There have been a number of things thrown into the ring in this thread, which I would like to put into a bit more of a perspective since the discussion has arisen because of some personal perspectives, which are quite obviously clashing invidually with what this forum is about, the medical situation and the recent massive hike in vet fees.
1) The forum pre-dates social media, is not part of them and is officially classed as a public online space, subject to UK laws and regulations (the same as US based Guinea Lynx forum for their own country, which has a very similar disclaimer to ours). We have to work within in this legal framework. It is very explicit and totally unequivocal when it comes to seeking veterinary care in the UK.
Unfortunately, UK online restrictions and controls are about to tighten even further in just a few weeks. The forum can be closed down anytime if we are found in open breach of regulations.
2) This is the reason why our forum is not a self-help forum but one that supports owners when to seek vet care, making the best of it and supporting their piggies' care at home - we basically try to cover all the care and recovery areas that vets can't.
However, remote access can never replace any hands-on examination and any additional diagnostics; we have to be aware of our limitations at all time and have to tread a very careful balance.
I can assure you that as a long term member and/or mod over time you actually learn from your own mistakes, including where better not to openly guess or where to be extremely careful. What may seem arbitrary to you usually has a very good and often rather painful experience and reason behind it.
What this forum does explicitly
not provide is DIY treatment on spec at home. If you are looking for a place that does, then we are quite simply not it. This is where your own expectations and frustrated need seem to clash with our forum policy.
We can push the boat out as far as providing practical first aid, bridging and acute crisis emergency advice, which will also be there for members in other countries who do have extremely limited vet care and medical access or for any under-age forum readers who are not yet allowed to join.
3) When you are choosing guinea pigs or other any other small rodents as pets you have to be aware that they are classed as exotic pets because - unlike rabbits - they have never been a farm animal (i.e. been kept traditionally either for farm work or been raised as a food source). This historic categorisation is unfortunately not going to be changed anytime soon.
Unfortunately, this means that piggies do not feature large on any general vet's curriculum. As exotics, they are sadly still often seen as a common children's pet although with more and more women becoming vets, the tide has started to turn and there is now more interest, not least because there is a larger field to play on. However, in terms of research, guinea pigs still lag badly behind although there is more of it going on now but we are basically decades behind other common pet species.
We have a member recommended vets list on the top bar to help you find as good a vet as possible. What we quite simply cannot do is check over 6000 registed UK clinics and literally tens of thousands of vets with both a high mobility and drop out rate so our list has by its very nature to be very spotty and we rely on member feedback for updates. But it is at least something.
Urban non-exotics small pets clinics often have somebody who can cover small exotics pets but not all and not necessarily on all days.
UK vets also have access to a medications resource which states for every species the safe bandwidth within a medication can be prescribed, potential side effects and dangerous interactions with other meds in order to minimise the risk of medical fatalities - which on the whole is actually working.
What it cannot prevent is potential plain reading or typing mistakes - if you have concerns over a dosage, it is your full right as a customer to call the clinic to confirm with the vet or to ask your vet politely for their thoughts behind the prescription.
However, with officially licensed medication for guinea pigs still extremely limited, vets - if they can, and not all are allowed to - need to transfer from other species. Usually you may need to see an exotics vet for more than the basic meds, and unfortunately it won't cheap.
4) Vets and cost
There are different levels of cost and vet care that are provided in various clinics - they range from charity for benefit claimants to no frills clinics (often in conjunction with a pet shop chain), to general small pet clinics to full exotics and super-vet hospitals. You get the level of service you pay for. General vets seeing guinea pigs on a fairly regular basis often swot up on small rodents in their free time; those that rarely see them won't have the same need.
It should also be taken into consideration that many owners will sadly not see a vet with an ill guinea pig, which then also translates into less incentive and familiarity for more vets. This problem actually works both ways.
Sadly, with the massive hike in medication cost, fees have sky rocketed in recent years and all pet owners are currently feeling the pinch. What most owners are not aware of is that the highest budget post in running a clinic is generally the uneconomic stock of very small medication amounts at the clinic, not to mention the recent massive rise in electricity bills and most certainly not the salaries of nurses and most vets.
This has resulted in the rise of veterinary chains and groups, and the near total loss of independent clinics; most of them have sold out to a group by now (which is able to bulk order medications for instance and can provide other synergies, including in some groups an exotics vet on tap). The extra gains money made from such groups with over-hiked fees is however going to any owners of such chains; not further down.
There is also a worldwide over-demand for medication and some of them can be very hard to get hold of for vets due to human demand (like for instance ranitidine for acute bloating; the veterinary UK brand used be called zantac.)
5) Diagnostics
The one area where there has been a recent true expansion of knowledge is diagnostics, which are sadly very costly. Unfortunately, they often do not necessarily result in easier and better treatment but more in finding new or more difficult to treat issues.
Any new medication needs time for testing to see whether they are working for guinea pigs, too. The more we expand the horizon, the more truly tricky problems seem to be coming up. But this is all a very slow, cumbersome and rather patchy or haphazard process.
6) Are you aware that vets/veterinary nurses are the profession with the highest suicide rate?
Vets and nurses choose their profession because they usually deeply care. They work long hours in a demanding profession where they are often unable to cure and are at all times fully exposed to the high emotional involvement of their owners. The drop out rate is massive; new vets last often just a very few years.
7) Questioning our own commitment
Personally - having to face similar long term challenges with finding the right balance between offering emotional support but needing to protect myself from the constant risk of sympathy and emotional burnout - my own respect for any vet is very high. They are all trying their very best under often taxing circumstances.
I admit to having a red flag issue with people who categorically call all vets 'useless'. Too many local general vets have saved piggies of mine over the decades after all; not rarely going beyond. But then I have an issue with generalisations anyway, especially negative ones because things are usually never as straightforward as they are made out.
Please respect that we are running a friendly and supportive free of charge no-profit community group for adults from all over the world that is entirely financed by voluntary member donations.
All staff are generously giving their own free time for free, including a lot of emotional and mental involvement in order to support quite literally tens of thousands of piggies and - uniquely for any guinea pig group - their owners as well during some very stressful and difficult times. As do our forum regulars; all of us in our own way and to our own best ability.
We have put a lot of effort into creating a safe and friendly space for often very vulnerable people and are proud of the special place we have achieved. Just because it is not what you are specifically looking for, what we have on this forum is currently way out there compared to any other group. We are decidely not a place looking to cater for the widest range of owners looking for a quick answer or the cheapest possible option but for those who appreciate the ongoing and personalised community support we offer. We are deliberately concentrating on a specific segment of the piggy group market, making the most of our indepence from social media.
PS: If you have any concerns about a specific medication, then taking it up with the vet and the clinic is the best place because we - like you - are not part to their diagnostic findings and thought processes and can at the best only make a rather haphazard educated guess. None of us on here has got the relevant training, which actually makes a surprisingly large part of any vet's curriculum. Going by our own experience only works if we have actually come across a comparable case, which you can never count on.
And yes, just like with everybody, mistakes can happen. Decimal mistakes are not all that uncommon. The problem is that we cannot necessarily spot them easily depending on the allowed bandwidth of prescription and the specific purpose.
1 Why do I have to take my guinea pig to a vet?
- Why do I have to take my guinea pig to a vet?
- Who is legally responsible for vet care and payment?
2 Ways to prepare for vet bills
3 Pet insurance providers for several countries
4 What if I can’t afford vet bills?
- What if I can’t afford to take my guinea pig to the vet?
- Looking for charities for help with vet bills and free...
