Choking/regurgitating/wretching/heaving hiccups for 2 hours

[GPMomandPop]

Hi,

Last night we ended up at the vets with Eddie after we'd sat with him for over an hour whilst he was ill. He appeared to be choking/wretching or trying to regurtitate. I believe that what he was doing is probably what most people refer to as 'heaving hiccups'. However, this episode lasted for over two hours in total, so is very different to any other experiences I have heard of.

The vet gave him a thorough examination and then administered some kind of muscle relaxant to try and stop the spasming/wretching. He also confirmed that his lungs/airways sounded fine [plus an X-ray this morning has shown nothing]. Because he and his brother are indoor piggies we are able to spot straight away when something is wrong, so we know exactly when it started, and that in total he was doing it for just over two hours.

He has had this before, but it only lasted twenty minutes [still a very long time!] and afterwards he was his usual self [he went to the vet the next day for a check-up and airways were fine].

The vet is keeping him for today as they are concerned he could now be in a bit of pain so want to monitor him and administer pain relief [Forest House Vets in Windsor, by the way - they seem extremely piggy-friendly!].

At the moment we have no idea why this has happened twice, so I wanted to ask if anyone else has ever had any experience of this. Or whether anyone has any theories. Two possibilities we can think of are:

Small gullet and food occasionaly gets lodged?
Reaction to something he ate? Perhaps he has an allergy.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

 

[first_time_piggie_mum]

awwwww poor thing He must have been exhausted after all that heaving.. and probalby in some pain I would imagine

I only saw Rodney do it twice, and I think it was just because he was eating his food too fast greedy little piggie The first time I saw it I went into panic mode as I though he was having a fit and dying!

I cant offer any advice I'm sorry, but I hope that they can find out the cause and sort him out for you

 

[piggyfan]

I am so sorry to hear about your poor little baby. I really hope he is okay now.

 

[Shellza]

My girl Lexi got heaving hiccups from eating too fast but it didn't last long. I hope your little lad is ok. Good job your vets seem to know what they are doing. I'm afraid I cab't spread more light on the situation...I have only heard what Peter Gurney has said about them:

it is nothing more than an defence mechanism guinea pigs have to clear air blocks, or something which, to use the proverbial term, 'Has gone down the wrong way,' it is very alarming to see the first time around.

The guinea pig will heave up as though it is about to vomit, only it is far more violent and traumatic than the same kind of thing seen in humans. The whole body rocks forward, and I have even seen a couple fall over sideways with the sheer force of it.

The reason it is so much more of a forceful spasm than that seen in the human kind is because it cannot vomit!. In essence anything that goes down it throat can only come out through the back end, the animal's digestive system is designed that way.

The guinea pig can have five or six of these spasms and they can get more violent as they progress, then suddenly there is a hiccup, a cough sometimes and that's it, all over, and it will go back to what it was doing before the heaving started.

Why your boys lasted for so long I don't know, poor lad.

 

[Abi_nurse]

Bless your poor boy. I dont have any answers really. Ive seen it a few times when some of my piggies eat too fast etc. And it sometimes happens with celery mostly. I think a stringy bit gets caught in their throat and they try to retch it up. Your poor little guy. Sorry I'm no help.

I hope he starts feeling better soon. Glad you have a good vets.

x.

 

[GPMomandPop]

Very sadly, Eddie passed away last night. He was at home with us after spending the previous night and day at the vets, and managed to settle for a couple of hours of sleep on my fiance's lap. We thought maybe he was turning the corner but we then noticed his breathing get heavier and more laboured, before he took his final few breaths. In the end it was a peaceful way to go and we are so grateful that we were there with him.

The vet believes that he may have had some underlying issue with his digestive system as the x-ray showed a full belly even though he had not eaten for 14 hours. It would explain the wretching, as if he was too full but couldn't digest it all in time. He was passing some pellets though, so he wasn't necessarily obstructed. I would still be interested to hear if anyone has had a similar illness experience, or any thoughts on this. His diet was excellent - fresh veg and pellets twice daily and constant fresh hay.

As his brother seems to be fine and the symptoms that Eddie had were the same as he has had before, we are not going to have any kind of post-mortem.

We are absolutely devastated as he was an incredible character and only 14 months old. I have never seen such a fearless animal! He would always come and have a look at our shopping when we got home, and would just wander into the lounge to say hello of an evening. He was never afraid to give us a gentle nip when we annoyed him and he'd really come to love his back scratches recently! He and his brother popcorned every single day and loved their crazy two minute run-arounds. Eddie could never resist a tunnel - put one in front of him and he would simply have to enter it! Many a time we had to use this trick to get him into his cage or out of the flower borders in the garden! We both miss him so much. He is the little white one in our avatar photo.
In the meantime we need to start thinking about his brother, Albert, as he is only 14 months and will surely be lonely. We would not want to deprive him of piggy company so we are thinking that we will need to adopt at some point. Does anyone have any advice on whether it is important to do this sooner or wait a while? We are based in Windsor, Berkshire.

