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Ted's legs...........

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Tedsmama

Hey everyone,

I already introduced myself on the intro board, but I will say hi again! my name is Leslie and I have a guinea pig named Ted. He is about 8 months old now and has been perfectly healthy until recently. In fact, I took him to the vet about a month ago for an annual checkup and he was fine. Anyway, about two days ago i noticed that he had these red makrs on the back of his legs. I saw them when he was laying down on his side. They don't really look swollen, but they are kinda pinkinsih-red and there is no fur there. He also has been itching more lately, but he has always itched a lot. H walks okay, sometimes he hops a little bit and he has been laying down more often. He is still eating and drinking just fine and even wheeks for his treats still. I have been thinking about taking him to the vet, but my money issue is making that ahrd right now. What should I do?

Leslie ?
 
Sounds like it could be mites - not to be confused with lice, which you can see in the fur - mites cause intense irritation and cannot be seen with the naked eye. They can cause discomfort for the guinea and do need to be treated with Ivermectin from your vet. Your vet may give you pippettes of Ivermectin called Xeno 450...I would ring them and say you think he has mites.
 
perhaps you could work out a payment plan with your vet and get little ted treated. my vet lets me pay something every week of my account until today i was ahead, but with missy cat needing a scan and zoe piggy needing a glucose meter blood test i will behind again. but will continue to pay bit by bit till paid. welcome again from me and the girls in oz :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: sending healing vibes to ted and hoping you can work somethink out with your vet :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
I think you do need to go to the vet.You cannot rule out mites,but this is unlikely as they do not usually attack the legs.Mite infestation is normally on the back.

This may be a fungal infection,possibly ringworm.As the gp is a bit lethargic and has mobility problems,I would get a vet appoint asap..

Any decent vet should let you pay off a bit every month.
 
Where are you based? I have a fantastic vet who lets you pay off the charge. You need to get him seen. xx
 
Thanks all for replying. I did call and make Ted an appointment today. He is going in on Wednesday, and I can pay a little bit of it. I noticed he isn't itching quite as much today and he is much more active today. I live in Colorado, by the way in a small town called Alamosa. There aren't many options of vets here, which sucks. The vet I took him to last month for his checkup didn't seem to know a whole lot about guinea pigs, so the vet I am taking him to on Wednesday will hopefully be better. My guess is mites, but that still doesn't explain the redness on his legs and the missing fur. Last night he was itching a lot, too. Mostly biting by his back and legs, poor thing. But hopefully on Wednesday I can figure out what is wrong with him. Thanks again all!

Leslie :smitten:
 
Hi Tedsmama and welcome to the forum.

I hope all goes well at the vets on Wednesday and I also hope it helps knowing that members of this forum are here to talk to and ask questions.
It is obviously difficult for us to know exactly whereabouts on Ted's legs you are referring to without photos, but if he had fur on that area before and is scratching or biting at that place alot now, then mites or a skin infection must be eliminated.
I find that my piggies don't have fur on the base of their legs, i.e. the bits that takes the "wear and tear" when walking around and sometimes that can look red by comparison to the rest of their feet.

Best get it checked out with a vet who knows about guinea pigs and keep us posted please!
 
Hey Goldie,

yeah it does help knowing that you guys can help answer questions, and I appreciate that. Yeah I know it is also difficult for you to all know excatly where the makrs are on ted's legs without photos. So, do you think he could possibly have mites? I thought so since he has been so itchy lately. I haven't seen him biting or scratching his legs, just when he has an itch on his backside, he tends to bite it harder. Yeah, at first I thought the redness on his legs could have been "Wear and tear" too, but it looks abnormal. I guess the best way to describe the marks on his legs is that they are between his ankles and his thighs, so kinda on his heels. They kinda look like calluses, but more red. He doesn't appear to be in pain, but he kinda hops sometimes and drags his butt. Other than that he is perfectly fine and active. Thanks for the hope and blessings! I will keep you guys posted!

Leslie :smitten: :smitten:
 
Hey everyone,

so I took Ted to the vet yesterday and we had to wait an extra hour because they had an emergency, but that's okay. The lady that examined him said that he doesn't have mites, rignworm or lice and that it could be his bedding. Because when I first got Ted, I started using pine bedding and we recently switched to aspen because I heard it was better. I guess he was itching more when we started using the aspen. She looked at his skin and said it was a little red but didn't look like mites. She also looked at the caluses on the back of his legs and she said that he is fine and that is normal. They aren't red anymore. He is fine though, I am glad cause I was worried! :-\

Leslie :smitten: :smitten:
 
glad he's going to be okay, is aspen another type of wood?
just a thought, but if he is living in a hamster cage, then, maybe he is sitting in his own urine? I'mean there won't be loads of space for him to wander about.
If you live in the states then maybe you could get the cubes from a local walmart and make him a bigger cage. Its so obvious you think the world of him :smitten:, and you'll love it when you see how much he adores his new cage. :)

I saw the pics he is a gorgeous chap

Jane
 
If piggies are on there own urine for to long it can make there paws and bag of legs red. xx
 
No he isn't sitting in his own urine, I clean his cage about every 2-4 days and I mix it around everyday. he has enough space ot run around.......I guess I will have to take a pic of the whole cage and put it on here to show you all lol............you all make it sound like he is living in a box. He really has more room than you think, I promise! Yeah I'm going to get a bigger cage next month and this weekend I plan on building a playpen for him, somehow..........

Leslie :)
 
Thanks a bunch! Yeah he appears to be fine now, he isn't itching qutie so much. Plus I did give him a bath last night so I think that helped. Yeah he is much happier it seems now. Thanks! :)
 
I'm sorry i've just caught up on this thread, poor little guy :'( :'( :'(
Good luck with little Ted :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
Thanks Glynis,

yeah ted is doing better, working on ideas to get the little guy a bigger and better cage. But he isn't as itchy as he was and he seems to be much better!

Leslie
 
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