Daryl's Second treatment!

   So today was Daryl's second treatment of the Ivermectin for his mites and Dr said he is looking awesome and healthy!  I read a few bad stories about Ivermectin and I was definitely worried and still am because it's hard to measure such a small dose but I have faith she knows what she's doing being a vet lol.  I just worry because she said she hasn't had to deal with such small animals :(  I also got Chip a treatment just to be on the safe side!  She loves Daryl but she REALLY LOVES Chip!  I think they are both equally amazing myself but I'm sure she likes him more because he has crazy hair.

   Well, They go back in 7 days to get the third treatment and she said that should be it.  She said she won't do 3 treatments for Chip unless spots appear because she don't feel he would contract the mites since Daryl was already treated before we got him.  I'm not exactly sure I agree with that 100% but I will take her word for it because again she has the license not me.

   I hope you are all having great times with your little furry loves and that they are all healthy and happy!

Introducing Chip!!!!!

   Well, we were given the ok to get Daryl a buddy since his treatments have been started and he is doing good and healing well.  We were going to wait until tomorrow to get him but we couldn't wait so we got him today!!  His name is Chip!  He is a male about 3 months like Daryl!  He is super cute and super sweet!!

   Ahhh how beautiful is he???  I love him so much already!  His crazy hair and adorable little face!  I can't get enough of him!!  As of right now he is in a different cage than Daryl but after tomorrow he will be in with his buddy!  I have put him and Daryl together to meet and they LOVE each other!  They chase each other and make their cute little noises and push their little jingle ball around with each other.  I couldn't be happier with their relationship!  

   Well, I hope you all love him as much as I do because he is amazing!!  I can't wait to get their first video of them playing to share with you guys!  

Daryl Update...

   It has been 4 days since Daryl got his first Ivermectin treatment and he is still doing fabulous!!  His skin is looking so good now and he only has one small piece of scab left to fall off.  His next treatment is in 3 days and I can't wait to get him in there and show her how much he has healed!  She said she doesn't ever get small critter patients and she fell in love with Daryl!  Even after his treatment she held him and petted him for about 30 minutes.  She said she thinks she is going to look into getting one herself!

   I also think he is going through a growing spurt or something because he is eating so much lately!  He has always ate good but lately he constantly wants food!  The place I got him from was giving him some greens here and there but I give him his spring mix every day and also other things that I switch up every day such as carrots, grapes, bell peppers, ect.  He loves it all!  Today he had his spring mix and some carrots and 2 brussel sprout leaves.  Tomorrow will be spring mix and grapes.  He always has a dish of pellets and a pile of hay for him as well.

   I have noticed he is gaining a little weight since I got him!  Not unhealthy weight, but when I got him he was much smaller than his brother who was in the cage with him and he was very light but now hes getting heavier and I can just tell he is healthier now than he was then.

   The weather is SLOWLY getting warmer here and I can't wait for it to get a little warmer so I can take him out to see some grass and fresh air!  I have a feeling he is going to love it outside!

 

Everything is good!

   Well, It's been 2 days since Daryl got his first treatment and he is doing very well!  His scabs are all disappearing and his underneath skin looks great!  I was worried after getting him treated because someone showed me an article about Ivermectin overdoses and although I seen the vet apply literally 1 drop of the stuff on him it freaked me out but he is doing awesome!  He is still playing and eating and running around so I know hes good!  When I take him in for his second treatment I am going to ask the vet when it will be safe to put a friend in with him.  I have been seeing a lot of people needing help with their little piggies and I feel bad for them and I responded to them all so let them know I will be happy to take them in once Daryl is ok'd to have a friend!  I do have separate cages I could use now but I worry that they could still end up with the mites for some reason but once the vet gives me the ok I will be adding to my little piggy family!  I knew I liked guinea pigs but I think I forgot just HOW MUCH I actually loved their cute little faces and adorable squeaks and squeals.  Earlier I gave Daryl an apple stick I bought and he kept making his little noise.  I wasn't sure if that meant he was happy or mad about it but it was cute either way.  He is really enjoying his loft sleeping area!  I fringed the opening and its so cute when he peeks his little head out to see what is going on.  I love our little Daryl!

This picture doesn't show the fringes but that is his little loft bedroom.  Notice how well his nose is healing!  You can see hair starting to regrow in some little spots.

   I always want to say I have been doing some guinea pig stalking on Twitter and on YouTube and OMG you guys have such amazing little piggies also.  I think it would be awesome to have little guinea pig play dates :D  Not that many of us have time for stuff like that especially after work and kids and grocery shopping and the usually everyday running we do but if I lived in a more populated area I would definitely start a little piggy meeting group!

   Oh well, it is after 2 A.M. and I am dead tired so I am off to bed!  Hope you guys are as happy as I am to see Daryl healing!  Ahhh he's such a sweet piggy!

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And the Doctor says.....

