My guinea pig isn't walking and is in pain

[Piggies&buns]

Hii also how much hay should they be
Eating?

You can’t gauge that by looking at it - you can only tell if they are eating enough by weighing them each week (or weighing them daily if they are ill). If their weight goes up, they are eating enough. If their weight goes down, then they aren’t eating enough.
As a rough guide you will probably go through somewhere between 2 and 5kg of hay per week bugs its not possible to say with certainty

 

[Siikibam]

I would advise you buy several big bags and just pile it in the cage. Make sure to remove any wet/poo'd on hay every 1-2 days max. There will be wastage and you can't do anything about that. As they haven't eaten it before it will be new to them.

 

[Shania]

I would advise you buy several big bags and just pile it in the cage. Make sure to remove any wet/poo'd on hay every 1-2 days max. There will be wastage and you can't do anything about that. As they haven't eaten it before it will be new to them.

Ok thankss.. I will do it

 

[Shania]

Hello. I noticed my piggy sneezing few times. Is his nose normal?

 

[Chickenpies]

Hello. I noticed my piggy sneezing few times. Is his nose normal?

I can’t really tell from the picture, but it looks a bit runny/crusty. Is she sneezing around hay or is it anywhere? And is the hay dusty?

 

[Shania]

I can’t really tell from the picture, but it looks a bit runny/crusty. Is she sneezing around hay or is it anywhere? And is the hay dusty?

No its not really dusty. He's been sneezing since i gave him hay. The other one is also sneezing but his nose is cleaner.

 

[Chickenpies]

No its not really dusty. He's been sneezing since i gave him hay. The other one is also sneezing but his nose is cleaner.

Does his breathing sound okay? It’s awful how vets don’t know a thing about guinea pigs in your area.

 

[Shania]

Does his breathing sound okay? It’s awful how vets don’t know a thing about guinea pigs in your area.

Yes. I brought his close to my ears and it seemed fine..
Yeaaa tell me about it. Its awefuli know more than them about guinea pigs by now

 

[Piggies&buns]

Piggies can sneeze if hay dust irritates them. They will sneeze, clear it out and then be fine.
BUT, if the sneezing is consistent and is accompanied by other symptoms appearing such as nasal or eye discharge or crackly or hooting breathing, then it may well be an infection which requires vet care and antibiotics . We cannot tell you which one applies to your piggy.

With so many problems with your piggies, all we can tell you is that they need to see a vet. We know you don’t have a vet who knows anything about piggies but with the best will in the world, there is nothing we can do. Only a vet is going to be able to help your piggies and give them the treatment they need to get better.

I see there are some rescue centres on your island. All I can suggest is that perhaps you speak to them and see if they can help or point you to a vet.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Ok there is not much that can be said on here because we cannot diagnose your pigs for you, we cannot tell you whether they will get better and in all honesty if you aren't able to provide them with the right diet then no, quite frankly, they aren't going to get better.

Where did you buy these guinea pigs from? I appreciate that they are rare pets in your country but surely the person breeding and selling them must be accessing hay etc to keep theirs alive so perhaps you can ask them where to get things from in your country? You could also ask them if they have had to use a vet before and who they used. My regular vets are not an exotics vet, some of the best vets in the UK for guinea pigs are not exotics vets, they just have an interest in them so it's worth asking breeders/sellers to see if you can find an alternative. Anywhere on your island should be fine as I seem to remember it only takes an hour to drive from one end to the other.

I have to ask as well as you have mentioned school on numerous occasions. Did you input a false date of birth when registering in order to access the forum?

 

[Claire W]

You can not tell how much hay they are eating by eye which is why it’s so important to weigh them. Please put in a huge pile of hay for them to eat.

The poos look soft so you need to take your piggy off fresh veg for 24-48 hours until the poos firm up.

As Lady Kelly has said, where did you get your piggies from? May be they can offer advise as to what vet they use and where they buy their hay from.

Again, I am sorry you have found yourself in this position. But we are not qualified to diagnose your piggies for you

 

[Claire W]

I think we need to go carefully with this thread. These piggies are obviously quite poorly. Just a shame that the OP is in this mess

 

[Hath]

Hi. Hope they're better. Where did you get them from? Surely the supplier must be feeding them the correct food and must know where to get it. It was very irresponsible from them to sell you pets you cannot provide basic dietary needs for and I would be requesting them to give me all the information needed.
No matter where you live, as long as the vets are qualified they must be getting their education from somewhere and should know someone they could contact for consultation. I appreciate you're in middle of ocean, but the vets must've qualified somewhere therefore must have contacts they can discuss this case with? Can you search for vets out of your country and see if they can get in touch with your vet for consultation?
Also, they must be able to get Guinea pig friendly medicine as they obviously must get orders shipped in to treat animals.

