Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Pets

Join our community on the Pet forum to discuss anything related to pets.

Original poster

One of the guineas eyes has gone greyish/milky colour.

57 replies

MrsDoylesMole · 25/12/2008 23:26

From what i can determine it came on yesterday and when i googled it suggested an eye injury and stated that it was part of the healing process.When i bought the last batch of hay they didnt stock the same hay.so possibly this?
should i take her to the vet or treat myself with eye drops or something?

OP posts:
beautifulgirls · 29/12/2008 11:44

GPs cope ok on their own but also accept another one readily in most cases too so you have a choice really.
I have no idea what the stix would cost from the pharmacy to be honest but I'm sure the vets would only charge a couple of pounds to dip it for you - call them and ask then call the pharmacy and ask the prices.
Speying I would suggest would be in the region of £50-70 probably but again you can call the vets and ask the price over the phone anyway.

Hope that helps
Xx

whispywhisp · 29/12/2008 12:07

MrsDoyle..how is the pig today?

whispywhisp · 29/12/2008 12:34

BG - can you believe this...I've just rung our local vets to see how much they would charge to trim the odd claw on two of my pigs and they want £15 per pig! I'm just off out to go and buy a replacement pair of clippers (I've lost our usual pair) so I can do them myself. Unbelievable charge. They charge a normal consultation fee just to do claws.

beautifulgirls · 29/12/2008 16:58

Eek - do they not have a nurse clinic for these things? We charge just under £5 for doing that with a nurse! Good plan to buy your own clippers for that.

whispywhisp · 29/12/2008 18:41

Yes they have a Nurse that does claw clipping but only for dogs and cats. Do they not think other animals may need their claws doing? I've been out and bought a new pair of clippers today...along with a new wooden cabin for my female pigs and some willow sticks for all of them to chew on....same old with me...go in for one thing, come out with half a dozen items!

MrsDoyle...how is your pig today? I hope she's ok.

whispywhisp · 29/12/2008 19:59

Claws are done. Took me no more than a few minutes. That would've cost me £30 at the vets. Dreadful.

beautifulgirls · 29/12/2008 20:34

you could set up in business!!

Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 29/12/2008 21:46

Hi thanks for all the info both
I have booked her in tomorrow with a vet we really trust(had many dealings with him years ago when we had the dog)he is the kind who is so passionate about his job.They have asked us to try and get a urine sample from her before we go(or rather dp as im at work)
I got upset this morning as it hit home a bit more what the implications areand i noticed her standing back when i put some carrot in and then when she got a piece her sister took it from herSilly really i know but i have fallen in love with guinea pigs since we got them for the dd's.They are such sweet and gentle animals.

Regarding the nail cutting whispy.That is ridiculous. We were charged £15 when we first had the guineas.Then we wised up and just about manage to do them ourselves.

Thankyou for helping me i will keep you both posted.

OP posts:
whispywhisp · 29/12/2008 22:23

I really do hope all goes ok for your pig tomorrow MrsDoyle. Please let us know. I love my pigs too - I have 5 of them! They live indoors so we get to see them all the time which is great because they are such fantastic characters. Yes...I braved it and trimmed their claws...its a job I dread tbh especially those that have black claws.

Anyway good luck to you for tomorrow. x

Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 29/12/2008 22:34

Ours are indoor piggies too
I love it when i get home and they start wheeking at me.

Thanks Whispy.

OP posts:
silver73 · 30/12/2008 03:57

Good luck for tomorrow - you are doing the right thing for your piggie. They are beautiful little creatures that give so much joy x

whispywhisp · 30/12/2008 08:45

Yes having them indoors is, imo, much more fun! My squeak at the slightest rustle of a carrier bag (they think its food) or even when I chop an apple or carrot! I have two male ones that live upstairs in the kid's playroom and even they squeak away if I'm chopping food down in the kitchen..amazing hearing!

