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Healing Vibes For My Little Cashman!

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Tbag

Tbag

Adult Guinea Pig
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Over a week and a bit 200g has disappeared from Cash :(

He's still very chirpy in himself, eating well, externally healthy looking and just over 1000g so the vet (Ann at Ewell) isn't putting him on emergency procedures just yet.

His teeth are perfect, his jaw is fine, his glands are fine, his breathing is fine, his heart is fine and his poo is fine.

His urine test was dilute which could point to a renal/kidney problem BUT I had to ply him with water to get a sample for today!

He also has a small lump on his throat area which Ann thinks could be his thyroid playing up (apparently there's a lot of new vet thinking on piggies and thyroid problems - anyone with any experience?), or could be the start if an abcess. So got to keep an eye on that.

Treated with some ivermectin just in case it could be worms or some internal thing.

Blood test scheduled for weds :(
 
Aww poor baby. I hope whatever it is can be found and he gets well soon.
 
I'm so sorry, but yes it does sound like the same problem that Haven has :( I hope he is feeling better very soon.
 
Thanks all! Just reading the thread about Haven and it does sound very similar indeed. Looks like Ann was on the right track (as usual!) with the thyroid...
A lot of the symptoms add up, though he's less active than ever which doesn't quite fit the bill. Seems like it takes him a long time to wake up when he's asleep.

Argh! Who knows.
 
Taking ages to wake up is common with a heart condition as is weight loss. How did she check the heart? Xray?
 
Sending healing vibes to Cash x Hope he gets sorted soon. I know how long it can take to get a correct diagnosis...getting a specialist vet was my ancwer and he has been great- Haven is now on thyroid meds and doing well. :-) Really hope you get some ancwers for Cash soon x
 
That's a good point Helen, and in all my stress I forgot to mention about him being slow to wake up at the vets. Ann had a really thorough listen to his heart with a stethoscope though and she was happy with what she heard.
I will mention this on weds though when we go back.

He's in very good hands there, just having to wait is so frustrating!
 
Also, I'm wondering what to do about Tango while Cash is in on weds. The vets said he could go in with Cash but he gets quite stressed when they're separated and I don't know if being in a strange place and then being separated whilst Cash is under anaesthetic would be any good for him. At the same time I'm not sure he'd enjoy being alone all morning either.
?
 
Thanks all. Blood test went fine and the experience didn't seem to phase him at all (charging round his travel case like a nutter on the way home - hyperactivity anyone?!), though poor Tango wasn't very happy!
Got follow up appt on Monday to discuss results. Fingers crossed!

When I weighed him last night he'd dropped another 50g though so he's now just under 1000g at 970g. Daddypig pointed out this could be down to the blood test and day he'd had so we weighed Tango as a control and he'd also lost a tiny bit. Could it have been a result of the days events?
 
Also, seen on here a lot about feeding oats to help weight gain - is it literally just giving him dry flakes of basic porridge oats?
And is there anything else I can feed him that'll help him bulk up again. I have a packet of supreme recovery feed from when Tango was ill a couple of years ago but its out of date now - should I try use it or just toss it?
 
Baby Corn is quite calorific I believe. Lots of healing vibes and hope you get some answers soon
 
Fingers firmly crossed for Cashman! You have him in good vet hands; that is all you can do. I hope that you can get to the bottom of it all soon!

Plain porridge oats, unlimited pellets, sweet corn, simply slightly bigger veg portions etc.

I wouldn't use out-of-date recovery food.
 
Back up to 990g last night! Any improvement is a good thing!
He had a few oats, didn't seem too enamoured with them though. Might try roll some cubes of banana in the oats to get him to eat a bit more!
 
Just hoping the weight keeps going in the right direction and we get some answers on Monday!
 
1010g as of yesterday! Crossing my fingers for the blood test results today.

He's been tucking into his oats and having about a teaspoon per day so hopefully that'll keep the numbers going up!
 
Back down to 990g at the vets today :hb:

And his bloods were pretty inconclusive. Nothing majorly out of place, a few readings a tiiiny bit higher or lower than the norm. Only real significant one was potassium which was 3.8 when normal levels are 4.5-8.8.
Am hoping to compare thyroxine levels with Havens recorded ones as the lab running the tests used the only published thyroxine levels they could find for guineas to get a normal estimate. And since it's still new thinking etc it'd be good to get all the info possible.

He's still chirpy in himself (though still taking time to wake up) so were going to review after Xmas to see if anything develops and then go for radiology/imaging if there's still no obvious signs.

*sigh*
 
It's difficult with piggy blood tests as there are so few results to assume a normal from.
My thoughts given the long time it takes for him to wake and the potassium ( only basing this on humans) I would be thinking possible heart problems.
Esme had heart failure and she would take a while to wake up and you could pick her up at times still asleep, but she still ran about like there was nothing wrong.

I hope you get some answers soon. x
 
Hoping you can get some answers after Christmas. Cuddles and vibes to your little one x
 
Thanks!
Klee - what's the connection between potassium levels and heart conditions?
He isn't quite so bad that he'll still be asleep when you pick him up or anything, but if you go to the bars with a treat and they're both a bit dozy Tango will be up at the bars in a flash once he realises what's going on, but it'll take Cash a minute or two to get himself together.
 
I know in people, too high or too low potassium levels can result in abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias). How this relates to guinea pigs i wouldn't be sure, Esme never had blood tests done. It may just be a low quantity of potassium in the diet.
Esme was diagnosed based on xray- her heart sounded quite healthy and normal with stephoscope, xray showed fluid in the lungs and enlarged heart.
Esme's symptoms were: laboured breathing- followed by not eating , easy to pick up-not waking and weight loss ( over the period when she was poorly she lost almost 200g)
 
Thanks - that's interesting to know about the potassium. I'll mention it to my vet at our next appt.
Esme's symptoms sound very severe compared to how Cash is but it's good to know things to keep an eye out for if anything develops.
 
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