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Anaemia

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egrorian

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One thing I forgot to mention in my China Rainbow Bridge thread was that China's fur felt cold. The vet said as his lips were pale he had anaemia, which would also explain his lethargy and weakness (and there may have been a kidney problem too), and I assume feeling cold would be a symptom of this too?

However, it's still bothering me - can this come on so suddenly? And what can cause anaemia? China seemed absolutely great on the Tuesday, was slightly less vigorous on Wednesday but still fine, by the Thursday he was lacklustre and sleepy but still taking food and was gone by Friday late evening....
 
Hi mate i found this on Peter Gurney's site....


"There are two main causes of anaemia. One is dietary deficiency caused through the type of food being provided or gut absorption problems whereby the essential vitamins and minerals fail to get into the system. This is why it is important that guinea pigs should be regularly wormed, 'see Worming, to keep a healthy balance of the gut flora.
The symptoms are lack lustre appearance, lethargy but not always poor appetite. The way to confirm your diagnosis is to look into the lower eyelidsand they will appear a very pallid pink or white. If in doubt, compare with a healthy guinea pig."


there's also a few written papers on the net also..... maybe you could have a read and see if all these things fit China ? Tho i doubt China's would've been from diet unless China was a rescue and had a hard life before coming to you?
 
Thanks Glynis. I had looked up Peter Gurney's site but it doesn't actually say what sort of diet would/could cause anaemia or - and this was the thing that has really been puzzling me - how it coudl appear so suddenly. Given China's diet was pretty much unchanged throughout his five and a half years - except cutting out carrots which started giving him soft poops - I had pretty much discounted that as a likely cause.
 
I'm really not sure :{
I hope that one of our lovely other members might be able to have an input for you...... i will also ask a couple of other people i know

Will let you know if i get anything more for you

Glynis x
 
You should give foods with a good iron content.

Spinach is good, I'll have a look for others...
 
Parsley, chard, dandelion leaves and kale are also very good.

But you also have to be careful to balance out these as they have a decent calcium content too, and too much calcium is something you want to avoid in veg, especially if you live in a hard water area.

If you already feed a good amount of these greens, their may be something physically wrong that has stopped the absorption of iron.
 
thanks i'm sure egrorian will note all this down..... his piggie China is at the rainbow bridge now tho.... that is why he's asking for answers
 
So sorry about your little one. RIP China :0

Anaemia can be caused by lots of different things, the list can be endless, but the most likely could be any of the following:
- Kidney disease (as you have said)
- Cancer
- Parasites
- Immune mediated (this is when the body decides it doesnt want to regenerate blood cells and stops making them properly)

It can unfortunatly come on suddenly, but you know what our piggies are like, they are very good at hiding things. Sometimes it can be a slow progression too. The symptoms your discribing sounds like one of aneamia, pale and cold and lethargy would definatly be.
I hope this helps a little bit for you.

x.
 
I have two piggies with confirmed anaemia/high lyphocyte count and the "educated guess" for these two is that they have a leukaemia-type condition. One is manifesting itself as a wasting disease despite the pig eating properly (and drinking lots). The other is manifested by an inflammatory fluid accumulation in the lungs that requires frusemaide diuretic to remove the fluid and help the piggie to breathe more easily - this piggie shows pale/bluish tinge to the lips and ears and is also a possible heart piggie although we have not started him on heart meds yet

Given your description, it does sound like China may have suffered from heart failure which would also explain the coldness and lethargy. Without a blood test, a diagnosis of anaemia is merely an educated guess and the lack of colour to the lips could be indicative of heart problems rather than anaemia. The heart failure may have been caused by something else - an infection, kidney problems, cancer or just the heart wearing out.

As Abinurse has said...any of these conditions can either come on suddenly, progress very slowly or, as in China's case, become evident over a matter of only a few days. I'm so sorry you lost China....but I hope your mind is set at rest that there was nothing you could have done to prevent or delay his journey to The Bridge given the circumstances.

Sending you lots of hugs
x
 
Thanks everyone - very much appreciated.

The vet didn't take any test for the anaemia - as it was felt to be too stressful - so yes, was indeed only an educated guess on her part.

It was mentioned by the vet that one kidney felt enlarged but without further investigation no more can be known about the cause of this.

China was never a very healthy pig -and was also quite timid - so at 5 and a half perhaps the heart wearing out is the most logical explantion. Somehow, I feel that I'd much prefer that to be the reason and not the other possible ailments but the fact that he was particularly lively just a few days before is still hard to comprehend.

Yes, I feel a bit better having read these replies, thanks again all - part of me really wanted to understand what happened to China and also if there is anything I should be doing differently with any future pigs.
 
i'm hoping to update you tomorrow when i get back to work....... from the friends i've emailed

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeks and xoxoxoxoxoxo from the girls and I :)
 
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