HELP PLEASE

[Rodentlover101]

HELP... Ok this is a cry for help form the local ACS...

There is a outbreak of coccidia(Cocci) in the lastest 60 case.... It is killing guinea pigs and costing hundreds to try and control. This desease i only ever seen in Puppies and kittens ..... It is horrific to watch the animal just gets so sick.

We are looking for ANYBODY that can shed light on this issue...... At the moment everybody is doing what they can however we NEED some straight answers about this condition.


the major one is ...

If you have a 100% healthy cavie can it contract the desease. We have been told Yes and then No and Yes and then No.........
Joey is fiorm the case and is showing no signs.. I have done So much reaserch over the net and called so many vets and Still no plane speaking.

so.
If you have any experiance or no anybody that does can you answer me this.

1. Can a 100% healthy cavy contract it if it has good immune system??
2. Can it be cured or is it for life?

Please any help is appriciated... We are Baycoxing all the animals but dont know if it actually kills it. 100% straight ammonia kills it but you cannot gicve that to the animal just the living area and Objects..

So PLEASE HELP.. It is desperate other wise me and many other families have to face the fact the animals need to be PTS and Joey is to special to me for that to happen HELP..

I know this is a rat forum and rat section but everybody here is desperate for ANY info on this tradgic Illness..

 

[SQ]

I don't know if this will help but:
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=9299&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=coccidia

My understanding is that:
Chels rats had it.
Healthy rats can catch it as it is a parasite.
It can be sucessfully treated with antibiotics and the animal is cured.
But it does kill and needs to be caught in time ...

Found this old article;
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articl ... tid=480240

 

[Rodentlover101]

thanks SQ..... So i should treat Joey even if she has No signs... I really want her to have a friend but dont want to risk it with the others..

 

[SQ]

I think you get a stool analysis done by the vet to see if your pet has it.
Watch out for the symptoms of it as well.

 

[Rodentlover101]

Ok from the post by Chel about her rats.. I got the imprssion that while older animals can catch the parasite they are less likely to show symptoms due to a stonger immune system.. Correct however they will be carriers all their life and cannot be near any other babies or young.

The treatment... Can it bring on the symptoms??? That is my main worry with Joey, as she is Fine and i dont want to cure to casue issues..

Do rats and guinea pigs contract the same straine.. I ask becasue i was going to use Joey cage as the new rat cage but dont want to if it will make them sick.. I would clean it with Ammonia before hand..

Sorry for all the Questions.

 

[ryelle]

Personally, i wouldn't go swapping cages until your 100% sure, and i'd start getting a little OTT with hygiene. Thoroughly washing everything, including yourself, that has come into contact with Joey and his poop. I don't know anything about coccidia (only what ive read on here), and especially wether rats and guinea's can carry the same strain, but i would be over cautious until you know for sure.

 

[Rodentlover101]

ok...... i have a vet apointment booked and will be getting some Byacox from the shelter manager ASAP..... thanks guys... I am now on High stress and look like i have OCD......

 

[SQ]

Sounds good.
You need to be disinfecting everything, frequently.
You need to discuss this with a knowlegable vet and have stool samples done to see who has it and who doesn't.
I highly doubt that antibiotics will bring on symptoms, but that is another question for a vet.

 

[lilspaz68]

found this on guinealynx.com for treatment. THIS forum is where you want to join and post to get your cavy answers.

http://www.guinealynx.info/diarrhea.html

http://www.guinealynx.info/forums/index.php

 

[Rodentlover101]

thanks Lilspaz will do.... Hope joey isnt carrying it have to wait and see what the vet says.. fingers crossed but i doubt she could be the only one in th case to have not contracted it.

 

[Dewi]

Which vet are you going to?

If you haven't gone to one yet I'd suggest trying one of the following vets:
(1) Peter Field (Everton Hills Vet Clinic)
(2) Larissa Ladyko (Indooroopilli Vet Clinic)
(3) Deborah Monk (Brisbane Birds & Exotics Vet Serivce - in Macgregor)

I take my rats to them, and they are experienced with guinea pigs too.

Good luck! My piggies are healthy (I got them from the ACS up in north brisbane somewhere) and they are healthy. I hope they don't get ill, but they live indoors, haven't come in contact with any other pigs & there are only 2 of them.

Keep us updated!

 

[Rodentlover101]

hey dewi..