Thank you to everyone who sent well wishes. It looks like Eddie was not meant to be with us for very long, but we shall cherish every moment that we did share with him.

 

[BellasMummy]

I'm so sorry to hear that, must have been an awful shock for you. Try to remember all the good times you shared with him and not the end. I would suggest getting Albert a new friend asap as some pigs can have quite bad reactions to there friend dying.
RIP Eddie sleep well little piggie x

 

[Guinea pig slave]

OMG - I am totally bowled over by this sad news
I'm so sorry, thought when the thread popped up you were going to say he's fine and home safely 8...
So very sad, run free beautiful boy x>>

 

[TwoPiggies]

How sad

At least he was with you.

Would be interesting to hear if anyone else has experienced this.

Only you now how your other piggie is doing. I know that my piggie really grieved when his friend passed. So I got him a friend very quickly which was hard for me because I was really grieving but to see my piggie Sam happy made it worth it.

I hope someone can give you info on rescues....maybe he could go for some boar dating x

 

[GPMomandPop]

How sad

Only you now how your other piggie is doing. I know that my piggie really grieved when his friend passed. So I got him a friend very quickly which was hard for me because I was really grieving but to see my piggie Sam happy made it worth it.

I hope someone can give you info on rescues....maybe he could go for some boar dating x

Thank you for the advice. To be honest, Albert is looking OK, a little quieter and not as active - although half the time when Albert did move it was because Eddie was annoying him! He wheeked for the parsley bag earlier and wolfed it down, so his appetite is still OK!

I am trying not to 'humanise' Albert and not to think of his loss from a human perspective. So, I wonder if people can advise on the following - do you think it is more about the sudden lack of companionship or is there a genuine grieving for the lost friend? Or perhaps a combination of the two?

What I am getting at is whether there is time for [Albert's] grieving that we should respect, or should we be acting faster to fill that companionship gap? I feel awful writing this when we havent even buried Eddie but I am just trying to be practical for Albert's sake.

Thank you.

 

[Shellza]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Could he have had an intestinal torsion or something? A twist in the gut?

I hope you find a new friend for Albert soon. Good luck in your search.

RIP Eddie, :rose

 

[piggieboys]

I'm so sorry , I'm really upset reading this he sounded like such an amazing character, I'm so glad he was with you

 

[missy]

I'm very sorry for your loss. Eddie sounds like a lovely piggy - full of character and very cute-looking from his photo. I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions as to what may have caused his illness. I guess you'll never really know for sure but it sounds like you did everything you could for him and made his time with you special.

I know it's tough but you're absolutely right to consider Albert's wellbeing. Do keep an eye on his behaviour and appetite. It's not surprising that he's perhaps a little subdued right now but try to give him extra cuddles and maybe spoil him with his favourite veg and he'll more than likely be fine in a day or two. Getting him a new friend is definitely a great idea though and, as far as he's concerned, you needn't leave it long at all.

In the short-term you may wish to give him a baby-proof soft toy to snuggle up to. Some people find that their bereaved piggies seem to respond well to this - some don't show much interest at all but I'd say it's definitely worth a try. (Just make sure any toy/teddy is suitable for babies from birth onwards, with no choking hazards - long pile, loose bits, buttons or appendages etc - and regularly check for loose stitching or other signs of damage, in case of nibbling.)

It's all very sad but it sounds like you have wonderful memories of Eddie, to cherish forever. I'm glad you found eachother x

 

[Glynis]

Oh no i just caught up on this thread...... whee are so very very sorry to hear about little Eddie 8...8...8...
RIP Eddie run free at the bridge, popcorn thru the lush green meadows and enjoy nibbbling on the sweet dandelions and clover, you'll be so very very sadly missed by Albert and your devastated family but NEVER ever forgotten xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) and lots of loves from Glynis, Velvet and Onyx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Another little star now twinkling in the sky .............


Thankyou for sharing some sweet moments about Eddie x) he sounded such a darling little boy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
HUGE HUGS for you all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Yes they do grieve for their mate, our boy was so quiet and never wheeked again after he lost his mate (sadly my family wouldn't allow another piggie to become his friend)

 

[first_time_piggie_mum]

Oh what shocking news I am so sorry to read that you lost him, just so cruel really.

You sound like a very loving mummy considering the feelings of your other piggie, and theres some great advice on here. I cant help with that as I dont have experience, but I am sure you will do the absoloute best thing.
x

RIP Eddie x>>