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Buster Won't Eat...

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Katy Stanley

Katy Stanley

Junior Guinea Pig
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Location
Wickford, Essex, UK
Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and would love to get some advice to try and save my very sick piggy!

His name is Buster and he is just over two years old. We adopted him when he was still a baby, and he had a slight head tilt and bad eye (we think he is partially sited). Despite this, and being smaller than his buddy Alfonso, he has always been healthier and hasn't been easily dominated.

Last week, however, we noticed Alfonso could easily bully him and was eating all the food. As soon as we realised Buster wasn't eating and seemed withdrawn, flat and depressed, we took him to the vet. His eye was weepy, and he was salivating a lot.

The vet said she could hear clicking in his chest and suspected pneumonia. She also said he had lost a lot of weight so was probably hiding an illness. He's a very fluffy guinea pig so this wasn't obvious to is and we felt terrible for not noticing. He was prescribed 0.5ml baytril twice a day, and 0.6ml of an anti inflammatory once a day. She also have us a sachet of recovery.

The next day he seemed much the same and we took him back to the vet, but this time saw a different surgeon. The vet said he had lost another 50g in 24 hours and said with little improvement he would suggest putting him down. He said perhaps he was hiding a tumour.

We were devastated, but looking at Buster he is very sick, but not at deaths door. We decided to give him a little longer, and glad we did! We continued with his meds and recovery food and on Saturday he passed faeces and urine, but his first poo contained plastic. It looked like the wrap that surrounds cucumber so I was worried we had accidentally left some wrap in with his veg. We took him straight back to the vet, this time we saw a third person, who weighed him and said he has gained and she was happy with how he was progressing. She thought that now he had passed plastic he would start to recover. She checked his mouth and said she couldn't see anything obvious, but if we continued with the recovery and got his strength up, she would check his back teeth under anaesthetic and file them.

My main concern is, he still isn't eating. I'm continuing with recovery, but he just won't eat or drink independently and while he is a bit more mobile he still looks very poorly. The vet said to go back on Thursday but I'm scared that if I can't get him on the road to recovery by then, it will be bad news. Please help!
 
Hi! I am very sorry for your problems!

Which country are you in and what kind of vet clinic are you seeing, a general vets or an exotics specialist? I would be wary about having any tooth treatment from a vet who has no experience. It can easily make matters a lot worse than better.

Has he been checked whether there is more that could block his guts? and whether he is gassy? Has he got any gut stimulant like metoclopramide or emeprid and any painkiller (metcam)?

When hand feeding, how much does he get in 24 hours and are you also syringing water?
 
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Hi Wiebke, thanks for your reply!

I've just updated my details - I'm in Wickford, Essex, UK.

I have taken him to a general vet practice, but the first and third vet he saw specialise in small furries (the second vet - who suggested putting him down - specialises in cats and dogs so I'm glad I didn't take his advice!)

I'm syringing the recovery and the occasional bit of water, but mainly the food as it is mixed with water. I also added a little vit C supplement as I read scurvy can produce similar symptoms to those that he has. The vet I saw on Sunday felt his abdomen and said she couldn't feel any more blockage or bloat. He doesn't react when you examine him so he doesn't appear to be tender there.

He has baytril (which we decided not to try and not give him this morning because I have read that it can surpress appetite) and metacam.

We are managing to almost get a whole recovery sachet into him per day.

We weighed him on our scales yesterday and he showed a loss against what the vet got on Sunday, but I will check again today in case it's just a difference in the scales. The amount of faeces seems to have decreased again too which is a concern.

Thanks x
 
I have something to add on top of what Wiebke has already said. You mention the vet heard a clicking and thought it was Pneumonia, is this still the case or has the diagnosis changed now the plastic has been found? If it is Pneumonia, then I would have thought he should have been given a diuretic to remove any fluid on his chest, first of all by injection at the vets and then in tablet form at home. Also Baytril isn't the most effective antibiotic for Pneumonia. I got my Buzz through it on Zithromax instead. He also had Bisolvon to get rid of any mucous. Basically a pig that can't breathe won't eat, and if he does have fluid and mucous he will be struggling to breathe.

