Penny's Med Thread

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Jul 14, 2020 11:17 pm


Have you read https://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html ? That should answer some of your questions.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Wed Jul 15, 2020 12:11 am


I've dealt with ringworm and not had any issues with either contracting it myself or my husband. Just take reasonable care when handling both pigs. I used Monistat cream with ours, and just washed my hands very thoroughly.

Annapox

Post   » Wed Jul 15, 2020 8:51 am


Thank you! It's good to know that I need to discard their wooden chew toys. I'm specifically wondering how far the spores can spread to the rest of the house. For example, can they stick to my clothing and spread to other parts of the house that way? I only noticed something was amiss five days ago, so from the time I brought Lily home until then I wasn't taking any precautions.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Wed Jul 15, 2020 11:06 am


I washed my hands and changed my clothing after handling both pigs (they passed it back and forth before I got it cleared up), but those were my only precautions other than washing their fleece/towel bedding in warmer water and I think I may have used a little bleach in the piggy laundry as well.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Jul 15, 2020 9:08 pm


With many kinds of fungi, moisture/humidity will encourage their growth. Do you use an air conditioner to dry your house air?

Annapox

Post   » Thu Jul 16, 2020 11:35 am


Yes, we do use air conditioning. It's good to know that that helps, thank you! I do have one more question: Some of the sources we've checked say the guinea pigs will be contagious until they've been on their medication for 48 hours; other sources say they'll be contagious until the lesions are gone. What's the general consensus here? I forgot to ask my vet that question.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Thu Jul 16, 2020 12:34 pm


I erred on the side of caution with "until the lesions are gone."

Annapox

Post   » Mon May 31, 2021 7:35 pm


So today I discovered that Penny's nipples are huge (photo below). They looked normal yesterday. She's still eating and drinking normally, and her interactions with her cage mate, Lily (female, 1 year old) haven't changed. The only other symptom I can think of is that she might be a little bit constipated: She still poops, but I did see her go about an hour without pooping one day last week (there was a fence up to keep Penny from getting at Lily's veggies, and they had fresh bedding, so I could tell whose poop was whose), and sometimes she makes a sort of grunting sound when she poops. It's a sound I've heard from her and my previous guinea pigs before, but never with any regularity until the last week or two with Penny. Penny is about 4 years and 8 months old now, in case that's helpful information, and she isn't spayed.

So, what is happening? Is this a phantom pregnancy? Is it something that warrants a trip to the vet? (I'm sorry if the photo is too large. I am not very good at this kind of thing.)

Image

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon May 31, 2021 9:22 pm


The board software sizes the photos so you can see them fine.

Are they tender? Is there any crustiness? You might want to read over:
https://www.guinealynx.info/ovarian_cysts.html

Unless you see any other signs of illness, I would tend to just be observant for now.

Annapox

Post   » Tue Jun 01, 2021 10:18 am


No crustiness or tenderness. But upon reading the article on ovarian cysts I realized Penny has had some weight redistribution; I don't know why it didn't occur to me that that might be a symptom of something. Her butt has gotten bony, and her belly is more round, but her weight is stable.

Annapox

Post   » Mon Jun 07, 2021 1:08 pm


My mom took Penny to the vet today (I am working on a take-home exam, so I phoned in to the appointment so that I could work while we waited for the vet to come in). Penny's belly "has a distended feel to it," according to the vet, but other than that and the enlarged nipples, he couldn't find anything wrong with her. The ultrasound showed nothing. The vet says this is most likely either a fluke or the very beginning of something like ovarian cysts, so I am to bring Penny back to the vet in a month and keep a close eye on her in the meantime.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Jun 08, 2021 12:16 am


Sounds like a plan. I hope nothing serious develops.

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