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Hendrix is poorly- any advice?

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First things first, I've got the first vet's appointment possible so Hendrix is going to the vet at 4.20 this afternoon.

In the mean time I thought I'd see if anyone on here has any advice.

I noticed when I weighed Hendrix on Saturday that he'd lost a bit of weight since his last weigh in December (about 20g). I thought it might just be that he's getting more exercise since he's in a much bigger cage than his fosterer was able to keep him in until we got him last month.

Two days ago I noticed a few gooey poops around the cage but thought perhaps they'd just had too much fresh food and didn't link the two together. However last night I noticed some very sloppy poop and when I had a look at Hendrix's bottom it was pretty obvious it had come from him.

He's behaving perfectly normally, eating Wagg food and hay and strutting around but I'm still worried. He isn't on any medication or anything so it can't be that causing it. Normally he's impacted and we clean him every day but the stuff that comes out is much more solid (and smelly) than this. They haven't had any food in the last few days that's different to usual.

I haven't seen him drink today (but it doesn't mean he hasn't, as I've been out for a few hours) but I've tried getting him to drink and he won't take the bottle or lick water from my fingers.

Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions as to what the problem may be, so I can ask the vet about it? Is there anything I should do for Hendrix in the mean time? And could it be something that all four piggies will need treatment for and if so should I take them all along? Any thoughts welcome, thanks!
 
Forgot to add that I weighed him again today and he's lost about another 45g since Saturday...
 
I'm sorry that I don't have any suggestions, I just wanted to say that I hope he gets better soon :)

Love lex x
 
All I can say is get him to a vet ASAP, this is how Alphonse started before he went so far downhill. I found that wrapping a hot water bottle up in a blanket or towel and laying the pig on that helped make them as comfortable as possible.

Get well soon Hendrix xx
 
if he'd lost 20g yesterday that can be due to whether they have an empty stomach with regards to a full one.

He might just have a bit of an upset tummy. Keep him off the veggies for now - a probiotic would help give a healthy gut function.

Hope it goes fine at the vets xx
 
Hanwombat said:
if he'd lost 20g yesterday that can be due to whether they have an empty stomach with regards to a full one.

He might just have a bit of an upset tummy. Keep him off the veggies for now - a probiotic would help give a healthy gut function.

Hope it goes fine at the vets xx
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Thanks, I'll make sure to get a probiotic. I'll report back on how he gets on.
 
Hendrix is on Baytril for a minor gastro problem, he should be fine. He's still totally normal in his behaviour, eating etc but I know piggies are good at masking illness. It was very sweet seeing Pumpkin and Popcorn welcome him back when we got home.

I'm not 100% sure about the vet's advice though...I've never been to that practice before, I registered there as they had a specialist exotics vet but I found out today when I tried to make an appointment that she's not there anymore. I'm not sure that her replacement who I saw is an exotics vet....

I mentioned probiotics (as Hendrix has been prescribed antibiotics) and he said he didn't have any that would be suitable for a guinea pig, and that there's no scientific veterinary evidence that they work for guineas anyway.

He also insisted I should be putting vitamin c tablets in their water but I've read it can cause piggies to stop drinking and that they can get enough vit c if they get plenty of veg (which they do)?

Am I right to consider looking for another vet or does this one know what he's talking about?
 
Bubble said:
Hendrix is on Baytril for a minor gastro problem, he should be fine. He's still totally normal in his behaviour, eating etc but I know piggies are good at masking illness. It was very sweet seeing Pumpkin and Popcorn welcome him back when we got home.

I'm not 100% sure about the vet's advice though...I've never been to that practice before, I registered there as they had a specialist exotics vet but I found out today when I tried to make an appointment that she's not there anymore. I'm not sure that her replacement who I saw is an exotics vet....

I mentioned probiotics (as Hendrix has been prescribed antibiotics) and he said he didn't have any that would be suitable for a guinea pig, and that there's no scientific veterinary evidence that they work for guineas anyway.

He also insisted I should be putting vitamin c tablets in their water but I've read it can cause piggies to stop drinking and that they can get enough vit c if they get plenty of veg (which they do)?

Am I right to consider looking for another vet or does this one know what he's talking about?
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Vitamin C is fairly basic knowledge, I've found most vets say more Vit C. When a vet has no idea whats going on I have found they always say we gave vit C or give more.

