Hair Loss/Mites/Fungal Issue?
Me too! Hopefully the vet can figure out a fix for his head tilt. Although, as awkward as it is, it makes him look so derpy and it's cute when he looks at you with his bright eyes!
As I already have this thread going, I will ask on here. I am very nervous about getting my boy pig neutered. He is such a sweetie, but he is going to go in a very large cage with my females once I move. I am absolutely anxiety prone and I cannot sleep thinking about his surgery. I am going to my trusted cavy vet and he has done a fair amount of boar neuters. I guess I just feel poorly because I just got this cutie two weeks ago and I feel like it's my fault if he dies. I guess he would've just died scared and outside if I didn't rescue him though. He seems depressed and I honestly feel that the best option is to have him neutered and after six weeks homed with my six females. I have read that boar neutering is much less risky than sow spaying. If I have critical care, probiotics, and pedyialyte on hand as well as getting antibiotics and pain meds from my vet, will that be enough. Any advice would be amazing. I want to be well prepared! The vet is doing a through check first as well, and will deem him unfit for surgery if he finds anything wrong beforehand. I have a bad feeling his head tilt is from the two year old throwing him or from him being stuck in a microscopic cage for over a year with no floor time. I want him in the big cage with my girls as soon as possible, so the sooner this is done, the sooner that can happen. He absolutely lights up when I let him run free on the ground. It's incredible honestly because my girl pigs just do a few sprints then pancake, but zues explores everything and never sits down. He never left this 1'x1.5' cage with soiled bedding and no hay for his entire year of his life before I got him.
Hopefully I get no hate from this post. As I already feel terrible for my poor Zeus. I love him so very much and will be devestated if anything happens to him.
Thanks everyone for your previous replies. I really appreciate all the help I've gotten and will continue to get. I'm also very sorry if this is jumbled and unorganized, I'm up and can't sleep and haven't been sleeping much. Maybe I worry a bit too much and everything will be alright? I've done so much research.
Anyways, goodnight everyone. Hope to hear from some of you!
Hopefully I get no hate from this post. As I already feel terrible for my poor Zeus. I love him so very much and will be devestated if anything happens to him.
Thanks everyone for your previous replies. I really appreciate all the help I've gotten and will continue to get. I'm also very sorry if this is jumbled and unorganized, I'm up and can't sleep and haven't been sleeping much. Maybe I worry a bit too much and everything will be alright? I've done so much research.
Anyways, goodnight everyone. Hope to hear from some of you!
- Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
Please break up long paragraphs for readability. A big block of text is difficult to read for some of us and we may just skip your post and not reply.
If you choose to neuter him, make sure you have an experienced vet and read all the post op advice.
www.guinealynx.info/surgery.html
www.guinealynx.info/postop.html
If you choose to neuter him, make sure you have an experienced vet and read all the post op advice.
www.guinealynx.info/surgery.html
www.guinealynx.info/postop.html
Sorry about the long post. He went to the vet this morning and they flushed his left ear out fully and started him on two types of meds to hopefully help. Neutering is in about two weeks!
One of my pigs has a head tilt from an ear infection.
Some days it is very very tilted and other days less so. If his tilt has been from an ear infection it may be permanent.. but he can still thrive and have a wonderful quality of life with you.. even if his head is tilted.
I'm so very glad Zeus was rescued by you.
My 4 boars are intact as I have no females.. so i dont have info.. but there are some phenomenal links on this site that have so much incredible info..
Some days it is very very tilted and other days less so. If his tilt has been from an ear infection it may be permanent.. but he can still thrive and have a wonderful quality of life with you.. even if his head is tilted.
I'm so very glad Zeus was rescued by you.
My 4 boars are intact as I have no females.. so i dont have info.. but there are some phenomenal links on this site that have so much incredible info..
Thanks for your reply! His head actually already looks much better from his first dose of both meds and the flush. I haven't gotten him out for floor time yet, but later tonight I will check him out :)
He absolutely hates getting his meds but he's decided he kind of likes the probiotic. He is eating much more normally now and showing interest in his pellets and veg again. His head is still tilted, but definitely does not look as severe.
He was cruising around all over my apartment during floor time last night. Such a happy boy. Does anyone know if his head does go back to no tilt, if there is a learning process again? He couldn't been like this for over a year now if that's how long the issue has been present. I know it might not go back to normal, but if the infection subsides, could he eventually learn to have his head normal?
