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HELP! george is ill

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Briony_S

Briony_S

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I'm so scared for my George! He is coming up for 5 in sept / oct and he has become ill.

He has lost half his body weight he is now around 620gms! I went to my normal vet who referred me to one who specialises in "exotics". So far he has had an ultra sound on his heart and stomach, which seemed fine only thing was his prostate or something around that Area was "larger" than expected. also he has had a blood test which came back with only signs of him being too thin ie signs of malnutrition and slight anaemia. xray showed nothing unusal.

Vet said what ever he has no other guinea pig she knows has had it as all the normal things they check for are fine! He has no lumps etc.. so doesn't look like cancer / tumours

I have been given some cat anti-inflammatory in the hope it might help but she did state she had no idea what was wrong!

I am supposed to keep an eye on his weight over a week and call her back, but it is still no better half way through the week,

He does eat and drink, he is still eating hay, veg and nuggets as I have seen he do all three, not sure how much though as he has a friend!

I don't know what else to do for him, I have given him some extra healthy treats to see if that helps such as those dried corn cobs and they love those dried herbs so I have been feeding those also,

is there anything else I can do? I feel so helpless knowing that we have no idea what is wrong?

I have spent around £350 at vet now with no answers, not sure what next step is but it was mentioned opening him up? I am a bit wary to let that happen as why would I put him thorugh that if nothing shows up on the scan and xray, as he is so thin I'm worried he could die anyway from the anesectic and other than being thin he seems happy and is acting normal so I am not sure he is in any pain!

If anyone else has experienced anything like this advise would be good!
 
Hi Briony, I don't really have any good advice, but I read your post earlier, and have been feeling concerned for you and George. I hope one of the more experienced members replies to you soon. I have been wondering over what sort of period of time George has lost this weight - has it happened quickly, or been over the course of several months? You say that he is behaving normally. I guess it would be worth keeping a closer eye on the actual quantities of food he's eating - not easy to monitor unless you actually sit there and watch him though. Does he drink any more than usual, do you think?
Like you, I would be very hesitant to go for an operation without a good reason.
I don't think I'm wrong in saying that some guinea pigs can get very skinny in their old age. I'm sure I read about one in Guinea Pig magazine, where as far as could be ascertained, there was nothing very obviously wrong, yet the pig still ate very well and seemed to enjoy her life. We ourselves had one like this once.
Anyway, I hope someone else might have something more helpful to say, but do keep us updated.
 
Poor George :( Well done in pushing for diagnostics tests, i know nothing has shown up but it is good to be ruling stuff out.

Is he losing weight on a daily basis still? If so I would be inclined to start topping him up on Critical Care syringe feed. First of all I would separate him if possible at feeding times so you know he's getting his veg and eating it all (we had to do this with a piggie of ours) Did the vet check is teeth? Massive weight loss could be down to not eating, it's something else to rule out.
Hugs to you and love to George, hoping someone with some more ideas may be on soon, please keep us updated on him
 
It's so difficult when the tests show nothing but something is wrong. Like Katherine said, over what period has he lost the weight? I agree on syringe feeding too. Does he seem in any pain at all? though the anti inflamatory you have been given should cover that to some extent. Does he have a history of any fungal issues? an overload of Candida in the gut can contribute to weight loss. Did the vet check his teeth? There are so many possibilities.

They can lose weight in old age, my Terk is 7 and only around 800g but she has an ovarian tumour that has been treated with hormone injections.
 
As said above there are many possibilities. Blood test are specific, he has most likely had a general profile to test how well his kidneys and liver are working and the levels of his glucose and other key things in his blood.

Did the vet check his back teeth? Has he had any antibiotics? And did the vet talk to about syringe feeding? As others have said this something that is strongly adviced.

seperating him for short periods to monitor how much he is eating is a great idea, you can also check at the same time what his droppings are like, if they are smaller than usual it shows he is not eating enough.

An other possibility is he may have a jaw abscess brewing, which may not be visible yet or show up in tests but will be causing pain, especially when eating.

As he not yet 5 this kind of wieght loss can not be put down to age. Also age related weight loss results from things like kidneys not working as well as they used to and should have shown up in the tests.

