Guinea Pigs Flashcards
What kind of activity/foraging behavior do guinea pigs exhibit?
Nocturnal
They are social species
T/F: Guinea Pigs are foregut fermenting herbivores
False
Guinea Pigs are hindgut fermenting herbivores
What type of teeth do Guinea Pigs have?
ALL teeth are open-rooted
What is the average life span and weight of a Guinea Pig?
5-7 years
800-1400 grams
Name 4 mammals that do not make their own Vitamin C, thus require it in their diet.
Guinea Pigs
Primates (Humans included)
Fruit Bats
Capybaras
How many recognized breeds of Guinea Pig are there currently?
The American Rabbit Breeders Associtaion currently recognizes 13 breeds
Female Guinea Pigs have a long gestation of about 60-63 days, with 2-4 precocial young. What type of estrus do they undergo?
Seasonal Polyestrus
Post-partum heat
Why do we worry about breeding Guinea Pigs for the first time when they are over 8 months old?
Pubic symphysis closure at 8 months leads to dystocia if not bred before 8 months
Pubic symphysis remains open for life if pregnant before 8 months
T/F: Female Guinea Pigs have 3 seperate openings for the urethra, vagina and rectum.
True
Which opening is the urethra in this male guinea pig?
Red Arrow - flaccid one is the urethra
T/F: This Guinea Pig has some kind of skin issue
False
It’s just secretion from the sebaceous rump gland
What should a Guinea Pig diet look like?
High Fiber
No Grain
Grass hay ad lib (NOT ALFALFA)
Fresh leaf greens
Vit C 25-50 mg/day
What are the problems with feeding Guinea Pigs and other hindgut fermenting herbivores with open-rooted teeth Alfalfa Hay?
High Protein and Calcium
Doesn’t help grind teeth
What is Scurvy?
Vitamin C Deficiency
How does scurvy lead to dental disease?
Vit C necessary for healthy collagen
Collagen anchors teeth
How can scurvy lead to pododermatitis?
Painful joints make guinea pigs not want to move
What are some clincal signs associated with dental disease in Guinea Pigs?
Ulcerations
Dysphagia
Ptyalism
Bruxism
Anorexia
Guinea pig dentition looks like this.
What are some consequences of malocclusion caused by overgrowth of the mollars?
Tounge entrapment
mouth forced open, masseter muscle damage
incisor overgrowth
bumps along the jaw
eye buldging
T/F: When dealing with a dental abscess in a guinea pig, it is important to close the abscess after surgically debriding it to make sure bacteria doesn’t get into the area again.
False
We leave it open by “marsupializing” or packing it with antibiotic gauze/honey
For supportive care when dealing with a Guinea Pig who had a dental abscess, we will give meloxicam for pain, cisapride to aid motility and antibiotics for possible infection. How often do we syringe feed to ensure the Guinea Pig is eating?
QID
4 times a day
Ileus is usually a secondary problem in Guinea Pigs. What are some problems that can lead to ileus?
Post-Op
Pain/Arthritis (so they stop eating and have no poops)
Poor DIet - Low fiber
Dysbiosis/Enterotoxemia
Gas Production
Your client brings in a Guinea Pig beaucse it has been just laying flat stretched out and not moving or eating. Your PE reveals abdominal distension (you have X-ray vision and note that it’s gas in the stomach and cecum). What prognosis do you have for the client?
Poor prognisis
Sounds like bloat and at this stage of bloat there is a high mortalitiy rate.
How do we attempt to treat bloat?
Decompress with tube/aspiration
PARENTERAL Abx
Bupernorphine
Fluids (IV/IO/SQ)
Famotidine
What is the most common cause of dermatophytosis in Guinea Pigs?
How does it present?
Trichophyton sp. (NOT Microsporum)
Non-puritic white crusts in a focal area
How do we prefer to treat dermatophytosis in guinea pigs?
Itraconzaole
Griseofulvin can also be used, but is somewhat toxic so less prefered.
T/F: Lice is rare in Guinea Pigs
False
Lice is common
Make a visual diagnosis seeing white nits, thus hard to diagnose in white hair
Adults are hard to see in general as well
A client brings in her guinea pig to your clinic with a presenting complaint of hair loss and being extremely itchy. Durring your PE, the guinea pig has a seizure. How do you diagnose what you suspect to be wrong?
Skin scrape or biopsy
sounds like Sarcoptic Mange
The results come back and you diagnose Sarcoptic Mange in the Guinea Pig. You shave the fur and decide to treat with topical and injectible drugs. What are they? What time frame of treatment should you give the owner?
Ivermectin (LA Injectible)
Selamectin (Revolution) or Moxidectin (Advantage Plus)
Prednisone for pruritis
Tx is difficult, may take 2 months
What disease can be a sequela of pododermatitis in Guinea Pigs?
Osteomyelitis
Urolithis in Guinea Pigs are most commonly what type of stone?
Calcium carbonate
T/F: Mammary Gland Tumors are more common in Male Guinea Pigs than Females.
True
We typically just remove mammary gland tumors when they present, as metastasis is uncommon and neutering these little guys is difficult. What are 2 types of mammary tumors we see?
Adenocarcinoma
Fibroadenoma
T/F: Uroliths are very painful and most commonly found in the kidneys in Guinea Pigs
False
It is rare to find the in the kidneys
How many x-ray views should you take, peroid?
At least 2.
Always. I don’t care what its for. Always at least one lateral and DV/VD. What if you had just done the lateral and missed that the two stones that were in the urethra of this guinea pig? Client would be pissed to pay for the surgery when you’re most likely just gonna Euthanize.
Prognosis for this Guinea Pig?
Poor
Removing uroliths from these tiny ureters is extremely difficult, and there is usually hydronephrosis present.
More likley to euthanize than pay for expensive unilateral nephrouteroectomy.
How do we attempt to treat urolithiasis in Guinea Pigs?
Low Ca Diet
Surgical Removal (25% more formation)
Stone Diets ineffective
T/F: Cystic Ovaries have a 75% occurance rate in Guinea Pigs and are usually an incidentail finding if unfunctional.
True
T/F: Cystic Ovaries commonly cause alopecia in guinea pigs and can cause uterine bleeding due to hormone production.
True
What is the best way to diagnose cystic ovaries?
US or Surgical Biopsy
Can feel on palpation and sometimes see on RADs
Which is the LEAST likely “therapy” we will implement in a Guinea Pig diagnosed with Cystic Ovaries?
Observation
Leuprolide
Cystorelin
Aspiration
Ovariohysterectomy
OHE
Difficult to spay/neuter Guinea Pigs
Why should you NOT house Guinea Pigs with Rabbits?
Bordetella
Bordetella is a commensal organism in rabbit respiratory tracts and can be passed to guinea pigs
Which antibiotics do we avoid in Rodents in general?
Penicillin
Cefalosporin
Which antibiotics are OK to use in rodents in general?
Quinolones
Chloramphenicol
Metronidazole
Sulfa drugs
What are the important mainstays of treating a sick guinea pig?
Abx for gut probs
Analgesics
Syringe feedings
Fluids
Vitamin C
