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Guinea pig not eating or drinking

alib1991

alib1991

New Born Pup
Joined
Jan 22, 2019
Messages
44
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Points
175
Location
Birmingham
Hi everyone,
It's my first time posting and unfortunately not under the best circumstances...
My male guinea pig, Papua, is just over 4 years old but in the past week and a half hasn't been himself. I took him to the vets over a week ago and she couldn't find anything wrong (she listened to his breathing and felt his abdomen) - she then prescribed him Baytril and Metacam.
I took him back in on Wednesday because he started dribbling quite a bit (which, of course, stopped as soon as we got to the vet) and still wasn't eating. It was a different vet, and a more guinea-specialist and she clipped his teeth and sent him home again.
On Thursday he was prescribed Zantac and Cisapride but 4 days later, he's only having a nibble of food and not drinking. I've been giving him critical care 4 times a day with a total of 40ml a day but not really sure what else to do! I've ordered him some probiotic which should be arriving today and really hoping it helps him!
Other than the not eating/drinking, he seems fine in himself (much better than last week!) Any advice/tips on how to get him to eat or what could be wrong? Thanks in advance!
 
alib1991 said:
Hi everyone,
It's my first time posting and unfortunately not under the best circumstances...
My male guinea pig, Papua, is just over 4 years old but in the past week and a half hasn't been himself. I took him to the vets over a week ago and she couldn't find anything wrong (she listened to his breathing and felt his abdomen) - she then prescribed him Baytril and Metacam.
I took him back in on Wednesday because he started dribbling quite a bit (which, of course, stopped as soon as we got to the vet) and still wasn't eating. It was a different vet, and a more guinea-specialist and she clipped his teeth and sent him home again.
On Thursday he was prescribed Zantac and Cisapride but 4 days later, he's only having a nibble of food and not drinking. I've been giving him critical care 4 times a day with a total of 40ml a day but not really sure what else to do! I've ordered him some probiotic which should be arriving today and really hoping it helps him!
Other than the not eating/drinking, he seems fine in himself (much better than last week!) Any advice/tips on how to get him to eat or what could be wrong? Thanks in advance!
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Get his back teeth checked straight away. I mean asap. Probably what happening is they have overgrown. Dribbling is a sign. Find a better vet and in the meantime keep syringe feeding critical care.

Sounds like a bad vet, giving baytril when they dont even know what the problem is. Did they actually check the molars? Because the front teeth dont need clipping, they should stay fine, aslong as the back teeth are ok. There is a vet locator on this forum. See if you can find another vets
 
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alib1991 said:
Thanks for your reply! They're the ones that got clipped last week, she didn't touch his front ones but said they look fine. No more dribbling since then. but still no eating :(
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Ok, that sounds better. Il tag a member in who is very good with dental issue guinea pigs. My reply wasnt the best, I'm at work and am rushing. But felt like i atleast wanted to try and help you. Are you feeding fresh hay daily?

@furryfriends (TEAS)

Was it the more guinea pig specialist vet that clipped them? Or filed them.

How long has it been since they were clipped?

Dont give up, there will be better help here soon 👍
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
Ok, that sounds better. Il tag a member in who is very good with dental issue guinea pigs. My reply wasnt the best, I'm at work and am rushing. But felt like i atleast wanted to try and help you. Are you feeding fresh hay daily?

@furryfriends (TEAS)

Was it the more guinea pig specialist vet that clipped them? Or filed them.

How long has it been since they were clipped?
Click to expand...


Hi, thanks for your response - feeling quite helpless at the moment.
I'm offering fresh hay and he's having a small nibble but not eating enough of it so am giving the critical care to keep him going.
It was the more specialist vet that did the clipping, did it with huge metal things and said he had a few spurs that needed taking off which she did.
They were clipped on Wednesday, so just under a week ago - should he have fully recovered by now do you think?
 
alib1991 said:
Hi, thanks for your response - feeling quite helpless at the moment.
I'm offering fresh hay and he's having a small nibble but not eating enough of it so am giving the critical care to keep him going.
It was the more specialist vet that did the clipping, did it with huge metal things and said he had a few spurs that needed taking off which she did.
They were clipped on Wednesday, so just under a week ago - should he have fully recovered by now do you think?
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Yea the metal things will be the gag to hold the mouth open
 
alib1991 said:
He's been on 12 drops of Metacam daily since last Monday (14th) (his first appointment in case of an infection) but that's all.
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Metacam is the painkiller

Baytril is the antibiotic for fighting any infection.

