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Dalila Is Unwell

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Littlepig&co

Littlepig&co

Junior Guinea Pig
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We have only had Dalila less than 4 months (since the 7th December 2014). When I first adopted her she was a healthy 1.04kg although in build she appeared quite slim. She has always been healthy and well since I have had her, but on Sunday I picked her up to fin soft poo over her back feet. I could not work out where it was from considering I clean them out daily so there is no reason for them to have poo on them. At first I thought that it could of been the treat hay that I bought the previous day from B&M. It was supposedly a timothy hay with dandelion mixed in, although to be honest it did not smell particularly fresh. The other 5 piggies and the 4 rabbits were all okay with it however.

So I immediately removed all traces of that hay out and have only given them their usual hay. I have not given veggies since before this happened as I am worried it could cause her tummy to flare up again. When I weighed her on Sunday night she had dropped 103 grams in 2 weeks, I weighed her today and she has dropped a further 23 grams so she has now lost 126 grams in total over 2 and half weeks which to me is quite concerning?

Her poo also is not 100% right still, it is not properly formed and is quite soft? Although I am no expert, I think I can feel something hard in her abdomen area. I do not think it is a blockage as she is pooing. I am now getting really worried in case it is a tumour or similar? When I adopted her she was apparently 2 years old so she is 2-3 years old.

We are at the vets at 18:20 for a checkup with Daisy and of course Dalila will be coming along too and I will get her seen too.

It is one thing after another.

On Sunday night/early monday morning 12am:

16729890848_549d2b5398.jpg


Today's output:

16891564686_42ec90fc79.jpg


16891563516_35494b8d0a.jpg
 
You are right to be concerned. She is losing weight quickly and her poos are pretty small, which can be a sign that there isn't enough throughput. This deifinitely needs the attantion of a vet. You are doing all the right things - keeping her off fresh veg and keeping her on a mainly hay diet. You may need to top her up with recovery or critical care, but see what the vet says. It could be a dental problem or some other issue with her mouth. Let us know how you get on.
 
Dalila has to have a full body xray plus a plate to specifically xray her skull too. She'll be having it done tomorrow. :( *sigh*
 
I'm really sorry you're going through such a rough time with the piggies Jack. Let's hope it isn't anything too serious! Fingers firmly crossed! X
 
Wiebke said:
Any news on Dalila?
Click to expand...
Not really. Other than her heart sounded fine when listened to with the stethescope. He said her misshapen and unformed faecal output is as a result of the GI tract and gut lining being unsettled. He said that her abdomen did feel a bit tense but he didn't seem overly concerned as such? She is having X-rays tomorrow to find out what's wrong.
 
An update on Dalila:

Thank you to everyone for their vibes and get well wishes. Fortunately it's nothing too serious and sinister. Her skull and teeth are all okay as are her other body organs. However she does have arthritis in her back so she is now on twice daily metacam (0.4ml x2). She really doesn't like it but I'm hoping in time she'll get used to it considering it'll be a long term thing. Hopefully with the metacam she will regain the weight that she has lost and that she will remain stable. Hopefully that'll be it for the vet bills for a long while. She's only supposedly 2-3 years old. Do you think that it could of been possible that she had it before I adopted her? I've only had her since December.
 
I hope Dalila improves now that the vet has diagnosed the problem. I am sorry I cannot give you any advice about the arthritis question other that illnesses can strike at any time so it is possible she had an existing problem when you adopted her.
 
Sorry to hear about your little one but I hope you will see some improvements with the painkiller. I adopted little Grover who had pretty bad arthritis when he joined us and he improved a lot with regular metacam and extra vitamins. He put on weight and moved more freely.
There are a few people on here with arthritic piggies so I am sure they will have good tips from their experience. good luck for Dalila
 
For the benefit of any other people who may read this thread in the future...let's backtrack first.

She is a young guinea pig of good (1kg) weight who started showing signs of weight loss and loose mis-shapen faeces.

What is clear is that your piggie has been hiding the cause (and not eating properly as a result) and this has therefore affected her gut mobility/poos.

Your Vet has given her a thorough check-over (and.. I'm assuming from your prior posts.... an Xray) .....and concluded there is pain which is not due to an infection/heart or other organ problem but has seen signs of arthritis and is treating her for such.;

Whilst ordinarily this condition would not be expected to be seen in younger piggies - if they are a pig with little known previous history they could have suffered lack of vit C/previous trauma/inbreeding etc that could have rendered them susceptible to this at a young age.

Whether she actually "had arthtritiis" at the time you adopted her cannot be known and is immaterial

The fact is you need to treat her appropriately in the here and now for her current condition as diagnosed by your vet.
x
 
If your vet is convinced it is arthritis...and pain is an overriding contribution to her current gut/food intake issues then I would suggest that you discuss an additional pain relief to metacam (yes it's goof for arthritis as it is an anti-inflammatory) - but for deep-seated pain then either tramadol or buprecare (opiates) appear to work better at actual pain relief for piggies (and can be given in conjunction with metacam for it's anti-inflammatory properties)

For soft poos - remove all veggies - feed only hay/pellets...and consider giving pro-kinetics - in this case gentle doses of zantac and cisapride - to help restore regular gut movement from that which has occurred owing to previous pain/lack of food intake issues. It;s a minor gut problem in this case - but nevertheless may need "a bit of help"

PM me if you want to discuss further.
x
 
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