Caring for a guinea pig involves a lot of effort, but it is a burden that is amply reciprocated. During daily care, it is important to carefully observe both his behavior and physical health to understand if he is sick. These small rodents can appear perfectly healthy and become seriously ill within hours; it is therefore extremely important to promptly detect the signs of any disease and not to delay veterinary care, when necessary. When it comes to guinea pigs, it's always better to be safe than sorry.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Observing Changes in Behavior
Step 1. Pay attention to your eating habits
It is not wrong to say that a healthy guinea pig eats constantly; any changes in your meal routine or frequency should therefore always be a cause for concern. Sometimes, the fact that the animal is not eating or eating less than usual may be the only visible symptom of a serious condition.
- This rodent cannot survive more than a few hours without eating, before suffering serious damage. If your little friend hasn't eaten at all (or very little) in the past 16-20 hours, take him to the vet immediately for a visit.
- Also make sure he drinks water as usual.
Step 2. Identify changes in physical activity
If the specimen is typically lively and friendly, but has begun to show signs of agitation, anxiety, or fear, you must assume that he has some health problem. You know the rodent's habits, personality and normal activities better than anyone else; you can therefore understand if he is behaving differently than usual and if it is necessary to contact the veterinarian.
Although the list of symptoms can be endless and vary by individual, the typical signs of a health problem are: he does not eat his favorite foods, continues to hide, is lethargic, changes posture or gait, as well as other behaviors different from usual
Step 3. Don't linger with care
When it comes to veterinary care, the wait-and-see approach can be dangerous for certain animals. As guinea pig health can go from apparently normal to critical in a matter of hours, as already stated, it is essential to quickly recognize the state of discomfort and act immediately at the first signs or injuries. The potential embarrassment you might feel by taking a healthy pet to the vet is not comparable to the pain you might feel if you wait too long to seek medical treatment for an easily treatable condition.
For example, guinea pigs tend to have allergic reactions to certain antibiotics more frequently than other pets. This means you need to seek out a veterinarian experienced in exotic specimens who has extensive knowledge of guinea pigs, as well as closely monitoring the small rodent's behavior after drug therapy with antibiotics
Step 4. Implement prevention
You need to be vigilant and check for potential signs of illness closely to ensure your little friend's health. The combination of prevention and careful observation is the best thing you can do to allow the guinea pig to live a long, healthy and happy existence.
- Feed the small rodent a proper and consistent diet (mainly hay and leafy vegetables - read this article for more details) and provide him with plenty of fresh water. Keep the substrate and cage clean, make sure that the animal can live in a low-stress environment and that it can do regular physical activity.
- This rodent does best when paired or in a group with other similar ones, but always quarantine the newcomer for two to three weeks before introducing him to the same cage with the others.
Part 2 of 3: Check the Body and Hair
Step 1. Weigh the guinea pig at least once a week
Since he eats constantly when he is healthy, his weight should not change too much as a result. However, unexplained rapid weight gain or (even more so) weight loss is always a cause for concern.
- A change of 30 g (more or less) in a week should not cause particular fears.
- A weekly fluctuation of 60g should cause you to better control other signs of illness.
- An increase or decrease of 90g in one week is a "red alert" and you need to contact your vet.
- If the guinea pig's weight changes by 110g or more, go to the vet immediately.
Step 2. Pay attention to hair loss and skin irritation
Under normal health conditions, your pet should not have patches of alopecia or skin that is peeling, cracked or inflamed. Examine the small rodent daily for changes in coat or skin.
- Unfortunately, mite or flea infestation is quite common in guinea pigs. Check to see if your little friend is shedding or has inflamed skin, especially near the bottom.
- Ringworm (a skin infection) also often affects these animals. Check for hairless patches on or near the head that show red, scaly skin, as these are often the early symptoms of such an infection.
- Any sign of unusual shedding or skin irritation / inflammation is reason enough to contact your veterinarian.
Step 3. Look for any tumors
The older the animal, the more likely it is that it will develop this disease. This is often the benign form, but it can also be cancer or some other serious condition. Regularly examine and feel (gently) the guinea pig's body for growths or growths and contact your doctor if you find any.
On average, between 16 and 33% of all guinea pigs over 5 years of age develop some form of cancer. The benign ones are often removed or ignored, while little can be done for most of the malignant ones
Part 3 of 3: Examine the Eyes, Ears, Nose and Mouth
Step 1. Watch out for infections
When the little rodent's eyes change in appearance or condition, it often indicates an ongoing infection. For example, conjunctivitis (also known as "pink eye"), a bacterial eye infection, tends to cause redness and inflammation on the eyelids and around the eyes, causing watery or fluid leaks from the eyes.
Although otitis is less common than eye infection, you need to check your ears for pus or other secretions. Also, if the small rodent seems deaf to you, keeps scratching its ears, walks crookedly, loses its balance, circles or rolls, it probably has this condition
Step 2. Check for any malocclusion
The teeth of this rodent grow continuously; this means that they must be constantly shortened to the correct length through the bran that the animal eats. Due to genetic factors, an inappropriate diet, or other circumstances, some guinea pigs may have teeth that are too long and / or misaligned. This disorder, known as malocclusion, can in turn make it difficult, if not impossible, to eat properly, leading to endless problems or even bleeding and potential infections.
If your little friend starts to eat less than usual, drools more often than normal (excessive salivation) or you see traces of blood coming out of the mouth, you need to check if it is malocclusion; most of the time it can be cured by filing or cutting the teeth responsible for the disorder
Step 3. Watch out for pneumonia
It is the leading cause of guinea pig death and is usually due to a bacterial infection. Treatment can be quite challenging due to the intolerance of certain antibiotics displayed by these animals, but timely diagnosis is the best way to increase the chances of survival and recovery.
Check if the animal has an unusual leakage or loss of fluids from the nose, sneezing, breathing hard or wheezing, has a fever, is losing weight, is inappetent, changes behavior (is depressed), eyes are inflamed, dull, encrusted and sunken, it is lethargic. Generally, pneumonia should be ruled out whenever the small rodent shows typical signs of disease
Step 4. Don't ignore the droppings
Stool can give you an idea of his overall health. If he urinates or defecates less frequently than usual, you need to consider the possibility that he is sick, as well as if you notice traces of blood. Likewise, excessive urination or diarrhea is also a cause for concern, and you need to take action to find veterinary care without delaying any longer.
