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My Poor Dribbling Piggie!

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spaceman

Good Morning
Forum newbie looking for help with my Snowie.
He is approx 4yr old albino. Got him for free at the start of this year and was fine until he got pneumonia in September, recovered and was moved indoors.
He lives with a rabbit George who has been with Snowie since a baby so has grown up with him and is not a problem to piggie.Following the move indoors we let George out of the hutch to run around the house during the day as I work from home leaving piggie on his own in the Hutch. He has now started producing to much saliva which is making him dribble soaking his chest and is drinking more. Still eats like mad though and is as feisty as ever but is soaked & stinks!
Have been to the vets who don't really know whats wrong, have examined his throat, x-rayed his skull and filed his teeth but problem still remains-only thing they said it could be is diabetes but not common in piggies and difficult to treat if you can get a urine sample!
Has anyone got any idea of a physical complaint to explain this or could it be mental now that he is on his own more?
Would appreciate any help you can give.
Thanks
 
I hope it's not rabies... ;)

That's just weird... the first thing I thought was teeth problems.

Having said that I managed to collect a urine sample succesfully. This happened whilst the piggy had just peed on my husband's jumper (eew, I know), so I serynged (sp) it out of the fabric and put it in a small plastic container the vet had given me...

Unfortunately my piggy died before I could take the sample to the vet's...8...:0
 
I do think he could have teeth issues. Is your vet good with guineas? Maybe get a second opinion from another vet.

Is he drinking more? If you need to get a sample I suggest standing guinea in a bowl and wait. :)

Good luck!

Louise
:)
 
When I had to collect urine samples I put Connie in her pet carrier (with out a towel) and fed her some watery veg such as cucumber. As soon as she had a wee, I took her out and syringed it up. I hope your piggy is ok xx
 
Welcome to the forum, spaceman.

It sounds like your piggie has typical dental symptoms. Is he eating well? Did the xray show any signs of elongated roots of the pre/molar teeth? Were the molars examined visually? Which teeth were filed?

I understand your rabbit and piggie get on well, but there is still a problem with the pairing in the disease threat (rabbits can carry bacteria which are dangerous to piggies) and the dietary differences.

Diabetes would have other symptoms, such as ongoing weight loss, and excessive drinking and urination. Diagnosing and treating diabetes in guinea pigs is one of the most controversial topics in piggie health care. Urine samples are often inaccurate as they are influenced by diet, so a urine test which shows a high glucose reading does not often mean diabetes. You have to be 110% sure of the diagnosis before starting treatment.
 
Thanks for all your advice. We are still at a loss! He is perfectly normal other than the dribbling which is accompanied by him grinding his teeth, he eats drinks, wees and poos as normal. He has been with his rabbit George since George was a baby as Snowie was bullied by another guineapig before we got him, and neither of them have had any problems at all. Our thoughts are now turning to maybe Snowie being a bit miserable, as having been with George constantly until his pneumonia, he is now in his hutch on his own during the day. Since being poorly Snowie cannot be outside so George has transformed into a housebunny, happy to use a litter tray and very sociable with my two cats. George then spends the night in the hutch with Snowie. So we are thinking that the best thing will be to get a young male companion for him, and try that!
Having said all this if getting a friend doesn't work out then we will just bath him 3 times a week - which he is so good with! (not a nip - even when being blowdried!) And then he smells all lovely of baby shampoo and hay for about an hour!
Still grateful for anything else that you might come up with!
 
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