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Help I Think Coco Is Dying

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Oh bless her, could you ask to change antibiotic? Did you have the probiotics as well?
Is she on any pain relief as well? x

Oh really? From what I've seen before been told to never give baby food, when are you next at the vets?
Did they not give you critical care?

Sorry for all the questions D:

He weighed 664 today! :D
Tummy's getting better as well! Bits of his ears are falling off... but, it's the dry/dead skin falling off, Lance wanted us to put vaseline on them to see if it is dry skin and the skin fell off, made me rather queasy! But, skin looks healthier now that's coming off, still gonna ask if it is fungal! Poor lad.
But on a general note, seems to be getting there, I hope, -touch wood-.

My OH, cute? D:! Nahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Oooo funy you should say that, I was considering getting myself some of them the other day to amuse me and keep my mind off everything else! haha
 
I've been told to take her off everything to clear her system of all the meds.
I'm only giving her fibreplex 3x a day now.

I have critical care from the emergency vets that first day, but apparently she would rather die than take it. So i've just been giving her mashed pellets because she takes it a bit easier.

I've been giving her baby food for like a week now because my vet gave me some to try with her and Glenn said to give her a fruit one, I'm not giving her it from now on but, I'm sure it's making things worse.

haha. I had them years ago, they died after 2 weeks but.
.......maybe i should just get a cactus.
 
That sounds about right, I give fibreplex too, if you can get a probiotic that may help too?

Oh bless her, well mashed pellets are just as good, I give mashed pellets.

So yeah, just stick with what your doing atm. I agree on stopping the baby food as well.

I just had a browse on amazon and found these like Triop thingS?
 
Is fibreplex not a probiotics? That's the only king of probiotic thing I have?

haha, I've never seen them before. Aww, they're kinna cute.
 
I'm not sure, I thought it was just a fibre supplement? I guess it may be a probiotic... checks packet... Oh so it is! :) That's fine then!

Think I'll get told no thoug... added them all to basket ;)
 
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Baby food isn't suitable also - try recovery, or for now as mentioned already try mushed pellets. Baby food has little fibre content and she needs that in her gut
 
Pebbles told me some stuff over the phone that I should try from Pets at home, but It's so far away and i've been wrapped up in vet visits. Might have a look online to see if I can just buy them there.

haha, I say all this about not wanting more pigs, but the other day my OH's mum's pal was giving away her daughters piggy and I was all ears like a meercat pure "oh rly?!" "what age is it?!" "is it male or female?" "Why do they want rid of it?!" before I got told to shut up and sit down. hahah
 
Avipro + - amazon
Pro-C - amazon
If it's either of them? :)
Cheaper than p@h too!

haha, bless you, I'm always trying for more... but sometimes I think I'm trying to distract myself!
 
Piggly said:
Fibreplex is a probiotic. @Coco&Luna has she been checked for anything physically obstructing her throat?
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I don't know?
Shes had 2 oral exams with that little microscope with the light on it to check her mouth and teeth & Xrays? So i just assumed because of the symptoms they would obviously have looked down her throat. I'm going to talk to the vets on monday about a possible abscess further down her oesophagus?
 
Fibreplex is definitely a pro-biotic. Baby food can help with putting on weight which could be why it was suggested but you have to ensure its diary free and there isn't any toxic foods in it.

I imagine Coco will be very difficult to feed via syringe especially as she keeps choking but it's essential to keep her strong. Sometimes my lot will eat critical care off a spoon which might be an idea.

Coco will need to be off antibiotics for the stool sample, as I think they can effect the results. Not 100% sure so hopefully someone can clarify if this is correct or not.

Guinea Pig's really can be draining when they are ill. I've lost count of how many tears I've lost over the years. It's amazing the bond you develop with a sick piggy. I often tell myself if you didn't have the heartache you wouldn't appreciate just how much happiness they bring.

Hopefully both Coco and Frank will turn a corner. They certainly have fantastic owners to support them.
 
Coco&Luna said:
I don't know?
Shes had 2 oral exams with that little microscope with the light on it to check her mouth and teeth & Xrays? So i just assumed because of the symptoms they would obviously have looked down her throat. I'm going to talk to the vets on monday about a possible abscess further down her oesophagus?
Click to expand...

Given her constant choking the first thing to consider is dental, and the next thing is something such an abscess or other lump inside her throat
 
flintstones said:
Fibreplex is definitely a pro-biotic. Baby food can help with putting on weight which could be why it was suggested but you have to ensure its diary free and there isn't any toxic foods in it.

I imagine Coco will be very difficult to feed via syringe especially as she keeps choking but it's essential to keep her strong. Sometimes my lot will eat critical care off a spoon which might be an idea.

