[Gpdd] [HEALTH] Thoughts for Mr Cooders, Charlie & Alge

[DebJonSara at aol.com]

Alge
 
Like you, I have fallen behinnd with my digests, plus # 272 went missing on  
me. But thanks to Susi, I have now received that, and have read with sadness 
of  Mr Cooder's and Charlie's health problems, and your frustration at your own 
 getting in the way of caring for them as you'd like. 
 
I wonder if Mr Cooders' soft stools could be caused by the antibiotics? I  
have had Cannelletto on oral Bactrim all week for an URI, which thankfully seems 
 to have cleared up now, but the vet nurse who gave it to me told me to give 
him  a probiotic as well. Here in France we can get something called 
"Intestinet" or  "Rongeur Digest" from pet stores, but I have heard people in the US 
talk of  Benebac. Certainly Guinealynx do NOT recommend live yoghurt, and my 
Parisien vet  nurse friend said yoghurt would cause diarrhoea. 
 
I am not convinced that most piggie infections could be avoided by  
administering extra Vitamin C. I give mine loads of fruit and veg, and only give  
Vitamin C in midwinter if greens are scarce, or if someone seems under the  
weather. I know Cavies Castle rely on veggies for the Vitamin C - supplements  for a 
hundred or more piggies would cost an extortionate amount, and I don't  
believe there is any proof they help - not those added to water, anyway. I know  
Oxbow make GTN Vitamin C tablets, but I can't get them here, and anyway feel my  
money is better spent on fruit and veg. I do remember once reading somewhere  
(can't for the life of me remember where, but it must have been a site I  
trusted, or it would not have stuck in my memory) that slaves can induce scurvy  
in their piggies by getting their bodies accustomed to higher than usual 
amounts  of Vitamin C by giving supplements, then stopping the supplements, so the  
piggies' bodies feel they are not getting enough and get ill - a kind of  
physical addiction to Vitamin C. Can anyone help me out here by teling us where  I 
read this, and whether it seems to be true???
 
Charlie does sound as though he has a fungal infection. The Cavies Castle  
people showed me that, if one scratches the rump of a piggie with a fungal  
infection, that piggie will start scratching and wriggling like mad. Only it's  
best not to do that too much, or the piggie can have a seizure. But you need to  
soak him in anti-fungal oil, preferably overnight, then bath in Vetsect 
shampoo.  Don't feel like a bad mom though - when Cavies Castle checked over the 
Dolly  Mixtures in the spring, virtually all of them had some degree of fungal  
infection. In fact, they say it is so common, they think all wild piggies may  
have it to a degree, but it only bothers them when something disturbs the  
balance in their skin, like stress or change. But it's no good just treating the 
 scabby bit - you need to bath the entire piggie, I'm afraid.
 
Alge, as you know, I had health problems last year, and could not care for  
my piggies personally, so I do have some idea how you feel - you may remember  
Chestnut (aka Lady Chessington) going to The Bridge the day after I got out of 
 hospital? But I am SURE our piggies know we are doing our best, and so long 
as  they know they are loved, which I know yours do - there is no need for 
guilt.  All of us on the gpdd know that our piggies are a darn sight better off 
than an  awful lot of other piggies in this world. 
 
I do hope your boys make a full recovery soon. I was worried sick about  
Cannelletto a week ago - he is one of our babies, only 2 on 3rd July, and has  
always lived with us, so has no excuse to be ill. But we had a windy night, and  
his cage was outside .... yeah, yeah, my own fault, I know! But touch wood he  
seems fine now, thanks to immediate telephone advice from Cavies Castle,  
Sudafed, Bisolvon, Vic, Bactrim and Intestinet. 
 
Good luck - our thoughts and prayers are with you always
 
Debbie and the 16 Dolly Mixtures