I know you have seen an exotics vet but some are more cavy savvy than others, maybe an other member can recomend a vet in your area.

hope he starts to improve soon x
 
Thanks for all your replies, Yes his teeth are fine and so are his liver and kidneys. he is definitely eating all foods and is not drooling or anything when eating. With regards to drinking more it is hard to tell as all my pigs are drinking more due to the heat at the minute. I did wonder about syringe feeding but I am worried it may cause problems if he has digestive problems?

I have been to 2 different vets now so not sure if a third will help. I do not have a very specialist guinea pig vet near where I live I had to travel all the way to Lytham for this other vet as there wasn't one in my home town as it was.

I am keeping the cage permanently stocked up on nuggets so that there is always some for George if he gets hungry, I have also got a pot of dandelions I have grown for them and they get some now and then along with daily veg (I used to give them veg every other day but vet suggested increasing it) and there Is always hay so its not like the other one is eating all his food, they have been together for years so do not fall out

The weight loss has been over quite a few months, he was originally over weight so I did reduce the veg and pellets ( I started weighing it out and only giving amount stated on the packet) in a bid to improve his health, so I did not realise at first that he was ill, it was only after he started to look "too thin" that I realised there was a problem, I then upped the pellets and there is always a constant supply now!
 
With regards to his weight I am not sure if he is loosing weight daily? He has been weighed on different scales a lot so it is hard to tell, I have weighed him at home now so I can monitor it better, he was weighed at one vets one day and weighed 640gms and then at next day on different vets scales he weighed 680gms I do not believe he had put on weight it was just due to the different scales

My scales today state 620gms so I will weigh him in a couple of days and see, does anyone recommend any particularly fattening veggies I could try I asked the vet who just said a variety would be good, I was wondering if corn was more fattening or fine beans? below is a list of what he likes if anyone could let me know what is most fattening that would be good!

Corn on Cob
Baby Corn
broccoli
spinach
peppers
carrots
fine beans
broad beans
celery
chicory
lettuce (not iceberg)
cabbage
mange tout
bean sprouts
fresh peas (out of the pods) can they eat the pods?
cucumber
the green bits out of top of carrots
dandelion leaves and flowers
grass
he also likes that thing that tastes like aniseed and looks a bit like a human heart (cant think of name at present)

He hates cauliflower with a passion and will not eat it but likes the leaves
 
What is the name of the anti inflammatory that's been prescribed & what doseage. It's surprising how many vets get the the doseage totally wrong as I found out myself. Are you weighing George daily so that you can see an exact up to the date trend. As well as Critical Care you could also give him Fibreplex for 3 or 4 days. Is he drinking or if not is he eating veg such as cucumber & celery which contain plenty of water. If not you may need to syringe feed water. I can't think of anything else other than finding a vet who is expert with piggies. Regarding foods to help him put on weight, try some porridge oats, doesn't have to be Quaker or Scots, just supermarket own brand. I do hope he gets better soon.
 
Stewybus said:
What is the name of the anti inflammatory that's been prescribed & what doseage. It's surprising how many vets get the the doseage totally wrong as I found out myself. Are you weighing George daily so that you can see an exact up to the date trend. As well as Critical Care you could also give him Fibreplex for 3 or 4 days. Is he drinking or if not is he eating veg such as cucumber & celery which contain plenty of water. If not you may need to syringe feed water. I can't think of anything else other than finding a vet who is expert with piggies. I do hope he gets better soon.
Click to expand...

He has been given Matacam (meloxicam) 0.5mg I have been told to give him 0.36ml once daily

he is drinking on his own but he does like cucumber so I can give him a bit also, I almost forgot he has also lost his squeak a little he sounds a little horse and can't squeak loud like my others but vet said nothing wrong with his throat / mouth showing up on the xray they did two one sideways and one from front
 
Hi, i understand what you are saying about there being plenty of food at all times so his friend isn't eating it all but i would still recomend seperating him for say an hour a day when you feed them their veg. he may be eating slower than his friend or his friend hogging the veg, so by seperating him you can monitor him. Once you know if the weight loss is due to a reduced appetite or happening despite a normal appetite it will help narrow down the possible cause.

Oxbow critical care syringe food is specialy formulated for convelesing animals and should not cause any digestion problems.

Corn on the cob is one of the more fattening veg but also has a very unbalanced calcium : phosphorous ratio and so should only ever be fed in small quantities and along side other veg.

hope this helps :)
 
Thanks I understand what you mean now re veggies I will give him veg separately and see what he eats - Thanks, I did have some oxbow critical care I bought for emergencies a few years back but it expired and I never used it so I didn't replace it, I will order some off the internet now with some syringes, can someone remind me which are the best size for feeding, I had some also but donated them to a rescue some time ago!
 
