parasites?

Question
We were given a cavy about 2 months ago.It was suppose to be very old(6-7 yrs).It was in VERY poor condition,just skin & bones.It had a discharge from its noise with some behavior I had never witnessed in pigs before.It liked to stay in the corner and seemed to carry its head to one side.It did get alittle better.It put on weight and began whistling much more then when we first got it.It responded well to our presents and whistled loudly in the mornings when we got up(for its morning lettuce).The cage was kept clean!It got out daily in an outdoor cage while the indoor cage was cleaned.I had gotten a medication from the vet just after we got it to combat a lice or mite it had.
Things went down hill QUICKLY.One morning it would not eat seemed to be loosing its balance,its ability to control its rear end.It was dead within an hour.That morning tho- we had discovered tens(a hundred or more) of some kind of larve or worm on its underside near the tits.We are tring to find out what happen  and what they woms were.If you could shed any light on this we would be thankful.  

Answer
Hi Phyllis,

Unfortunately I can't say what the worms were. Without seeing them I really couldn't even guess.

I am wondering what the medication was that you were given for the guinea. Penicillin is toxic and I expect would have caused such a sudden death. There are other medicines which could cause a similar reaction.

The best and only advice I can give you is to go to Guinea Lynx ( www.guinealynx.info ) and have a search through their site. Especially have a look at the lists of safe and dangerous medications - if you see the medicine given to you for your guinea on the dangerous list then I expect that is what caused his death.

I'm sorry you had to go through this and I hope you find answers soon.

Best Wishes,

- Laura
www.cavy-care.com