Can you order things online? Or is that just excruciatingly expensive? You really won't get away with not feeding them the right diet.

I would check what the vet gave them and if they got appropriate dose. They should've written what the product (active ingredient was) was on notes or you can find out by contacting them. I would be suspicious if vet gave them 'treatment' and then my pets would stop get paralysed at the same time...

 

[PigglePuggle]

I think we need to go carefully with this thread. These piggies are obviously quite poorly. Just a shame that the OP is in this mess

Its a very sad situation @Claire W and very distressing for everyone reading about it here in the UK as well as for the OP.
But although we can offer support and good wishes, unfortunately we cannot overcome the issues of no hay and no access to experienced vets or veterinary medicines. I think the staff and H&I team and of course all the lovely caring forum members like yourself have given great advice, hopefully the OP can speak to their parents and whoever they got the piggies from and try to source some of the things we have suggested locally.
Go give your piggies a hug @Claire W and try not to be too upset by this, it is a sad situation but the staff and H&I team are always mindful that sad posts with no resolution can sometimes be very distressing to members who are prone to depression and anxiety which is sometimes why they step in to try draw a bit of a line under things we can't help fix easily x

 

[Claire W]

Its a very sad situation @Claire W and very distressing for everyone reading about it here in the UK as well as for the OP.
But although we can offer support and good wishes, unfortunately we cannot overcome the issues of no hay and no access to experienced vets or veterinary medicines. I think the staff and H&I team and of course all the lovely caring forum members like yourself have given great advice, hopefully the OP can speak to their parents and whoever they got the piggies from and try to source some of the things we have suggested locally.
Go give your piggies a hug @Claire W and try not to be too upset by this, it is a sad situation but the staff and H&I team are always mindful that sad posts with no resolution can sometimes be very distressing to members who are prone to depression and anxiety which is sometimes why they step in to try draw a bit of a line under things we can't help fix easily x

Thank you. I just feel really sad for the piggies I just worry that the OP will leave the forum and their piggies will die or something. But I shall go and cuddle my own piggies as you have suggested

Sadly I know there is little we can do x

 

[Siikibam]

@Claire W your piggies need you so please do take care of yourself. You know what to do if needs be

 

[Claire W]

@Claire W your piggies need you so please do take care of yourself. You know what to do if needs be ☺

Thank you and I will try x

 

[Shania]

Hi. Hope they're better. Where did you get them from? Surely the supplier must be feeding them the correct food and must know where to get it. It was very irresponsible from them to sell you pets you cannot provide basic dietary needs for and I would be requesting them to give me all the information needed.
No matter where you live, as long as the vets are qualified they must be getting their education from somewhere and should know someone they could contact for consultation. I appreciate you're in middle of ocean, but the vets must've qualified somewhere therefore must have contacts they can discuss this case with? Can you search for vets out of your country and see if they can get in touch with your vet for consultation?
Also, they must be able to get Guinea pig friendly medicine as they obviously must get orders shipped in to treat animals.

Can you order things online? Or is that just excruciatingly expensive? You really won't get away with not feeding them the right diet.

I would check what the vet gave them and if they got appropriate dose. They should've written what the product (active ingredient was) was on notes or you can find out by contacting them. I would be suspicious if vet gave them 'treatment' and then my pets would stop get paralysed at the same time...

Hi. Yess actually because of the lockdown and everything, it is very hard to obtain supplies and medicines.
Also from where i bought them 2 months ago, they were being fed only pellets and were living in small cages. When i called the seller to ask where i can get hay when i bought them, he said to give them only the pellets and occasional vegies.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Hi. Yess actually because of the lockdown and everything, it is very hard to obtain supplies and medicines.
Also from where i bought them 2 months ago, they were being fed only pellets and were living in small cages. When i called the seller to ask where i can get hay when i bought them, he said to give them only the pellets and occasional vegies.

Please can you answer my question from above.

 

[Shania]

Ok there is not much that can be said on here because we cannot diagnose your pigs for you, we cannot tell you whether they will get better and in all honesty if you aren't able to provide them with the right diet then no, quite frankly, they aren't going to get better.

