COMMON MISTAKES

Common Mistakes in Treating Sick Cavies

Most Common Mistakes -- General

1. Dismissing medical signs as non-medical.
2. Waiting to see a vet.
3. Seeing a non-exotics vet.
4. Accepting veterinary diagnosis/treatment without question or research.
5. Failure to get proper diagnostic procedures done.
6. Mistaking secondary signs of illness as the primary cause.
7. Mistakes with medications -- wrong medication or insufficient dosage or duration.

NOTE: Be sure your cavy is not prescribed DANGEROUS MEDICATIONS. Review the list before you see a vet, especially if your vet is not experienced with cavies.

URI (Upper Respiratory Infections)

1. Dismissing signs as allergies. The result is worsening of the illness and increased danger to the pig.
2. Neglecting to get antibiotics. Bacteria flourish and the illness progresses.
3. Wrong antibiotic. Even some exotic vets only treat cavies with Baytril. But not all bacteria are sensitive to this antibiotic.
4. Not considering a heart condition as the culprit. In cavies a heart condition may appear in the form of repeated URIs that do not respond to antibiotics.
5. Not making use of other drugs besides antibiotics. A severe URI can lead to pneumonia. In severe cases diuretics, bronchodilators, or even oxygen may be required to save the guinea pig.

Urinary Tract Problems

1. Neglecting to treat signs of a stone as an urgent situation. Many guinea pigs have died from urinary blockage.
2. Dismissing squeaking while pooping or attributing this as something not related to bladder problems. It almost always is.
3. Not getting X-rays to rule out stones when bladder problems are suspected.
4. Opting for non-surgical treatments for bladder stones (such as using injections or hoping that a stone will pass). Passing a bladder stone is rare, especially for boars.
5. Not giving intensive postoperative care to guinea pigs who have had a stone removed. Swelling after surgery can cause urinary blockage. Some problems with the genitourinary tract may affect the G.I. system, causing bloat, diarrhea, or other conditions that need immediate treatment.

Not Eating

1. Waiting to hand feed. Waiting even 24 hours can spell disaster for a guinea pig’s GI tract.
2. Not hand feeding often enough or at all -- if you are going to save the pig you need to give it your full effort, around the clock.
3. Not feeding appropriate supplements. Baby food and pureed vegetables lack the fiber of critical care or pellet mash. The result may be bloat.
4. Not weighing the pig. Without a scale you won't notice weight loss until it is too late.
5. Neglecting to hydrate the pig, as well as hand feed. GI stasis needs hydration to correct itself.

Hair Loss

1. Dismissing parasites because they are not visible to the naked eye.
2. Treating with sprays, dips, or shampoos, instead of ivermectin or other Avermectin compounds -- the only known medication to properly treat guinea pig mites.
3. Improper dosing of Ivermectin by not giving at least 3 doses or by using inaccurate methods such as the "just a few drops" method or "toothpick" method with paste.
4. Not treating all pigs in the household, regardless of contact.
5. Relying on skin scrapings for diagnosis. They often give false negatives.

Teeth Problems

1. Not getting the molars examined. Teeth problems in guinea pigs almost always originate with the molars.
2. Not using the proper tools -- Namely, buccal pad separators, to examine the molars properly.
3. Trimming the incisors but not the molars. Especially with Resco nail trimmers, a common veterinary tool but one that can do significant damage to cavy teeth.
4. No x-rays. This is a good way to miss an underlying problem in the jaw.
5. Not thinking teeth first! Often a guinea pig will waste away while even a good exotics vet looks for other causes. The resulting weight loss can be fatal.

Abscesses

1. Not using antibiotics to kill the organism that is present. Guinea pigs are very susceptible to infection.
2. Not flushing the abscess site to keep it open and the infection reduced.
3. Not getting drains inserted, in which case the abscess may seal up but still contain infection.
4. No pain medication, in which case the guinea pig may stop eating from pain.
5. Aspirating without removing encapsulated abscesses, such as those caused by cervical lymphadenitis, causing infection to return.

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