Guinea Pig First Aid Kit

Well first you might wonder why you need a piggy first aid kit. When whee piggies get hurt or sick there is nothing whee need more than veterinary treatment. Nothing in the first aid kit can take the place of the professional opinion of a vet, these are just things to tide you over till you can get to a vet, or things to use in emergencies.  You need to make sure you have a cavy savvy vet you can get to and know about before your piggy gets sick. You will already be pretty upset if your piggy is unwell so the last thing you want is to do is have to dash around searching for a vet. There is a great list here for people in the UK, of vets recommended by other guinea pig owners, including ours, through The Guinea Pig Forum.

Without further ado, here are the things in our first aid kit!

This is everything including the things Mummy forgot to take pigtures of!

• 1ml syringes (some with the tips cut off to allow for easier syringe feeding)
• 2ml syringes
• Our brushes (whee are always soothed by being brushed so Mummy keeps those nearby)
• Nail clippers, whee use Options Nail Trimmers from here
• Pill crusher (pestle and mortar, it’s the hoomans one kept in the kitchen but useful for us too)
• Tweezers
• Small scissors (such as hooman nail scissors)
• Towels (whee have a few small hand towels just for us)
• Cotton wool pads
• Cotton buds
• Bandages
• Disposable gloves
• Weighing Scales
• Piggy shampoos, whee have one insecticidal and a few others. Whee use shampoos by Johnsons or Pets At Home
• Small animal wipes (the ones whee use are suitable for cleaning eyes and ears as well as our furs!) Whee use Johnsons Vet Small Animal Wipes, found near the bottom of this page 
• A few small bowls and spoons
• Pet Safe Heatpad (Snuggle Safe Microwaveable Heat pad, good for all animals, not just piggies! Found here)
• A few tubes of saline (for cleaning and flushing out wounds, bought from our vet)
• Probiotic powder (add to water and give to piggies when they are having antibiotics to replace the good bacteria that is being killed too.  Also good for digestive problems in piggies) Whee use Pro-C Probiotic by Vet Ark and bought it here
• Syringe food formula (whee have two brands because whee are fussy piggies! Oxbox Critical Care and Selective Science Recovery are the two whee recommend, both bought from our vet and whee have two sachets of each)
• A veterinary wound powder (available in some pet stores and online) Whee use Johnsons Veterinary Wound Powder from here
• The pet safe tea tree skin cream (soothes itchy skin, only the one in pet shops and labelled for guinea pigs is suitable) Whee use Johnsons Tea Tree Skin cream here
• Daktarin cream (used to treat patches of fungal infections, available in chemists)
• Anti-fungal spray (used on large areas of fungal) Whee use Beaphar Anti-fungal spray from here
• Vicks Vaporub or Vicks Inhaler (really helps piggies with respiratory infections or allergies to breath easier, best placed near the cage but out of reach)

Mummy keeps most of our stuff in a little basket next to our cage. She also keeps the books she has about piggies there. Some useful books include ‘Peter Gurney’s Collins Family Pet Guide – Guinea Pig‘ which has a great section in the back about emergencies.

Also nearby is a selection of our favourite treats, as bribes and very important for a first aid kit!