Where did you buy these guinea pigs from? I appreciate that they are rare pets in your country but surely the person breeding and selling them must be accessing hay etc to keep theirs alive so perhaps you can ask them where to get things from in your country? You could also ask them if they have had to use a vet before and who they used. My regular vets are not an exotics vet, some of the best vets in the UK for guinea pigs are not exotics vets, they just have an interest in them so it's worth asking breeders/sellers to see if you can find an alternative. Anywhere on your island should be fine as I seem to remember it only takes an hour to drive from one end to the other.

I have to ask as well as you have mentioned school on numerous occasions. Did you input a false date of birth when registering in order to access the forum?

Hii. No I'm actually in my last year of high school, its called hsc or third year

 

[Shania]

Ok there is not much that can be said on here because we cannot diagnose your pigs for you, we cannot tell you whether they will get better and in all honesty if you aren't able to provide them with the right diet then no, quite frankly, they aren't going to get better.

Where did you buy these guinea pigs from? I appreciate that they are rare pets in your country but surely the person breeding and selling them must be accessing hay etc to keep theirs alive so perhaps you can ask them where to get things from in your country? You could also ask them if they have had to use a vet before and who they used. My regular vets are not an exotics vet, some of the best vets in the UK for guinea pigs are not exotics vets, they just have an interest in them so it's worth asking breeders/sellers to see if you can find an alternative. Anywhere on your island should be fine as I seem to remember it only takes an hour to drive from one end to the other.

I have to ask as well as you have mentioned school on numerous occasions. Did you input a false date of birth when registering in order to access the forum?

Hi amd also i did ask the sellers about vets. He was the one who told me to go to these vets and i also dod research on my own to look for other vets. But these vets couldnt do any tests or x rays on small rodents. They only said it was stress or a foot injury

 

[Shania]

Hello everyone. I dont know if its an improvement. But my brown piggie seems a little more energetic and was able to hope a little to come to his food. So yea I'm hoping they feel a little better rn. I'm doing the best i can and giving them water each time they need it and they have unlimited hay.

Should i try to make them exercise a little or will it hurt their foot?

 

[Shania]

Hello. The poop is back to normal. They are eating and drinking normally. The only problem now is that they cannot really walk but they are energetic. I tried mixing a little pellet into the hay with water to make them eat the hay.

 

[Shania]

Hellooo.. Also, my okne piggy's poop is a little smaller but its consistency is normal. Could it be because he is eating less that the poop is smaller?

 

[Siikibam]

Small poo means they haven’t been eating enough. Remember poo output is related to 1-2 days back. Don’t wet the hay. Just put it in and leave them to it. You really need to ask your parents to buy you some scales so you can weigh them. That’s the only way you’ll know if they’re eating enough - weight gain - you can’t judge it by eye. If they’re not you will have to support feed them using the soaked pellets. It’s important that you do that now please.

 

[Shania]

Small poo means they haven’t been eating enough. Remember poo output is related to 1-2 days back. Don’t wet the hay. Just put it in and leave them to it. You really need to ask your parents to buy you some scales so you can weigh them. That’s the only way you’ll know if they’re eating enough - weight gain - you can’t judge it by eye. If they’re not you will have to support feed them using the soaked pellets. It’s important that you do that now please.

Hiiii. Yess i got the scales rn. So how much exactly should they weight?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Hiiii. Yess i got the scales rn. So how much exactly should they weight?

There is no set amount they should weigh. You need to weigh them every day and check they gain weight - a little each day. Any significant or consistent weight losses and that means They aren’t eating enough and need syringe feeding.

 

[Shania]

Small poo means they haven’t been eating enough. Remember poo output is related to 1-2 days back. Don’t wet the hay. Just put it in and leave them to it. You really need to ask your parents to buy you some scales so you can weigh them. That’s the only way you’ll know if they’re eating enough - weight gain - you can’t judge it by eye. If they’re not you will have to support feed them using the soaked pellets. It’s important that you do that now please.

There doesnt seem to be much of a differenve when i weighted them because of how light they are. They are less than 1 kg and are 3 month old...
One division is equal to 1 kg... And according to the internet they should be between 600g.. When i weight them are seem to be 500 g...

 

[Shania]

There is no set amount they should weigh. You need to weigh them every day and check they gain weight - a little each day. Any significant or consistent weight losses and that means They aren’t eating enough and need syringe feeding.

Okayyy. They are eating rn. In about few hours ill weight them again and see if theres any difference. Thank you

 

[Piggies&buns]

Okayyy. They are eating rn. In about few hours ill weight them again and see if theres any difference. Thank you

Are they eating hay?
You can’t weigh them more than once per day as you will see great fluctuations so won’t get a true idea of what is really going on.