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Guinea pig not eating, drinking or pooping!

coco&chanel

coco&chanel

Junior Guinea Pig
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I noticed Tina wasn't acting herself yesterday so i separated her to keep an eye on her last night. She wasn't eating/ drinking or pooping so i took her to the vet this morning.


Her teeth are fine, but she's bloated and the vet said she could feel a mass in her tummy (either kidney or the poop build up). She gave her 4 injections; one for fluids, one to help her go to the toilet, one for pain relief and an antibiotic. She also gave me food to syringe to her.

Since being home (about 4 hours) Tina hasn't eaten/drunk/pooped. There is a small patch of blood where she has been lying which i think she has peed out. I am reluctant to syringe feed her as i feel it will make the blockage worse. I am at my wits end and extremely worried about her. What should I do? Shouldn't she have pooped by now?
 
You need to get started with the syringe feeding, little and often to start with, to stop her guts going into stasis. If she hasnt been eating, she wont be pooping... did you get gut stimulant medicine to give her orally at home too? Get going with the syringe feeding, maybe try get her to have 5mls every couple of hours to start off with, hope she starts pooping soon x
 
Update: we have a poop!

I forgot to mention i have given her the syringe food a couple of hours ago then put her on a massage pad. Just did it again and she has passed a poop! She has also just done another one so fingers crossed she keeps going! ❤❤
 

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That’s good. I definitely agree though - she must be syringe fed every few hours day and night while she isn’t eating for herself.
Poop output is a couple of days behind food input
 
Sorry I also forgot to say, no the bet didn't give me any gut stimulant but they told me to go back tomorrow which i will. It was the out of hours service so will be a different vet that i see tomorrow.

Thank you so much for the advice, i will aim to feed her 5ml every couple of hours & throughout the night x
 
coco&chanel said:
Sorry I also forgot to say, no the bet didn't give me any gut stimulant but they told me to go back tomorrow which i will. It was the out of hours service so will be a different vet that i see tomorrow.

Thank you so much for the advice, i will aim to feed her 5ml every couple of hours & throughout the night x
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If she will take more syringe food, do give her more, as much as she wants- but I think 5mls every couple of hours is a good minimum target. So glad you have poops, sending healing wheeks! X
 
coco&chanel said:
I noticed Tina wasn't acting herself yesterday so i separated her to keep an eye on her last night. She wasn't eating/ drinking or pooping so i took her to the vet this morning.


Her teeth are fine, but she's bloated and the vet said she could feel a mass in her tummy (either kidney or the poop build up). She gave her 4 injections; one for fluids, one to help her go to the toilet, one for pain relief and an antibiotic. She also gave me food to syringe to her.

Since being home (about 4 hours) Tina hasn't eaten/drunk/pooped. There is a small patch of blood where she has been lying which i think she has peed out. I am reluctant to syringe feed her as i feel it will make the blockage worse. I am at my wits end and extremely worried about her. What should I do? Shouldn't she have pooped by now?
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Hi!

I am very sorry for the bad news. Please have her vet checked to see whether the kidneys are in failure or whether your girl has got tumour/cancerous overian cyst (the last of which could explain the blood).

Please step in with syringe feeding to prevent the guts going into fatal GI stasis and stop working altogether; please understand that it is not the guts that are blocked but whatever is causing the problem is pushing on the gut and is causing the bloating. It is obviously painful.
The lack of poos is either reflecting the lack of intake or is a sign that your girl is in stasis. :(

Have you got painkillers and gut stimulations to give at home as they only work for about 12 hours before they are metabolised?

Here is some helpful information about how to best look after your girl at home.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Bloat, GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

All the best! I hope you can have her seen again and have her checked in case it is an operable ovarian cyst.
 
I am definitely going to the vets tomorrow. The only thing the vet gave me today to take home is the feed and a syringe.

Do you recommend i use the vibrating mat or is that just for gas?
 
coco&chanel said:
I am definitely going to the vets tomorrow. The only thing the vet gave me today to take home is the feed and a syringe.

Do you recommend i use the vibrating mat or is that just for gas?
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Ideally the vet should be sending you home with some ranitidine and/or emeprid for her guts, plus some metacam for pain relief, and should be arranging a scan or xray to investigate the abdominal mass.
Personally I wouldnt use the vibrating mat, as it might be painful if she has some sort of lump in her tummy, unless you think it is helping her gut function- you can tell best how your girl is responding! Best of luck at the vets tomorrow x
 
Is she going to be okay for the night without pain relief and gut medicine?

She seems a bit more responsive at the moment but i don't want to speak too soon! She is moving around a little more. The out of hours vet is different to my usual vet so they advised to go to my normal vet tomorrow to investigate further.
 
coco&chanel said:
Is she going to be okay for the night without pain relief and gut medicine?

She seems a bit more responsive at the moment but i don't want to speak too soon! She is moving around a little more. The out of hours vet is different to my usual vet so they advised to go to my normal vet tomorrow to investigate further.
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Unfortunately we can't really say, if she is taking her syringe feed and starting to poop these are good signs, hopefully she will be ok until tomorrow, but I would monitor and feed her during the night and be prepared for a dash to the emergency vet just in case... paws crossed she has a good night and you get everything she needs tomorrow x
 
Hi guys, I fed her throughout the night but she was pretty reluctant.

Called the cat & rabbit care clinic this morning at 8am and she passed away whilst i was on the phone.

Heartbroken is an understatement right now.
 
I am so sorry for your loss.
You did everything you possibly could for Tina
When you feel up to it you can post a tribute on the Rainbow Bridge thread.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve
 
I am so very sorry for your loss. Sudden onset gi stasis can be vicious and very difficult to treat. Please be assured you did all you could do. Sadly sometimes we just can’t save them. Big hugs. Please be gentle with yourself as you mourn her passing.
 
Thank you all for your kind words, it means a lot to me❤

Does anyone have any recommendations for guinea pig weighing scales? I think mine are off and I'd rather be safe than sorry!
 
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