Basic Health Care

 

BIOLOGICAL DATA

COMMON MEDICAL CONDITIONS

 

Fatty eye- Usually seen in more elderly pigs, though do not dismiss the condition in younger pigs as it can still occur. The muscle of the lower eye lid and sometimes the upper one bulges outwards. It is unknown to as why this occurs in guinea pigs. Treatment is not necessary as it causes the guinea pig no pain or discomfort.

 

Bald patches behind the ears- All guinea pigs have a certain amount of baldness behind their ears so do not panic when observing this first time.

 

Heavy hiccups- This can be quite alarming to new owners when hearing this for the first time. The guinea pig would look as if it is going to vomit (though guinea pigs cannot vomit). The whole body would be rocking and the retching comes from the diaphragm. This condition tends to stop whilst the guinea pig has had a little cough. Hiccups tend to occur when the animal has eaten something that has grown down the wrong way.

 

Anal Impaction- Guinea pigs perform coprophagy which means they reingest some of the soft stools they excrete as part of their normal digestion process. In elderly pigs and sometimes young ones, they soft stools make a ball-like shape in their perianal sacs. The cause is unknown , it may be the weakness in their muscles that would push the stools out. Their is no cure but if a owner has a guinea pig with this problem they must help remove the impaction faeces on a regular basis. This is best performed by holding the animal over a toilet, legs apart and pushing the ball out from behind. Some applying a lubricant such as Vaseline may help.

Coco suffered from anal impaction and he still lived a happy life. Everyday I would just have to push the ball of faeces out for him as he struggled himself, though sometime he could excrete fine. Sometime I knew he would be having trouble defecating as he would squeak quite loudly.

 

Barbering: Barbering is where guinea pigs chew their own fur or another guinea pigs fur. Often a particular guinea pig could do this to their cage mate, and eventually stop.

Sage used to barber Coco often and eventually he gave him quite a large bald patch near his rump. Mange did slightly occur so BEWARE.

 

Cataracts: A cataract is an opacity of the lens the eye. They do not make the guinea pig blind but they do reduce their vision. The cause is unknown and there is no cure.

Abyssinian guinea pigs are more prone to this condition, though the other breeds may still obtain it.

 

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