I would also add in a Probiotics an hour or so after the Baytril to replace the gut flora. You can get these from the vet or online - brands include Bio Lapis, Avipro Plus and Fibreplex and also Pro C from Pets at Home.

Is Wickford anywhere near Nazeing? I don't know Essex that well but there if so then I recommend Amir Kashiv at Vets and Pets. It is classed as Broxbourne but is literally just over the Essex border in Nazeing.
 
Please give him additional water; dehydration can become quite an issue on longer term hand feeding. We recommend 1ml of water for every 3-5 ml (just offer it to him).

Individual scales are different - my vet's scales are always about 50g lower than my kitchen scales, so please weigh him daily at home at about the same time in the feeding cycle to make sure that his weight is as stable as possible. How much des he currently weigh?

If your vet can't find any trouble with the back teeth (overgrown pre-molars are usually what is causing tooth touble), would he consider fungal/rash in the mouth/throat or an obstruction that can cause similar symptoms?

I hope that our big medical guns will come on later with more suggestions. I am just trying to cover as much ground and establish some hopefully helpful details as to what has been done and considered so far.
 
Sorry to hear little Buster is poorly.

Unforgettably problems can snowball with poorly piggies. If he has got Pneumonia then the Baytril should help clear the infection, it is a high dose however and may be upsetting him a little too so it's a double edged sword. Another thing worth asking the vet about is a diuretic called 'Furosemide' it can help remove any fluid from the lungs.

The fact he is not pooing much could be down to the fact he is not eating, however finding the plastic could muddy the waters a little. I would be inclined to ask for an x-ray, you can rule out any blockage stopping the poo this way - especially as plastic has been found, check for lumps (just to be on the safe side) and check for any trapped gas (bloat) If the lack of poo is down to not eating and causing gas then a gut stimulant such as Emeprid (metachlopromide) will be of some help.
You'll need to get around 120mls of syringe feed in him daily if he is not eating on his own.

@Pebble
@helen105281
@Elwickcavies
Hugs to you and love to Buster
 
Thank you both. With regards to the pneumonia the second two vets that saw him said they couldn't hear the clicking and he doesn't seem to have breathing trouble.

I'm keen for him to see someone more specialist. Amir is quite far away from me but I will see if I can get him there, or find someone more local. I will also get some more water in him.

The vet weighed him at 830g on Sunday. I got him at 799g last night. I will weigh him at the same time this evening to see if he's heading in the right direction.
 
If you could get to Amir it would help, he can also check the teeth without anaesthetic. If not there is a great vet in Northampton too, Simon Maddock who it would be worth seeing if you can get there and can also do conscious dentals. Both Amir and Simon have prescribed Zithromax numerous times.

Glad there seems to be no more fluid. A sign of it having returned is nodding in time with breathing.
 
Hi everyone,

I took your advice and took Buster back to the vet last week armed with all of your suggestions!

I was unable to get to your recommended vets (they were just too far away, I think the journey would be uncomfortable for Buster and I also have a young baby). This time I saw a fantastic vet who does specialise in guinea pigs and relayed a lot of what you had said before I made any suggestions.

She altered his medication to 0.3ml baytril x 2, 0.35 metacam x 2, 0.6 emeprid x 2, some eye drops and a fibre and gut flora supplement. She gave me more recovery and told me to provide vit c every day and to bring him back immediately if he gets worse, if not Monday if there is improvement. She also checked his teeth and said although there was minor growth, there was nothing that she felt could cause enough discomfort to make him so poorly. She also ruled out pneumonia as she could hear no fluid and see no visible signs of it.

She could feel no signs there may be a blockage, but did suggest an x ray should the meds not help. (The problem is I just cannot afford it, especially after paying for 4 vet visits already, and a 5th tomorrow!)

So since the vet visit, he's has improved in terms of behaviour. He seems a bit happier and more active, but still not right. He is weeing and pooing normally and is happier since being reunited with Alfonso (as she ruled out pneumonia she thought the depression and stress from the separation would do more harm than good, but warned me to watch and separate if need be during feeding times).

