[Gpdd] [HEALTH]Sparkles has soft poo and need to be wormed

[Ann Evans]

Dear Corrine and the GPDD Family,

I think what Sparkles needs is to be wormed. You should have it done at 
a vet's office because I do not know how well versed you are in using 
these over the counter worming medications. You can kill your guinea pig 
if you give it too much Ivermectin. I am not a vet and my advice should 
not be taken in place of good veterinary advice. This worming protocol 
was first developed by Vedra Stanley-Spatcher of the Cambridge Cavy Trust.
http://www.britishassociationofrodentologists.co.uk/
I have been worming all of my cavies since the 1980's.  I feel that it 
is he correct medicine for Sparkles.Since Sparkles has never been wormed 
I would give her 5 doses of the Panacur or Valbazen and 2 doses of the 
Ivermectin 7 days apart.

Parasites, internal and external also known as worming protocol.

Anyone who has ever owned a cat or dog or horse has had to worm his or 
her pet. Cavies like horses, sheep, cows and goats are herbivores. All 
herbivores need to be wormed regularly to kill and control internal and 
external parasites. Worming your cavy is the best preventative medicine 
you can provide for your beloved pet. I have been operating a private 
cavy rescue home for over 25 years. I take in the worst of the worst 
cases. The ones that the vets say should be euthanized. The cavies that 
no one will ever want to adopt. Many times a cavy will not survive no 
matter how hard I try to save its life nor how much money I spend in vet 
care. But the one question I get asked the most is “why do your rescued 
cavies live to be 8-10 years of age”? My answer is that I worm them 
every 3 months. It is the same answer that Vedra Stanley-Spatcher of the 
Cambridge Cavy Trust gives when asked the same question.

All cavies should be wormed or treated for internal and external 
parasites. They pick up parasites from the pelleted food, hay and fruits 
and vegetables that they are fed. They can also get parasites, protozoa, 
and foreign bacteria from water, other cavies, rabbits, dogs, cats, 
mice, rats and insects.

A cavy’s digestive system is very similar to a sheep’s digestive system. 
When you feed your cavy hay, which all cavies should get free choice hay 
everyday, it is no different than you allowing them to graze in a field 
of hay. The hay that you buy was grown in a field that contains insects 
in the soil and on the plants and all types of wild animals running 
through the field. Also, there are birds that fly over and nest in the 
fields. All of the animals and insects defecate and urinate on the hay. 
The hay is cut, left to dry in the field and baled. It is not 
disinfected or irradiated to kill bacteria, parasites and parasite eggs 
or cysts. The same holds true for all of the ingredients that go into 
the pelleted food your cavy eats. The hay and grains are held in silos 
that are infested with insects, rats and mice. Even the bread you buy at 
the grocery store is allowed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
to have so many insect parts and insect eggs/loaf of bread. It is always 
good to feed your cavies a cup of fresh fruit and vegetables each day. 
There is no way to remove all the parasites, parasite eggs and bad 
bacteria from the fruit and vegetables that you feed your cavy. 
Therefore, all cavies need to be wormed. Worming is both preventative 
medicine and is used to kill the parasites that your cavy already has. 
Worming is not going to repair the damage that the parasites may have 
already done to your cavy’s liver or pancreas or gut but it can stop 
life-threatening diarrhea caused by parasitic and bacterial infection of 
the cecum. What worming also does is kill mange mites, rabbit ear mites, 
liver flukes and an entire list of internal parasites from tapeworms, 
nematodes, Cyrtosporidium and Giardia to name just a few of the 
parasites that infect cavies.

