The Guinea Pig Cage Site

Information for C&C Guinea Pig Cage Aficionados
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

The following are some commonly occurring


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ailments which any cavy (guinea pig) owner should be aware of.

Ringworm

Young cavies can be susceptible to ringworm which is a fungal infection. Unfortunately it can be transferred to humans so don’t handle during this time unless you have to in which case wash thoroughly after or wear gloves when you do hold him. Signs include excessive scratching, patches of hair loss on the nose, face or top of the back. Sometimes there can be massive hair loss across the body. The exposed skin is flaky. The vet will give oral medicine or something to be applied to the affected areas. It’s safe to handle him again once it’s cleared up.

Lice

Your cavy can be infected with lice if in contact with another pig that has lice. The good news is if there is no pig around that has lice he’s not likely to get lice. Heavy scratching is a possible sign of infestation. You can check for lice by combing through the hair. They can be little brown flat bugs attaching themselves to a hair, likewise their eggs will be attached to a hair. “Running lice” can be seen traveling through the hair. They are not transferable to humans so it’s okay to handle your cavy. Treatment is done by bathing him with a medicated shampoo prescribed by the vet.

Foot Infections

Cavy cages are available at the pet store with non wire flat bottoms and these are what’s needed for you cavy as the wire bottomed cages are hard on his feet and commonly cause foot infections mostly of the front feet. The feet can swell and he will be reluctant to move about. It can take a while to recover from a foot infection and may necessitate an elaborate treatment including rubbing an antibiotic on the feet or an injection of antibiotics and bandaging the area. It can also lead to arthritis so a flat bottomed cage is a good thing for your pet. Foot infections can also be from fecal material infecting the feet so sanitation is also good as foot problems can be fairly common with cavies.

Scurvy/Vitamin C Deficiency

Cavies need 10 mg of vitamin C per day (20 mg for a pregnant female). Since neither cavies nor humans manufacture our own vitamin C we must get it from our diet or we can get scurvy. Scurvy can be lethal for a cavy if undetected. We just eat a few oranges or take some vitamins. Cavies should be getting it in any pellets we may be feeding them but sometimes the vitamin can be damaged by poor storage. So give your cavy fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C like apples, broccoli, carrots, spinach and celery to name a few.

If your cavy doesn’t get enough C he can get poor bone or tooth development. He can become sluggish, he can get swollen painful joints making it difficult to move around and easily bleeding gums. If you suspect a C deficiency bring him to the vet for treatment which may include a diet recommendation or an injection.

Other common


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ailments include:

Sneezing

Yes cavies can have allergies. You can try moving the cage to a different location but if he continues to sneeze change his bedding.

Pink or milky white urine

The urine should be a clear white if it is milky white it is an indication of too much calcium in the diet. If it is pink or red it may be bladder stones.

Wheezing

Pneumonia or respiratory tract infection which could turn into pneumonia. Take him to the vet for antibiotics.

Guinea Pig Ailments comes from a website that gives a further list of guinea pig ailments along with their prevention and cure and tips for good


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which are free for the taking at http://ginneypig.com so go there and grab some tips for a happy and healthy guinea pig.

Click here to view rest of article from original site


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