Joey is ok we decided to just treat her with the baycox regardless of what she has. Yeh the ACS is so over crowded right now.. They all look like they have OCD with the sterilizing and such. This is the first time it hase been seen in piggies for them and of corse it is hard to contain.

we use..
Peter Field (Everton Hills Vet Clinic) Lou recomened him=D. HE is lovely he desexed Wally my pig and Lou used him to desex my new boy Harry. He also has resonable prices.

 

[Alicemcmallis]

Are the guinea pigs being given fluids and hand fed either Critical Care or a pellet mash? This is absolutely crucial to their survival if they have any kind of diarrhea, regardless of the cause.

They also need probiotics introduced into the guts to re-establish proper flora - any over the counter probiotic such as acidophillus lactobacilus will do, poops from healthy guinea pigs is also an option, also in this case probably not a reasonable option.

http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

I have never heard of Baycox so can't say whether it's safe for guinea pigs - I have heard of people using a medication called Albon for treatment of coccidia in gps, and flagyl (metronidzole) is also a very good and safe medication to treat diarrhea in guinea pigs.

Coccidia can be carried in guinea pigs like all mammals and only come out when the animal is stressed or otherwise health compromised. It can also be very difficult to find in fecals - sometimes you have to do repeated tests to track it down. Honestly I would post on Guinea Lynx and get some advice from some much more knowledgeable people. I've never dealt with coccidia personally so don't know too much about it, just about the nursing care aspect of the diarrhea.

There are some Aussie members of GL too, who can maybe help with resources for gps in your area.

 

[Alicemcmallis]

1. Can a 100% healthy cavy contract it if it has good immune system??
2. Can it be cured or is it for life?

1. Yes, but they won't necessarily show symptoms or become outwardly ill. It's luck of the draw sometimes - I can catch the flu but only be sick for a day with mild symptoms, someone else can catch it and have severe symptoms for days.

2. I'm not sure of the answer to this one, sorry. But I would imagine it would be the same answer whether it's a dog or a guinea pig, as it's the same type of infection.

Also, just did a wee bit of checking, you definitely want to get the pigs on Albon; Flagyl is not indicated with coccidia.

 

[Dewi]

I just had an idea. If your pigs have or ever get diarrhoea, put some Protexin into their water. It's a probiotic (i.e. good gut bacteria) & is available over the counter at most vets. They sell it in little sachets. It can really help with the runs, but won't sort out the problem of the infection itself. Just an idea. I use Protexin on the rats and previously my rabbits.

I checked out the ACS website last night and had a read. 200+ pigs! So I made a donation. Do you know Jessica? How does she manage? Her family must be very supportive. She has such a nice set up for the rescues, but things must be crowded with that many little ones. Any ideas how I can help the ACS more? I'm reluctant to foster or adopt because I don't want to expose my existing pigs. My husband will also have a heart attack if we got more animals (we currently have 21 rats, 6 cats, 2 sheep, 7 chooks & 2 guinea pigs). I also live waaay down south in Logan Village (near Jimboomba & not near Loganlea/ Logan Central/ Logan Dale/ Loganholme/Logan Reserve :lol:... so many Logans) as well, so can't do regular cage cleanings all the way in Cashmere.

I agree that Peter is lovely and Lou recommend him to me as well. Lariasa is also really nice, I found out about her from Roby of Dapper Rat.

hey dewi..

Joey is ok we decided to just treat her with the baycox regardless of what she has. Yeh the ACS is so over crowded right now.. They all look like they have OCD with the sterilizing and such. This is the first time it hase been seen in piggies for them and of corse it is hard to contain.

we use..
Peter Field (Everton Hills Vet Clinic) Lou recomened him=D. HE is lovely he desexed Wally my pig and Lou used him to desex my new boy Harry. He also has resonable prices.

 

[Rodentlover101]

thanks Alicemcmallis plane answers I like them...

We think it is now under control Isolated to the 60 alone. Every pig is treated and on 24/7b watch.

Baycox is the same treatment used for pigs, sheep and such that get the condition do far has been the only thing that works.

I have CC, Re-hydrating fluids and everything on hand should Joey fall ill and all the carers and families have been advised to do the same.

So fingers crossed all it going to be ok in the future.... thanks for the support guys.. I will post on guinealynx..

 

[Alicemcmallis]

Sounds like you're doing everything you can, good luck!!