Poor Sprout

I've made the decision to pop Sprout into quarantine on his own for a while to see if I can get on top of his hair loss. It is definitely mites. I've seen this so many times. I'm thinking that last week's revolution dosage must have been too minimal. I've doubled it today, to see if that will kick them (mind you, that's still only 0.5cc!)

But I supposed it's not all bad. He gets a nice big bath tub lined with fresh newspaper, hay, Lucerne chaff, oxbow pellets, parsley, fresh picked grass and fresh veg all to himself!(and he gets to stay inside at night! It would be way too cold out there for him on his own!). Oh, and his very own 'Jatz crackers box to hide in!

So fingers crossed that this time next week I'll be able to tell you that the mites are clearing up.



I'm also hoping to get the pigs some of these awesome piggy snuggle sacks. Just waiting to see if I can get a bulk order with some pink ones for the girls, and a more masculine one for poor old Sprout! Click here to check out the MadeIt store where I found these.

Trying to enjoy the grass...

I let the girls have some time in the lawn cage yesterday. I'm letting the run around their mansion regrow a bit. (It is amazing how quickly 9 hungry guinea pigs can get through such a large patch of grass!).

The lawn cage was a little squishy though, and combined with my toddler Chelsea hanging around and making unpleasant high-pitched noises, the girls were a little antsy!



I also have an update on Sprout and his bad hair. After checking them last night, it looks like the treatment last week hasn't made much of a difference after all. (I actually found two big scabby spots on his rump). Amazingly Liam is still fine. But I don't know how long for... More revolution treatments today! :P

Sprout's bad hair

Poor little Sprout...

I think he might have mites. I did notice a tiny patch of missing hair above his eye when I purchased him two weeks ago, but didn't think too much of it, especially as the hair grew back within days.

But the evidence is unmistakable now. This is his coat the day after he came to live with us:



This is his coat now:



He's a raggy looking little critter now! And the surprising this is that Liam, who shares a cage with him, is perfect! Beautiful, thick, wavy coat. I think it says a lot about the quality of the start to life Liam had versus Sprout. Sprout was sold WAY too early, so missed out on the immunity boost he would have gotten from suckling. It also explains why he didn't gain as much weight as his sister Sparrow in the last weigh in. (she's fine by the way, which is a little odd!).

So all of the pigs got dosed up with the appropriate amounts of revolution for kittens/puppies medication. Guinea Lynx has an awesome website with information on the treatment of mites in guinea pigs. I was able to use their calculations to get my drug doses right. Technically Sprout and Sparrow are a little too small to be dosed, but it needs to be done before the poor little guy gets any worse!

So fingers crossed he'll be feeling a lot better soon.