Not moving or eating

[valerian]

Hi, my guinea pig (I believe she is close to 3 years old) has suddenly stopped moving about. We checked her legs and feet and it seems that one of her paws is sore so we have been soaking her feet, applying cream, and we removed the wire base under the fleece and added some more padding around the areas she most commonly frequents. However, she is also not eating. We thought at first that it was due to her foot being sore but even when food is right next to her, she is not eating much. She hesitantly ate some cucumber and has been nibbling at some romaine lettuce. She was by the water bottle for a bit and was taking sips here and there and I did see her yesterday (when this began) nibbling at some hay but not much. She barely even entertained peppers and I haven't seen her eat any nuggets. We took her to the vet about 8 months ago last and we were concerned about her weight and potential bloating but they said that her weight is fine and she just seems chunkier because of something to do with slower digestion and its nothing to worry about but her stomach has also gone down and is a bit softer and squishier than before (wasn't hard before but just a bit more firm). We thought it might have been the cold so we have started putting the heating on more frequently to keep the room at a pleasant temperature. She has always been a bit more relaxed and lazy than her sisters and a much slower eater but this is all super strange- she hasn't even run from us when we go to pick her up! However, when we are holding her, she wriggles a bit like usual and is still very much an escape artist when on our laps. She has a vet appointment on Wednesday (we cannot afford to go any sooner) and we are currently giving her some oxbow critical care. Her sisters are perfectly well and active as well which makes the difference all the more striking- this all started yesterday. I would appreciate any advice on what to do in the meantime to help her, what I could expect from the vet, what could be the issue or anything else at all. Thank you.

 

[Merab]

Sorry I don’t have any advice beyond saying she really needs to see a vet.
Hope there’s nothing serious amiss.
Holding you in my thoughts

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, my guinea pig (I believe she is close to 3 years old) has suddenly stopped moving about. We checked her legs and feet and it seems that one of her paws is sore so we have been soaking her feet, applying cream, and we removed the wire base under the fleece and added some more padding around the areas she most commonly frequents. However, she is also not eating. We thought at first that it was due to her foot being sore but even when food is right next to her, she is not eating much. She hesitantly ate some cucumber and has been nibbling at some romaine lettuce. She was by the water bottle for a bit and was taking sips here and there and I did see her yesterday (when this began) nibbling at some hay but not much. She barely even entertained peppers and I haven't seen her eat any nuggets. We took her to the vet about 8 months ago last and we were concerned about her weight and potential bloating but they said that her weight is fine and she just seems chunkier because of something to do with slower digestion and its nothing to worry about but her stomach has also gone down and is a bit softer and squishier than before (wasn't hard before but just a bit more firm). We thought it might have been the cold so we have started putting the heating on more frequently to keep the room at a pleasant temperature. She has always been a bit more relaxed and lazy than her sisters and a much slower eater but this is all super strange- she hasn't even run from us when we go to pick her up! However, when we are holding her, she wriggles a bit like usual and is still very much an escape artist when on our laps. She has a vet appointment on Wednesday (we cannot afford to go any sooner) and we are currently giving her some oxbow critical care. Her sisters are perfectly well and active as well which makes the difference all the more striking- this all started yesterday. I would appreciate any advice on what to do in the meantime to help her, what I could expect from the vet, what could be the issue or anything else at all. Thank you.

Hi and welcome

Please step in with weighing your girl daily first thing in the morning on your kitchen scales for best day to day comparison as the weight goes up and down during the day. This will tell you how much your girl needs to be fed over the coming 24 hours and whether you are on track or not. Please also offer water by syringe regularly but do not force it down. Your aim is to firstly slow down any weight loss, then to stabilise any weight and only thirdly after any medical treatment to boost it again.

Over three quarters of what a piggy is eating in a day is hay, which you cannot control by eye. Veg, pellets, forage in any form and any treat all together only fill the role that wild forage used to have. The syringe feeding support is there to replace the missing hay intake.
Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment


Unfortunately, we cannot tell you what to expect; what your piggy needs is a hands-on examination because weight loss and bloating are rather vague symptoms. We can therefore also not tell you how much it will cost. If necessary, ask for a payment plan.

Any bloating can be primary (a problem with the digestion) but it can also be secondary (caused by something pushing on the gut like ovarian cysts in sows or an internal growth, the heart failing etc.) or by intense pain radiating into the gut.
Pain in some form or other is the biggest appetite killer, followed by breathing (respiratory infections) and dental problems.
Wiebke's Guide to Tummy Trouble

Sow Problems 'Down Below' (Ovarian Cysts, Super-seasons, Womb Infection, Pregnancy & Mammary Tumours)

Bumblefoot (foot infection, pododermatitis) can be a result of a compromised immune system/blood circulation or those that have mobility issues and are not moving around much and are sitting more in their own faeces, even in piggies in good care. All it takes is a tiny crack in the skin for germs to get into it. However, it can become a serious problem for piggies and in its extreme form be fatal.
Guinea Lynx :: Pododermatitis

Looking After Guinea Pigs With Limited or No Mobility

I hope that this can help you somewhat?

