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My old guinea pig is dying?

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foreverpeep

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Peep is about 4 or 5 years old, we forget the exact date when we bought her it was mid 2007 ish. Anyways, yesterday she was fine, we put her and our other guinea pig on their playground with boxes and stuff so they can run around and she ate the lettuce we gave her. A few hours later she wouldn't eat. We hand fed her hay and she ate it. We thought she had constipation so we gave her some pineapple juice (recomennded by vet) so maybe the acids could brake up anything blocking her stomach, this worked before. In the morning my mom said she was still the same, lethargic and such and fed her a bit more pineapple juice and then she left for work. Now I woke up for school and she's not moving on her front legs and she looks like she's about to die. I fed her pellets dissolved in warm water and I pet her for about 40 minutes. How can she go fine one day running around and eating to suddenly not being able to move on her front legs? I'm scared if I look back in her cage she'll be dead. My mom is at work and I'm the only one home. I layed her on some comfy blankets and a small pillow we have for guinea pigs that they rest their heads on (like humans!). My mom doesn't come back from work like 8 hours from now I'm dead scared and I can't go to the vet right now. I'm really scared to look back in her cage because Peep was special and like no other guinea pig we've had before and I don't want her to die, she always licked our noses when we picked her up and she was so affectionate. Anyone know what the problem is? We've had other lethargic guinea pigs in the past but they didn't go this bad so soon. She doesn't have a history of going to the vet really I think just once to check her teeth and she recovered easily.
 
When did you last check on her?

Have you tried her with lots of different foods to see if you can tempt her to eat?

Does she have any visible signs of illness?
 
I just fed her pellets dissolved with water about 2 syringes full and she opened her mouth from it. When I put her back in her cage cuz she was on a blanket so I could feed her, I fed her some pieces of hay and she ate a few then she didn't want any more. But what scares me is how much MORE lethargic she became since yesterday and she's not using her front legs. She wouldn't eat lettuce or grass. I put her in her cage comfily if that's a word lol and now I'm really scared to look back in the cage because she seemed like she was going to die or she's losing the will to live.
 
Where abouts are you? are you in the uk?

Is there anyone that can take you to a vet or call the emergency vet for you?
 
I'm in BC Canada, my mom is at work and I'm the only one home. There's absolutely no way I can get to the vet and I would if I could. I honestly think the vet would just put her to sleep and I'm not even sure if she's dead as I'm typing this. I fed her pellets in water and pet her for about 40 minutes and put her back comfily in her cage where I fed her a bit of hay. My mom said in the morning she could see squeezed poops which lead me to think it was just constipation but when I woke up after my mom already left for work her front legs aren't being used, my mom said she wasn't like that when she woke up.
 
Could you call a local vet and get some advice over the phone? My vet did that for me when I was worried about Nibbles. I really have no idea what to recommend but I really hope your piggy is ok.

Amy
x
 
Could she be deficient in Vitamin C at all ? It usually affects their legs if so - could you try her with red peppers or anything high in Vit. C, buy some soluble tablets to pop into her water - anything is worth a try.
I really would try and ring a vet for advice asap if it's not too late :(
 
Peep is still alive and in the same state. I put pellets, lettuce and a bit of freshly squeezed orange juice and peels into water and I extracted the water from it and gave it to Peep so she can get vitamins, hopefully this is safe for her? I figured oranges have vitamin C. My mom is getting home soon so we can possibly go to the vet today or book an appointment early tomorrow. She's still not using her front legs to move and I feel really sad for her. Exactly 24 hours ago from now (4:22 pm) Peep was running in her playground and squeaked when she heard my mom come home and ate all her food. I never would have expected that now she wouldn't be able to walk and be this lethargic, why do Guinea Pigs have to be so fragile and turn sick so fast? :0
 
chin up, hopefully things will turn around, does sound a little like scurvy...what with the legs immobility. best get to the vet asap. good luck to you and lil pig.
 
We're going to go to the vet tomorrow morning. My mom came home and she blended lettuce with water and squirted a bit of orange juice into it. She's getting her vitamins now and we can see squeezed poop where she was laying. I'm really worried about her front legs, since Peep had constipation in the past a couple times we thought she'd return to herself the next day as she used to with pineapple juice and belly massage. She only had pineapple juice though for the night and maybe that was long enough for her to be vitamin C defficient? I guess this does sound like scurvy but last night when she was unwilling to eat except for a few pieces of hay, her legs were fine. It was only until 3 hours after my mom left for work (when I woke up) that her front legs stopped working.
 
Is there no way you can get to the vets any sooner? Our at the very least, ring them for advice. Fingers crossed for your baby x
 
British Columbia is a lot bigger than Morecambe so any trip to the vet would be a massive undertaking! ;)
 
Have you got any chewable vit c tablets? My vet said giving a crushed quarter tablet mixed with water should be okay ( she originally suggested I get children's ones as she thought they may need a bit extra when they're under the weather but I could only find jelly ones for kids ).
 
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