We have a cardboard chube to run through and hide in but Spooky keeps pushing it round cage with front paws.
Worse than that he is trying to climb on it!!!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Whats a Divorce??
Daddy said Mummy's tummy would be a perfect bouncy castle for guinea pigs and she said she wants a divorce.
What does it all mean??
What does it all mean??
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Treating Fungal Ear Infection
You will all be glad to know my ear is a lot better now in fact me just has some peeling skin (not the same as scurf this is old damaged skin being pushed off by new healthy skin!!) and bald patches otherwise me is as good as new.
When Mummy took me to the vet they gave me a prescription only medicine (POM) called Canaural this is really a treatment for dogs and cats with ringworm.
Mummy had to put this on the bad part of my ear once a day for 2 weeks and use cotton bud to spread it around, she has to do inside and out of my ear flap.
Now a week and a half later me is well on the way to recovery.
The problem with Canaural is it contains steroids and is not suitable for long term use, Daddy is worried that now me has had one infection me may be prone to more the same way he is with athletes foot. (yuck)
Mummy doesnt want me on steroids long term so she has ordered a Lavendar and Myrrh lotion from Gorgeous Guineas in case infection comes back.
Piggyfriends Mummy has also told her to give my ears a good scrubbing with my Vet Sect Repel shampoo, Mummy says Daddy will have to do this as she is a wimp, Daddy will do it when I have finished my course of Canaural. (Piggyfriends can you ban your Mummy from giving my Mummy ideas please)
Guinea Lynx suggest using Nizoral shampoo http://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html (human dandruff treatment)
Others suggest any human dandruff shampoo containing Ketoconazole could be used (Mummy is wary of this)
Other suggestions include Iodine/ Betadine, Miconazole Cream and Aloe Vera Gel not sure what countries these are available in.
Mummys favourite suggestion is on Peter Gurneys health pages and this is an essential oil mix. Peter suggests using Tea Tree, Lemon Grass, Lavendar, Calendular and Patchouli oils in a carrier oil (he suggests almond oil) in a ration of 1:9. 1 drop of essential oil to 9 drops of carrier oil. http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/skinp.htm
Peter also suggests Grapefruit seed oil 20 drops in an egg cup full of warm water and then painted onto infected area. (me guess you paint it with cotton bud not paintbrush!!)
If me does keep getting infected Mummy intends to make me some herself.
If anyone know of any other treatments please feel free to post them here.
When Mummy took me to the vet they gave me a prescription only medicine (POM) called Canaural this is really a treatment for dogs and cats with ringworm.
Mummy had to put this on the bad part of my ear once a day for 2 weeks and use cotton bud to spread it around, she has to do inside and out of my ear flap.
Now a week and a half later me is well on the way to recovery.
The problem with Canaural is it contains steroids and is not suitable for long term use, Daddy is worried that now me has had one infection me may be prone to more the same way he is with athletes foot. (yuck)
Mummy doesnt want me on steroids long term so she has ordered a Lavendar and Myrrh lotion from Gorgeous Guineas in case infection comes back.
Piggyfriends Mummy has also told her to give my ears a good scrubbing with my Vet Sect Repel shampoo, Mummy says Daddy will have to do this as she is a wimp, Daddy will do it when I have finished my course of Canaural. (Piggyfriends can you ban your Mummy from giving my Mummy ideas please)
Guinea Lynx suggest using Nizoral shampoo http://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html (human dandruff treatment)
Others suggest any human dandruff shampoo containing Ketoconazole could be used (Mummy is wary of this)
Other suggestions include Iodine/ Betadine, Miconazole Cream and Aloe Vera Gel not sure what countries these are available in.
Mummys favourite suggestion is on Peter Gurneys health pages and this is an essential oil mix. Peter suggests using Tea Tree, Lemon Grass, Lavendar, Calendular and Patchouli oils in a carrier oil (he suggests almond oil) in a ration of 1:9. 1 drop of essential oil to 9 drops of carrier oil. http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/skinp.htm
Peter also suggests Grapefruit seed oil 20 drops in an egg cup full of warm water and then painted onto infected area. (me guess you paint it with cotton bud not paintbrush!!)
If me does keep getting infected Mummy intends to make me some herself.
If anyone know of any other treatments please feel free to post them here.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Spotting Fungal Ear Infection
Here is how Mummy found out I had a fungal ear infection
1) When she was stroking me my bad ear felt thicker than normal.
2) When she looked inside she could see big flakes of scurf, these looked like thick slightly yellow dandruff (in my earlier pigture you can see one on the left hand edge of ear flap)
3) Me had small patches of dried blood, these are caused by me scratching coz it irritates (Mummy not convinced by that as she hasnt seen me scratching but doesnt know what else it could be)
4) My ear was a darker pink than normal (normally they are grey with a hint of pink)
5) The ear felt hot to the touch my other ear was cool
6) When Daddy tug gently at the hair it came out in clumps held together by the scurf.
