# g-pig at pah yesterday



## owieprone (Nov 6, 2008)

was in pah getting some stuff for the cats and one of the girls there had a g-pig out for a stroke, she was waiting for her supervisor to take a look at it cos it had quite raw looking skin on it's belly. she thought it was mites, i didn't cos there wasn't the usual marks, just rednessand some inflammation, so thought it was more likely to be an allergic/intolerant reaction to something it its cage.

anyway, yon g-pig was the most relaxed wee fella i've EVER met. she kept holding him on his back (upside down in her hands essentially) so we could all look at said belly and give a it a touch and poke and prod.
wee pig just sat there happy as larry, no squeeling or shaking or anything to show he wasn't happy, just laid back took it all in, let me fiddle with his feet and took a chin and ear scritch while being poked and prodded by loads of different people. 

much cuteness! most laid back wee pig i've met yet. i almost bought him!

very unlike his cage mate who ran and hid in the shelter as soon as you looked at him, literally, if you turned your back he'd come out if you turned your head only to look at him he'd run away.. hilarious. he was new apparently lol he'll soon grow out of that, i think.

so, who thinks my OH will go apeshit if i buy 2 g-pigs? :lol:


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## BiKERcc (Jan 29, 2011)

owieprone said:


> was in pah getting some stuff for the cats and one of the girls there had a g-pig out for a stroke, she was waiting for her supervisor to take a look at it cos it had quite raw looking skin on it's belly. she thought it was mites, i didn't cos there wasn't the usual marks, just rednessand some inflammation, so thought it was more likely to be an allergic/intolerant reaction to something it its cage.
> 
> anyway, yon g-pig was the most relaxed wee fella i've EVER met. she kept holding him on his back (upside down in her hands essentially) so we could all look at said belly and give a it a touch and poke and prod.
> wee pig just sat there happy as larry, no squeeling or shaking or anything to show he wasn't happy, just laid back took it all in, let me fiddle with his feet and took a chin and ear scritch while being poked and prodded by loads of different people.
> ...


Lol.

Maybe he was just laid back as he wasn't feeling too well? Mine's pretty chilled out but he has his madhead days where he's a looney 

Just bring 'em home and maybe he wont even notice :lol:


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## Pets2luv.webs.com (Nov 26, 2010)

I would def recommend g pigs they make fantastic pets mine are very laid back too. My rabbits often lay on their backs too for a good ol belly rub!
:thumbup:


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## owieprone (Nov 6, 2008)

lol, my old pigs would never have let me do any of that! right uppity gits they were, liked a stroke but only when they were upright and on a solid lap or table.

he would murder me if i got them, aside from the initial outlay we're supposed to be cats only for a bit lol.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

BiKERcc said:


> Lol.
> 
> Maybe he was just laid back as he wasn't feeling too well?


That's what I was thinking too 

Why on earth were the staff in PAH allowing this ~ to quote OP "she kept holding him on his back (upside down in her hands essentially) so we could all look at said belly and give a it a touch and poke and prod."

Poor animal ...

I HATE that place


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## owieprone (Nov 6, 2008)

calm down, he wasn't struggling, he was quite happy where he was.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

owieprone said:


> calm down, he wasn't struggling, he was quite happy where he was.


Really? Having members of the public and staff giving his poor raw tummy a prod and a poke as you stated :frown2:

It probably was skin mites as if the guinea pig scratches and bites enough, it can actually present as raw areas, which are prone to infection if untreated.

Never mind at least these posts might go someway to diverting custom from this awful store...


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## BiKERcc (Jan 29, 2011)

Amethyst said:


> Never mind at least these posts might go someway to diverting custom from this awful store...


A friend of mine bought 2 Robo Hamsters for her daughter, they started fighting so she took them back and they've now given her a Syrian instead. :/

Hate to think of what'll happen to the hamsters 

They just seem to buy/sell/return animals like they are a normal piece of everyday purchase.


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## davidc (Dec 15, 2010)

owieprone said:


> was in pah getting some stuff for the cats and one of the girls there had a g-pig out for a stroke, she was waiting for her supervisor to take a look at it cos it had quite raw looking skin on it's belly. she thought it was mites, i didn't cos there wasn't the usual marks, just rednessand some inflammation, so thought it was more likely to be an allergic/intolerant reaction to something it its cage.
> 
> anyway, yon g-pig was the most relaxed wee fella i've EVER met. she kept holding him on his back (upside down in her hands essentially) so we could all look at said belly and give a it a touch and poke and prod.
> wee pig just sat there happy as larry, no squeeling or shaking or anything to show he wasn't happy, just laid back took it all in, let me fiddle with his feet and took a chin and ear scritch while being poked and prodded by loads of different people.
> ...


My Storm was like that, she'd just sit back whilst having her nails trimmed or at the vets most of the time. She loved her human company, maybe the guineapig does too? The only thing Storm didn't like was when a vet put a torch slightly in her mouth to check. She didn't even flinch when she had an injection. I did though. :lol:


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

Amethyst said:


> Really? Having members of the public and staff giving his poor raw tummy a prod and a poke as you stated :frown2:
> 
> It probably was skin mites as if the guinea pig scratches and bites enough, it can actually present as raw areas, which are prone to infection if untreated.
> 
> Never mind at least these posts might go someway to diverting custom from this awful store...


Yes I reckon it's mites too by the sound of it. A lot of people think you would see the mites but they are burrowed beneath the skin so you can't. Sounds like the poor piggy needs some ivermectin.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

Jazzy said:


> Yes I reckon it's mites too by the sound of it. A lot of people think you would see the mites but they are burrowed beneath the skin so you can't. Sounds like the poor piggy needs some ivermectin.


