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Help please - old guinea pig with a URI

Chloelizbailey

Chloelizbailey

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi and thank you for reading!

My six year old guinea pig got diagnosed with a URI not Sunday gone but the Sunday before that and got put on Metacam and Baytrill. He has been doing relatively okay, no appetite loss, supplemented a bit with crucial care for the metacam and eyes and nose has cleared up. I have a vet appointment for half an hour as he has seemed to gone downhill. I can hear his breathing, he is lethargic, hasn’t eaten any veg but did take his critical care. He also is doing this weird flinchy thing when laid down. Any ideas of what it could be and what I need to ask at the vets?

Thank you so much
 
My video isn’t uploading which doesn’t really help. It’s every few seconds or so and like a body jerk and he seems to move one of his front legs as well.
 
Chloelizbailey said:
He has got diagnosed with arthritis and is on metacam for the foreseeable future
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Hi!

I am very sorry!

Please keep a daily eye on his weight and support feed round the clock if he is not eating.
I doubt that the lethargy and loss of appetite are connected with the arthritis. Has your vet checked the heart and also the guts for signs of GI stasis (no or very little gurgling in the gut)?

Here is the link to our whole crisis care advice collection, including our syringe feeding guide: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Looking after guinea pigs with limited or no mobility

All the best!
 
You can’t upload videos here unless you upload it to YouTube then link it in
 
Since he had his daily metacam and we’ve been home he is as bright as a button and has eaten none stop! The vet did say his heart seemed a bit odd but two weeks ago thought it was fine. She thought the heart may have been a bit off today as he was extra stressed from being fussed by me and then by a vet. She said his URI had healed nicely.

Apart from metacam is there anything else that can be given to help with arthritis does anyone know?
 
Also he is on 0.6ml daily of Metacam, I did ask the vet about spilling it up but she said I didnt need to. Would you split this into two doses of 0.3ml?
 
I wasn't too impressed with my local vets and there non bothered attitude so I have booked him in with Rikus at Kings Cross Vets in Westerham which is recommended on here. Is there anything specific I should be asking for does anyone think?
 
Chloelizbailey said:
Since he had his daily metacam and we’ve been home he is as bright as a button and has eaten none stop! The vet did say his heart seemed a bit odd but two weeks ago thought it was fine. She thought the heart may have been a bit off today as he was extra stressed from being fussed by me and then by a vet. She said his URI had healed nicely.

Apart from metacam is there anything else that can be given to help with arthritis does anyone know?
Click to expand...

Glucosamine is good for bone arthritis. This helps to coat the joints and make movement easier. Oxbow have joint support for guinea pigs; you can find easily by googling online.
 
Chloelizbailey said:
Also he is on 0.6ml daily of Metacam, I did ask the vet about spilling it up but she said I didnt need to. Would you split this into two doses of 0.3ml?
Click to expand...

Personally I would split as guinea pigs have a much faster metabolism. In my own experience, metacam is metabolised after a bout ca. 10 hours.
 
Hi, I just thought I’d pop on and let you know about my OAP pig Hamish’s regime as you may find it helpful. He has very bad arthritis but I believe the following regime is proving very helpful:

- Metacam 0.35ml twice per day.
- Tramadol 0.35ml twice per day.
- Ranitidine 0.3ml twice per day to help with gut motility.
- I mix an Oxbow Joint Supplement in with his Critical Care. We’re also looking at adding in some VetCal Pro to try to boost his weight so he doesn’t lose anymore muscle.
- Twice daily physio regime of gentle hip rotations (we’ve built up to 20 forwards and backwards on each back leg, leg stretches forwards and backwards and ankle bending. Another suggestion was a bit of hydrotherapy with him supported in warm water but I think he’s doing well with his physio regime. You just have to be really gentle and if you observe any discomfort - stop.

I do hope some of this is useful and perhaps something to discuss with your vet. Obviously, med doses will depend on weight. Xx
 
Thank you alexr that is really helpful! The new vet told me to throw away my old vets metacam as it was cats and the dose was ridiculously low. He has been on Dog metacam for just over a day now (giving him up to 4kg, which I think is about 0.25ml) and seems to be moving a lot more. I’ve got some joint supplement coming today and will have a look into the physio you mentioned. The new vet has put him on twice weekly bath with a medicated shampoo as he is over producing oil on his skin so maybe some hydratherapy could be incorporated with that. We’ve got a check up in two weeks so I can discuss it with him then. Thank you!
 
Lovely to have an update on Hamish, @alexr and so pleased to read he is still going strong!

@Chloelizbailey - my arthritic pig passed away in May but he was on loxicom for arthritis. I think that is very similar to metacam though.
 
@tabelmabel Tommy is on Loxicom as well, the vet said it was essentially Metacam but a different brand. He is still slow and quite clumsy with his walking but the vet seems to think he still had a good quality of life so we will keep going until Tommy tells me otherwise :)
 
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