7) Some of the scurf fell out with just gentle running of fingers over the ear, like human dandruff falls out.
8) Some of the scurf was like dandruff and some was waxy and sticky (yucky my poor ear)
9) Trip to vet to confirm (although Mummy thinks they just agreed with her diagnoses)
1) When she was stroking me my bad ear felt thicker than normal.
2) When she looked inside she could see big flakes of scurf, these looked like thick slightly yellow dandruff (in my earlier pigture you can see one on the left hand edge of ear flap)
3) Me had small patches of dried blood, these are caused by me scratching coz it irritates (Mummy not convinced by that as she hasnt seen me scratching but doesnt know what else it could be)
4) My ear was a darker pink than normal (normally they are grey with a hint of pink)
5) The ear felt hot to the touch my other ear was cool
6) When Daddy tug gently at the hair it came out in clumps held together by the scurf.
7) Some of the scurf fell out with just gentle running of fingers over the ear, like human dandruff falls out.
8) Some of the scurf was like dandruff and some was waxy and sticky (yucky my poor ear)
9) Trip to vet to confirm (although Mummy thinks they just agreed with her diagnoses)
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
How do Guinea Pigs get a Fungal Infection?
Well some sources say that Guinea Pigs can be carriers for fungal infection in the way that we are carriers for mites.
While most of the time the mites and fungus are not a problem in certain circumstances they can take over and cause us problems.
Suggested triggers of fungal infection are stress, diet, environment, humitdity, heat, age, outside infection and genetics.
In my case it could be heat and humidity we have had a brief spell of hot humid weather here in the UK, when the humans are at home the air conditioning is on but when they are at work it can get rather warm.
Of course me could blame it all on Spooky causing me stress and interfering with my environment heeheehee.
Certain Fungal infections can be contagious (Spooky showing no signs but Mummy is ready to treat him if necessary) Infections can also be passed from Guinea Pig to human and presumably vice versa mainly RingWorm (Daddy was worried that his athletes foot may have caused my ear problem, stupid human if he had stuck his toe in my ear me would have bit him hard)
Humans should was hands thoroughly before and after handling an infected piggy (my humans are addicted to hand washing even before me got an infection its amazing they have time to do anything else)
While most of the time the mites and fungus are not a problem in certain circumstances they can take over and cause us problems.
Suggested triggers of fungal infection are stress, diet, environment, humitdity, heat, age, outside infection and genetics.
In my case it could be heat and humidity we have had a brief spell of hot humid weather here in the UK, when the humans are at home the air conditioning is on but when they are at work it can get rather warm.
Of course me could blame it all on Spooky causing me stress and interfering with my environment heeheehee.
Certain Fungal infections can be contagious (Spooky showing no signs but Mummy is ready to treat him if necessary) Infections can also be passed from Guinea Pig to human and presumably vice versa mainly RingWorm (Daddy was worried that his athletes foot may have caused my ear problem, stupid human if he had stuck his toe in my ear me would have bit him hard)
Humans should was hands thoroughly before and after handling an infected piggy (my humans are addicted to hand washing even before me got an infection its amazing they have time to do anything else)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
This is not a Circus
Me thinks Spooky is planning to run away and join the circus.
Instead of eating the hay in our toilet roll tube, he is putting his front paws on it and rolling it round the cage.
Most un-guinea like hmmmmmmmmmmm
Instead of eating the hay in our toilet roll tube, he is putting his front paws on it and rolling it round the cage.
Most un-guinea like hmmmmmmmmmmm
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sassy Satins
Hi AgentF,
It's me, Piggy Galore. Sigh.. slave let me finally have the computer to write you a blogpost. Feel free to cut it up in bits if it's too long. I'm also adding a pigture of me that you can place in your blog. It is not easy to see that i'm a satin on a photo because of my dark hair; but i cannot help that.. so.. here it goes;
Hi All! Agent F asked me to provide you all with some intelligence concerning my condition. My spyname is Piggy Galore and I'm a little diva and am very gorgeous, thank you very much (not that photogenic though; you should see me in real life).
[caption id="attachment_308" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Piggy Galore a Sassy Satin"]
[/caption]
I have Osteodystrophy (OD) which is a metabolic disease that affects my bones. (You can read more about the disease here: http://www.oginet.com/Cavies/satin.htm) The calcium from my bones is slowly drawn from them and this has painfull side effects, I'll tell you more about them later. The only guinea pigs with OD thus far, are satin pigs. I am a satin pig and I feel that it is important that AgentF's readers should know what they are and look like, so that they know about the risks that are involved with this breed.
