Health Checks
We recommend a health check shortly after bringing your new pet home.
Bring in details of all foods and any supplements or medicines you may be using.
Collect samples of urine and faeces from that morning if you can.
Take videos of any behaviours that you are worried about or confused by.
Isolate from the rest of your animal family at home (that means do not introduce or let them play together) until after the first check up and the vet has assessed the pet as being healthy.
If you do wish to introduce then please ask us how and when this should be done.
At the ‘Health Check’ we will perform a full physical examination, and we will be assessing your new pet’s overall condition, the muscle and fat levels, hydration and checking for anaemia.
We will be paying particular attention for parasites & for signs of any infectious diseases. We will be focusing on gut function and on the diet, whether is it appropriate and the amounts suitable. We may not perform a full dental check on young animals if the incisors look normal.
Once we have examined your pet hopefully we will have found nothing seriously wrong, and we will then make whatever recommendations we think are necessary for the diet and care of the pet. If there is time we will talk to you about handling and training as this is the right age to be teaching your pet !
Annual Health Check
Once your new pet is settled in and any health problems have been solved, then we recommend a yearly general health check.
Please ensure you know the brands of foods your pet is on, and any supplements or long term medications.
Bring urine and faeces from that morning if you can. We would also like to see a photo of the cage set up.
At this check we will assess body condition, muscle and fat levels, hydration and check for anaemia. We will check the eyes, ears, and perform the very important dental examination. We will feel the lymph nodes, palpate the abdomen for any abnormalities and listen to the heart and lungs.
We will search for parasites, and examine the skin, and look for any pressure sores or ‘sore hocks’ on the feet and also assess the nail length.
Once we have examined your pet hopefully we will have found nothing seriously wrong, and we will then make whatever recommendations we think are necessary for the diet and care of the pet.
Geriatric Health Checks
Once your guinea pig is older, or ‘geriatric’ we advise moving to checks every six months as it is safer.
6 months for a guinea pig is roughly equal to 5 years for a human.
We believe this ‘geriatric’ to be over 5 years for a guinea pig although just like humans, animals age at different rates! If you are worried or would like a check every 3 months, that’s fine with us. We do understand that many of our owners worry very much.
At this check we will assess body condition, muscle and fat levels, hydration and check for anaemia. We will check the eyes, ears, and perform the very important dental examination. We will feel the lymph nodes, palpate the abdomen for any abnormalities and listen to the heart and lungs.
We will search for parasites, and examine the skin, and look for any pressure sores or ‘sore hocks’ on the feet and also assess the nail length.
We will also be paying particular attention to the ‘gait’ or movement of the pet, and the flexibility as mobility problems become more common in the older animal. As they are often too nervous to move freely in here a video of walking and running, and self grooming can be very helpful.
We will probably suggest taking a blood test every 6-12 months to monitor the liver and kidney function. We usually collect the blood from a vein in the back leg, we use a small needle and collect about 3 drops of blood, and it should be over in a few seconds.
Once we have examined your pet hopefully we will have found nothing seriously wrong, and we will then make whatever recommendations we think are necessary for the diet and care of your older guinea pig.