Yes, you are so right. I have taken in some rescue guineas like this before. I took in one male with big, wet, raw patches on him, a couple infected, what a state. Thankfully he responded well to Ivermectin, as you mention and antibiotics. Poor boy must have been in agony.

Guinea pigs can have flare ups with mites when generally under the weather, old, pregnant or stressed. (You probably know this yourself already  ) Probably any one of these, other than being old, could be possible with that poor piggy described in original post


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

Amethyst said:


> Yes, you are so right. I have taken in some rescue guineas like this before. I took in one male with big, wet, raw patches on him, a couple infected, what a state. Thankfully he responded well to Ivermectin, as you mention and antibiotics. Poor boy must have been in agony.
> 
> Guinea pigs can have flare ups with mites when generally under the weather, old, pregnant or stressed. (You probably know this yourself  ) Probably any one of these, other than being old, could be possible with that poor piggy described in original post


Yes I've had piggies with it in the past and they had to have injections but the last one I treated with Xeno and it worked well. It's a terrible condition isn't it and so distressing for the piggy. Hope pets at home gets it treated soon.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

Jazzy said:


> Yes I've had piggies with it in the past and they had to have injections but the last one I treated with Xeno and it worked well. It's a terrible condition isn't it and so distressing for the piggy. Hope pets at home gets it treated soon.


It is that 

One of my oldies had a flare up a couple of months ago, but caught early so okay, just a bit thinning of hair, soon back to normal. I used the Xeno and found it worked very well. I like natural approaches, but don't hesitate with a drug with mites, as it's not worth risking a nasty outbreak. "Gorgeous Guineas" do some fab shampoos to help prevention


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## owieprone (Nov 6, 2008)

Amethyst said:


> Really? Having members of the public and staff giving his poor raw tummy a prod and a poke as you stated :frown2:
> 
> It probably was skin mites as if the guinea pig scratches and bites enough, it can actually present as raw areas, which are prone to infection if untreated.
> 
> Never mind at least these posts might go someway to diverting custom from this awful store...


jesus, i wasn't being literal! 
we weren't jabbing him with the end of a stick.

We were being extremely gentle in case he was in pain or discomfort but he didn't show any signs of being bothered. Funnily enough I'm not a ******* moron, thank you very much.

-----

i didn't think it was mites (i know you can't see them!) but he didn't have any scratches etc on his skin that rats get when they have them. His skin was raw in patches but it didn't look like he'd been scratching himself as there were no nail marks which i would have expected (as the rats show similar signs when they get mite problems).
He wasn't actively itching when the girl was holding him and he was there for at least 10 mins. he was hot to the touch and I would expect him to itch more when hot.

It looked more like an allergic flare up to me and his skin was quite inflammed around his neck, which is what neeper gets when she's having an allergic reaction to something.

anyhoo, I told the girl to treat for mites and if that doesn't work to change the bedding and see if that helps, if no visible change in a week or he gets worse etc to take him to vets.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

Yet, more horror stories from Pets At Home ... Lets hope this poor guinea pig was taken for a proper diagnosis from veterinary surgeon, rather than treated on the advice of a customer ...

Skin mites and fungal infections can present similar symptoms and for those inexperienced may be hard to differentiate. Both can present as raw areas.

Anyone concerned should seek expert advice and not try and treat themselves. Treatment for mites will have no effect treating fungal infections.
To complicate matters both can and often do co exist and treatment needs to be combined.

It's not unusual to find guinea pigs sufferring like this in pet shops sadly, as I've already said, poor conditions/stress can cause an outbreak.


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

Amethyst said:


> Yet, more horror stories from Pets At Home ... Lets hope this poor guinea pig was taken for a proper diagnosis from veterinary surgeon, rather than treated on the advice of a customer ...
> 
> Skin mites and fungal infections can present similar symptoms and for those inexperienced may be hard to differentiate. Both can present as raw areas.
> 
> ...


Don't pets at home have their own vets? I know the two stores near us both have vet surgeries inside the store. Wonder why the assistant didn't just take the guinea pig to the vet?:confused1: I know years ago when you bought an animal from them they used to say the vet had to check it over first before they sold it. Wonder why they don't do that now? I'm shocked they even had this poor guinea pig on show when it was clearly not healthy.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

Jazzy said:


> Don't pets at home have their own vets? I know the two stores near us both have vet surgeries inside the store. Wonder why the assistant didn't just take the guinea pig to the vet?:confused1: I know years ago when you bought an animal from them they used to say the vet had to check it over first before they sold it. Wonder why they don't do that now? I'm shocked they even had this poor guinea pig on show when it was clearly not healthy.


I think some stores do, our local one doesn't.

Poor piggy, I hope he or she is okay and was actually taken to a vet for diagnosis and treatment rather than them just tinkering around on the advice of customers 

It's bad when shoppers have to point out animals are suffering


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## owieprone (Nov 6, 2008)

amethyst, thanks for reminding me why I need to stop using pf.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

This is a good link for anyone concerned about skin issues with their guinea pigs, helpful, but does not of course substitute vet diagnosis/advice :thumbup:

Gorgeous Guineas

This website also sells some of the most beautiful guinea pig shampoos


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## catloveralicia (Oct 22, 2009)

Unfortunately if the guinea-pig was with other guinea-pigs they probably all have mites now  He sounds very happy and relaxed though considering he was ill. My guinea-pigs would never let me do that with them, unless I bribed them with some carrots first :lol:


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