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Specialist Is my guinea pig dying

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ajfcb10911

Junior Guinea Pig
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Guinea pig is 5 years old.
Guinea pig makes sound as if he has very dry throat ( loud dry breathing)
won't drink water from bowl or bottle
won't eat dried food
snatches vegetables of me to eat
Feels very light
 
ajfcb10911 said:
Guinea pig is 5 years old.
Guinea pig makes sound as if he has very dry throat ( loud dry breathing)
won't drink water from bowl or bottle
won't eat dried food
snatches vegetables of me to eat
Feels very light
Click to expand...

Hi!

Your piggy needs to see a vet ASAP as an emergency!
It sounds like it could have a nasty respiratory infection/pneumonia, which can kill if not treated promptly. It is also likely to need some sub-cutaneous fluid injection if it is dehydrated.
List Of Life And Death Out-of-hours Emergencies

If it is still eating veg, it means that it still has the will to live and that the digestion is still going; so with the right treatment and your good care at home there is still all to play for!

Please step in with syringe feeding and watering ASAP. Do not just squirt feed and water into the mouth; it can make things worse. Only give as much as your guinea pig can hold and swallow at any given time, depending on how big and how weak it is. You can used mushed up pellets in an emergency. Please follow the advice in the guides below; including how to feed and how to cut off the syringe tip to allow fibre to come through. Keep in mind that over 80% of the daily food intake should be hay, while fresh veg is only about 10% of what a piggy should eat, so that is where the weight loss is coming from.
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Emergency and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Fingers firmly crossed!
 
I went to the vet. Apparently he has a tumor and has very long teeth.
 
Sorry to hear this news.
What is your vet going to do?
This is a difficult time for you.
Holding you in my heart
 
Vets always make the mistake of saying guinea pigs teeth are very long. The front one are very long anyway. So be careful with getting them trimmed. Where is the tumour?
 
ajfcb10911 said:
I went to the vet. Apparently he has a tumor and has very long teeth.
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Hi! I am very sorry about the bad news.

What has your vet proposed doing?

Overgrown front teeth mean that the back teeth are badly overgrown and are bridging and trapping the tongue so your piggy is losing the ability to and eventually to swallow. Guinea Pig teeth grow very quickly, and if they are not ground down properly by eating lots of hay, they overgrow very quickly. The problem is only getting worse if not treated.
However, general vets not used to guinea pig teeth often find normal bottom incisors too long. Have the self-sharpening front teeth of your boy got an even and clean edge or is the edee slanted, jagged or are the front teeth inward pointing and no longer meeting. If the front teeth are working, then so will the back teeth and your vet's diagnosis in that respect is wrong.
Can you get as far as Northampton UK to see a piggy dental vet? There are not all that many in the country unfortunately.

Where is the tumour? Is it operable or not?
Has your vet checked the heart and lungs?

@furryfriends (TEAS)
 
:agr: yes please dont let the vet anywhere near his teeth whilst his breathing is laboured. This happened to my pig a few years ago - vet tried to shorten the teeth whilst he had uri and he died of shock. (Heart attack brought on by stress)

Is the tumour visible or did he have a scan? So sorry it isnt good news. Is it operable?
 
Cross posted with wiebke - i was agreeing with @SkyDotPipBernie - but i see wiebke is saying something different so go with that for sure if a cavy savvy vet said the teeth are overgrown. If not a cavy savvy vet, though, i am sticking with my original advice to not let him near your pig's teeth - see a specialist.
 
tabelmabel said:
Cross posted with wiebke - i was agreeing with @SkyDotPipBernie - but i see wiebke is saying something different so go with that for sure if a cavy savvy vet said the teeth are overgrown. If not a cavy savvy vet, though, i am sticking with my original advice to not let him near your pig's teeth - see a specialist.
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I see wiebke has covered what i said in with her great information. She basicly.said it properly lol👍.

Normal vets tend to pull the bottom lip down and are shocked when they see the size of guinea pigs bottom front teeth. They are very long
 
His teeth have already been trimmed and he doesn't seem to be eating properly as if he can't grab his food. Maybe he just needs to get used to his new set of teeth. His tumour is where his left lung is. It hangs down a little. Maybe it a cyst maybe it a tumour. I dont trust vets anymore after they killed my old guinea pig.
 
ajfcb10911 said:
His teeth have already been trimmed and he doesn't seem to be eating properly as if he can't grab his food. Maybe he just needs to get used to his new set of teeth. His tumour is where his left lung is. It hangs down a little. Maybe it a cyst maybe it a tumour. I dont trust vets anymore after they killed my old guinea pig.
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I dont know but i can take a good guess tjat you are using a vet that doesnt know much about guinea pigs and just does work on them anyway. Bit like a plumber trying to wire your house electrics up. Just no!.

Its not a new set of teeth, they continuosly grow, he will be able to eat once they grow back to the right length, bit that might never happen if the rear teeth are bad. As for the tumour , didnt the vet offer an operation?
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
I dont know but i can take a good guess tjat you are using a vet that doesnt know much about guinea pigs and just does work on them anyway. Bit like a plumber trying to wire your house electrics up. Just no!.

Its not a new set of teeth, they continuosly grow, he will be able to eat once they grow back to the right length, bit that might never happen if the rear teeth are bad. As for the tumour , didnt the vet offer an operation?
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She said he is very old.
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
I dont know but i can take a good guess tjat you are using a vet that doesnt know much about guinea pigs and just does work on them anyway. Bit like a plumber trying to wire your house electrics up. Just no!.

Its not a new set of teeth, they continuosly grow, he will be able to eat once they grow back to the right length, bit that might never happen if the rear teeth are bad. As for the tumour , didnt the vet offer an operation?
Click to expand...
how long would you say it takes to grow back?
 
@ajfcb10911 Is he eating anything? If not are you syringe feeding him or at least cutting his food up smaller so he can pick it up? You can also soften his nuggets so he can eat them easier.
 
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