[Gpdd] [HEALTH] Isis Update

[Angela Allen]

Thanks again, everyone, for your input on Isis' nipping.

Seems I spoke too soon about her getting better about it!  I think she's
learned what the tug and "No!" mean, which means she isn't nipping as hard
or as often, but I have noticed her scratching and biting herself a lot more
than "normal" grooming.

I have been doing some reading on guinea pigs and mites, and while I can't
imagine how she got them (except for that PETsMART shopping trip the other
week...), I'm pretty sure now that she has them, and that her behavior isn't
just a phase.

She went to the vet today, where they seem to always love torturing the poor
girl -- I heard her SQUEEEEEEE! all the way out in the waiting room when
they took her back to medicate her!  That made me cringe, as you can
imagine.  :(  The vet decided to use Revolution (the new stuff for cats, but
kitten dosage, of course) on her, versus the traditional Ivermectin.  He
seemed pretty optimistic that it was fine to use on her and that it would be
easier on her and me to do a topical treatment at home rather than bringing
her in for injections.  I'm curious as to everyone's opinon on this...I did
read on Guinea Lynx that Revolution is safe to use and sometimes preferred.

After I got her home, I was able to hold her and stroke her -- I even got a
few purrs, which was more than I've gotten in at least the last week!  She
settled down and even managed to scarf down a HUGE romaine leaf (with a baby
carrot on the side, of course, and yum, some apple treats) before doing a
few frenzied laps around her cage and settling in for a nice long nap.

I'm not sure how long until the medicine takes full effect, but it seems
like she's feeling better already.  She will need 2 more doses in the next 2
months, but thankfully I can do those here at home, rather than taking her
to the scary-smelly-loud place where people flip her upside down and poke
her everywhere.  :p

I had one more question...I also read on Guinea Lynx that Baytril
(antibiotic) can stunt a young guinea pig's growth.  Has anyone had this
happen to their piggies?  She was given a Baytril compound for a cold she
had after we brought her home when she was about 3 weeks old, and I was
wondering how her current weight and size measure up to an average guinea
pig's growth rate.  (Of course, no guinea pig is -average-!)  Is there a
chart online somewhere that I can reference?  She's about 4 months old, and
I want to say the vet tech weighed her at 464 grams...I measured her at less
than a pound (closer to 14oz) on my little kitchen scale a couple days ago.

I'll keep you all updated on how she gets on!!


Angela (and Isis, who is once again the Purr-Baby)