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I Think Silvio Is Nearing The End

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Jojoba

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I took my old boy to the vet yesterday and had him checked and his impaction cleaned. He has lost a lot of weight and since returning he is very quiet. He seems exhausted and isn't moving about. I am cleaning him and giving him lots of veg and grass, which he is eating but not enthusiastically. He isn't eating his biscuits anymore and drinking sometimes on his own but more when I offer it to him by hand. He seems comfortable and just very sleepy but I'm having a hard time seeing him like this. I am keeping him warm and he has been snuggled with me snoozing and chirruping for most of the day. He is about 5.5 years old and was in excellent health until a few weeks ago, when he started to look and act more old and frail. The vet says to just keep him warm and happy for as long as I can, I'm pretty devastated to be losing him, it's never enough time. I don't believe he is in pain, just tired and reaching the end of his life. I'm going to miss him so much :(.
 
How upsetting for you. He may just not be feeling well and could recover. If he is not eating hash I would syringe feed him to keep his guts moving. It could save his life. I am sorry you are so worried. I would be too. I really hope he recovers.
 
Sometimes when mine don't eat much, I give them 1ml of Fibreplex & most of the time they're back eating in a few hours. You can buy this without a prescription but you could ring your vets first & she what they think. I also agree with piggyfan about syringe feeding some mashed pellets or some Critical Care or Recovery Plus. It may be that his time has come but he could have another year or two so I'd give anything a try to help him.
 
He has eaten 2 grapes, some pepper, some parsley, some grass and I'm about to give him a strawberry. I'm trying to keep him hydrated through fruit. He was pretty impressed with the grass and it perked him up but he has left most of it. He has nibbled his hay but not really eaten much. He has only drunk about a cm of water from his bottle today if that (I drew a line on it to check). I put him in his cage and he took one shaky step then lay down and went to sleep, so I moved him to his bed. What would you syringe feed him? I have considered giving him metacam in case he is in pain but am unsure. I just want him to be peaceful if this is just a natural end for him, but don't want to overlook anything I can do to make him happier.
 
Sorry steweybus cross posted with you.
 
When I took him to the vet his opinion was that he probably had an underlying clinical cause for the weight loss but that as long as he seemed happy he didn't see the point in digging around for the reason why. He was still active, eating and drinking at that point though. I wonder if the vet might have distressed/ made him a little sore examining him. Since returning he is quickly getting sleepier and less interested in food. Should I take him back to the vet Monday morning or just let nature take its course? Will look into making him a biscuit mash tonight before bed.
 
Is the vet knowledgeable in guinea pigs? I find it strange for the vet to not look for the reason for weight loss. Many guinea pigs live to be seven so he is not too old.

Critical care is the best thing to syringe but if you do not have any used crushed pellets with warm water.
 
I would take him to the vet again but could you try a guinea pig savvy vet? There is a vet locater on here so you can find your nearest one.
 
dont understand the vets reasoning. To me he should have tried to find the cause. Would take him to another vet. Fingers crossed for him
 
My vet is usually very good for guinea pigs. Perhaps it was the vets personal leaning? He said there was nothing which would be causing it which would make him give me any different advice other than treat him normally and look after him so long as he's happy.
I just dissolved some biscuits and syringed them. He was very resistant at first but then let me do it and then ate a few mouthfuls of the mush from my hand, so that's good. I'm just going to go to the supermarket and buy different hay as the one I currently have isnt his usual one and he might be less keen to eat it. He did have readigrass too though and didn't eat that either. I think I may end up taking him back to the vet on Monday if he is still with me :(.
 
I wouldn't give him Metacam unless you were certain he's in pain. As far as syringe feeding him, I would use is normal pellets mixed with warm water & left to cool. You may have to add more water. Use a 1ml syringe with the end cut off so that there is a free flow of food. If he's on muesli & not on pellets then feed him either Critical Care of Recovery Plus. He needs up to 120g input a day but as long as his weight is stable with smaller amounts of syringe feed it is OK. You could also syringe feed 2 to 3ml of unsweetened tomato juice which has Vitamin C. If he's not drinking then syringe feed water too. Other food which helps to put on weight is porridge oats either straight from the packet or made with hot water (nothing else added) & left to cool.
 