I'm sorry George is poorly. You said his teeth are ok, but has he had dental x-rays to show the back teeth and roots? Sorry if you've already been asked- I only scanned the replies before answering myself. :)
 
Thanks for the updates. Poor George, as recommended above 1ml syringes with the end cut off are really good for syringe feeding. Go in through the side of the mouth and syringe slowly giving him chance to chew. I really hope you can find out what is wrong with George. Have you scheduled an x-ray at all?
 
he had a full body xray one of side of his body and then one from front, vet also put him under to do this and examined his back teeth whilst he was under as he had too much food to see one side whilst he was awake, she said his teeth were fine, that was my first suspicion also.
 
I honestly don't know what to suggest. It sounds like you've done so much. Maybe worth dropping Debbie a PM in case she can think of anything that Simon could suggest your vet could try. x
 
Hmm, it's a mystery. Hopefully he will start to pick up with the supplemental feeding.
 
Thanks for all your support guys! I have ordered the critical care now and some syringes and couldn't resist ordering some herbs and some tunnels as well also. oh my poor credit card!
 
Just a quick update, I have just sat and watched George for about 10 mins and in that time he had a drink, ate some hay and some nuggets and he can still manage to bend down and eat the poo from his bottom (cringe - sorry for sharing but it is good for them to do that so I believe) also I did notice the other day he was going round eating poos off the cage floor - does this mean anything to anyone? I wondered if he was not getting all the nutrients out the first time as well as he should? or is this something they do anyway that I have not noticed before?

Sorry I know I'm clutching at straws now! Just so worried my mind is racing with possibilities?
 
I would suggest a probiotic. The reason for eating poops is to regain vitamins made my bacteria in the lower bowel, but which can only be absorbed in the upper bowels. It is possible he has a stomach bug which is causing him to lose his natural levels of 'healthy' bacteria - the ones which help break down food. He can eat till the cows come home but he wont have as much to absorb. I recommend you ask your vet if there is anyone near by who own healthy pigs. And ask for VERY fresh poops (he must ingest one within the hour for best results!). Mix it in with the critical care (a luke warm mix so not to chill or burn the delicate bacteria). You might want to take a little thankyou card to the helpers as a gesture of good will - you might need to see them a few times.

I had to do this with one of my girls after she developed a tumour behind/under her tongue. It was invisible in scans and we couldnt work out why she lost so much weight. They had to knock her out and put a cage around her head (it had two horizontal bars which opened the mouth wide by holding the teeth open). It's no wider than when they yawn so don't worry about him waking up with a sore mouth :) Then they could pull the tongue forward and examine the throat.

I am not suggesting this is the same problem by the way, but it might be worth asking the vet if they think it will make a difference. I certainly think getting his gut fauna bolstered up is a step forward!

Good luck George! Rooting for you! xx
 
When you say healthy pigs you do mean guineas? I have 2 sets of 2 so I could get some out of other cage if this is what you mean? still waiting on the critical care, will hopefully arrive tomorrow! in meantime I have been sitting him on my knee to eat his veg and he is eating it with no trouble (maybe a little slower than the others though) He has put on 20gms since Saturday which is good news but not much I know!
 
Yes, healthy piggies!

Get some poo from a healthy pig, mash it with a tiny bit of water and syringe it to george. It's called poo soup and is a natural pro biotic. I know it sounds wrong, but they love it.

Way to go George on the weight gain, love to your boy, your doing really well x
 
Thought I'd better give you all an update as it has been a few days my CC arrived on Wednesday night and I have been syringing food every since, George is not taking very much in a sitting, I'm not sure how much people normally get down but I am managing about 5/6 mls in per session. I work so am feeding one lot first thing in morning and then having a couple of goes at night (once when I get home, one more session again before bed). He is eating some food on his own so I know I don't need to feed the full amount stated on the packet, I'm just hoping I am getting enough down him!

His weight is a bit up and down on a daily basis but I am hoping as although he is up and down his "DOWNS" seem to be higher than previous!

I am using the fine grind and it recommends 3 tbs per kg George is around 620gms ish at the minute but I'm not sure I am getting much more than about 2 tsps day

If someone could give me a better idea in mls that would be a great help!
 
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