If your not confident go elsewere, a good vet is worth there weight in GOLD!
 
If a guinea pig is eating well, a varied diet, vitamin c is not usually necessary as enough will come from the food.
With regard to pro biotics, I don't know whether there is scientific evidence or not. Maybe there would have been if the vet had had some in stock. Certainly a number of people on here, whilst they have found baytril has sorted infections etc., it has also upset the gut flora, and put the pig off his food. Probiotics help restore the balance and appetite. Keep a close eye on whether your pig continues to eat, but it would be worth getting some in. Pets at home do a powder VetArk, and it's good, I just put it in their water, and have never had a problem with them not drinking it, although this is something to monitor. Same with vit C. If you do decide to put some in the water, monitor that he keeps drinking. I would get the PB's as once/if you notice appetite has waned, it can be too late. x
 
nutmeg said:
If a guinea pig is eating well, a varied diet, vitamin c is not usually necessary as enough will come from the food.
With regard to pro biotics, I don't know whether there is scientific evidence or not. Maybe there would have been if the vet had had some in stock. Certainly a number of people on here, whilst they have found baytril has sorted infections etc., it has also upset the gut flora, and put the pig off his food. Probiotics help restore the balance and appetite. Keep a close eye on whether your pig continues to eat, but it would be worth getting some in. Pets at home do a powder VetArk, and it's good, I just put it in their water, and have never had a problem with them not drinking it, although this is something to monitor. Same with vit C. If you do decide to put some in the water, monitor that he keeps drinking. I would get the PB's as once/if you notice appetite has waned, it can be too late. x
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Thanks very much for all the advice, I thought as much from reading other people's posts on here.

I'll get some probiotic tomorrow then. You say you put probiotic in the water- is it ok for healthy piggies to drink, as Hendrix lives with 3 lady friends so if I put it in the water bottle they'd all get it.
 
Bubble said:
Thanks very much for all the advice, I thought as much from reading other people's posts on here.

I'll get some probiotic tomorrow then. You say you put probiotic in the water- is it ok for healthy piggies to drink, as Hendrix lives with 3 lady friends so if I put it in the water bottle they'd all get it.
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Probiotics water is fine for healthy pigs too.
 
Sorry Hendrix is under the weather. To be honest I'd be tempted to try syringe feeding your boy the probiotic just to make sure he's getting it. It really does help when they're on baytril. It may be an idea to find a more cavy savvy vet. Hope he feels better soon xx
 
PiggiePal said:
Sorry Hendrix is under the weather. To be honest I'd be tempted to try syringe feeding your boy the probiotic just to make sure he's getting it. It really does help when they're on baytril. It may be an idea to find a more cavy savvy vet. Hope he feels better soon xx
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Yes I thought that about the vet too, I'll start looking. It's surprisingly difficult to find a good cavy vet around here (you'd think in a city this size there'd be some) someone started a thread on this forum about it recently and I don't think anyone knew of a good cavy vet here.
 
Yeah that's a shame. There are quite a few people from around about Birmingham on here though maybe it's worth asking again? You could always get in touch with Laura at guinea pig helpline, I think she's compiling a list of vets and rodentologists around the uk at the moment. She may be able to advise on possible reasons for Hendrix's diahorrea too. www.guineapighelpline.com
Oh and dont give him any veggies, just hay and dry food xx
 
Bubble said:
Yes I thought that about the vet too, I'll start looking. It's surprisingly difficult to find a good cavy vet around here (you'd think in a city this size there'd be some) someone started a thread on this forum about it recently and I don't think anyone knew of a good cavy vet here.
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the vet aid hospital in Oldbury (or Quinton) (or even Bearwood) is excellent, I took Alphonse there and they were great, they really did everything they could and helped us cope with the loss of him

xx
 
I figured it would just bit a bit of a tummy upset. Its good to get them on a probiotic especially if using Baytril as they can stop them eating and upset their tummy more at times.
 
My vet prescribes zantac (2mg/kg up to twice a day) for squishy poos - it helps regularise gut motility ....and is coupled with the withdrawal of veg for a few days. I don;t give too much dried food, ust more hay but also feed 1.0ml fibreplex (probiotic and fibre) and also some Supreme Recovery or critical care supplemented with ground up Vit C.
Works every time.

