Gastrointestinal Bloat In Skinny Pig

[gracb4677]

So my dad noticed last week while I was away, that my 5 year old female skinny pig had a soft abdomen. When I came home I realized that there seemed to be a pocket of fluid hanging down her entire belly. Her appetite is lower than usual and her skeleton has become very prominent. Her ears are cold and have been folding over the top of her head, which is also unusual. We have been trying to keep her moving around, with a constant supply of food and water, and offering her foods rich in Vitamin C. Her stool is smaller and less frequent than usual and much dryer.
We took her to the vet but he couldn’t tell us much except that her temp was normal and her heart and lungs seemed fine. And that she’s weighs just over a pound. We live in a rural area so there are no vets with experience with guinea pigs.

My dad is doctor and has been researching her symptoms and thinks she probably has gastrointestinal bloat with some fluid. We are researching with our vet and looking into antibiotics.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Do you think we are on the right track? Can you recommend any treatments? Diet changes? We are also looking for a vet to do an online consultation. Thanks so much.

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

I’m no expert in bloat but I do know that it is very serious. Have you managed to find a suitable vet yet? She needs to be seen asap.

Some things that can help are gripe water, plenty of exercise and vibrations to the tummy for example with an electric toothbrush. I believe a car ride can help too!

You should also take her off fresh veg until she’s better, there should be plenty of threads on here for diet change after the bloat has gone.

If you search “bloat” on this forum there are loads of threads with expert advice attached. Sadly I’ve no personal experience with this but I know others on here have and will hopefully help soon.

I really hope you poor little girl is okay!

 

[Dill&Pepper]

Sorry to hear your girl is unwell. From your description it sounds like she’s dehydrated (hence the floppy ears and dry stools) and has lost weight - you unfortunately won’t be able to use scales to get too much information on how much because of the weight of the additional fluid. My understanding of bloat is that it’s an acute problem, but I don’t have enough experience to know whether it’s unheard of for it to cause the same sort of symptoms for a week or more without the pig becoming critically ill.

I’d say you should be syringe feeding critical care several times a day to keep up her calorie and water intake while trying to find a pig-savvy vet who is able to give you a diagnosis and some proper treatment.

 

[Wiebke]

So my dad noticed last week while I was away, that my 5 year old female skinny pig had a soft abdomen. When I came home I realized that there seemed to be a pocket of fluid hanging down her entire belly. Her appetite is lower than usual and her skeleton has become very prominent. Her ears are cold and have been folding over the top of her head, which is also unusual. We have been trying to keep her moving around, with a constant supply of food and water, and offering her foods rich in Vitamin C. Her stool is smaller and less frequent than usual and much dryer. View attachment 110228
We took her to the vet but he couldn’t tell us much except that her temp was normal and her heart and lungs seemed fine. And that she’s weighs just over a pound. We live in a rural area so there are no vets with experience with guinea pigs.

My dad is doctor and has been researching her symptoms and thinks she probably has gastrointestinal bloat with some fluid. We are researching with our vet and looking into antibiotics.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Do you think we are on the right track? Can you recommend any treatments? Diet changes? We are also looking for a vet to do an online consultation. Thanks so much.View attachment 110228

Hi!

Has an x-ray been taken to see what exactly is going on? Your piggy needs to see a vet ASAP!

Please be aware that severe bloat is a killer disease that comes in waves. Frequent vibration/massage and movement are essential as is gut medication, especially ranitidine, emeprid and metacam. The longer you delay treatment the worse survival chances get.

If your piggy is off food, you need to step in with syringe feeding to prevent the guts going into stasis.

Here are our care tips for bloat: Bloat, GI Stasis ( No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
The guide has been proof-read by an experienced exotics nurse and guinea pig keeper, by the way; especially the medications recommendations.

 

[YvonneBlue]

Please try and get your skinny pig to an exotics vet as a matter of urgency. Sadly she is probably very poorly.