   YAY Daryl is on the road to recovery!!  The doctor said his skin is already looking good and healing so the coconut oil did good in keeping his skin healthy!  She gave him the Ivermectin and he needs to be back on the 27th for his next dose!  She literally only applied 1 drop of the Ivermectin!  I laughed when she did it and I told her I definitely could have done that myself but she said she would have rathered me go in there for the first application to make sure it was done correctly.  She only wants me to come back to do the next one to have him reweighed before doing it!  She said I can do the third dose on my own though.

   As far as the coconut oil goes she said it has really helped to condition his skin and it should speed up the hair growing process so thats awesome!  She also said to keep putting it on there if he has not been itching since I been applying it and he definitely has not been itching at all since I been using it!  So if your guinea pig has a mite issue buy some Virgin Coconut Oil and put just a small amount on the spots and gently rub it on and it should help with the itching! And definitely get him/her treated of course! She has told me a few times that it helps starve the mites and Im not sure how and I keep forgetting to ask why but it is definitely helping keep him comfortable I do know that!

   Well, I will be taking daily photos to see his healing progress day by day!  I can't wait for him to be healed and healthy again!

 

Daryl's New Cage!!

  Well I finally got my video done and uploaded so check out his new cage!! He loves it!  He has so much room to move around and I also make him a super simple play pen as well!! I will take pics of that tomorrow!

Check out Daryl's New Cage HERE!!!

Dr. Appointment for my poor piggy!

  Well, Daryl is being seen tomorrow morning!  I cannot wait for him to get better and get his hair back!  He has not been itching at all the last 2-3 days now.  I dont know if it is the neosporin cleaner or the coconut oil but one or the other is really helping him and that makes me happy!  He also hasn't had anymore hair loss which Im guessing is because he hasn't been itching.  I can also see little spots where his hair looks like its coming back which I was not expecting just yet.  He has been popcorning A LOT today. I love when he does that and so does my baby boy!  Everytime he popcorns my baby laughs like crazy :)

   We went to a pet store today to get some toys and what not for him and Pooki and they had a guinea pig that looked just like a prairie dog!  I wanted it but I am going to wait to add to our piggy family until Daryl is better!  Well, I just wanted to do a short update on my little piggy and I will do another tomorrow after the Dr. to let you know what she says!

How I have been caring for Daryl during his mite problem...

   I woke up happy today when I seen Daryl and no new hair loss or scratching!  There are no new sores or wounds!  I did A LOT of research this last weekend about how I can effectively help Daryl to be comfortable while waiting on his treatment and I found something that I believe is working!  Although this little regimen I am doing does not cure the mites it does help with the itching and from what I understand will kill some of them!

   I have been cleaning his face and leg area with Neosporin would cleaner!  It is actually a liquid Neosporin cleaner that has a pump to turn it into foam!  It is for children so it does not sting at all and of course it cleans the area.  I apply the Neosporin directly to the areas and using a cotton ball to gently pat it on there!

   After the Neosporin I apply Virgin Coconut Oil!  If you know about coconut oil you know it has healing qualities!  Coconut oil also has a good penetrating property meaning it penetrates the skin deep down!  It will not kill the mites but it will slow them down.

   I have been using this regimen for a few days now and have applied it about 6 times and as I said above he must not be itchy anymore because there is no new blood on the skin or new hair loss!  This makes me extremely happy!  I will continue to do this even after the treatment because it will help to heal the skin and hopefully help new hair growth to come in faster!

   Besides the Neosporin and Coconut Oil I have also made him a new cage and have stopped using wood bedding and am now using fleece instead!  I have to say he seems a lot happier and more active!  I will be doing a new video on the cage possibly later on today so be sure to check back sometime later to catch that!

Let me just put this out there...

   First of all I know Daryl is not feeling 100%! That is very obvious!  But believe me I have called every local vet and no one is available anytime soon to do anything for him.  I have ordered his meds like I previously said and I am confident they will help him! I have been babying him all day everyday making sure his face is clean and he is comfortable! So please do not come at me acting like I am doing something wrong or don't care that he has this issue because I definitely do care and am doing all that I can to care for him properly! His vet appointment is set up for Thursday and if the meds dont come in to me by then, then the vet will use hers! Either way he will get his treatment Thursday which is the soonest I can have him seen! If you cant accept this then I don't know what to tell you! If you can then thanks for understanding and I hope you continue reading our blog and follow along his journey to recovery!

YouTube is up!!

   Ok guys I told you I would make a video of Daryl and his mite problem!  I did so this morning and the video is now up!  Check it out and I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE!!

Click here to watch Daryl's video!

Uh Oh I was wrong...Daryl it is!

   Well, when I bought Miss Priss I was told she was for sure a female.  I took her word for it because I have never sexed a baby guinea pig before and didn't know what to look for exactly.  However, I just googled how to sex a guinea pig and after comparing Miss Priss to multiple photos she infact is a HE!  My son was right after all!  I guess this means all my girly fleece needs to be traded in for boy theme fleece.  Actually I will probably still use it for something...

   I think now I will have to apologize to my son for always trying to convince him it was a girl even though he knew it was a boy haha.  Oh well, it won't be the first time he has proved me wrong.  So I guess I should do another introduction...

