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Vet update!

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New Born Pup
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my boy just had his first appointment with the vets, and unfortunately a few issues did come up :(

1. I have been clipping his nails and I thought his coat seemed clean and healthy. However, because he's never been groomed by his humans, he needs a bath with a mild shampoo, which I think I should hold off on until his other issues clear up. After that I'll be grooming regularly, as needed, with a fine comb. And it turns out I haven't cut his nails quite short enough because I was too nervous about hurting him.. We'll have to get him more comfortable being actually held and touched for a long time, rather than just exploring during floor time, so we can check his hygiene better. And I'll have to look at how short the vet clipped him.

2. There was some irritation found on his back/butt zone- I will post pictures when he's feeling up to it, but for now we're just letting him relax. It's a much tinier spot than I thought it would be when the vet mentioned it, (the appointment had to be done over the phone with us on the curbside due to everything going on,) but I still feel really terrible for not noticing sooner and know now to pay closer attention to his grooming behavior (which I thought was normal) and his skin condition. We were prescribed some wipes and it should clear up in a week or two with daily use. We'll have to hold off on dating until that gets better, for his safety and health.

3. His ears have a mild bacterial infection and need a drop in each daily. I will update with pictures of this too, and the medications prescribed. We're supposed to use them for 10 days or so, and we'll have a checkup for him on the 3rd of September. After that it's just a matter of regular cleaning with a bit of mineral oil.

I'm disappointed but did expect him to have some issues, as he's never been to the vet and I'm still learning what to look out for. But I'm sure everything will be great with regular care and checkups! Other than this, he's doing great. He weighed in at 2.3 pounds. Luckily they didn't find any mites or other parasites, but we've been given preventative treatment for that too. Updates will come soon- I guess it'll be my boy's face (and pink, shaved hiney, poor little dude :( ) reveal! :)
 
A couple of things. Preventative treatment for parasites is not necessary. In fact it can lead to the parasites gaining immunity to the medicine and it not working. So I wouldn’t give/administer that if I were you.

when you say he’s never been groomed by his humans, do you mean you or his previous owners? They generally don’t need a bath unless they’re really grubby. Even then a bum bath is usually enough. With regards nail cutting, how much did the vet cut off and how much shorter are they? You have to be careful with nails because you don’t want to cut the quick. It’s difficult if the piggy has black nails, So it’s better to trim of little and often.

what exactly was the irritation found on his back/bum? What does it look like? Is it an issue with his grease gland or elsewhere?

I'm not too experienced with ears but how exactly were you told to clean them with mineral oil? As far as I know they don’t need cleaning or anything unless there’s something going on with them, but I could be wrong.

It’s always a good idea to take new piggies to the vet, especially if they’re not from a rescue. Hopefully your boy will improve soon so he can get a friend.
 
Well done for getting your piggie the health check.
Some guinea pigs get a build up of dead skin cells in the folds around the inside of the ears, if not cleaned regularly this can lead to a fungal or bacterial infection. 2 out of my 6 piggies have a problem with this, teddies in particular I know are prone to it. The oil only goes on the visible folds of the outer ear never ever in the inner ear cannal. I find the easiest way to make sure you don't get any oil in the ear is to put a little oil in a dish and dip a cotton wool bud into it and wipe round the nooks and crannies.
 
Siikibam said:
A couple of things. Preventative treatment for parasites is not necessary. In fact it can lead to the parasites gaining immunity to the medicine and it not working. So I wouldn’t give/administer that if I were you.

when you say he’s never been groomed by his humans, do you mean you or his previous owners? They generally don’t need a bath unless they’re really grubby. Even then a bum bath is usually enough. With regards nail cutting, how much did the vet cut off and how much shorter are they? You have to be careful with nails because you don’t want to cut the quick. It’s difficult if the piggy has black nails, So it’s better to trim of little and often.

what exactly was the irritation found on his back/bum? What does it look like? Is it an issue with his grease gland or elsewhere?

I'm not too experienced with ears but how exactly were you told to clean them with mineral oil? As far as I know they don’t need cleaning or anything unless there’s something going on with them, but I could be wrong.

It’s always a good idea to take new piggies to the vet, especially if they’re not from a rescue. Hopefully your boy will improve soon so he can get a friend.
Click to expand...

I was holding off on the parasite stuff because I wasn't sure he needed it right now and wanted to save it just in case, I'm glad to know I don't need to right now. :)

I've given him a bum bath before but I haven't combed him yet and I know his previous owners never did any of that. His bum was really dirty when i got him so it was necessary to clean up a little, but other than that, no real grooming. The vet said they usually do a good job of self-grooming but he appeared a little dirty, so she recommended bathing him. His nails don't seem to be much shorter, maybe about half a mm shorter. Luckily they're white so it's easy to see, but I still thought I was too close to the quick. Here they are now. I think the length is good now. 20200827_093022.webp20200827_092228.webp

As for his little butt, she said it's irritated from him itching it. She thinks it could be a minor infection, so I'm keeping an eye on it. He hasn't messed with it since I started using the wipes. I've attached a picture here.20200827_092048.webp
I do think this is the area around his oil gland but he did appear to have a lot of buildup, she said his fur in that area was very oily so she asked if she could clip it.

His ears, she just said to clean if there was visible accumulation of Ear Stuff. I think the mineral oil is just to make the cotton swab less rough on the ear and she said to gently wipe away the stuff that I can see, never to go inside the ear. Online guides were recommending around every two weeks, but I don't know if that's necessary either, so I'll be keeping an eye on his ears. Pretty much just what piggieminder mentioned. :) I will post pictures next time he lets me touch his ears but he's very annoyed about the drops.

And here he is being a very good boy for his nail pictures!

20200827_092657.webp20200827_093004.webp
 
That’s good you decided not to give the parasite treatment. He looks like a short haired piggy and they don’t really need combing so that’s fine too. And if the home he came from wasn’t kept clean etc that may be why he was dirty.

Hopefully the grease gland heals. A wash with plain water should be enough to help him stay clean.

More photos 😉
 
Siikibam said:
That’s good you decided not to give the parasite treatment. He looks like a short haired piggy and they don’t really need combing so that’s fine too. And if the home he came from wasn’t kept clean etc that may be why he was dirty.

Hopefully the grease gland heals. A wash with plain water should be enough to help him stay clean.

More photos 😉
Click to expand...
I'm thinking the same thing (in regards to his previous environment). I'll give him a plain water wash and see what the vet says. If she still thinks he could use it I might consider a shampoo bath (she recommended hylyt which is soap-free) but he seems good to me, so we'll see. My only problem now is that I don't know what a healthy grease spot looks like, but I'm sure it'll be quite easy to find pictures. And speaking of pictures, I'll be sure to post more! Cookie is getting less shy now and he's very inquisitive about the phone/camera. :)

He's definitely short-haired but he has a rosette or something (i call it a swoosh/hairstyle/toupee) on just his head so maybe a mix?
 
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