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Guinea pig near death need help asap please

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Cherriesxo

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I have 3 guinea pigs, family circumstances changed and I left the family home last september leaving my family with full responsibility for them
However returning at christmas one of them was underweight, advised to feed her outside the cage - did this and she got back to healthy weight
Anyway returned home yesterday and she is very underweight again, she just sits with her face huddled in the other one's fur, she doesn't move, fur puffed up, not weeing or pooping at all, and not eating or drinking.
Went to the vet today who weighed her, she was 640g. She is a 4 year old guinea pig. He gave us some critical care, hay, antibiotic and something else which he said would help her absorb nutrients or something. We have another appointment in a week to see if her weight has improved. He said he also noticed bloating. He suggested putting her to sleep if she doesn't improve.
I have been crying all day, she looks so ill I honestly cannot see her getting any better. I've been feeding her critical care and she has taken it okay today but recently I just tried feeding it her and she is retching like she's going to vomit (though I know guinea pigs can't vomit) so I don't know whether to continue feeding her or not? She hasn't pooped or weed all day and hasn't eaten apart from the critical care and she very slowly ate 2 stalks of parsley earlier. She is looking very bloated at the moment so I don't know whether to stop feeding her or continue. I honestly can't see her surviving the night 8...
Bloody annoyed at my family for just ignoring her illness but there's nothing I can do now except try to improve her health. Please help :0
 
forgot to mention she retched several times i'd say about 15 times and this is when syringing both critical care and water
she does have large ovarian cysts on both sides - i posted a thread on this a while back, could this just be the cysts showing because her weight is so low and not actual bloating?
really worried about the retching though do i continue feeding?
 
So sorry, what a nightmare for you :(

Read the stuff on guinealynx about bloat, might be useful for you. Are you syringe-feeding to the side of the mouth? I have experienced a guinea with severe bloat not being able to take in water at all. It's not nice :(

Try her with a bit of grass from your back lawn, it's the best thing I have found for tempting a guinea to eat.

She does sound really ill though, do you have a specialist exotics vet you can get her to today?

Best wishes to you & your piggie x
 
Just seen your second post; if she is retching so badly I would stop & get her to an exotics vet, sounds like emergency time to me.
 
I don't think she's got bloat, I think it just may be the ovarian cysts showing because she's so thin, because she isn't as big as the pics i've seem and her sides don't sound hollow or firm when pressed. She isn't eating at all, she's not showing any interest, not even hay or nuggets :( there's no vets open near me now. thank you x
 
They will all have emergency out of hours service, it will be more expensive but may help.
 
Sorry to hear your piggie is so poorly. It sounds like she does need to see the emergency vet ASAP.
 
Hi Sorry to hear piggie is so unwell xx I tried everything with my squirrel too. I could not give up on her but in the end I knew what was right for her. Its the hardest thing but the kindest thing when your little one is so unwell. I really believed my little one was improving . In the end I took her to the vet .I hate writing this as I know what you must be feeling like right now xx Fingers crossed for your little one x
 
Apart from being underweight, did the vet say what they thought was wrong with your pig? If they have given antibiotics then they suspect an infection - did they say what kind?

Is she just gagging when you try to feed her, or at other times too?

I agree with others. She really does need to see an emergency vet...
 
Jerrybelly said:
Apart from being underweight, did the vet say what they thought was wrong with your pig? If they have given antibiotics then they suspect an infection - did they say what kind?

Is she just gagging when you try to feed her, or at other times too?

I agree with others. She really does need to see an emergency vet...
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No he didn't say what he thought it was.
She's gagging only when I feed her.
I've just been syringing water for the past hour, she isn't swallowing most of it it's going everywhere so that's why it's taking me so long. I'm waiting for her to pee, she seems to have stopped gagging for the time being. Trying to be positive but it's difficult when she's so ill. But I'm thinking I'm syringing so much water, something has got to come out. I'm going to continue critical care/water for 2 hours and if she doesn't pee/poop in that time I'm going to phone the vet.
 
If she has a blockage it doesn't matter how much you syringe, it will not get through. An intestinal blockage is life-threatening.
 
