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Nose Bleed... Help!

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It has stopped. It was between last night and this afternoon that it must have happened. I just saw dried blood on one nostril and a few spots on their tube. I don't know if it warrants a vet visit but I know Holly could do with one at a piggy saavy vet as she is a pretty old piggy and I don't know if theres something up with her. It is possible that she may have been poked by some straw but I don't know.
 
I have never experience a piggy nose bleed, hopefully Wiebke will have some more information. I will also tag @Elwickcavies and @Abi_nurse

I would get her vet checked, but would think it can wait until you see your piggy savvy vet.
 
helen105281 said:
I have never experience a piggy nose bleed, hopefully Wiebke will have some more information. I will also tag @Elwickcavies and @Abi_nurse

I would get her vet checked, but would think it can wait until you see your piggy savvy vet.
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I may be able to persuade my parents to take her now that something has "happened" . Heres a very awkward piggy bundle as I tried to get a photo of her nose. Very hard as she is such a squirm.Also very hard to see anything from the photo but there is a very small bit of dried blood on her right nostril.DSCF7410.webp DSCF7423.webp
 
Abi_nurse said:
I would get her checked over by a vet. Is the blood actually coming from her nostrils or just on the end of her nose? There are several reasons for nose bleeds.

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Its coming from the nostril. I can't get a speedy vet check especially to edinburgh but i will do asap.
 
My nearest saavy vets is Apex Vets. does anyone have experience with the vets there?
 
Linney had nosebleeds in her old age- some of them were real gushers! Very scary, as she would have trouble breathing and would sneeze blood all over the place. I was very worried that she would aspirate the blood. We did see the vet, but never got a firm diagnosis. They said it could have been anything from a hay poke up the nose to a benign nasal polyp to a malignant tumor in her sinuses or the bones of her skull. They offered to x-ray her head to look for a problem, but did warn us that they would be unlikely to detect any soft mass and that there would be nothing they could do for treatment if they found a tumor. In the end we decided not to do any more diagnostics, as she was an elderly pig and there was no real treatment option for her. We decided just to keep an eye on her for quality of life. Ultimately she had a few nosebleeds in the ensuing months, but they never worsened and she never seemed bothered by them. She did pass away about six months following the start of the nosebleeds, but I don't believe it was related because the vet did warn us that a malignancy in her head would likely progress very, very quickly. She was over six and an elderly piggy when she passed, so I suspect it was just her time to go. Sorry I can't give you anything more concrete! Apparently nosebleeds are not that common in guinea pigs so I had a hard time finding info as well!
 
Freela said:
Linney had nosebleeds in her old age- some of them were real gushers! Very scary, as she would have trouble breathing and would sneeze blood all over the place. I was very worried that she would aspirate the blood. We did see the vet, but never got a firm diagnosis. They said it could have been anything from a hay poke up the nose to a benign nasal polyp to a malignant tumor in her sinuses or the bones of her skull. They offered to x-ray her head to look for a problem, but did warn us that they would be unlikely to detect any soft mass and that there would be nothing they could do for treatment if they found a tumor. In the end we decided not to do any more diagnostics, as she was an elderly pig and there was no real treatment option for her. We decided just to keep an eye on her for quality of life. Ultimately she had a few nosebleeds in the ensuing months, but they never worsened and she never seemed bothered by them. She did pass away about six months following the start of the nosebleeds, but I don't believe it was related because the vet did warn us that a malignancy in her head would likely progress very, very quickly. She was over six and an elderly piggy when she passed, so I suspect it was just her time to go. Sorry I can't give you anything more concrete! Apparently nosebleeds are not that common in guinea pigs so I had a hard time finding info as well!
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I find that really helpful thank you! Holly doesn't have any breathing issues and it appears to have been very small. I'm also between going to the vets to look at her further or just leaving it. I don't know what they could do which wouldn't be painful or affect her quality of life. If she is suffering I would go to the vets but she is so happy i don't want to upset her
 
Ha ve you found a local vet you can trust ? I think if would help for her to have a routine appointment .
 
It looks similar to what my pig has had in the past. Little Bentley had what looked like a nose bleed, but he'd simply ended up being a scratch right on his nose where the skin is a little more susceptible to scratches! Try and use a cotton bud with some cool water to clear away the blood and see whats there, more likely it will be just a scratch! :)

As it's a one off i'd probably just advise to monitor closely for 24 hours! Any breathing issues then take her straight to the vets! :)
 
xxaimeexx said:
I find that really helpful thank you! Holly doesn't have any breathing issues and it appears to have been very small. I'm also between going to the vets to look at her further or just leaving it. I don't know what they could do which wouldn't be painful or affect her quality of life. If she is suffering I would go to the vets but she is so happy i don't want to upset her
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I would probably take her just for peace of mind. Depending on what they've seen in the past, they may be able to offer you some more insights. They did give me a kind of absorbent sheet that I could have inserted into Linney's nostril in the event of bleeding that I couldn't get to stop. It's apparently sterile, used internally in surgeries, and basically soaks up blood and then is absorbed. I never ended up using it because her nosebleeds were heavy but tended to stop fairly quickly, but it gave me some peace of mind, since it's pretty much impossible to pinch a guinea pig's nose to apply pressure to bleeding! I would also keep a close eye on her for the next week or so, as Linney tended to have nosebleeds in clusters. She would have three or four over a period of a couple weeks, then nothing for a couple months, then a few again for a week or so, etc.
 
PiggyOwner said:
Ha ve you found a local vet you can trust ? I think if would help for her to have a routine appointment .
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I usually go to a certain vet for general appointments, but I went a week or so ago and they checked her over. They couldn't see any major problems or reason to investigate further. She is loosing weight and has now had a nosebleed so I don't know what's going on.
 
My nearest exotics vet is a 3/4 hour drive away . Fortunately, I gave a good local vet too - so I don't have to travel very far for routine tests .
 
xxaimeexx said:
I usually go to a certain vet for general appointments, but I went a week or so ago and they checked her over. They couldn't see any major problems or reason to investigate further. She is loosing weight and has now had a nosebleed so I don't know what's going on.
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Hi Aimee,

I have sent you a PM regarding my vet who myself and @Adelle use and can highly recommend.
 
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