets, they can have the ones for adults. But in any case, pellets should be limited to one tablespoon each per day.
Pellets and water actually contribute the most calcium to their diet. I may be wrong but young GP pellets possibly have a little more calcium than others.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
They don’t need young guinea pig pellets, they can have the ones for adults. But in any case, pellets should be limited to one tablespoon each per day.
Pellets and water actually contribute the most calcium to their diet. I may be wrong but young GP pellets possibly have a little more calcium than others.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Thank you very much, this helps a lot and hopefully will contribute to their well being. I'm in central Florida where it's very humid lately and we have lots of calcium in our water, even after being Brita filtered.
I agree with Siikibam.
Most calcium comes into the diet via pellets and water, not vegetables.
Young piggy pellets are alfalfa based which is not recommended to be in the diet.
Piggies under three weeks old can have a little alfalfa but it should be stopped once they are over three weeks old. They definitely shouldn’t have anything containing alfalfa after four months old.
I would switch to normal adult pellets as it seems your piggies are over four months if she given the length of time you’ve had them.
Pellets should be given in just one tablespoon per pig per day.
You cannot base your vegetable portion on weight due to the differing densities. Veg portions need to go by volume. The guide Siikibam linked in
details one cup per pig per day, but a wetter diet is not a bad thing given it helps keep the bladder flushing through (I feed a bit more than one cup per pig to my piggies).
The scratches/wounds.
They may be minor scratches from her itching herself innocently, being a skinny she may have these issues more easily. Ie make sure her nails are cut short.
If there is any chance it’s a parasite issue, then she would need to see a vet.
Is there is any chance there is a bond problem and the marks were caused by the other piggies?
That is quite a lot of eye discharge. They do clean themselves with white fluid and it may not all get reabsorbed but if it is a lot and it is happening a lot a vet check would be a good idea
Most calcium comes into the diet via pellets and water, not vegetables.
Young piggy pellets are alfalfa based which is not recommended to be in the diet.
Piggies under three weeks old can have a little alfalfa but it should be stopped once they are over three weeks old. They definitely shouldn’t have anything containing alfalfa after four months old.
I would switch to normal adult pellets as it seems your piggies are over four months if she given the length of time you’ve had them.
Pellets should be given in just one tablespoon per pig per day.
You cannot base your vegetable portion on weight due to the differing densities. Veg portions need to go by volume. The guide Siikibam linked in
details one cup per pig per day, but a wetter diet is not a bad thing given it helps keep the bladder flushing through (I feed a bit more than one cup per pig to my piggies).
The scratches/wounds.
They may be minor scratches from her itching herself innocently, being a skinny she may have these issues more easily. Ie make sure her nails are cut short.
If there is any chance it’s a parasite issue, then she would need to see a vet.
Is there is any chance there is a bond problem and the marks were caused by the other piggies?
That is quite a lot of eye discharge. They do clean themselves with white fluid and it may not all get reabsorbed but if it is a lot and it is happening a lot a vet check would be a good idea
Bertie & Jelly
Forum Donator 2024/25
My RB skinny Jellybaby used to have a lot of white fluid around his eyes too when he got older. I would echo all above posts about seeing a vet for reassurance.
Thank you for the advice. A few days later now, everything seem,s to be fading and I haven't seen the eye discharge again. I'm going to do my best to make sure their cage stays extra clean while I'm still observing. As for pellets, they're just finishing their bag now so I will switch to adult pellets. I would say it is not a bond problem, as she follows the more dominant ones around and only feels safe around them, but my largest has a bit of sass and doesn't like when the skinny pig gets too close to her food. But I've never seen actual violence against her so I am not too concerned about that. Thank you to everyone who commented and helped me out with this! If I have any further questions or issues I'll see a vet and respond back to this thread.