Is there not a dosage on a label on the box? Ive never been told to give drops. I get a dosage to syringe orally
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
Yea the metal things will be the gag to hold the mouth open
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She seemed to just hold his mouth open and then use the clippers (they looked like massive nail clippers) to trim the teeth - I wonder if she took too much off and it's painful to eat?
 
alib1991 said:
She seemed to just hold his mouth open and then use the clippers (they looked like massive nail clippers) to trim the teeth - I wonder if she took too much off and it's painful to eat?
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I hope not, depends how experienced the vet is. Where in the uk do you live? Anywhere near northampton?
 
If you can get to Northampton, please do. I live just over an hour away and it is worth every penny 😊 hope you can find out what is wrong and you have my sympathies for a piggie that won’t eat. Keep battling on with the syringe feeding, it will be worth it I promise!
 
The probiotic has arrived and have given him a syringe of it, hopefully he'll perk up this evening - any idea how long this stuff takes to work?
 
I would recommend driving to see Simon Maddock at The Cat and Rabbit Clinic in Northampton. He is the most experienced dental vet for guinea pigs in the UK. He will be able to sort him out if anyone can. Deals with about 40 dentals a week. We take our boy Ted there for conscious dentals we live in Cornwall and it’s well worth the drive for us. If you can get there I would strongly recommend it. Good luck with your boy x
 
alib1991 said:
The probiotic has arrived and have given him a syringe of it, hopefully he'll perk up this evening - any idea how long this stuff takes to work?
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If he doesnt improve. I would take a visit to simon at cat and rabbit care clinic northampton. Youll 100% get an answer from him as to what is wrong. They will also prioritise people who travel long distances. I got held back a day because someone came down from wales. And I'm only round the corner. I was obv fine with that, as mine wasnt urgent
 
alib1991 said:
Thanks all - have made an appointment to see Simon on Monday - hopefully he either recovers before then or Simon can tell me what's wrong!
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Nice one 👍 he is in the best hands now, his wife kim is also a vet there she is brilliant too and so are the nurses. Everytime my sick pigs have been, they have been diagnosed spot on.

Make sure you keep syringe feeds up☺
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
Nice one 👍 he is in the best hands now, his wife kim is also a vet there she is brilliant too and so are the nurses. Everytime my sick pigs have been, they have been diagnosed spot on.

Make sure you keep syringe feeds up☺
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Thank you! Am keeping an eye on him to make sure he eats something but otherwise it's syringe feeding till Monday!
 
It is possible that he is still very sore from having his teeth clipped. Perhaps they did take too much off. I would also like the others highly recommend the cat and rabbit clinic if you can get there.
When my girl had hers done it took her a week before she started eating again but she wasn't sent home with any pain relief. I spoke to another vet who had said that this could have been the reason.
 
Aw, you’ve done the right thing, it will be the best person for your boy x I’m sure you won’t be disappointed, he really is a fantastic vet.
 
Hank288 said:
It is possible that he is still very sore from having his teeth clipped. Perhaps they did take too much off. I would also like the others highly recommend the cat and rabbit clinic if you can get there.
When my girl had hers done it took her a week before she started eating again but she wasn't sent home with any pain relief. I spoke to another vet who had said that this could have been the reason.
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Aw okay, I’m hoping it’s just him getting used to his trimmed teeth and not another issue! I’ve made the appointment with Simon for Monday so it’s there if he doesn’t decide to start eating! Will keep up with the critical care in the meantime though. Thanks!
 
Both these vets are excellent.i was feeding Jerry for 6 months ,he did start eating for himself.well worth the visit.I'm visiting the clinic monday morning !ive got coco whom is hooting on and off,i would not waste time going to vets that are not competent with guinea pigs,as it cost twice as much in the end.i hope you get a quick diagnosis,and speedy recovery for your piggie.xx
 
So pleased you’ve managed to get an appointment, they will be able to find out what is going on. It is definitely worth the trip, I am back there tomorrow afternoon. Fingers crossed your little one picks up but if not, he is in the best hands with Simon and Kim 😊
 
Reggie&Chunk said:
So pleased you’ve managed to get an appointment, they will be able to find out what is going on. It is definitely worth the trip, I am back there tomorrow afternoon. Fingers crossed your little one picks up but if not, he is in the best hands with Simon and Kim 😊
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Thanks! I hope so, he’s very up and down at the moment. 1 minute seems okay and the next he’s sat in his house not moving. Just hope he’s okay till Monday!
 
Still not eating today and he squeaked a couple of times when going to the toilet, so have taken him to the local vets that I’ve been to before, they’ve taken him in for an X-ray but no stones. Completely at a loss of what to do and they’ve said that they don’t know what else to do!
 
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