• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Need some help ASAP

Arekkisu

Arekkisu

New Born Pup
Joined
Dec 16, 2019
Messages
41
Reaction score
14
Points
145
Location
Hemel hempstead
Male piggie around 3/4 years old (not sure as i didnt buy/adopt him)

Been dealing with poop issues for 4 days

Day 1 --> couldnt poop and was clumped together --> gave him critical care mixed with probiotic to get him better

Day 2 --> muddy poops, coming out as 1 big paste thing --> stopped giving him the critical care, encouraged him to eat more hay

Day 3 --> Liquid poop, poop smelling so bad it hurt my eyes being near it, have given him no more critical care or watery greens (cucumber, tomato, celery, pepper ect) and instead focusing on dry food, hay and non watery greens.

Day 4 --> liquid poop still...but now he is wobbling a little bit and being lathargic more, hes not eating the hay or food but is drinking from a bottle by himself. Hes getting leafy greens today instead of watery greens.

I wouldnt be so concerned as i know how to treat this, but, the wobbling is my biggest fear.

Last year his brother had the same wobbling (just not the poops) and ended up having 2 seizures in less than a day and sadly past away.

I cant take him to the vet and there is no local charity that helps for vets (i also cant drive)

Ive cleaned his ears throughly as i thought it might be an ear infection?

He has had fur loss on his belly, chest and legs. Has also been isolated from his cage mate as i suspected a skin fungus (i put coconut oil on him for 3 days and the irritated patches and flakey skin have completely gone, its just patches of fur loss now)

Any assistance or help is greatly appreciated 🙏
 
Update: Wanted to add, hes a healthy weight and NOT dehydrated, hes refusing to eat hay or the dry food but scared to give him critical care as doing that gave him the liquid poops to begin with.... I'm going to grab some corriander as thats said to help with the poops, hes started smelling BAD again which isnt great.

Teeth and gums are normal
Feet and nails are normal
Ears are clean now and looking normal
No more dry skin on his bald areas

Trying to add as much info as possible.
 
I'm so sorry you are in this situation, and that your piggy isn't well. I know you said you can't, but it looks like your piggy really needs to see a vet. Sending love and hugs in this difficult time 💕

I'll@Piggies&buns @Wiebke @PigglePuggle who may be able to advise you.
 
If he is not eating hay for himself then you must syringe feed the critical care as this is the only way his gut will keep functioning. They need the fibre for gut function. Critical care won’t cause diarrhoea. There is something going on before you gave the critical care to destabilise the gut which needs treating (possibly with medications.
You must also stop giving all veg as adding any veg into the diet of a piggy with soft poops or diarrhoea will make things worse and contribute to the wrong type of bacteria where the correct bacteria are already depleted. You should only add in any veg, including herbs, after poops have normalised and been normal for 24 hours.

Liquid diarrhoea is an emergency situation. Being unbalanced can be a sign of other issues. Cleaning his ears won’t stop an ear infection - only prescribed antibiotics will do that.

I’m sorry you are in a difficult situation but I am afraid you do need to take him to a vet as there is nothing you can give yourself that will diagnose and cure whatever is going on - only a vet can diagnose and give the correct treatment. Do you have a friend or family member who can help you?

Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

Are you weighing him every day at the same time each day so you can monitor food intake in real time?
 
I do agree - there is no need for them to be separated. The other piggy would already have been exposed to the risk of any possible contagious illness before you separate them. It would be far better for them to remain together due to the stress involved in separation which In turn further lowers the immune system of the poorly piggy.
 
Piggies&buns said:
I do agree - there is no need for them to be separated. The other piggy would already have been exposed to the risk of any possible contagious illness before you separate them. It would be far better for them to remain together due to the stress involved in separation which In turn further lowers the immune system of the poorly piggy.
Click to expand...
Okay, have read everything, put the kettle on for critical care as i type

I have kept them seperated as they were in different cages to begin with, but with open bars between them, i put him back in just now and he kept trying to go up my sleeve and also up to my shoulder (presumably for cuddles)

His body tempreture has DROPPED so ive given him a (not too hot) hot water bottle under his fluffy bedding to try and keep warm

Hes opened his eyes more and is a little more active

Poops have stopped being like WATER

Greens have been taken away completely

Hes still drinking water however hes only taking it from syringe

Wobbles have also stopped being so....strong? Hes now only slightly wobbly and has also voiced his discomfort when stroking by purring (which he didnt do before)

Like i said in my first post, i cant get to a vet, even if i was to borrow the £80, my closest vet (where ive taken my pets before) cant see anyone today cos theyre full. No other vet in my town knows about guinea pigs. No emergency vets close to me either. I dont drive and dont have the money for taxi + vet bill + medication + taxi.
 
I’m sorry to hear this, but I’m afraid we aren’t vets so cannot tell you what is wrong or how to treat. We can only tell you the bridging measures while waiting for a vet appointment (such as daily weight checks and syringe feeding) but those bridging measures will not cure any underlying illness
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry to hear this, but I’m afraid we aren’t vets so cannot tell you what is wrong or how to treat. We can only tell you the bridging measures while waiting for a vet appointment (such as daily weight checks and syringe feeding) but those bridging measures will not cure any underlying illness
Click to expand...
I know, but any help is better than no help yknow?

Any tips for when they refuse to swallow?

Ive just given him some warm (not hot) critical care and he just let it sit in his mouth.....without even licking it?

Ive never seen that before EVER
 
I've had a look at the bus route from Hemel to St Albans, to see if it would take you walking distance to one of the vets here, which it doesn't seem to. Maybe you could get a bus to another nearby place.

Vets seem to be having quite a turnover, maybe a vet near you will have someone better with guinea pigs than last time you checked? Saturday isn't out of hours fees in most places.

When they reach the end of life, they can't take food and meds, but we can't say if that's what's happening. I recently lost a piggy who had bloat and stopped eating and got small poos because of end stage heart failure. It is a shame we don't have PDSA vets nearby.
 
It sounds like he has a lot going on with him. All we can advise is to get him seen by a vet as soon as possible. A drop in body temperature and not swallowing are signs he needs to be seen as an emergency. If you called the vets maybe they would squeeze you in. 🤞
 
weepweeps said:
It sounds like he has a lot going on with him. All we can advise is to get him seen by a vet as soon as possible. A drop in body temperature and not swallowing are signs he needs to be seen as an emergency. If you called the vets maybe they would squeeze you in. 🤞
Click to expand...
Gonna call the barton lodge place now and also be a pain and ask if i can pay at a later date (ive done it before previously with different vets)
 
It really does sound like prompt vet care is needed, home support care can only do so much and ideally should only bridge a short gap of a day or two at most until a vet appointment. I hope you can get him seen by the vet and get correct diagnosis and treatment- the combination of possible fungal disease, severe gut disturbance, and more worryingly the balance issue, the drop in body temp, the lethargy... all require prompt vet care, as separate issues and even more so if presenting togethet- there is very little anyone could do at home to help him recover at this point. I hope will be ok x
 
All the best. I hope you can get him seen soon.
 
Hi everyone thank you for the help, sadly the vet wouldnt see him as i wasnt able to pay there and then on the day, i was going to ask my family for some help for it but he sadly vomited, had a seizure and passed away. Its been a few days and i was finally able to post this update without crying haha, just know i did my best and made sure he wasnt alone and got to say goodbye.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top