Introducing Daryl!!!

   I am not sure if I wrote about where the name Daryl came from or not.  If I didn't, my son Julien (5 years)  originally named him Daryl because he LOVES the show Walking Dead and Daryl is his favorite person from the show.  I recently had to bribe him to get his hair cut because he was looking a little too much like Daryl with his hair growing out.  Thankfully he finally agreed!

   On another note I think I will get my first YouTube video of Daryl up today!  I still have to make it... I was going to wait until he was healed but I think I will do one specifically on his mite issue!  I will be sure to post a link in another blog post!  Check back soon for that link!  Also, don't forget to subscribe and share my blog :)

Introducing Pooki!!

   YAY!! I have ALWAYS loved Hedgehogs! I always wanted one since a child but my parents would never allow it.  Well, my local pet shop happened to have one when we were pet shopping sooo we bought her! At first I was a little apprehensive because I wasn't sure how the kids would do with her but they have been great with her!  She was nameless for about a week until last night when we finally named her Pooki! I wanted to name her Poki since shes prickeley but my husband said he liked Pooki better so Pooki it is.

   Being a Hedgehog I thought she was always going to be prickeley and try to draw blood if I even went near her but she is pretty sweet.  At first she does puff up and hiss but after a minute she calms down.  I'm sure that is because it is always so noisy in my house because of my 3 boys always running around and yelling and playing.  She probably doesn't know what to expect at first.

   She is so funny when we put her in the big wheel.  She loves it and it's so cute to watch her.  She just goes and goes and goes.  I have a few small toys in her cage that I have never seen her play with but I am assuming she plays at night when everything is quiet.  If you have never considered a Hedgie as a pet you really should. They make good pets and are easy to care for.  The cage is simple, the food is super simple since they eat cat food.  You really can't go wrong as long as you have a little time for interaction each day.  We take her out to play with her for about 10-15 minutes each day until she starts getting over play time.  We love her!  Be sure to subscribe and check back for more from these adorable little critters!

Miss Priss has mites :(

  Well, if you read the introduction of Miss Priss then you know she has parasitic mites.  When I bought her from the pet shop I noticed she has a small spot on her face and also on her leg but I thought nothing of it. I thought it was just a battle wound from her cage mate.  Well, I couldn't be any more wrong unfortunately.

   I did a lot of researching on the internet and am pretty positive she definitely has mites.  I took her back to the pet shop I got her from and the owner sprayed her with some sort of stuff and gave me some Diatomaceous Earth to sprinkle around in her cage.  Neither have helped.  The next day I decided to make her a new cage and use fleece instead of wood shavings.  I am hoping that will help.

   Today I gave her an oatmeal bath and put coconut oil on the wounds. She hasn't been itching nearly as bad thankfully.  I also order some Ivermectin and cannot wait for that to get here because from what I understand that is pretty much the only thing that will help her.

   I feel so terrible that she is suffering and I cannot do much to make her feel better but I'm trying.  Here are a few pictures from us first getting her up to today.  You can really see how much it has spread across her face :(

Day 1:

Day 3:

Day 5 I think:

Day 10 (Today):

   She mostly itches at night for some reason.  I will be putting more coconut oil on the wounds before I go to bed to hopefully help with the itching.  If you have any questions or suggestions please please feel free to contact me! 

   Don't forget to subscribe to watch her hopefully progress and heal once I get this medicine in! I am also going to look at new little piggies tomorrow.  I have noticed how she seems to be looking for her cage mate since we got her so I want to get her a friend.  I will not be putting them together until I get her cured of the mites but at least she will have a new friend once she is fixed up! 

   I also have another little critter to introduce to you so be sure to look for a new post from us soon!!

Introducing Miss Priss/Daryl

   Hello out there!! I have created this blog to share my sweet little critters with you! Miss Priss (my son named HER Daryl after the guy from Walking Dead...I didn't want to break his heart and tell him SHES A GIRL so I just let him go with it but I named her Miss Priss). She is a baby guinea pig! She is currently about 1 1/2 month old!

   I got her about 2 weeks ago from a local pet shop and unfortunately she currently has a parasite mite issue! When I bought her I noticed a very small spot on her leg and also on her face and I thought it was a small battle wound from her cage mate...After a few days it worsened and now today it looks like this :(

   It actually looks worse in person but you get the point. I will make another post all about the mite issue though.

   She is so sweet! She does run a little when I try to play with her but after a few seconds she realizes I am there to give her love and she comes right to me! When I took her back to the pet shop to show the owner she told me I could just trade her in if I wanted to but there was no way I was going to give her back now! I already fell in love with her as did my kids! My son had a guinea pig last year and she was also very sweet! Her name was Penelope! She was fine one day and we woke up the next morning and she was dead. We believe a friends little daughter got into her cage while everyone was sleeping and possibly broke her neck :( It was very sad for us all because we only had her a few months! 

   Anyway, again, this is Miss Priss/Daryl and I hope you are looking forward to seeing a lot more of her! Be sure to subscribe to this blog to see more posts on her!