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Ill Piggy - Bladder problem

Lukejhull

New Born Pup
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Oct 11, 2019
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Hello,

Not very happy at moment but I have 2 guinea pig both males Charlie and George , looked after as well as we know how to and spoilt

For a few days Charlie has not been himself and very quiet mostly sitting quite still scrunched up and started to not touch his daily vegatables which he loves so we took him to an out of service vets on 2nd July which total cost was £124 , £98 consultation and rest was for a pain injection and a fluid packet for us to syringe feed him ,

The vet said he has a bit of a loose poo while been examined and diagnosed him with diarrhea and to makesure he eats grass hay nuggets etc instead of fruit and veg , he has got hom and mostly sits in house all day hardly drinking and eating and also no signs of any loose droppings.

We have taken him to the vets for pets and today vet gave him an ultrasound and has some sort of mass in his bladder area, he said unfortunately we cannot use a catheter as he is too small so only option is to give him antibiotics and pain relief but if doesn't improve could lose him in the next 2-3 days me and my partner are absolutely devastated as we are very close with our 2 pigs and care for them so much I just feel the first vet never examined him properly as never asked about his diet or anything and was done over the phone as they wasn't letting people into the surgery due to covid

I'm glad we now know what it is but extremely worried as don't want to watch him pass away as he is so full of life and quite different from other pigs in our own way, really hope this goes away and he is ok
 

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I’m sorry your boy is unwell. While you wait for the more knowledgable, I’ll give you some basic things to start on. You will have to weigh him daily at the same time to monitor his weight. If he’s losing weight that means he’s not eating enough hay (biggest part of their diet). If he’s losing daily then you have to up the syringe feeding to help him maintain/put on weight.

Now some questions. How old is your boy? What were you given to syringe feed him? Is his poo diarrhoea - runny - or softer than usual with a point at the end? And what were they going to do with the catheter? I assume empty his bladder and look more closely at the mass? What have they said about dealing with the mass?

Have a read of the link below regarding syringe feeding.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
 
Thanks and since he has been home I've not seen any loose poops anywhere so seems like he is struggling to either get them out or he is holding his urine and just a packet to mix for solution for small animals nutrition feed they said an option would of been to use a catheter so he could still owe but they don't have them that small so the only option is antibiotics and pain relief
 
Hello,

Not very happy at moment but I have 2 guinea pig both males Charlie and George , looked after as well as we know how to and spoilt

For a few days Charlie has not been himself and very quiet mostly sitting quite still scrunched up and started to not touch his daily vegatables which he loves so we took him to an out of service vets on 2nd July which total cost was £124 , £98 consultation and rest was for a pain injection and a fluid packet for us to syringe feed him ,

The vet said he has a bit of a loose poo while been examined and diagnosed him with diarrhea and to makesure he eats grass hay nuggets etc instead of fruit and veg , he has got hom and mostly sits in house all day hardly drinking and eating and also no signs of any loose droppings.

We have taken him to the vets for pets and today vet gave him an ultrasound and has some sort of mass in his bladder area, he said unfortunately we cannot use a catheter as he is too small so only option is to give him antibiotics and pain relief but if doesn't improve could lose him in the next 2-3 days me and my partner are absolutely devastated as we are very close with our 2 pigs and care for them so much I just feel the first vet never examined him properly as never asked about his diet or anything and was done over the phone as they wasn't letting people into the surgery due to covid

I'm glad we now know what it is but extremely worried as don't want to watch him pass away as he is so full of life and quite different from other pigs in our own way, really hope this goes away and he is ok

Hi and welcome

How old is your boy and how much does he weigh?

Please step in with round the clock syringe feeding support asap; your care can make a lot of difference! The lack of poos is reflecting the lack of input - you can't poo out more than goes in.
A piggy needs to get the equivalent of 40-60 ml of syringe feed in 24 hours round the clock in order to keep going; they cannot fast and will run out of energy pretty quickly with their gut slowing down. Keep in mind that unlimited hay makes about 80% of the daily food intake and that veg and pellets are more like a snack and not all main courses together. it is usually the food group that is fropped soonest and that cannot be controlled by eye but only by weighing daily at the same time in the feeding cycle.
PLEASE take the time to read out emergency care information collection; it contains all the necessary information to keep your boy going for now.


What antibiotic and especially what dosage and strength of metacam have you been given (cat or dog metacam)? General vets tend to underestimate that guinea pig have a much faster metabolism and tolerate metacam a lot better than cats or dogs; if they are not familiar with guinea pigs their dosages are often minimal.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Use our vet locator to see a piggy savvy vet for a second opinion. We have just had a case of 'mass in the bladder' on a general vets' scan turning out to be just an infection in another case. You can find the locator in the emergency care link or on the top bar.
 
Thanks for the advice and help my partner was giving him the anti biotics last night at her work not sure what the type is I was at work during the vet visit but sadly this morning she found him passed away, she checked on him at 5am and seemed ok we are currently awaiting vets to open at 10:30 to arrange something but got him back here for a few hours which has just broke my heart seeing him
 
I am so sorry for your loss. Sadly, as prey animals, piggies do tend to hide any problems they may have so please don’t blame yourself. Once you noticed he was off colour you loved him enough to take him to the vets. I am so sorry that he couldn’t be saved. Sleep tight little fellow x
 
Thanks for all your messages can focus on our other piggie now and make sure he is happy
 
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