Advice needed....sick pig

[Suzeecat]

Hi,

I'm new on here and could really do with some advice about my 3 year old boar Pepper. He started to look ill last friday, a little puffed up in the morning and he wasn't eating well. I took him to the vet saturday morning, they didn't really know what was wrong with him, the vet thought he felt hot though and put him on Baytril. The vet didn't think it was a dental problem as his teeth looked ok (though she couldn't see them that well as he was being difficult) and he doesn't seem to have a problem with actually eating, it's more that he is not interested in the food. I took him back to the vets on monday. Different vet this time, but still no idea what is wrong with him. He is still on Baytril and I am syringe feeding him every day. He is no better though and isn't eating much, mainly just a bit of hay, grass and an occasional piece of veg or fruit. He normally never drinks from his water bottle, but has been the last few days, which made me think it might be a kidney problem. He doesn't squeak when weeing and there is no sign of blood in his urine. His droppings were slightly loose on saturday, but have been ok since.
I would appreciate any thoughts on what could be wrong with him and what else I can do. Thanks

 

[flintstones]

Where about's are you? We might be able to recommend another vet.

Has he lost any weight? What was his normal water consumption and what is it now?

Sending healing vibes to your boy! x

 

[Amanda1801]

I'd try & get a urine sample & get them to test it. You can pop him into a cat litter tray or large bowl (make sure its clean then rinse it with boiling water, then allow to air dry) & wait for him to urinate, and pop it into a sample pot. The increased drinking may be key to what's going on, so a urine sample would make sense.

 

[Wiebke]

I am so sorry. Some illnesses are not all obvious. I would agree that having his urine checked may be some help, as it is difficult to get a blood sample from a guinea pig.

Are you weighing him daily to monitor his weight and food intake?

 

[Suzeecat]

I'm in Norfolk, the vets I go to used to be very good, one of the vets specialized in guinea pigs and rabbits, unfortunately he left to go to Bristol zoo. Some of the vets are better than others, the two I've seen so far have been very young and didn't seem to know a lot about guinea pigs. I'm supposed to take him back tomorrow or friday and they said they would do blood and urine tests, the vet said they were going to get a urine sample by sticking a needle into his bladder which I wasn't too happy about!

Usually he gets his water from his vegetables as he won't drink, I make sure he gets plenty of watery veg, or wet his grass/veg before giving it him. He normally wees a lot, so I've never been worried about him not getting enough fluid. He is not weeing much at the moment, but will try to get a urine sample myself..that's a great idea Amanda thank you.

I haven't been weighing him daily, but will do if you think it is a good idea. I can tell he has lost a bit of weight when I pick him up, not a great amount though.

 

[Toffeewoffee]

Where abouts in Norfolk are you? Taverham Vets are excellent and i know of many people on the forum inc myself who use them and they have been very good and diagnosing problems and successfully treating them and performing operations.

 

[sport_billy]

Poor Pepper, Definately agree with Amanda on getting a urine sample, hope he improves soon.

 

[Amanda1801]

The idea of getting a urine sample by putting a needle into the bladder (cystocentesis) is that it's sterile. It's a routine procedure & is done regularly in small animal practise when a sterile urine sample is needed

 

[Suzeecat]

I'm near Swaffham, Taverham is about 45 minutes from here I think. I'll take him there if I don't get any where with my vets thanks.

I'll take him to my vets tomorrow and they can take a urine sample if I haven't managed to get one.

Thanks for all your help