Anyway good luck with today...hope all goes ok. Keep us posted!

beautifulgirls · 30/12/2008 13:25

Any news?

silver73 · 30/12/2008 21:18

Is everything ok?

whispywhisp · 30/12/2008 21:38

MrsDoyle...how is your pig? I really do hope all went ok today...xx

Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 30/12/2008 22:35

Oh thanks so much all of you for asking
Well i was at work tonight so dp had to take her.He successfully got a huge urine sample from her(the vet was well impressed lol)
I feel very reassured tonightthe vet who dp took her to is the best vet and such a nice man.We know him from years ago(he treated our dog twice weekly for 9 years)He was quite surprised when dp asked for a glucose test but dp then explained.He tested her urine and she was off the scale so i was right she is diabetic.He was gobsmacked that i had even thought of it and said that he has only seen 1 in over 30 years .
He said that spaying wasn't an option as it was too advanced to make any difference and it was most likely genetic.Treatment isn't even feesable financially He sees no reason why she cant adapt to life with cataracts and said as long as she keeps eating and drinking she shouldnt have any problems.

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 30/12/2008 22:36

He did say to make sure that the other one doesn't bully her.

OP posts:
silver73 · 31/12/2008 00:53

Thanks so much for letting us know. I had a dog that lost her sight and she was still enjoying life to the full until she died of old age. Maybe you could hand feed her if her sister tries to take too much food off her?

DontlookatmyNoseImRudolph · 31/12/2008 09:29

Hi, one of our pigs had diabetes. I did alot of googling about it but there isn't much info out there. I did find this page which is mostly about medication but has a this bit about diet at the bottom.

"Most will recommend eliminating sweets such as fruit and sweetened treats from your diabetic piggies diet. Equally important is to eliminate fats - corn and seeds are very high in fat and should be avoided. There was some research done at CCT [Cavy Cambridge Trust in the UK] that suggests food dyes can "cause" diabetes also, so make sure that your piggies food contains no artificial colours. But the most important dietary consideration is promoting consumption of lots of high-fiber hay. I had to reduce the amount of green food I was offering and instead "fluff up" their hay pile when the girls wheeked, and this has had the strongest effect in helping to regulate their glucose levels."

We changed our gp's diet a bit and i don't know if it helped or not but she lived till she was about 7.5yrs old.

sandcastles · 31/12/2008 09:43

One of our GP developed cataracts.

He lived quite happily with it for years as I remember...died of old age about 3 years after first symptoms appeared.

If your GP shares a cage, you may find that she gets picked on so you may want to consider giving her her own space away from the pack.

Also, spaying would be an op under GA & GP do not react well to GA [we lost on of ours minutes after a GA for dentistry as his molars were inpacted ], so avoid if you can.

sandcastles · 31/12/2008 09:45

Ohh, just seen that vet said no to spaying...good!

whispywhisp · 31/12/2008 11:05

MrsDoyle...I'm so glad you did the test - good for you! Glad also to hear that she should be able to cope with the symptoms.

Just an idea but I had a couple of pigs who lived together and started to squabble and one was far more domineering than the other so rather than split them we put a mesh divide in their hutch so they could still see each other, talk to each other, smell each other etc etc but had their own space and no fighting over food.

It means they're not on their own but you can rest assured they have their own space too.

Let us know how she gets on. Such good news she's ok and what some helpful posts you've had on this! The wonders of MN! x

Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 31/12/2008 20:43

At the moment bullying doesn't appear to be a problem as Pippa the diabetic piggie was the very dominant one.But i realise that it may not stay that way so i shall at some point be looking into a larger cage or a layered one (if such a thing exsists)

Thank you everyone for all your
relies,information and support
You are all lovely.

OP posts:
whispywhisp · 31/12/2008 20:57

A layered one is a good idea altho they won't get to see each other if you do split them. I'd get a really big hutch...a 4-5ft one and put a mesh divide down the middle so that way they can still see each other etc. Sounds like your pig is doing ok. I'm so glad cos it all looked so doubtful for a time didn't it?

Happy New Year to you MrsDoyle and your pigs! Keep us posted! x

Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 31/12/2008 21:07

Happy New Year to you too whispy

OP posts: