Guinea pigs and chinchillas: Exotics

Guinea pig behaviour

• 4-6y lifespan

• Diurnal

  • prone to heat exhaustion

• Non-burrowing

  • flat, single tier cage

  • NO CEDAR/PINE bedding

• Social, Gregarious

  • House in groups

• Domesticated

Chinchilla behaviour

• 10-15y lifespan

• Crepuscular

• Burrowing

• Mountain range habitat

  • multi tier cage

  • Dust bath needed

    • Anorexia if not given

• Social, Gregarious

  • House in groups

• Domesticated

  • critically endangered in wild

Chinchilla anatomy

• Females have…

  • urogenital papilla

• Males have…

  • larger UG distance

  • lack a true scrotum

Guinea pig anatomy

• Large inguinal rings

• Scrotal swellings either side of urogenital area

• Females have less prominent urinary papilla

Guinea pig diet

• supplement vit C

  • Lack L-gluconolactone oxidase

  • Deficiency impacts skeleton and soft tissue

• Hay AAT, herbs, veggies

• Pellets

• Cant vomit

• Only fast for a few hrs

Chinchilla diet

• Hay AAT, herbs

• Pellets

• No dried fruits/greens

  • scant

• Cant vomit

Preventive medicine

• NO vax

• Fecals

  • Giardia, Coccidia, Crypto,

    Tapes, Hooks, Rounds, Pinworms

• Antibiotic sensitivity

  • metronidazole, clindamycin lincomycin, erythromycin,

    ampicillin/beta lactams

• Spay

  • flank method

• Can be intubated

  • challenging and need capnograph if done

• Venipuncture: Cranial vena cava, jugular

• Injections: SAME AS RABBITS

Guinea pig restraint

• Restrain at shoulder

• dont scruff

Chinchilla restraint

• Base of tail

  • “Fur Slip”

Guinea Pig Anatomy

• Round Pupil

• swelling of inferior conjunctival sac

  • pea eye

• 4 front toes and 3 back toes

• ALL elodont teeth

• Teeth roots are angulated/hidden

• White teeth

• Palatal Ostium

  • intubation issues

    • KEEP HEAD ELEVATED

    • Hypersalivation

Chinchilla anatomy

• Vertical pupil

• accessible tympanic bulla

  • human auditory/aucular research

• No nails

• 4 toes each foot

• ALL elodont teeth

• Yellow teeth

Guinea pig dx

• Urolithiasis

  • CS: Stranguria, Hematuria

  • Calcium carbonate

  • Need Sx

• GDV

  • stomach/cecum

• Cystic Ovaries

  • CS: Bilateral hair loss, not itchy

• Seizures

  • Ectoparasites

    • Trixacarus Caviae

  • Severely puritic

Chinchilla dx

• Dental disease

  • “Slobbers”/ Malocclusion

• Broken bones

• Uroliths

• Lymphoma