Most of the time squishy poos is due to an excess of veggies or a sensitivity to a certain veg (often brassicas)..and therefore the above should clear it up in a few days.

However if it doesn;t, or the condition gets worse then other causes to look for can be
a) a bacterial or protozoal infection (not usual unless piggie really has very runny diarrhoea - in which case get a culture done to identify the causative organism)
b) administration of antibiotics upsetting the normal gut flora
c) lack of eating leading to gut motility problems - lack of eating could be tooth problems, pain from eg a bladder stone..lack of apetite from a respiratory infection..or something else
d) adhesions of the gut as a result of a previous abdominal surgical operation (such as a neutering)

I'm sure after a few veggie-free days Hendrix will be fine....but just to be on the safe side...make sure you have syringes, cirtical care or supreme Recovery and a pair of scales handy - the 3 things I wouldn;t be without as a piggy slave.

HTH
x
 
Pebble said:
I'm sure after a few veggie-free days Hendrix will be fine....but just to be on the safe side...make sure you have syringes, cirtical care or supreme Recovery and a pair of scales handy - the 3 things I wouldn;t be without as a piggy slave.

HTH
x
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Thanks for the post, that's really helpful. Just to check, is this the supreme recovery? It's got a rabbit, not a guinea pig, on the box so just wanted to check.

http://www.medicanimal.com/product/...ON/~root_category_id=MA-CATS?recommendation=Y

Fortunately Hendrix is still his chirpy self this morning and still eating dried food and hay which is great. I'm off to get some probiotic this morning.
 
Hmm just reading through the Guinea Lynx page on hand feeding. It refers to giving piggies vitamin B if they aren't eating.

Something I've been wondering about is that Hendrix gets impacted regularly, we clean him every day and have tried presenting the poop to him but he doesn't want to eat it. I know that they have to eat their cecal pellets to get vitamin B. Does this mean he's getting less vitamin B than he needs and could this be contributing to his tummy upset?
 
Yes it is Supreme Recovery - and if you look closely there is also a piggie on the box. It is described as a "supplemental" feed for guinea pigs and advises feeding extra Vit C. It contains all the Vitamins except B however the only times my piggies have ever been given B vits (normally vet injection) is when they have gone for a week or so without eating anything at all and need to be force fed each day with critical care. B is given to stimulate the apetite.


The Caecotrophs that are re-ingested are completely different from normal poos (very squishy and "aromatic") and boars that get impacted still produce caceotrophs and eat them - (normally when you;re not looking - they tuck their heads under and take directly from a separate area of the anal pouch). So don't worry about the fact he won;t eat the normal solid formed poos - few pigs will do. I do sometimes put a few normal poos from a healthypig in with the critical care and mash it up together (poop soup) in order to help re-populate the gut flora for a pig that's been on antibioitcs.....I prefer this to using some of the probioitcs as I know that poo contains genuine piggie gut microbes.

If you are at all concerned that Hendrix is not getting enough Vit B then you could try adding a small amount of metatone tonic to his liquid feed...or use Beaphar small animal multi-vitamin spray on his dried food. However I would caution against the use of mutivitamins for any length of time as you could cause an overdose of Vit E ....and as Hendrix gets back to his normal self even despite his impaction he should get enough B from his dried food and veggies.


HTH
xx
 
The blobs of poop that we get out when he's impacted are soft and squishy and very smelly, so I thought these were caecotrophs. I realise they don't eat their normal, solid poops.

I've noticed that he does still take some caecotrophs from him bottom as well though, and he gets plenty of veg so it sounds like I don't need to worry too much about vitamins.

It's really useful to know about the 'poop soup' and potentially adding vitamins to food though, in case he (or any of the others) gets poorly again in the future.
 
Ive used a poop soup before when Hector had the runs, I find it works. Make sure its a poo from a healthy guinea pig, then you mush it down with a little water and syringe feed.
 
Thanks for asking and sorry for the late reply, haven't been on here for a couple of days.

I'm very glad to say that Hendrix seems much better, I haven't seen any sloppy poops in the last two days.

He's been separated from the girls while they have their veggies for the last few days (which I've felt very mean about) but since he is well on the mend I allowed him a bit of carrot and celery yesterday.

I'm going to finish the course of antibiotics, and he's also getting probiotic in the water bottle now, just in case.
 
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