What Questions Should I Ask?

[AmysAnimals]

Tomorrow I am taking my 1 year old boar, Oscar, to his first vet appointment for a wellness check-up. Hes all black with a tiny crest on the top of his head and I was told by the rescue that he is a Satin. Reading around on these forums as well as peeking around other places, I found out that Satin piggies can sometimes develop health problems such as a piggy form of osteoporosis. I intend to ask the vet, who is a small animal/reptile specialist, what special treatment I may need to give Oscar--if any is required. I also have a small check list of things I would like to ask that seem to be odd behaviors to me. If anyone see's anything I am missing, please tell me so I can add it to me list. I would like to cover all bases at this initial check up just incase I ever need to take him for an actual appointment, god forbid.

Heres my list of concerns:

-Oscar has never drank out of his water bottle. I check the valve on a daily basis and everything is in perfect working order. I have tried two different types of water. First, I used bottled water to avoid adding any extra clacium from tap water. I asked the rescue what they thought about this and they said to try tap water instead, so I did. They also said that since he gets two plates of various veggies and fruit per day, he may be getting all the water he needs from what he is consuming. Does everything sound in order to you or does he need to be drinking from his bottle?

-He pees ALOT. I can take him out of his cage directly after he urinates and 15 minutes in to floor time, he will go again. His urine also appears to be slightly thick and cloudy. Is any of this normal?

-What can I use to clean the grease gland on his bottom? I read that Swafega works, but what is this and where can I find it?

-Can you please show me the proper way to trim his nails?

-How often will I need to bring him in for a teeth trimming, if at all?

-What is his current weight?

-Do you have an emergency line?


Have I covered most of the bases? If not, please give me some suggestions. Thanks a bunch!

[emily111897]

I only know about two answers...
Nail trimming guide: http://www.guinealynx.info/nails.html

His teeth won't need to be trimmed down unless his teeth overgrow due to lack of hard surfaces to chew on.
If he urinates a lot, he should be getting enough water!

[BABY'S MOM]

I also take my little guy to a groomer, who will trim his nails for me. She only charges $6 or $7 - Canadian dollars. When it comes to trimming his nails, I'm a real WIMP!

Are you weighing your baby once every week? If you weigh them every week, you will catch any illnesses that they have alot quicker. I weigh mine every Sunday. He came in at 2 lbs, and 2 ounces.

I would also definately ask the vet about his urine being thick, and cloudy. That might be a sign of trouble. Good luck with your appointment, let us know how it worked out for you.

[cielo]

The urine is white cloudy? That might mean that he is taking too much calcium.

Read this: http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...arts-info.html

Fruits should be given ocassional as treat, because they are high in sugar. The carrot also has a lot of sugar.

If his a satin: I know there are some sickness related. Maybe a rescue person can tell you where to look.

My piggies will pee and poop as close as 15 min. For my piggies that is normal. Anyway ask the vet just in case he finds something strange.

Did you read this: http://www.guinealynx.info/normal.html

[AmysAnimals]

Thanks for the links, Ill be sure to check those out right away. As far as his urine being cloudy and thicker, I noticed he does leave little calcium spots on the fleece, but I was told it was nothing to really worry about and thats a piggy norm. I never really noticed it was thick until tonight. Actually, I didnt even notice--my mom did. He was out for his usual floor time and dinner. Of course he also had to take his usual tinkle. Thats when she noticed it looked a little bit thicker. Im definatly going to be asking the vet whats up with all of that. It may have just been related to the fact that he just finished eating, I dont really know for sure though and I would rather be safe than sorry.

I think Im also going to look around and see if I can find more information about Satins. When I adopted him, I didnt actually know he was a satin until the day of adoption when I picked him up. Thankfully, I had seen other people post about them on these boards so I already had some basic knowledge. I wish I could load the pictures from my cell phone onto the computer. I have some really nice ones of him in his little cuddle cup that really show off how shiny his fur is. It almost looks like hes dipped in gloss.

Thanks everyone. Guess I'll head back to google and see what I can dig up.

Cielo, thanks for pointing out the guinea lynx "normal not normal" page. Ive read it before but Im glad you pointed it out because it made me go back and reread. It makes me relieved to say he doesnt have any gritty urine at all, it doesnt smell at all (which I thought was weird at first since it is urine ahha), and theres no blood in it. Im still going to ask the vet about it just to be safe but this way I can sleep a little easier tonight. Im pretty sure hes in good health since the rescue took awesome care of thier little ones. Im just such a worry wart though

[AmysAnimals]

Oh, I almost forgot to list his daily diet. Just so everyone knows, heres what he gets almost every day:

Brunch
-Romain Lettuce
-Orange Peel (I give this to him every day because he usually only eats it about 3-4 times out of all 7 days)
-1 Baby Carrot cut into 4 slices
-Endive when on hand (we ran out this week, darn it)

Dinner
-Organic Romain Hearts
-Brussel sprouts (Every now and agian since its a pain to peel the leaves apart and wash each one)
-1 Small slice of cucumber (about 3 times a week)
-1 Strawberry cut into slices
-1 Grape Cut in half

On the rare occasions Ill give him 1 thinly sliced peice of apple or the actual orange flesh. I dont really like to give him the orange flesh because I know it can cause mouth ulcers but its nice for a Sunday treat.

Hes a super picky eater so Ive been trying to find things he likes. So far, bell peppers are in the YUCK list along with celery.

[cielo]

Remember to give fruits and carrots ocassionally.

Have you try Parsley?

[AmysAnimals]

Good news everyone, Oscar has had a very successful vet trip and came back with a clean bill of health! Even his bum was spotless. The vet that I took him to, to my suprise, ALSO owns multiple guinea pigs. I was very happy to hear that because he can relate to all the worries that owners have. You can read as many books as you want but I think the real learning experience comes from owning one. Anywho, it was a good day for him.

As far as parsley goes, I just bought some today and hes been munching it down. It seems like a pretty big hit. Anything that is green and has some form of a leaf on it he seems to enjoy. I wanted to buy him so red and green leaf lettuce but the store didnt have much and what they did have looked a little wilted, so Ill have to wait on that. I stocked up on plenty of parsley, endive, romaine (2 bags worth), and Zuchinni (hes not too sure about that one yet). For those special days, I also have grapes, oranges, apples and cucumber. For Christmas this year, I do believe Ill be asking santa for a mini-fridge.

A couple of other good things happened today that are guinea pig related. I bought some cheapy diapers and are trying them underneath his favorite tinkle spots so hopefully that will work well. I got 40 of them for only 5 bucks so it seemed like a good deal. I also got some new fleece for the fall. I went to walmart and we found some extra thick fleece with a wool-like texture on the top. Im wicking it right now and I think he'll really enjoy it. Its so soft and very thick so it should be a great absorber. All thats left to do is make a cuddle sack out of it!

[emily111897]

It's good that he's healthy!

[piggieluver101]

YAY! Healthy piggie!