Gas/bloat?

[Puddles1999]

Penelope had her teeth trimmed last week. Took her awhile to “bounce” back from it and she has now been experiencing pain of sorts. Sitting puffy a lot. She is acting normal except when in her sleep area. She sits very puffy. I should add that she’s not always puffy when sitting. It is very off and on.

I’ve emailed the vet and started her on metoclopramide & meloxicam plus her regular heart meds. I was thinking it may be gas as I’ve felt some bubbles in her belly occasionally. I’ve been getting her out and doing tummy taps and she seemed to have been feeling better. She was barely puffy at all today and was running around on the floor. Also started eating hay a lot more.

However, tonight it seems like she’s back in pain. She’s sitting super puffy again. Her poops have turned kinda soft. They go from normal to soft, back to back. I have her out and doing tummy taps but it’s just confusing. Not sure if it is gas causing her issues but the soonest I could get her into the vet is Tuesday. It seems she starts doing better and then bam pain again. Is this Normal for gas? Her belly is not hard and hasn’t been hard even when feeling those bubbles earlier.

 

[Puddles1999]

Her tummy also seems to be really tender during the episodes.

 

[VickiA]

Bloat is exceptionally painful for piggies and it’s a bit of a roller coaster. It comes and goes in waves. Please stop all fresh veg until the bloat has passed and continue with the meds. I’m linking the guides to bloating which contain lots of practical advice for you. The important thing is to keep the guts moving with syringe feeding.

Thread 'Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)'

Oct 23, 2017

1 Not eating (anorexia) and the importance of syringe feeding fibre
2 Soft poos and runny diarrhea
3 Acute bloat (severe dysbiosis) - blockage - twisted gut - persistent milder bloating
4 GI stasis (no gut movement)


Severe runny diarrhea, bloat, blockage or a twisted gut, GI stasis and excessive salivating in guinea pigs that are not eating are absolute life and death emergencies that need to be seen ASAP by an out-of-hours vet at any time of the day or night or that should be seen by a vet as soon as you can get an appointment outside the UK...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 2
• Forum: Wiebke's Home Care Guides

• 

Thread 'Wiebke's Guide to Tummy Trouble'

May 31, 2024

1 Available Gut Medication
2 Mild and Medium Bloating Symptoms
- Milder bloat
- Secondary bloating
- Thickened bowel (IBS-like symptoms)
- Build-up of fluid in the body cavity
3 Severe Bloating
- Severe Bloat (Dysbiosis)
- Blockage
- Twisted or trapped gut (volvulus and hernia)
4 GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)
- Sudden full GI...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 4
• Forum: Wiebke's Guides to the Body

• 

 

[Puddles1999]

Bloat is exceptionally painful for piggies and it’s a bit of a roller coaster. It comes and goes in waves. Please stop all fresh veg until the bloat has passed and continue with the meds. I’m linking the guides to bloating which contain lots of practical advice for you. The important thing is to keep the guts moving with syringe feeding.

Thread 'Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)'

Oct 23, 2017

1 Not eating (anorexia) and the importance of syringe feeding fibre
2 Soft poos and runny diarrhea
3 Acute bloat (severe dysbiosis) - blockage - twisted gut - persistent milder bloating
4 GI stasis (no gut movement)


Severe runny diarrhea, bloat, blockage or a twisted gut, GI stasis and excessive salivating in guinea pigs that are not eating are absolute life and death emergencies that need to be seen ASAP by an out-of-hours vet at any time of the day or night or that should be seen by a vet as soon as you can get an appointment outside the UK...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 2
• Forum: Wiebke's Home Care Guides

• 

Thread 'Wiebke's Guide to Tummy Trouble'

May 31, 2024

1 Available Gut Medication
2 Mild and Medium Bloating Symptoms
- Milder bloat
- Secondary bloating
- Thickened bowel (IBS-like symptoms)
- Build-up of fluid in the body cavity
3 Severe Bloating
- Severe Bloat (Dysbiosis)
- Blockage
- Twisted or trapped gut (volvulus and hernia)
4 GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)
- Sudden full GI...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 4
• Forum: Wiebke's Guides to the Body

• 

Hi, thank you for your response. I’ll take a look at those.
She seems to be feeling okay as of now. She’s out running around and has been eating hay consistently now. She also hasn’t lost any weight. Her poops have also went back to being normal. It seems when she gets to be in pain and is very puffy, her poops turn much softer during those episodes. I also wasn’t sure because her belly hasn’t been hard at all this entire time. It does make more sense because it seems to be coming and going in waves like you mentioned.

 

[Puddles1999]

She had floor time again and seemed completely fine. Passing normal poop, wandering around & chatting about. Then she went to her little tunnel and sat there and got super puffy and uncomfortable and started passing softer stools. It seems that the soft poop and the pain are going hand in hand. She’s also acting completely normal but then that happens.

 

[Merab]

Just want to offer support.
I can’t add to the advice that @VickiA linked for you

 

[Puddles1999]

Thank you for the support.

 

[Puddles1999]

Update: Penelope has been at the vets all day for her drop off appointment.

The vet just called and said she did a fast scan ultra sound and didn’t see any cysts or anything abnormal. Also said she didn’t feel anything abnormal.

The past few days, she’s seemingly not been in pain. She’s been laying down comfortably again and hasn’t been hunched and puffy when sitting/sleeping. I have no idea what would have caused her to feel like that and now be okay. She’s been having off and on clumped/softer poops but she’s been passing much more normal stools recently since she’s Been feeling better.

They are doing an urinalysis & another X-ray just to check her over again. She seems to keep getting recurring UTI’s. Her urine will start smelling funky and usually that’s how I know. She did have a super small stone but not sure why she’s been getting common UTI’s that have bacteria. It’s just weird because nothing was seen or felt by the vet which is good but just didn’t have direct answer for what happened. She’s been on Metoclopramide & meloxicam the past few days.