He was cruising around all over my apartment during floor time last night. Such a happy boy. Does anyone know if his head does go back to no tilt, if there is a learning process again? He couldn't been like this for over a year now if that's how long the issue has been present. I know it might not go back to normal, but if the infection subsides, could he eventually learn to have his head normal?
It's not a matter of him learning it.. it is their perspective.. they tilt the head to make their equilibrium balanced. Depending on the severity of infection will depend on if he has permanent damage and will always have a head tilt
Hi, I'm new here, but not new to guinea pigs. My daughter caught one in Central Park 7 years ago that had been dumped there and we kept him for 4 years until he died. He was disabled by something that thousands of dollars spent at the Center for Avian and Exotics in NYC couldn't ever figure out. He had seizures and was periodically unable to stand or walk, but he never gave up or lost his feistiness, so we kept him going with Oxbow emergency food during his episodes for a very long time.
Last year my daughter adopted a baby boar while at college. He is sweet and mellow but not with other males. He has now come to live with me, and I had him neutered 2.5 weeks ago (btw it was super easy and he seemed to not be in any distress or pain and he healed perfectly--the Center for Avian and Exotics does a LOT of neutering surgery and they are very pro neutering so have a low cost day once monthly).
So, I started talking with rescues about pairing him with a female when he has passed 4 weeks post op, but I was at Petco buying hay and saw a lonely baby female in an aquarium there so I bought her. (Flame away!)
Here's my question: she is in a cage in my BR not adjacent to his but not far away (my apt is small) and she is absolutely wild to get to him. She chews the bars, screams for his attention, she's super wound up. I've had her for 4 weeks now, and she is scratching a lot and losing some hair in a v-shape on the sides of her back. I'm finding clumps in the cage like she's pulling it out. I can see she's very stressed but don't know how to help, short of putting her with him (I'm NOT having babies!).
I took her to the A&EC and the vet put her on ivermectin about 5 days ago but it's not getting better. My guess is that it could be stress of being near a boar but not with him, or maybe food allergy? She's getting lettuces and greens that I feed him now and I'm sure she got no veg at Petco. I carefully follow recommendations I've found on these forums and don't ever feed high sugar fruits or seeds and that kind of stuff. Can she be allergic to fleece? She was on Carefresh at the Petco.
She's eating Oxbow adult pellets right now because I couldn't find any young pig pellets locally, the vet told me I absolutely have to feed her young cavy food so I've ordered some online and they will be here today. Is there a way to help her distress? Could too little calcium be causing the hair issue? She isn't scabby or raw, the skin looks fine and she got a full checkup at the vet and was pronounced healthy. At first I thought the spots were just where the whorls are (she's Abyssinian) but they are forming into lines of hair loss.
If you were me in this situation what would you try? Any thoughts are welcome.
Last year my daughter adopted a baby boar while at college. He is sweet and mellow but not with other males. He has now come to live with me, and I had him neutered 2.5 weeks ago (btw it was super easy and he seemed to not be in any distress or pain and he healed perfectly--the Center for Avian and Exotics does a LOT of neutering surgery and they are very pro neutering so have a low cost day once monthly).
So, I started talking with rescues about pairing him with a female when he has passed 4 weeks post op, but I was at Petco buying hay and saw a lonely baby female in an aquarium there so I bought her. (Flame away!)
Here's my question: she is in a cage in my BR not adjacent to his but not far away (my apt is small) and she is absolutely wild to get to him. She chews the bars, screams for his attention, she's super wound up. I've had her for 4 weeks now, and she is scratching a lot and losing some hair in a v-shape on the sides of her back. I'm finding clumps in the cage like she's pulling it out. I can see she's very stressed but don't know how to help, short of putting her with him (I'm NOT having babies!).
I took her to the A&EC and the vet put her on ivermectin about 5 days ago but it's not getting better. My guess is that it could be stress of being near a boar but not with him, or maybe food allergy? She's getting lettuces and greens that I feed him now and I'm sure she got no veg at Petco. I carefully follow recommendations I've found on these forums and don't ever feed high sugar fruits or seeds and that kind of stuff. Can she be allergic to fleece? She was on Carefresh at the Petco.
She's eating Oxbow adult pellets right now because I couldn't find any young pig pellets locally, the vet told me I absolutely have to feed her young cavy food so I've ordered some online and they will be here today. Is there a way to help her distress? Could too little calcium be causing the hair issue? She isn't scabby or raw, the skin looks fine and she got a full checkup at the vet and was pronounced healthy. At first I thought the spots were just where the whorls are (she's Abyssinian) but they are forming into lines of hair loss.
If you were me in this situation what would you try? Any thoughts are welcome.