Guinea pigs can get sick or injured similar to people, so it’s a good suggestion to maintain an emergency package in your house in case of sickness or accidents. If you happen to’re new to guinea pigs, you may surprise what ought to be included on this package!
Your guinea pigs’ emergency package ought to embody gadgets for grooming and well being checks, resembling a kitchen scale and nail clippers. You additionally need to be ready in case your guinea pig will get harm with issues resembling saline resolution and vet wrap. Restoration meals, needleless syringes, and a towel might help in case your guinea pig is sick.
Under, I’ll talk about all the things I used to maintain in my guinea pigs’ toolkit, in addition to some nice concepts I’ve realized from others and will certainly be including the subsequent time I’ve piggies in my dwelling.
1. A Kitchen Scale
A kitchen scale that measures in grams is a vital a part of your guinea pig emergency package. Weighing your guinea pigs often is likely one of the greatest methods to catch sicknesses early on, which might save your piggies’ lives!
You’ll additionally need a spot to file their weights, resembling a pocket book or a spreadsheet in your cellphone.
2. Restoration Meals
Restoration meals resembling Critical Care are given to guinea pigs who want extra sustenance than they’re getting on their very own. They could be sick, aged, or recovering from a surgical procedure.
I like to recommend having a number of flavors, and possibly a number of manufacturers, readily available at any given time. This fashion, you’ll hopefully have one thing on your piggy to eat if wanted.
3. Needleless Syringes
You should purchase needleless syringes in bulk and use them for giving your guinea pig medication or syringe-feeding restoration meals.
Maintain a number of sizes readily available so that you’ll at all times have what you want, whether or not it’s a 1ml, 3ml, or 10ml.
4. Nail Clippers
Your guinea pigs’ nails must be trimmed no less than as soon as month-to-month. This enables them to stroll comfortably and prevents their nails from rising into their paw pads.
I’ve at all times used cat nail clippers to trim my guinea pigs’ nails, however you can even use human nail clippers or purchase a pair made particularly for small animals.
5. Styptic Powder
Styptic powder or an equal, like corn flour, is used to cease the bleeding when you minimize into the short of your guinea pig’s nail. It may also be used on mild wounds resembling a shallow minimize.
These merchandise are just for minor accidents, and something extra extreme requires a vet journey.
6. Q-Suggestions and Cotton Balls or Pads
Q-tips, cotton pads, and cotton balls are used for quite a lot of functions. You need to use them for:
- Cleansing wounds
- Making use of topical remedy to your piggy’s pores and skin
- Cleansing your guinea pigs’ ears (bear in mind by no means to stay something inside their ear canal!)
- Boar cleanings for male guinea pigs
- Moisturizing hairless guinea pigs with coconut oil
7. A Towel
A rest room towel is nice for restraining guinea pigs if that you must administer remedy or trim their nails. You possibly can fold it round them to make a “piggy burrito” and maintain them nonetheless!
8. Paper Towels
Paper towels assist with cage cleansing and selecting up messes shortly. After all, you can even maintain a reusable possibility round resembling a number of dish cloths when you favor.
9. Contact Numbers for Your Native Veterinarians
You can even maintain your vet’s quantity in your emergency package, in addition to some other vets close by who deal with guinea pigs. When you’ve got an emergency clinic that treats piggies, add their quantity as properly.
This tends to be most useful if there are a number of individuals in your house who could have to step up throughout an emergency and don’t have the vets’ numbers saved, or when you rent a pet sitter.
Personally, I favor for me and my relations to maintain vet contact numbers in our cellphone’s contacts for sooner entry.
10. Gauze and Non-Adhesive Vet Wrap
Gauze and vet wrap can be utilized to bandage wounds and cease bleeding when you name your vet for additional directions and to make an appointment.
11. Saline Resolution
Saline can be utilized to flush guinea pig’s eyes or to scrub small wounds, resembling shallow cuts in case your guinea pigs have had a combat. After, proceed to observe for indicators of an infection or abcess and see a vet if vital.
12. Tweezers
A small pair of plastic tweezers can take away hay if it will get in your guinea pig’s nostril or to get splinters out of their ft.
13. Scissors
Don’t we at all times want a pair of scissors? Whether or not you’re opening a brand new bag of meals or chopping gauze to measurement so you’ll be able to bandage a wound, scissors are at all times helpful to have round.
14. Probiotics
Many individuals prefer to pair probiotics with antibiotics to revive good micro organism within the intestine. Be certain to observe your vet’s steering on the subject of medicines, and at all times allow them to know you’re including a probiotic to your guinea pig’s remedy plan.
15. Antiseptic Cream
An antiseptic cream resembling Bepanthen First Assist Cream can be utilized on minor wounds or insect bites to assist stop an infection. These ought to be used on the pores and skin solely and avoided the eyes.
16. Vitamin C Complement
Like people, guinea pigs can’t produce their very own vitamin C. A nutritious diet consisting of each day recent greens ought to present sufficient vitamin C for wholesome guinea pigs. However typically they want further assist.
Please keep away from the dietary supplements that go into your guinea pigs’ water, as these aren’t efficient. Some piggies dislike the style as properly, which might make them keep away from ingesting from their water bottles.
As an alternative, syringe-feed a liquid vitamin C complement that’s saved appropriately in a darkish bottle, resembling the sort made by Child Life.
17. Antifungal Cream
Guinea pigs are liable to fungal infections resembling ringworm, so it’s good to have an antifungal cream readily available for any breakouts.
Search for antifungal cream with miconazole nitrate because the energetic ingredient, and keep away from something steroid-based.
When unsure, or if the antifungal cream you buy doesn’t work, contact your veterinarian for steering.
18. Ivermectin
Ivermectin is usually used to deal with parasites like mites and lice in guinea pigs or as a preventative measure. Whereas it’s efficient when used appropriately, it’s dangerous to make use of with out veterinary steering. Guinea pigs are small animals and it may be straightforward to overdose them.
It’s greatest to speak to your veterinarian first to see whether or not they advocate Ivermectin or one other product made for guinea pigs.
19. Vet-Prescribed Medicines
I prefer to maintain any leftover prescription medicines in my first-aid package in the event that they aren’t previous their expiration date and I feel they can be utilized once more. Examples are ache relievers or eye ointments.
It’s sometimes not advisable to maintain issues like antibiotics, as your guinea pig will want a full spherical of them to be efficient. I additionally by no means advocate giving prescription medicines with out veterinary steering, even when it appears innocent! If you happen to do give a drugs and later go to the vet, ensure they know in order that they don’t begin your guinea pig on any therapies that would battle with the remedy you gave.
Holding previous medicines round primarily is useful in case your vet prescribes them once more sooner or later, as this may prevent cash! Some vets can even okay the usage of a drugs over the cellphone to save lots of you a visit, or to make use of till you will get an appointment.
Over time, you’ll study extra about your preferences and what you need to maintain in your guinea pigs’ emergency package. As an illustration, I’ve included grooming provides right here, however you may want yours saved in their very own place. Or, you may favor completely different merchandise than these I’ve listed right here.
I hope this text has given you a very good place to begin and that you simply customise your emergency package to satisfy your and your guinea pigs’ wants!