 

[valerian]

Hi, my guinea pig (I believe she is close to 3 years old) has suddenly stopped moving about. We checked her legs and feet and it seems that one of her paws is sore so we have been soaking her feet, applying cream, and we removed the wire base under the fleece and added some more padding around the areas she most commonly frequents. However, she is also not eating. We thought at first that it was due to her foot being sore but even when food is right next to her, she is not eating much. She hesitantly ate some cucumber and has been nibbling at some romaine lettuce. She was by the water bottle for a bit and was taking sips here and there and I did see her yesterday (when this began) nibbling at some hay but not much. She barely even entertained peppers and I haven't seen her eat any nuggets. We took her to the vet about 8 months ago last and we were concerned about her weight and potential bloating but they said that her weight is fine and she just seems chunkier because of something to do with slower digestion and its nothing to worry about but her stomach has also gone down and is a bit softer and squishier than before (wasn't hard before but just a bit more firm). We thought it might have been the cold so we have started putting the heating on more frequently to keep the room at a pleasant temperature. She has always been a bit more relaxed and lazy than her sisters and a much slower eater but this is all super strange- she hasn't even run from us when we go to pick her up! However, when we are holding her, she wriggles a bit like usual and is still very much an escape artist when on our laps. She has a vet appointment on Wednesday (we cannot afford to go any sooner) and we are currently giving her some oxbow critical care. Her sisters are perfectly well and active as well which makes the difference all the more striking- this all started yesterday. I would appreciate any advice on what to do in the meantime to help her, what I could expect from the vet, what could be the issue or anything else at all. Thank you.

Hi, not sure if I should be making a new thread or replying here but she has been to the vet and they didnt find anything wrong in their examination- no bumblefoot, no dental issues, etc.. They gave some pain meds and we have given some but we're not seeing much difference at all in her behaviour. We did notice her trying to drink from the water bottle last night and having little success- she seems very unstable- but she did have some water from a bowl so we have given her some and it seems as though shes been having a bit of it- either she is or her sisters. She has lost about 20g a day in weight so far but is still pooping. She ate some romaine lettuce and nibbled some cucumber but has not eaten anything else that I have seen. Really feeling lost as to what the issue is. We are going to try the medication for the next few days incase its an adjustment period and we had been planning to do a full change of their cage (bedding, toys, hides, etc.) for a while and given recent events we thought it could be good for her to have a 'new' environment to maybe get her more interested and active but we are worried that it may be best to keep it consistent until shes better? We're leaning towards the switch up but would appreciate to hear thoughts on it for us to take into consideration. The vet said if theres no improvement after a bit or she gets worse to get her in for an x-ray and observation so we are thinking of getting her in on Sunday latest if we don't see improvement. Any thoughts, ideas, advice, or anything really would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Piggies&buns]

You’ve done right by replying here. We ask that all posts relating to the same issue are kept in the one thread - it means we can see the background and advise more easily

Please make sure you are giving her enough critical care per day to keep her weight stable.

How much weight has she lost in total since she became unwell?

What dosage of pain meds is she on?
Is it cat or dog version? (This makes a difference given dog is three times stronger and can work better for piggies; and a low dose of cat can run the risk of really being useless)
Is it twice a day?

Pain meds work pretty quickly but they have to have a good enough dose and piggies can take pretty high doses.

 

[valerian]

You’ve done right by replying here. We ask that all posts relating to the same issue are kept in the one thread - it means we can see the background and advise more easily

Please make sure you are giving her enough critical care per day to keep her weight stable.

How much weight has she lost in total since she became unwell?

What dosage of pain meds is she on?
Is it cat or dog version? (This makes a difference given dog is three times stronger and can work better for piggies; and a low dose of cat can run the risk of really being useless)
Is it twice a day?

Pain meds work pretty quickly but they have to have a good enough dose and piggies can take pretty high doses.

Okay great, thank you. We are trying to give her enough critical care but at some point during feedings she just pushes it out her mouth and sometimes fights against us- she has never liked being handled unfortunately and didnt warm up to us as well as her sisters did.
She has lost about 40g so far since Monday morning to this morning. She has been ill since Sunday but we didn't weigh her that day.
It's the one for cats and we were told 0.2 a day- would it be best to do it twice? On the sticker it says 0.3 once a day.

 

[Piggies&buns]

She may need feedings little and often.
If you haven’t already read this guide - Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support - then it explains syringe feeding in more detail

It is a low dose of Metacam. 0.2ml of cat once a day doesn’t really do much.
We cannot tell you to do anything other than follow your vets prescription though but you should speak to the vet if you don’t notice any improvement after a few doses.