Emile was modeling for our Annual Holiday Auction that's going on this week at bit.ly/pipauction which reminded me to update all of you on his condition. As most of you remember Emile came to use from Heart of Ohio Guinea Pig Rescue after he was surrendered because of his excessive scratching causing really extreme self-injury. He had been treated for all of the obvious causes that their vets could think of so he came here to have a skin biopsy which was sent to a specialist. Well, we got the results back and found out that luckily Emile doesn't have a fungal infection, cancer, or parasites, but it appears he has an allergy! Allergies in guinea pigs are pretty uncommon so there's not a lot of information on how to manage it and there's not a very good way to find out what he is specifically allergic to. Luckily, however, whatever he is allergic to doesn't seem to be present in our house which gives us a pretty good idea that it's one of two things most likely. The first possibility is that he was allergic to his bedding, however, supposedly his first owners tried a variety of beddings and it didn't help. At The Pipsqueakery we really only use fleece and paper based bedding because I (Alex) am really allergic to any wood shavings. The second, and probably more likely, possibility is that Emile is allergic to timothy hay. At The Pipsqueakery we use orchard, meadow, or oat hay because, again, I am very allergic to timothy hay. So, I guess Emile will probably be staying as a sanctuary piggie since my own allergies make our house safe for him. If his symptoms return we will probably do more testing to try to pinpoint the issue, but for now there's no reason to put him through that. Anyway, you should probably check out our auction because fundraisers like that make it possible for us to help special animals like Emile! #guineapig #love #rescue #sanctuary #allergies #ironicallyIamallergictoEmile #cuddlinghimmakesmescratchmyskin #idoitanyway https://www.instagram.com/p/B4f1jFtHxab/?igshid=o9y5t8crt9dj