I'm sorry to read this but she does sound extremely ill and needs a Vet quickly.
Syringing is recommended little and often, I do around 15mls every 2-3 hours over 24 hours so as not to over feed. I only ever syringe half a ml into a piggies mouth at a time.
It must be an truly terrible situation to find yourself in - if she hasn't popped, gut stasis may have set in which is excruciating for her :(
Hope you can get her to a Vet asap x
 
Guinea pig slave said:
I'm sorry to read this but she does sound extremely ill and needs a Vet quickly.
Syringing is recommended little and often, I do around 15mls every 2-3 hours over 24 hours so as not to over feed. I only ever syringe half a ml into a piggies mouth at a time.
It must be an truly terrible situation to find yourself in - if she hasn't popped, gut stasis may have set in which is excruciating for her :(
Hope you can get her to a Vet asap x
Click to expand...

*popped...meant pooped.
 
Emergency care; IV fluids etc if needed, surgery if needed, emergency meds - they have a whole load of things they can do but you really do need to be advised by a vet on this, it is beyond care at home I'm afraid.
 
CharlieH said:
Please please get piggy to the emergency vets, I fear you may lose her otherwise :(
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I just found out it's half an hour drive away, I have no way of getting there as nobody can drive, I'm feeding her critical care but she still hasnt peed or pooped :( i went to the vets today as an emergency appt he gave us critical care, antibiotics, painkiller, hay, etc I think the out of hours won't do anything, feel hopeless
 
Please see this link for information on syringe feeding:
http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

In particular, note this section:

'..stick the syringe into the side of the mouth directly behind the front teeth, and work it down to the back teeth until the pig starts grinding on the end of the syringe. Then ... slowly depress the syringe contents into the mouth, stopping if the pig stops chewing. As long as there is chewing motion - the pig is swallowing. A little wiggle of the syringe will often get the chewing motion to start up again if it's stopped.'

Incorrect feeding can cause the pig to gag and/or choke.

BUT if the pig is not pooing, despite the feeding, then things have gone beyond anything that you can do at home. Your pig will need a gut stimulant, such as Emeprid, to keep his gut turning over. Gut stasis and bloat is very painful and can be fatal. She needs to see a vet for proper diagnosis and treatment immediately.
 
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Please do try and get to a vet tonight. I agree with Sue, is getting a taxi possible?

Where are you located? There may be a forum member close by who can assist further by getting you to the vet.
 
Cherriesxo said:
I just found out it's half an hour drive away, I have no way of getting there as nobody can drive, I'm feeding her critical care but she still hasnt peed or pooped :( i went to the vets today as an emergency appt he gave us critical care, antibiotics, painkiller, hay, etc I think the out of hours won't do anything, feel hopeless
Click to expand...

Taxi, a bus, or perhaps a forum member? Is there a call out service? Your pig needs to see an emergency vet, it's not hopeless until you've exhausted all options. Can you call a friend to take you? Half an hour's drive isn't too bad and won't cost much in petrol.
 
Cherriesxo said:
I just found out it's half an hour drive away, I have no way of getting there as nobody can drive, I'm feeding her critical care but she still hasnt peed or pooped :( i went to the vets today as an emergency appt he gave us critical care, antibiotics, painkiller, hay, etc I think the out of hours won't do anything, feel hopeless
Click to expand...

Also I can't see out of hours not doing anything - all your vets did was supply you with painkillers, some food, and antibiotics that may or may not make a difference - your pig needs a proper inspection ASAP from vets who will hurry up in determining the problem. When a big has a blockage and starts wretching, and especially not pooing, you know there's a problem :/
 
Update. Our beautiful little Amelie passed away shortly after my last post last night. I knew she was going and when she did it was peaceful. It got to the point where she couldn't walk very well and all I could do was comfort her. She was so ill I just knew she was beyond help at that point so it was a horrible waiting game, I was considering calling a vet just to put her to sleep because I couldn't bear to see her in anymore pain8... thank you for all of your posts. Rest in piggy heaven little Amelie xx
I will miss her so much8...
 
At least she is at peace & out of distress now, RIP Amelie
 
Very sorry to read this.

RIP Amelie
x x
 
I'm so sorry to read that she is gone, run free little Amelie, mummy was with you till the end.
 
It's been a very distressing weekend for you. My little Madam had to be PTS prematurely last month & it was the hardest decision of my life. She appeared to be in a similar position to your Amelie & had gone down quickly in last 24 hours. I just couldn't see her suffer any more. Everytime I see a story like this my eyes fill with tears. My thoughts are with you. xx
 
Thank you all so much. The support on this forum is incredible. I couldn't stop shaking last night, but in a way I was relieved that she had stopped suffering, seeing her in so much pain but not being able to do anything was breaking my heart. I'm glad that I took lots of pictures during her lifetime of happier times that I can look back on, I just wish she didn't pass away in such terrible circumstances. Thank you everybody for all of your help xx
 
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