 

[DMS260820]

Like the others have said, see a vet now basicly, even if you find out whats wrong at home by researching, then what? You wont be able to do anything. Use your time to find a vet. Hope all goes well

 

[gracb4677]

Thank you all, I have been to see a few vets, but none of them have had any experience with guinea pigs, (I live in a very rural area) and couldn’t diagnose her. We will be going back now that we have an idea of what is it though.

 

[gracb4677]

Hi!

Has an x-ray been taken to see what exactly is going on? Your piggy needs to see a vet ASAP!

Please be aware that severe bloat is a killer disease that comes in waves. Frequent vibration/massage and movement are essential as is gut medication, especially ranitidine, emeprid and metacam. The longer you delay treatment the worse survival chances get.

If your piggy is off food, you need to step in with syringe feeding to prevent the guts going into stasis.

Here are our care tips for bloat: Bloat, GI Stasis ( No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
The guide has been proof-read by an experienced exotics nurse and guinea pig keeper, by the way; especially the medications recommendations.

Thank you so much, the vet never offered us an X-ray or anything and I didn’t know to ask.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much, the vet never offered us an X-ray or anything and I didn’t know to ask.

Can you please add your country to your account details (via clicking on your username on the top bar). We have members from all over the world, from very different climates and backgrounds, access to vet care (general/exotics/extremely limited), medical brands etc. and our advice can vary a lot accordingly. Our default advice is uk based.

Please take the time to read my bloat care link; you will hopefully find it very helpful.

 

[gracb4677]

Update: My dad has contacted an exotic vet a few hours away from us and is coordinating with our local vet. We have a gut medication, and painkillers(we won’t use unless she’s in pain), critical care food for syringe feeding, along, saline solution we’ll have to insert subcutaneously, and vitamin C supplements. Her appetite seems to be alright currently. We will going in again in the next couple of days for a checkup or if her condition worsens. Thank you all for your help and concern. For anyone wondering I live in northern Canada, so skinny pigs and guinea pigs in general are extremely rare, which is why our vets are inexperienced.

 

[gracb4677]

Sorry to hear your girl is unwell. From your description it sounds like she’s dehydrated (hence the floppy ears and dry stools) and has lost weight - you unfortunately won’t be able to use scales to get too much information on how much because of the weight of the additional fluid. My understanding of bloat is that it’s an acute problem, but I don’t have enough experience to know whether it’s unheard of for it to cause the same sort of symptoms for a week or more without the pig becoming critically ill.

I’d say you should be syringe feeding critical care several times a day to keep up her calorie and water intake while trying to find a pig-savvy vet who is able to give you a diagnosis and some proper treatment.

We just got critical care and some saline solution we’ll give her subcutaneously to keep hydrated. Thank you for tips!

 

[YvonneBlue]

I believe bloat is very painful and painkillers are always given.

 

[Betsy]

I believe bloat is very painful and painkillers are always given.

Piggies hide pain well as they are prey animals and pain is seen as weakness. What medication have you been given?

 

[Wiebke]

Update: My dad has contacted an exotic vet a few hours away from us and is coordinating with our local vet. We have a gut medication, and painkillers(we won’t use unless she’s in pain), critical care food for syringe feeding, along, saline solution we’ll have to insert subcutaneously, and vitamin C supplements. Her appetite seems to be alright currently. We will going in again in the next couple of days for a checkup or if her condition worsens. Thank you all for your help and concern. For anyone wondering I live in northern Canada, so skinny pigs and guinea pigs in general are extremely rare, which is why our vets are inexperienced.

Thank you for adding your location. This allows us to take your vet access into account and to cite US brands or active ingredients in any medications wherever necessary straight away.

Please keep vibrating to help shift the gas as much as possible and keep an eye on the poo output, which is lagging 1-2 days behind the input to judge the food intake and whether you need to step in with syringe feeding top up as weighing is difficult during a bloat. Skinnies with their extra fast metabolism are at an even greater risk than normal guinea pigs. Keep in mind that over 80% of the daily food intake is unlimited hay, which you cannot judge by eye. Veg should make only about 10% and pellets 5% of the daily food intake.

All the best!