Thank you, he just grabbed a piece of cucumber from my hand and munched on it, I went and bought different hay which smells nicer but he just sniffed it and then put his head down on it. He doesn't look puffed up or drawn (I had a pig who suddenly puffed up and looked very dull in the eyes, I rushed him to the vets and they nursed him all night but he passed away). His eyes are still bright if a little watery and he is still grumpy burring if I touch his bottom by mistake, like always! He just isn't doing anything and seems far away. He's sleeping soundly wrapped in a blanket on my knee when I fetch him out, he curled up and slept solidly in my lap for 2 hours earlier, which I hope means he isn't in any pain.
 
Hope he pulls through a bit longer, as long as he's happy and not in pain
 
He's still with me, I syringed him some water and food but he was very resistant, he ate a little cucumber this morning. I have sat with him for 4.5hrs during which time he has slept. I cleared his bottom so he is pooing and he has pee'd too.
I have realised that the wobbliness walking is not just weakness and that his back end isn't moving properly; he is taking short hops with it rather than walking. Could this be a back or hip problem? Or residual pain from the vet clearing out his impaction (he wasnt exactly gentle)?
He's going back to the vet in the morning regardless and I'm going to request to see someone different for a second opinion.
 
I have now put a towel down for him as he just moved a little more and was tripping and having difficulty on the hay/sawdust. He moved a little easier on the towel.
 
Poor baby. It is good you are taking him to the vet tomorrow. Due to his age I wonder if he has arthritis. My five and a half year old does and has pain relief daily.
 
He has turned around and is eating hay :)! This makes me very happy as I could hardly force anything into him yet today. Not lots but some is better than none.
 
That's a good sign because hay is the biggest part of their diet. Please weigh him daily so you can see exactly if he needs more hand feeding to keep his weight stable.
 
I'm pleased to hear he has picked up.

One of our boars who is 5 has arthritis. I wonder if this would be worth investigating.

Our vet could tell straight away by the way he was standing. Other symptoms he had were weight loss, sleeping a lot and less active. His grease gland had also got a bit gooey as he couldn't clean it properly.

With proper pain killer doses it is being managed well and he is back to his old self.

Of course it could be another issue altogether but at 5.5 he still has some years left in him and it is worth pursuing to find the issue.

Good luck, I do wish you both the very best.
 
I have syringe fed him water and food all day, though not as much food as I would like as he is spitting out as much as he can, and he has picked at some hay. He has eaten a couple of grapes and two slices of cucumber. He has moved about a little more though he still falls over any hay he encounters and is wobbly. He is sleeping less and has been drinking of his own accord sometimes too. Still peeing and pooing though I am cleaning him morning and evening as the poos are all getting stuck. He is still quieter than usual and weak behind but I tentatively feel a small improvement today from Friday night/Saturday morning. I will let you all know what the vet says.
 
to feel him better he need useful elements.Not much things in cucumber.Get him fresh grass.You also need get recovery mix.Bio-lapis with couple drops of pine apple juice also works very well to force guineas eats.
He also need to be dry.Kitchen towels always works.I also suggest get vet bed off amazon or ebay as bedding.High quality pellets is also works.
 
I took Silvio back and the other vet was much better, she examined him and checked his teeth, watched him moving, felt his back and insides, checked his jaws and eyes. She said her two guesses would be arthritis or kidney failure, she felt he was too weak to be anaesthetised to do tests and take blood so we decided to treat for arthritis and see if it works, and if not there will be little more she can do. He has had a painkiller injection and is now on metacam 0.3ml each day from tomorrow, she also gave him subcutaneous fluids to rehydrate him. He is also on supreme recovery plus, 50g with 90ml water to be split evenly into 2-3hr feedings each day, and fibreplex - 1 graduation every 8 hours. He is going back to the vet in around 48 hours time to see if he has improved. He has lost almost 200g since Friday morning despite my efforts :'(.
Does he need water alongside all this or will the recovery and fibreplex keep him sufficiently hydrated?
 
It is recommended to carefully syringe water if he isn't drinking on his own. I can't think off the top of my head how much, but @Wiebke is very experienced with syringing, so she could probably advise you. Glad you got him to a different vet,and I hope it's arthritis and not kidney failure. Good luck and healing wheeks sent your way!
 
I really hope his problem is just arthritis as with pain relief he can live a happy life. Let's hope he can gain weight now. This vet is much better then the other who was not willing to help at all.
 
Oops sorry bad maths - nearly 100g since Friday morning. He was 1040g, he's now 940g.
 
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