Any rabbit people out there? I know this is a guinea pig blog, but I know someone with a rabbit and it needs help right away.
There once was a pig from Peru,
Who fell asleep in a comfortable shoe,
He slept for a while,
And made a small smile,
And then, it was covered in poo.beautiful
(via vupu)
My guinea pig, Inara, had something weird on her feet. I panicked and took her to the vet right away. It turned out to only be spurs.
Everything I’m about to tell you was information told to me by my vet.
What are they?
Spurs are made out of the same sort of tissue that calluses are made out of. They’re just extra pieces of skin. They never stop growing and therefore can’t be pertinently removed.
What do I do?
Spurs can be cut down just like a pigs’ nails can. You have to be careful not to cut too close to the piggies’s foot. Personally, I feel a lot more comfortable taking my pig to the vet to get them removed. Our vet cuts it down when we bring her in to get her nails done. However, some people do cut them at home using nail clippers.
Does it hurt the pig?
No, spurs do not hurt the piggy.
What can cause spurs?
According to my vet, using the wrong type of bedding, not using enough bedding, or not changing the bedding enough can cause spurs. Carefresh bedding or fleece bedding are the two best types of bedding to use for guinea pigs. Bedding should be at leave 4 inches thick and fleece bedding should be as fluffy as possible. (When I used fleece bedding I had one waterproof layer, 2 layers of towels, and 2 layers of fleece.) Sometimes spurs can just happen for no reason. If you’re guinea pig gets spurs talk to your vet to try and figure out the cause.
Even if you decide to cut the spurs yourself you should still make at least one trip to the vet to make sure their spurs and try and figure out what is causing them. Better safe than sorry.
Pictures:
I just realized I never actually wrote what happened with Inara. I made a video but I promised to write something to in case people didn’t watch the video.
Long story short, everyone who wrote to me was correct. It was spurs. The vet said since none of the other pigs had it that it probably just happened to Inara for no reason. Inara is fine. :) Spurs grow like toenails so the vet will just keep trimming them when we take her to get her nails clipped. Since there’s not much online about spurs I’ll write a post about them in a few minutes. I’ll also write a post about what happens at the vet when a piggy gets a checkup.
Thank you to everyone who kept me sane that day. :)
I never even knew this and I’ve fed bread to ducks multiple times! D: Definitely reblog this so everyone knows!
POOR DUCKS OMG.
I PROMISE TO NEVER EVER FEED YOU BREAD EVER.
Who’d’ve thunk?
(via annabel-leah)
[video]
Tiana, you were are such a smart little hamster. You even came when we called your name. I loved the cute little quirks you had. Like how you’d only run on your wheel and not in it. I loved how when I came home from being away at school you would come running out of your little igloo. My sister, your mommy, definitely loved you a lot. She loved how you’d walk all over her and never try to run away. She loved putting you in little boxes and tricking people into opening them. I’m pretty sure you liked it too because you always waited until the perfect moment to pop your head out. You also loved taking rides in her shirt or pocket. You sure did love boobies.
You were a happy hamster. You loved to run around your mom’s bed. You loved to climb the piggies like they were mountains. I’ll never forget watching you and the piggies play. It made me so happy that you guys were best friends. I know the piggies will miss their little buddy too.
We all know how much your mommy loves you. I think it was also obvious how much you love your mommy. You had no problem letting her pick you right up. You even fell asleep on her. That was how you spent your last night. Snuggled up happily with your mommy.
Have fun on the other side of the rainbow bridge. Say hello to all the others for us. We’ll see you all again one day. Rest in peace. We’ll miss you. We love you.
Thank you! That’s what Kieri said too. You guys are definitely helping me calm down. I just got a text from my mom saying that she’s going to pick me and Inara up and take us to the vet at 3:30.
Kieri thinks it’s spurs.
I called my mom and she said she’s going to call the vet.