 

[Wiebke]

Update: Penelope has been at the vets all day for her drop off appointment.

The vet just called and said she did a fast scan ultra sound and didn’t see any cysts or anything abnormal. Also said she didn’t feel anything abnormal.

The past few days, she’s seemingly not been in pain. She’s been laying down comfortably again and hasn’t been hunched and puffy when sitting/sleeping. I have no idea what would have caused her to feel like that and now be okay. She’s been having off and on clumped/softer poops but she’s been passing much more normal stools recently since she’s Been feeling better.

They are doing an urinalysis & another X-ray just to check her over again. She seems to keep getting recurring UTI’s. Her urine will start smelling funky and usually that’s how I know. She did have a super small stone but not sure why she’s been getting common UTI’s that have bacteria. It’s just weird because nothing was seen or felt by the vet which is good but just didn’t have direct answer for what happened. She’s been on Metoclopramide & meloxicam the past few days.

it can be very frustrating when there is no obvious cause for the sporadic strong pain events.
HUGS

 

[Puddles1999]

Her x-ray came back normal. They’re supposed to be sending it to me via email but still waiting on it. Her urinalysis also came back clear with no bacteria which is good.

She’s been doing well since the weekend and has been eating hay and hasn’t needed critical care anymore which is great. I don’t want her to experience pain or discomfort ever. I could sometimes feel gas bubbles on my fingers when I had her out when she was going through her painful period. Not sure if that could have caused her some pain and now she’s doing okay.

Also her left side has stuck out more I feel like. The vet said that’s her cecum and it’s pretty normal. Hopefully she stays feeling okay. I love her like I would love my child so I hope we stay on the feel good train.

 

[velveteenery]

Sending love and support! I hope your dear Penelope continues to be on the mend my three girls send wheeks and happy veggie thoughts! I don't know if you've tried a vibrating pad, as well? I've heard that can help ease the gas and help them pass it. I tried it with my two girls who went through bloat (theirs was not recurrent though--that sounds so tough! ). I just put the vibrating pad on a low setting against the cage near where they were sleeping bc they wouldn't tolerate sitting on it. Just ran it for 30 mins. They did fine so long as they could be in their cozy cage and munch. Perhaps it didn't help, but I thought it couldn't hurt. Might be an easy thing to add into the daily routine? Also, when my piggies went through this on two separate occasions, I had to keep a running log of how much I'd syringe fed along w/ their daily weight. Otherwise, I would lose track. It helped my neurodiverse brain through it. It can be so stressful emotionally and with all the extra caretaking tasks on top of it! I can hear how much you love your little sweetie, she is lucky to have you

 

[Puddles1999]

Her x-ray came back normal. They’re supposed to be sending it to me via email but still waiting on it. Her urinalysis also came back clear with no bacteria which is good.

She’s been doing well since the weekend and has been eating hay and hasn’t needed critical care anymore which is great. I don’t want her to experience pain or discomfort ever. I could sometimes feel gas bubbles on my fingers when I had her out when she was going through her painful period. Not sure if that could have caused her some pain and now she’s doing okay.

Also her left side has stuck out more I feel like. The vet said that’s her cecum and it’s pretty normal. Hopefully she stays feeling okay. I love her like I would love my child so I hope we stay on the feel good train.

Sending love and support! I hope your dear Penelope continues to be on the mend my three girls send wheeks and happy veggie thoughts! I don't know if you've tried a vibrating pad, as well? I've heard that can help ease the gas and help them pass it. I tried it with my two girls who went through bloat (theirs was not recurrent though--that sounds so tough! ). I just put the vibrating pad on a low setting against the cage near where they were sleeping bc they wouldn't tolerate sitting on it. Just ran it for 30 mins. They did fine so long as they could be in their cozy cage and munch. Perhaps it didn't help, but I thought it couldn't hurt. Might be an easy thing to add into the daily routine? Also, when my piggies went through this on two separate occasions, I had to keep a running log of how much I'd syringe fed along w/ their daily weight. Otherwise, I would lose track. It helped my neurodiverse brain through it. It can be so stressful emotionally and with all the extra caretaking tasks on top of it! I can hear how much you love your little sweetie, she is lucky to have you

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your support. It’s always so lovely to have support from other Guinea owners who know what it’s like when they’re not feeling well.

I’m not quite sure it was gas that was the issue but I could sometimes feel some gas bubbles shifting her tummy. She did not like me touching her tummy so sometimes I’d just do tummy taps I call them lol. I’m not sure it helped either but she’s been doing good the past few days. The vet didn’t see anything wrong with her either so guess as long as she’s doing good then we’ll just hope she stays feeling good!

I also keep track of her CC feedings to help my mind too haha. My mind gets so scattered when there so many things. Luckily, I never had to syringe it to her. She always willingly ate it off a spoon or out of the bowl. She also never lost any weight either so a big plus.

 

[Puddles1999]

These are her X-Rays from yesterday!

I can see her left side still sticking out a bit more but I guess that’s her cecum which is normal. The x-rays don’t show anything abnormal

 

[Puddles1999]

She’s been loads better for the last week or so. Has not been puffy and poops & appetite have returned to normal.

I do keep hearing her belly making like popping/bubbly noises. It doesn’t necessarily sound like a tummy gurgling but more like popping noises that you can sometimes feel on your fingers but can hear it. She was on metoclopramide for 1-2 weeks so I decided to give her last dose last night since she’s been doing well.

She’s had her X-rays/ fast scan ultrasounds and nothing has been found. The X-Rays are above this comment.

Not sure why her belly would sound like that? She also has her left side also that sticks out that the vet said was just her “cecum.”