Help! Sick Guinea Pig, Don't Know What's Wrong

[hmb009]

My guinea pig Felix looked sick last Tuesday, but my mother was out of town so I fed him some banana and some lettuce a little later. He wasn't drinking or eating much at all, and my mom came home and we took him to the vet at one in the morning on Wednesday. He was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection, and he was prescribed Baytril, but still didn't eat or drink. On Thursday we took him to a different vet where he got a good prognosis and critical care. We syringe feed him critical care 4-5 times a day, but he still doesn't eat or drink much. We also got a probiotic from the vet which he gets once a day. He ate a little lettuce on his own for one night, but now he's not really eating anything but critical care. He pulls his food (lettuce, hay, crunchy bowl) in his house he has in his cage like he wants to eat, but he can't. When we put crunchy pieces in front of him on the counter, he picks them up and then lifts his head up and down repeatedly before dropping the crunchy piece. He gets very discouraged, and we took him off of Baytril 2 nights ago due to bad reviews online. His teeth are not overgrown in the front, and we just don't know what to do. Does anyone know why he won't eat or what lifting his head up and down with the crunchy piece in his mouth means? He's 2 pounds and will be 3 this June. Thanks!

 

[Lilly]

Don't take him off the Baytril. This is a common piggy anti-biotic & he needs it for URI. My boy had URI & had Baytril whcih cleared it up. Also keep up with the pro-biotics as he needs that because of the anti-biotic. I give pro-biotic 2 hours after a dose of anti-biotic so that the latter doesn't kill the former. Keep up with the crictical care as well because he needs to eat fairly constantly.

As to why he has stopped eating on his own I have no idea. I believe the majority of UK members are asleep now so you should get some better help when they wake up.

Is Felix pooping well? One thing with critical care is he won't get the fibre he needs to wear his teeth down. You say the incisors are OK but the molars could be a problem. Have you scheduled a follow-up visit with the 2nd vet (who sounds more knowledgeable than your 1st one)?

When Hazelnut had a URI he had a follow-up 4 days later to see if the treatment was working.

 

[helen105281]

Hi could you confirm your location please as it will help us advise you. If you are a minor justt he coutry will do.

First of all please put him back on the Baytril and probiotic as lilly has said as he needs to complete the full course. Does it look like he is snotty at all or struggling to breathe? If so he will need Bisolvon to get rid of any mucous and possibly a diuretic if he has fluid on his chest.

As the the waving food up and down, it may be because he can't breathe but there could be something dental going on or even oral thrush. As he has not been eating due to the URI it is possible that his teeth may have started to overgrow but it may not necessarily be the teeth that you can see at the front. Do his incisors look slanty at all?

I think he needs to go back to the vets, explain your concerns and ask for the products I have mentioned if he is snotty or has laboured breathing at all. If they could check his mouth too for a smell of damp dishcloths (that could indicate oral thrush) and look at his teeth but please make sure they clear his mouth of any food first and I don't think he should go under any anaesthetic while he is so weak.

If you are in the UK (I suspect that you aren't though) and are anywhere near Northampton, there is a wonderful vet at the Cat and Rabbit clinic called Simon Maddock who could look at his teeth without anaesthetic.

 

[hmb009]

Hi could you confirm your location please as it will help us advise you. If you are a minor justt he coutry will do.

First of all please put him back on the Baytril and probiotic as lilly has said as he needs to complete the full course. Does it look like he is snotty at all or struggling to breathe? If so he will need Bisolvon to get rid of any mucous and possibly a diuretic if he has fluid on his chest.

As the the waving food up and down, it may be because he can't breathe but there could be something dental going on or even oral thrush. As he has not been eating due to the URI it is possible that his teeth may have started to overgrow but it may not necessarily be the teeth that you can see at the front. Do his incisors look slanty at all?

I think he needs to go back to the vets, explain your concerns and ask for the products I have mentioned if he is snotty or has laboured breathing at all. If they could check his mouth too for a smell of damp dishcloths (that could indicate oral thrush) and look at his teeth but please make sure they clear his mouth of any food first and I don't think he should go under any anaesthetic while he is so weak.