The only thing wrong is - he still won't eat independently. I still have to syringe feed him. Last week he dropped down to 764 at his worst and yesterday I was so pleased to have got him up to 807. Today he's down again to 794. Even if I go ahead with the x ray - what can it tell me? And what can the vet do as he is too frail to carry out any procedures on. I'm giving him the recovery, water, and even home made purée with veg and biscuits.

I just wonder - as it is the only symptom and the first symptom he had - is he just anorexic? Has he simply given up? I'm really at a loss with what to do for him now, and keep forcing the syringe on him (for 10 days now) is starting to take an emotional toll on me. He still doesn't look like a pig that is "dying" for me to justify in my mind euthanasia, but I also don't want him to get to that stage and suffer. :-(
 
Forgot to say, the vet also gave him a fluid injection to help rehydrate him, and although the teeth weren't an issue she thought he looked a little sore. She thought that was probably from syringe feeding but said the meds would help, especially if he had an infection.
 
It does sound like the vet was very thorough. If there is slight overgrowth though then I would expect his mouth to be sore, also does his breath smell at all? A pig that is already run down from an illness can develop oral fungal which makes their mouth very sore. It can even be in their throat rather than their mouth.
 
I've just checked and can't smell anything out of the norm, but then again it does smell strongly of the syringe food and meds so may be disguised.

She did question his head tilt - could it be neurological? He's always had it, perhaps this has been a long time coming :-(
 
It could be or it may be that he has an old ear infection that has never gone away. Another option, though it is thought to be rare (I know of at least 1 pig who has had it though) is E Cuniculi which can be passed on from rabbits. Has he ever been near a rabbit? Treatment is normally with a wormer like Panacur.
 
No he has never been near a rabbit. They are indoor pigs and the only pets we have. The vet mentioned ears but checked and saw nothing. I think his head tilt was originally caused by something else as he is blind in one eye, and it's the eye that faces more downwards. He's very gentle in nature and we've always thought that he might be a little simple.
 
He is, such a lovely little boy. The first thing he did was cuddle up to Alfonso when they were reunited, even though Alfonso can be a brut. I'm dreading the vets tomorrow.
 
Katy Stanley said:
No he has never been near a rabbit. They are indoor pigs and the only pets we have. The vet mentioned ears but checked and saw nothing. I think his head tilt was originally caused by something else as he is blind in one eye, and it's the eye that faces more downwards. He's very gentle in nature and we've always thought that he might be a little simple.
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He sounds just like my first pig. He was a rescue pig and had a head tilt, wonky eye and very sweet boy. Hope your little man gets better soon.
 
helen105281 said:
It does sound like the vet was very thorough. If there is slight overgrowth though then I would expect his mouth to be sore, also does his breath smell at all? A pig that is already run down from an illness can develop oral fungal which makes their mouth very sore. It can even be in their throat rather than their mouth.
Click to expand...

I wasn't able to get Buster to the vet today, but have continued his meds and syringe feed. Just weighed him and he's back down again, to 784.

What I did notice was a smell on his breath. It was sort of like a chocolatey-ish scent. (About the best description I can think of! Lol) Do you think this could be an oral infection? Or just an accumulation of the meds and purée food?

Also do some piggies just get anorexic without an underlying illness?
 
Oral thrush tends to smell slightly stale and musty, like damp dishcloths, does it smell like that at all?

I do think there tends to always be something behind them not wanting to eat whether it is a physical or an emotional thing.
 
Thanks Helen - Yes it does sort of smell like that. He's still on the baytril, so will this help? What's the usual treatment?
 
It usually needs to be an anti-fungal medicine like Nystatin or Itrafungol which you would need to get from the vets.
 
Please be wary of using Panacur......the vet prescribed it for my 3 year old piggie George, he had an allergic reaction & died the next day. It was only prescribed cos we thought my other pig had worms - poor little George was perfectly healthy =(
The manufacturers said it only happens one in 100,000 cases so we were just very unlucky, but I would never use it again cos I'd be too scared.
 
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