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18 month Female not eating

Cookie24

New Born Pup
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Looking for some advice as I don’t think my vet really has a clue what’s wrong with my girl.

She had lost a lot of weight and the vet has seen her a number of times and has ground her teeth back, both the back and front teeth and says that she was unable to find any real dental issues.

This was done on Friday and since then she’s been back three times this week.

They sent her home with a dose of metacam of 0.14ml. We have since then increased the dose to around 0.8mg/kg thinking she was in pain. We have increased the dose further to the max of 1.5mg/kg in the hope that if she was in pain this would help her eat.

On Sunday we noticed that she had a lump along the right jaw bone. We hadn’t noticed this before so now have no idea if this was the original problem or if the lump is due to an infection after the surgery in her teeth or if she has an abscess from a damaged tooth.

They started her on Co-trimoxazole, but reading here that doesn’t seem to be much use and so far has made little to no difference in the size of the lump or her appetite.

I took her back to the vet today after reading various post on here and they reluctantly prescribed Marbocyl and basically said they have no idea what is wrong with her and have no idea why she is not eating saying it could be many things including cancer.

We are syringe feeding her but she is very reluctant and it takes a lot to get the food and water in her.

We have also tried poo soup today in the hope it may help her stomach start working again. I also have a pre/probiotic with Vit-c on the way tomorrow.

Before syringe feeding I always try her with a few bits like spinach or Kale leaves or fresh grass.

This evening she ate one spinach leaf but seemed to have to rip at it instead of cutting it, and seemed to take along time to chew it. As I’m writing this we are syringe feeding her but she’s taken a real interest in stripping the skin off a banana that was on the table which she kept running off to chew on. It’s the first real food she’s eaten by herself in days, wasn’t sure if maybe the poo soup earlier today was starting to help.

I’m confused if it is her jaw/teeth hurting as she hasn’t had any metacam in 12 hours and doesn’t seem to be in pain while chewing on the banana skin.

she also tried to eat the grass, but picked it up and again didn’t seem to be able to turn it in her mouth and feed it in like guinea pigs do, and finally gave up.

She’s constantly grinding her teeth, generally sits in the corner of the cage, will not eat and haven’t seen her drink from the bottle.

At a serious loss as to what to do with her and as I said the vets have no idea.

I’m thinking of bringing her to Northampton to see the vets at the The cat and rabbit care clinic as I read Simon is somewhat of an expert with Guinea pigs.

Does anyone know how easy it is to get an appointment and what they charge for a consultation?

If anyone has had similar experience or can share knowledge around the loss of appetite and how to get her interest in food back I would be very grateful.

Thanks
 
I'm not sure what part of the UK you are from but you definitely need to see a vet with experience of guinea pigs. Grounding down the teeth at the front and back without seeing any dental issues is dangerous and can cause more problems if the piggy is then in pain or unable to pick up food as a result (not saying that's what has happened but I have never come across a vet carrying out unnecessary dental work before).

Here is a list of UK forum member recommended vets by area Recommended Guinea Pig Vets

Always worth calling Northampton if you can get to them as they really are very knowledgeable. I have been there a couple of times with piggies when illnesses fell outside of my usual vets expertise levels
 
:agr:

A bit strange that a vet would carry out dental work without, what sounds like, any real need.
It would be best if you could go to Northampton.

In the meantime, make sure you are weighing her every morning so you can be sure she is getting enough syringe feed each day to keep her weight stable.

I hope she is ok

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
 
@furryfriends (TEAS) I have tagged in TEAS they are a rescue which specializes in caring for piggies with dental issues. The Cat and Rabbit clinic in Northampton is the vets which they use. TEAS also have a Facebook page where you should be able to message them for advice. I believe you just need to call the C&R clinic to register your piggy and get an appointment.

The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary - Northampton, UK
 
Thank you all for the replies.

I have spoken to the vet in north Hampton this morning and they had no appointments until the earliest Monday and have tried a local vet that is on the recommended list, and no appointments u til Monday at the earliest as their specialist vet only works Monday-Wednesday.

She isn’t looking good this morning, I think she is going down hill rapidly and without being able to see someone before Monday who actually has knowledge of Guinea pigs, we have had to make the difficult decision to have her put to sleep, I can’t watch her suffer because no none can fit us in for three days.

We are currently having cuddles until her appointment at 13:00 today. 😢
 
Oh how sad 😢
Of course you can't leave her until then until she is suffering. I'm so sorry 😢
 
You can ring for emergency same day appointments at dead on 8.00 am and ask for one with either Simon or Kim Maddock. Ring at 8.00 am though as they go really fast. Good luck with your little lady and hugs to you, it’s a horrible situation. Do start syringe feeding soaked mushed pellets every two hours, a little and often
 
Whatever was decided this afternoon you obviously have your girl's best interests at heart and don't want to leave her to suffer over the weekend without any hope of an appointment. I have to trust in local vets because there's no way I could travel to Northampton with my home circumstances. I'm sure you have done all you possibly can to keep your girl going and give her the best life..If she has been PTS then she is free of pain now:hug:
 
Thank you all for the kind words.

Carmel was pts this afternoon having lots of cuddles and love to the end and is now not in any more pain.

I did ring two vets at 8am, but neither could help, and unfortunately i have lost all trust in my local vets being able to treat Guinea pigs.

I will in future just bring them directly to Northampton rather than spending a fortune on vets with no idea.

Sad times and a very sad daughter when she came home from school. 😢
 
I am so sorry for you. Caramel will have known just how much you all loved her, sending hugs
 
BIG HUGS

I am ever so sorry that it hs all gone so terribly haywire and that you had to let Carmel go but you have done the kindest thing for her to spare her any unnecessary suffering as she would not have made it through the weekend. If it is any consolation to you, I would have made the same decision and have done so in comparable situations myself.

Guinea pigs sadly don't feature much on the curriculum of a general vet; the ones that see them fairly often when working in a their urban small pets clinic will usually swot up. On the other hand, while guinea pigs and other rodents are classed as exotics are very often too pedestrian for the real exotics buffs, so they generally fall into the gap. Finding good guinea pig vets is not quite easy, especially as there is quite a high mobility in where vets are working. Guinea pig dentals are a very diffcult area as they pretty much don't feature at all and vets with guinea pig dental experience are sadly far and few in between although the number is very slowly growing.
Our recommended vets list on the expanded top bar relies on member feedback and updates: Recommended Guinea Pig Vets

Most vet clinics have a few emergency slots reserved every day that are given out on a first come basis in the morning but sometimes vets are already full up with urgent cases beforehand. Please only make use of them for a real life and death emergency to allow others in the same situation their chance - which was sadly not an option in Carmel's case. :(
How Soon Should My Guinea Pig See A Vet? - A Quick Guide
 
I would have done the same in your situation, Cookie. I'm really sorry about Carmel but you've freed her from pain and you couldn't have let her suffer over the weekend. Guinea pigs have a raw deal when it comes to knowledgeable and interested vets unless you happen to live in the "right" areas and can travel at short notice.
 
How sad. She is no longer suffering and is free to popcorn and munch on her favourite snacks over the Rainbow Bridge 🌈❤️
 
I'm so sorry for your loss. You made a very difficult decision based on what you felt was best for Carmel in a last act of love and kindness, please know that that can never be the wrong decision. It is so hard when you put trust in a vet and it doesn't work out. Be kind to yourself
 
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