Parasites can invade the wall of the stomach, small and large intestines 
and cecum and invade the liver, pancreas and lungs. The walls of the 
intestines and cecum are one cell thick. Therefore, these parasites may 
not show up in a fecal test. Giardia, a protozoa has a suction cup that 
keeps it attached to the gut wall, thus giardia often do not show up in 
fecal tests.  A sheep farmer does not first do a fecal test on the 
entire herd of sheep. The sheep are wormed on a schedule. This is true 
of million dollar racehorses. Once again worming is both preventative 
medicine and kills existing parasites. I never bother to do fecal tests. 
Parasites release toxins and carry bacteria that interfere in the 
cecum's ability to process and absorb nutrients. I have treated many 
cavies that were constantly loosing weight or had soft stools yet they 
did not have any teeth problems, infections or signs of parasites. I 
start worming all cavies at 3 months of age. I give orally 0.4 ml 2.5% 
Panacur = fenbendazole or 0.4 ml 2.5% Valbazen = albendazole. The dose 
is based on metabolic rate not on body weight and is 10 mg of either of 
these drugs for 5 days. I also give orally 0.1 ml of 1.0% Ivermectin 
sterile solution for injection.  I give the Ivermectin orally on day 1 
and 7. This will cover the mange mites and internal parasite spectrum. 
Then staring at 6 months of age and then every 3 months for the rest of 
their lives they get orally 0.2 ml of 1.0% Ivermectin and orally 0.4 ml 
2.5% Panacur or 0.4 ml 2.5% Valbazen, one dose of each.

Since all my cavies are rescued and sometimes the females are pregnant, 
I start worming all cavies at 3 months of age and pregnant cavies. Also, 
while they are in quarantine they get bathed with an anti-parasitic 
shampoo that contains 0.15% pyrethrins. They get 3 baths 7 days apart, 
day 1, 7 and 14. The purpose of the baths is to kill lice and ticks and 
fleas and their eggs. Fleas and ticks also carry parasites that can 
infect cavies. I work the lather up into their ears to kill mites and 
lice in the ear canals. I use Adams shampoo for puppies and kittens that 
contains 0.15% pyrethrins or the Adams D-Limonene Flea & Tick Shampoo. I 
just use a nickel size amount in the palm of my hand and rub my hands 
together until I get a good lather and then apply it to the wet cavy. 
Make sure to work the lather into the ear canals. You can use an ear 
cleaner/dryer solution after bathing but it is not essential. I then 
towel and blow-dry on low heat.

Ivermectin can be bought from feed stores or the Internet. I always use 
a sterile needle and syringe to remove the Ivermectin from the bottle. I 
then expel the Ivermectin into a small plastic shot glass. I aspirate 
0.1 – 0.2 ml using a 1.0 ml syringe. This way I never contaminate the 
Ivermectin in the original bottle. I have a home in England so I buy 
Panacur when I am in Cornwall. But I have ordered it from PCP direct
http://www.pcpdirect.co.uk/Search.asp
They have very reasonable prices and shipping and you will get it in a 
week. Jeff the pharmacist is very helpful. They take major credit cards. 
However, you may have to notify your bank that you are going to buy from 
the UK online so that they approve the charge. PCP also accepts PayPal. 
First go to the PCP Advice Centre and tell the pharmacist that you want 
to place an order and pay by PayPal. The pharmacist will get back with 
you about how to place your order and pay for it using PayPal. My bank 
charges me a 3% surcharge for a foreign transaction, so you can save 
money with PayPal. Panacur is a suspension, so must be shaken before 
dispensing into another shot glass. I use a separate 1.0 ml syringe to 
administer the Panacur. Panacur is very good at killing parasites and 
the foreign bacteria that they introduce into the gut. I refrigerate 
both medications but administer them at room temperature.
I hope you find this helpful.
In the United Kingdom vets are required to worm cavies if the owner 
requests that it be done. It the vet refuses to worm the cavy or refer 
the owner to a vet that will worm the cavy the vet can be charged with 
animal cruelty. The withholding of preventative treatment until the 
animal is actually suffering is no longer an acceptable practice.
Cheers,

Ann and the Rescued Piggys of Piggyville, Tampa Florida USA.