Health

From G-Cam

Be aware that none of this information is a substitute for proper veterinary care.

General

Find an emergency care clinic that is open 24 hours before you need one, as ailing guinea pigs decline alarmingly fast and you will not have much time to act. If there isn't one in your area, there are a few items you can have on hand to improve your odds. (see emergency kit below)

• Find someone in your area that deals with "exotic" pets. Guinea pigs are closely related to rabbits - find a skilled rabbit vet and you should be in good hands.
• When in doubt, Google/Yahoo/Whatever it. There are plenty of sites on the internet such as Vet Finder that locate and sometimes review particular vets and their practices.
• Build an emergency kit and keep it near their pen.
• Do your homework and learn basic emergency care. Be prepared for the worst before it happens.
• Pay attention to your pigs. Be aware of any changes in behavior such as lethargy, agitation, lack of appetite/thirst or excessive thirst, and "hooting." Pigs hoot like owls when they're in pain.

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Pregnancy

I can name this tune in one beat: DON'T

Baby guinea pigs are cute beyond belief, but the risks are astronomical and are absolutely not worth it. Female guinea pigs will die if they become pregnant after reaching 7-8 months of age because at that point their hips have "fused." In October of 2001, I adopted Martha and her two piglets Vyvyan and Rudy. I discovered she was pregnant a week or so afterward. She'd already had a previous litter, and the baby was kicking - so I made the call to learn as much as I could about caring for a pregnant pig. I couldn't find a small/exotic animal specialist in Central Vermont and I can tell you from experience that going it alone absolutely sucks.

Things got kind of hairy because she developed pregnancy toxemia about halfway through it all. I had to pan for gold using search engines and Seagull's Guide. I walked Martha through the toxemia with fresh apples soaked in Karo syrup and KAL Liquid vitamin C. I made sure she ate every 3-4 hours and syringe-fed her water until she had enough energy to drink on her own. This was a chore. It meant a lot of nights of my alarm going off just after I fell asleep.

I'm not willing to claim victory through skill there, it was more luck and diligence than anything else. Most toxemia cases end in death, and toxemia is common in guinea pigs. Since this wasn't Martha's first litter, that should tell you that pregnancy is always risky business for sows. If you want to see guinea piglets in action, visit your local small animal rescue. They should have plenty on hand.

Perl's pregnancy and labor went more smoothly - but she still needed help delivering her second piglet at 2 AM. I had to form a kind of seat with my hand so she could hook her forelegs around my thumb and pinkie and support her back on the middle three fingers. Caring for pregnant sows isn't something that can be put to a clock. It means being "on call" at all hours. It means you don't get much sleep and you can forget about holding a job - unless you can telecommute.

Youth

Let's get this one out of the way right now: Female pigs are called sows, males are boars, and yet the goofball who came up with the naming scheme for guinea pigs called them "pups." To hell with that noise - I call them piglets, and will continue to do so until the rest of the world bends to my will. (Well, they do say the attitude of the pet is often reflected in the owner, right?) Guinea piglets are, in a word, effervescent. They are born with eyes open, a full fur coat, and are ready to go right out of the gate. Here you can watch Bitsy and Harold running around right after they were born. (still learning Final Cut - I'll get the video up shortly) The reason they're born ready to run is that as prey animals, they need to be able to do exactly that - run.

Old Age

The age a pig reaches is determined by things like genetics, quality of care, and disease (both contracted and congenital). The shortest life-span I've seen is less than one year - Pip fell victim to meningitis contracted at the breeding facility. Vyvyan is 7 as of this writing (1/7/08) and still going strong - albeit at a slower rate of speed. My advice on helping your pig/s reach a ripe old age is to:

• Learn as much as you can about them
• Have a competent vet on hand for advice and care
• Provide them with a clean, peaceful environment with fresh water and proper nutrition (high-quality feed and hay).

Realize that there are some battles you can't ever win. I've lost pigs to meningitis, congenital kidney disease, cancer, and time.

Death

It never gets easier. No matter how many times you go through it, even when it's the easiest exit possible, losing a pig (for us) is like losing a member of the family. This next bit isn't forced anthropomorphism, it's exactly what we observed. Harold took his last breath at 10:57 PM on August 26, 2007 and moved on to whatever comes next. Carmen was snuggled next to him until the last two minutes. We shut the cams down, let the others sniff and understand, then cleaned out the pen and the hideaways. In my experience, it's less stressful on the herd if they can see for themselves that one of their members has passed on. I'm not sure if that's part of being a prey animal or if it's something else entirely. Whatever it may be, I have seen them agitated by death and exuberant at the introduction of new life. I think guinea pigs are much more aware of the world around them than we give them credit for.

Health Issues We've Encountered

Ovarian Cysts: Some of my sows have had issues with ovarian cysts. For Thelma, they led to some serious problems including seizures. She also had a severe sebaceous cyst on her rump. Once she was spayed, all of those problems went away.

Gas Problems: Ramona has digestive issues. We experimented and tried to narrow down the fruit or vegetable culprit/s causing the problem. We couldn't reproduce gas issues and after discussing it with our vet, we concluded that she's just a farty pig. Ramona gets a dose of cherry-flavored antacid/anti-gas each week - or as needed.

Congenital Defects: Rudy and Mr. Cranky died from kidney failure at an early age.

Cancer: Perl died of uretor cancer. Harold likely died from the same.

Kidney Stones: Java hid her illness until it was too late. We had the stone removed surgically, but she was too weak to recover.

Kidney Failure: A urine test will determine kidney failure. Excessive thirst is a tip-off. Rudy had congenital kidney issues. Her sister's kidneys started failing due to old age.

Excessive Tooth Length: Bitsy had this issue, but it was treated with a quick and painless trimming at the vet's office.

Caring for Ailing Pigs

Always follow the care instructions issued by your veterinarian.

This is what I do when my pigs are ill.

Post vet visit: Veggie bribes. They always smooth over hair-raising experiences.

Post surgical: Veggie bribes, and a clean, quiet place to recover. A secure playpen set up somewhere warm and quiet.

Foot healing (post surgical): Again with the veggie bribe. I found that a double layer of soft towels was a much more comfortable surface to stand/rest on than regular bedding.

Medications: I like to print out a check list of medications and times they are given. That way I don't have to juggle schedules in my head or remember if I've dispensed medication or not. Apple's Numbers or MS Excel spreadsheets are perfect for this sort of thing.

• Metacam: Two forms of delivery - injection or oral. The oral is honey flavored. Used for pain relief.

• Reglan: Oral delivery. Keeps the digestive tract moving.

• Baytril: Oral delivery antibiotic. Keep refrigerated.

• Sulfatrim: Oral delivery antibiotic.

• Liquid Antacid & Anti-gas: Name or generic brand makes no difference. Keep it in the fridge. Used to fight bloat and digestive issues.

• Acidophilus liquid (Lactobacillus acidophilus): Repopulates beneficial digestive bacteria after antibiotic treatment. Keep refrigerated.

• Liquid vitamin C: Any brand works. Helps stressed/recovering pigs. Keep refrigerated.

• Oxbow Critical Care: Nutrition for ill/recovering pigs. Can only be purchased through a veterinarian.