Coco will need to be off antibiotics for the stool sample, as I think they can effect the results. Not 100% sure so hopefully someone can clarify if this is correct or not.

Guinea Pig's really can be draining when they are ill. I've lost count of how many tears I've lost over the years. It's amazing the bond you develop with a sick piggy. I often tell myself if you didn't have the heartache you wouldn't appreciate just how much happiness they bring.

Hopefully both Coco and Frank will turn a corner. They certainly have fantastic owners to support them.
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Awwh Thank You, the bond we've developed with Frank over the past erm, gosh, 8 months, has been amazing. When he was feeling a bit rubbish last week he ran up to me (away from OH with the meds) and rested his head against my leg and went to sleep. So you are certainly right there ! And that statement of which you tell yourself is so true :)

I think I have also read that about AB affecting samples if not off them as well, so I think you are right there.
 
Shes had her teeth checked my my own vet and Glenn at Apex and she's had xrays and they don't think that it's dental.

I have a really bad feeling in my stomach. She looks wierd just now. I can't face getting her out and putting her through a syringe feed just now.
I'll give her an hour to see if she perks up.
x
 
She isnt wet under her chin at all.
Everything seems to get worse when she eats. Like as soon as she starts eating pellets, her breathing becomes laboured and gurgly and she puffs up her coat. But she's hungry and keeps eating.
I was just watching her eat her pellets and she started pawing at her face to get the pellet back out and her ears were flapping about.

Btw, I make sure her pellets are wet and soft before I give her them, but tonight I wanted to watch her eating normally to see if I could notice anything I hadn't before and to video it, so I could show you guys, I'll upload it after my bath. It doesn't really show how bad she actually is though, so i dont know how much use it will be. x
 
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It would seem to suggest there is a problem with her mouth or teeth, but as you say, her teeth are fine. I have had good success when dealing with similar problems to this, using itrafungal. However in most of the cases I have dealt with, the piggy has struggled to swallow their saliva as well as their food, which is why I asked if there was any drooling.
 
I'll mention this to the vets tomorrow. It's got to the point where i'll try anything. I just have this feeling that it's something so stupid and simple and it's just getting missed & she's going to die from it soon if it doesn't get figured out quickly.

I don't even know why I'm having these poop samples tested, I feel like it's totally irrelevant and we're just grabbing at straws now. x
 
I have nothing useful to say but wanted you to know that I am thinking of you, as I know how awful it is to be in this kind of situation, you feel so alone.(((hugs)))) to you and Coco.
 
I'm so sorry this not been a better result to date
You're doing everything you can in Scotland and I believe the poo samples should be pursued..


HOWEVER:Big question: Can/Are you willing to enable her to get her down to Simon at N'ton?
x
 
@Pebble hey :) good, I'll get the poop sample in tomorrow.
I was going to say to the vet now that we've got to the stage where it's 'all or bust', can we treat her as though it's an abccess further down the throat (I can't remember the name of the medication you mentioned to me over the phone?) and if this doesn't work try intrafungal incase its a fungal infection in the mouth or throat?

Remember I can't drive and I have to go by public transport? Where is that, England? x
 

She has been really good today.
Her breathing only started being like this when the minute she started eating. After she does that little sneeze thing at the end and runs up her ramp she buried her face in her hay with her coat all puffed up and hasnt moved since and this was about 3 hours ago. I dont understand this because she didn't choke that time or anything and seemed to be eating relatively well for a change? The breathing is now worse. I just gave her baytril and fibreplex.
Her weight is now 645g.

Edit: I hope you can hear her breathing? It's so quiet in this video.
 
Does she still have diarrhoea? - any further abx could make the condition much worse. See what the results of the poo culture are first as that will dictate the type of abx. (yes - they have to be off abx for about a week for any type of microbial culture to be meaningful)

What you are describing does sound like a problem with the mouth/tongue as she is showing signs of pain when eating. If the molars have been pronounced OK (has she had a thorough oral exam within the last week or so?) then her tongue is presumably not being trapped by overgrown spurs (which from your description of her response to feeding would be my first thought) So if molars are OK then something else is preventing her from manipulating the food in her mouth. With my Valentine his problem was a wobbly molar that was trapping food/hair/gunk (it was eventually extracted) and also caused diarrhoea/soft poops. It could also be some type of infection/inflammation of the tongue/soft palate or an abcess further back.

It sounds like she may need another thorough oral exam (under GA unless she can be got down to Simon in Northampton who will do a conscious exam) )and possibly a throat swab taken. As @furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary has said, it may be worth discussing a course of itrafungol if no other cause can be determined.

Hope all goes well at the vets today....xx
 
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