So what does it mean when a pig has satin hair? First of all, satin is not the same as a silkie. When you're a silky, you have a certain hairstyle (long hair) When you're a satin, you have a certain type of hair (extra shiny) regardless of style. It can be short, long, messy or with curls. The hair is so shiny and soft, because the hairs are hollow on the inside.
So when you're a satin pig owner; what are the signs you should be looking for? Not all satins get OD, but is good to educate yourself so that you can help your pig if he or she is in pain.
- Weight loss; as a owner, weigh your satin regularly. Our jaws become instable and weak and this makes it harder to eat, which in turn affects our teeth because they keep growing.
- the bunny hop; although we are very similar to rabbits; we don't hop unless we're in pain.
So what to do when you suspect your satin has OD? You can go to a vet. I was diagnosed by an OD expert at 1,5 yrs old. She could feel it in my jaws. Later on we also made an ex-ray photo. My vet also taught my slave to check my lympf nodes in my paw pits; because when my OD is bothering me nowadays it is usually because my joints are inflammated and they get bigger. When this happens, my slave feeds me Carprofen (0.5ml, twice a day) for a few days until I feel better. My slave also removed obstacles out of the cage and hung the water bottle at a height where I can reach it easily. She also has a rubbery disc (snuggle safe) that she can put in the microwave to keep me warm and comfortable all day (like a hot water bottle)
Btw I am 4 years old and a strapping 3 lbs *looks really proud*. There are rumours that only satin pigs in bad conditions develop OD. But I was spoilt rotten (like any guinea pig diva ought to be) and well bred (you can ask for my pedigree if you dont believe me..) and still I got OD... just so you know, thank you very much.
Piggy Galore
Me also found this link to research into OD in Satin piggies (AgentF)
http://www.guineapigwelfare.org.uk/satin-guinea-pigs/
It's me, Piggy Galore. Sigh.. slave let me finally have the computer to write you a blogpost. Feel free to cut it up in bits if it's too long. I'm also adding a pigture of me that you can place in your blog. It is not easy to see that i'm a satin on a photo because of my dark hair; but i cannot help that.. so.. here it goes;
Hi All! Agent F asked me to provide you all with some intelligence concerning my condition. My spyname is Piggy Galore and I'm a little diva and am very gorgeous, thank you very much (not that photogenic though; you should see me in real life).
[caption id="attachment_308" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Piggy Galore a Sassy Satin"]
[/caption]I have Osteodystrophy (OD) which is a metabolic disease that affects my bones. (You can read more about the disease here: http://www.oginet.com/Cavies/satin.htm) The calcium from my bones is slowly drawn from them and this has painfull side effects, I'll tell you more about them later. The only guinea pigs with OD thus far, are satin pigs. I am a satin pig and I feel that it is important that AgentF's readers should know what they are and look like, so that they know about the risks that are involved with this breed.
So what does it mean when a pig has satin hair? First of all, satin is not the same as a silkie. When you're a silky, you have a certain hairstyle (long hair) When you're a satin, you have a certain type of hair (extra shiny) regardless of style. It can be short, long, messy or with curls. The hair is so shiny and soft, because the hairs are hollow on the inside.
So when you're a satin pig owner; what are the signs you should be looking for? Not all satins get OD, but is good to educate yourself so that you can help your pig if he or she is in pain.
- Weight loss; as a owner, weigh your satin regularly. Our jaws become instable and weak and this makes it harder to eat, which in turn affects our teeth because they keep growing.
- the bunny hop; although we are very similar to rabbits; we don't hop unless we're in pain.
So what to do when you suspect your satin has OD? You can go to a vet. I was diagnosed by an OD expert at 1,5 yrs old. She could feel it in my jaws. Later on we also made an ex-ray photo. My vet also taught my slave to check my lympf nodes in my paw pits; because when my OD is bothering me nowadays it is usually because my joints are inflammated and they get bigger. When this happens, my slave feeds me Carprofen (0.5ml, twice a day) for a few days until I feel better. My slave also removed obstacles out of the cage and hung the water bottle at a height where I can reach it easily. She also has a rubbery disc (snuggle safe) that she can put in the microwave to keep me warm and comfortable all day (like a hot water bottle)
Btw I am 4 years old and a strapping 3 lbs *looks really proud*. There are rumours that only satin pigs in bad conditions develop OD. But I was spoilt rotten (like any guinea pig diva ought to be) and well bred (you can ask for my pedigree if you dont believe me..) and still I got OD... just so you know, thank you very much.
Piggy Galore
Me also found this link to research into OD in Satin piggies (AgentF)
http://www.guineapigwelfare.org.uk/satin-guinea-pigs/
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