If you are in the UK (I suspect that you aren't though) and are anywhere near Northampton, there is a wonderful vet at the Cat and Rabbit clinic called Simon Maddock who could look at his teeth without anaesthetic.

I live in New York (in the US), but no his nose is not runny anymore like it was, but his eyes are still a little crusty. One of my previous guinea pigs had to get his back teeth shaved down and he was put under anaestheisa. He lived for a month after that by us syringe feeding him critical care but you said that if his breath smells like damp washcloths then that's a problem? I'll have to check him out because he has been smelling really weird lately

 

[hmb009]

Don't take him off the Baytril. This is a common piggy anti-biotic & he needs it for URI. My boy had URI & had Baytril whcih cleared it up. Also keep up with the pro-biotics as he needs that because of the anti-biotic. I give pro-biotic 2 hours after a dose of anti-biotic so that the latter doesn't kill the former. Keep up with the crictical care as well because he needs to eat fairly constantly.

As to why he has stopped eating on his own I have no idea. I believe the majority of UK members are asleep now so you should get some better help when they wake up.

Is Felix pooping well? One thing with critical care is he won't get the fibre he needs to wear his teeth down. You say the incisors are OK but the molars could be a problem. Have you scheduled a follow-up visit with the 2nd vet (who sounds more knowledgeable than your 1st one)?

When Hazelnut had a URI he had a follow-up 4 days later to see if the treatment was working.

We were going to take him back to the vet, there's not many exotic animal vets in New York, they are all far away so we have to travel to get to the vet. We were desperate the first night we went so we went to someone who wasn't very knowledgable about guinea pigs. The vet we went to next knew a lot about them, and he's our primary vet. Your piggy didn't have a problem with the medicine though? He ate on his own when he was on the medicine?

 

[Wiebke]

Baytril can cause loss of appetite in some piggies; however I suspect that in your case something else is going on. Good that you are hand feeding him. Please weigh him daily at the same time instead of weekly. Your second vet sounds pretty competent.

The crusty eyes mean that the URI is not yet completely over.

 

[hmb009]

Baytril can cause loss of appetite in some piggies; however I suspect that in your case something else is going on. Good that you are hand feeding him. Please weigh him daily at the same time instead of weekly. Your second vet sounds pretty competent.

The crusty eyes mean that the URI is not yet completely over.

That's what we assumed with his eyes, we were thinking about putting him on Bactrim instead since he wouldn't eat on the Baytril... He's still off the medicine as of right now, and his appetite is back, but he acts like he can't eat. We will have to have a vet check his molars.

 

[Wiebke]

All the best! I am sorry for your ongoing problems. Please discuss baytril/loss of appetite/ongoing antibiotic treatment with your vet. He may prefer a different alternative to bactrim (UK septrin) for URI. Bactrim is best for all urinary issues.

 

[hmb009]

All the best! I am sorry for your ongoing problems. Please discuss baytril/loss of appetite/ongoing antibiotic treatment with your vet. He may prefer a different alternative to bactrim (UK septrin) for URI. Bactrim is best for all urinary issues.

Thank you so much for all the help!

 

[Lilly]

We were going to take him back to the vet, there's not many exotic animal vets in New York, they are all far away so we have to travel to get to the vet. We were desperate the first night we went so we went to someone who wasn't very knowledgable about guinea pigs. The vet we went to next knew a lot about them, and he's our primary vet. Your piggy didn't have a problem with the medicine though? He ate on his own when he was on the medicine?

Yes, Hazelnut continued to eat on his own, but we caught his URI extremely early & he only needed the Baytril for 4 days.He got an injection of it on the first day & then I syringed the liquid into his mouth for the other 3 days. Injections are less likely to upset their appetite but cannot be given too many times My vet would have given another injection if he had not improved so much in the 4 days. My other boy, Peanut Butter, had a 3 month long UTI & went through courses of Baytril, Bactrim & Zithromax before we finally got rid of it. So your vet trying a different anti-biotic could help. .