[Gpdd] Health. Re: Ivermectin

[adcavy at aol.com]

Hi Slaves,

Ivermectin and Noromectin were originally designed for use in farm 
animals. Their primary use was the control of internal parasites such 
as liver fluke. We buy ours from a veterinary pharmacy in a farming 
area. We buy the smallest bottle possible, usually 50 or 100 mls and 
share it with other guinea pig slaves. It means we use it all up before 
its BBD and we save money too.

50 mls is quite a lot for someone with just a few piggies.   UK Slaves 
interested in smaller amounts should check out the Cobweb Cavies Stud.  
Their web address is cobwebcavies.homestead.com.

Maybe slaves who have found a supply at a reasonable price could post 
for other slaves in their area to share the use and cost of a bottle. 
Or get together as a group and lobby a sympathetic vet or supplier with 
the promise of further business.

We use Noromectin as a vaccination every three months as suggested by 
the C.C.T. Sadly vets we had spoken to declined to supply us. They have 
to make a living too. They wanted to treat each animal individually.   
As we do a lot of rescue and rehoming work ( we are not an animal 
charity)  it just wasn't financially practical for us to use a vet to 
treat skin conditions when we could do so safely and competently 
ourselves. So we sourced our own.

We treat for mites and fungal infection when pigs with skin problems 
come to us. Any pig showing signs of other ailments is taken promptly 
to a vet. Slaves who are new to cavy keeping should always find a 
competent guinea pig vet as soon as possible. There's no harm in doing 
research before you get your pigs. While it is always  reassuring and 
helpful ( I have found out so much by subscribing to the Digest )  to 
have other slaves opinions, experiences, suggestions and remedies it is 
best to have a sick guinea pig seen by an experienced  vet. Very often 
it is speedy treatment that saves their lives.

Hopefully the day is not too far off when vet colleges will place more 
emphasis on the care and treatment of all rodents no matter how small. 
I have heard guinea pigs etc referred to as" pocket money pets" by more 
than one vet. This gives the impression to some members of the public 
that they are not worth treating when ill and that it is cheaper to 
replace it than spend money on veterinary care.

Our herd(s) is now up to 61. This weekend we have taken in a poor 
miserable sow. We have called her "Delirious Joy." for the time being. 
She was so subdued when she first arrived. Very little hair, lots of 
sore spots and very thin. But when she found her hay bed she popcorned 
so much she looked delirious with joy so the name stuck.

Best Wishes to all piggies and their wonderful slaves.

Antoinette and the Magic 61.