Guinea Pig Case Study

I was called to see Pudding, a 2-year-old male Skinny (Guinea) Pig, who had recently had an incident in his enclosure that sent him ‘thrashing’ around in the middle of the night. Once he had calmed down it became apparent to his guardian that he was ‘not him-self’, he was once a confident ‘piggy’ and now was hiding in a corner refusing to venture into the other ¾ of his enclosure. Over the next 2 days he started to show signs of being constipated, with reduced appetite.   

Life History

Pudding was adopted by his now guardian in September 2021, with his ‘piggy’ friend Treacle.  It was clear that they had not been receiving the best of care as they were both under-weight, with overgrown claws and smelt of cigarette smoke. Shortly after moving to their new home Pudding and Treacle started getting into fights and had to be separated for safety. They now happily live next to each other in separate enclosures but still able to have contact with each other and both boys seem far more relaxed about the new setup. Pudding was born with a condition that affects his eyes, it is unknown how much vision he has but he has never let that hold him back from his adventures. 

Meridian imbalances

Pudding showed imbalances mostly in the conception vessel, stomach, spleen/pancreas, circulation, triple warmer, liver, large intestine and spleen pancreas (immune) meridians. Pudding's priority meridian that was out of balance was his large intestine meridian that relates to constipation and holding on to past issues. 

Aromatics for selection

Neroli (Citrus aurantium) EO in Hempseed (Cannabis sativa) oil- for its deeply calming and uplifting effect after his recent shock. Hemp Seed oil is also grounding and comforting, especially for anxiety related behavioural issues. 

Roman Chamomile (Chamamaelum nobile) hydrosol- for its grounding and soothing effect on his nervous related digestive issue.

Nutrition and management suggestions

I also made Pudding a flower essence remedy for self-selection that included: 

-      Cherry Plum: to restore calmness and control.

-      Cerato: to restore confidence and sense of self.

-      Star of Bethlehem: to ease physical, mental and emotional shock, and restore calmness.  

His flower essence was added to an extra water bowl, away from his drinking bowl so he could self-select as and when he needed. 

Pudding’s response to aromatics

Pudding showed interest via inhalation in his Roman Chamomile hydrosol that was diluted 5 drops in 100mls of water. After his first session selecting the Roman chamomile, I recommend that his guardian place one drop on a small piece of cloth and place it in the areas of his enclosure that he was now too fearful to venture into. 

Pudding showed keen interest in his Neroli essential oil that was diluted 1 drop in 15mls Hemp Seed oil. After his initial inhalation he moved away and started scratching and grooming himself, his guardian informed me that it was not something Pudding would normally do, this indicated that he was showing a positive reaction to inhaling the oil. However, I felt that although he was interacting with the oil, it was a bit too strong for him. So, I put 1 drop of the diluted oil on his mat. He came over to where it had been placed, took a few sniffs and moved to the other side of the enclosure facing the drop of oil and went into a trance for approx. 10 minutes, sniffing the air and yawning. Once he had finished processing the oil, he went back to munching on his hay. As with the hydrosol, I recommended that his guardian put one drop on a separate piece of cloth placed away from the cloth with hydrosol on it, for him to self-select as and when he needed. 

After his session Pudding was put back into his enclosure, where he ventured further than he had gone since the incident. The next day his guardian offered him his aromatics again and refreshed the cloths with fresh hydrosols and oil. 

Final outcome

The next night I received a message from his guardian saying that his constipation had passed, he was now eating normally and roaming around his whole enclosure “like nothing ever happened”. She also found him in his bed next to his aromatic cloth's (at the end of the enclosure that he previously would not go near).

Feedback from Pudding's Guardian

“He has drunk a lot of his flower essence water! Eaten quite a bit of hay and is now out of the corner! Wahooo!”

“He is out and about using the whole damn cage Kirsty, first time since the event!”

“How wonderful is that, he has yawned three times while sitting in bed next to his aromatic cloth's, he is acting like it never went wrong!”