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Off to the vets I go...

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GuineaPigg

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For the past 3 days Bradley has seemed much better, poops going back to a normal colour, formed but still soft. When I got home last night from college I suspected he hadn't pooped, this morning he was eating and active but still no poops. I put him in the bath just to see if he would poop (he always poops in the bath) and he did poop but was squeaking really bad when he did. The poops were really soft, mishapen and a horrible green/yellow colour. Bubbles were also coming out when he was going to the toilet.

Looks like I'll be going to the vets this afternoon, he did seem to perk up and hasn't had any veg in days. Although it will cost a fortune I'm going to ask for an ultrasound and for them to test his urine if possible, I'm convinced its the plastic bit off the puppy pad that he nibbled :'(

I've already told my dad that if there's nothing they can do I will make the decision to put him down, I can't let him suffer. I just hope it doesn't come to that and they can help him.

He's eating hay as we speak but I can't help but fear the worst, he's only 1 and a half :(
 
The plastic bit shouldnt of done anything - mine has nibbled on their plastic housing before and I haven't thought anything of it and they've been find.

Have you tried him with a probiotic? he may just have a digestive upset - keep him off veg if his poos are soft.

Only pellets and hay
 
He hasn't had any veg in 3-4 days and been on Probiotic for 3 days too. He was feeling much better for a few days and now back to square one. He's walking around fine and eating his muesli, it's just the lack of poops and when he does poop it's not right.
 
what muesli you feeding him? i see that you change his food, did you change him back to what he was on?
 
Just come back from the vets and she said he's full of fluid and gas, she's given me 2 medications for him. One to give him once a day and the other 3 times a day. If he's no better by Monday I'm to take him back in for an xray or ultrasound. No muesli and just a hay and water diet for him.
 
He's eating hay and he's on his medication, not too keen on taking it but we persevere. Not sure if he's been pooping though, he's been drinking fine like he usually does.
 
The medication seems to be working somewhat already, put Bradley out in his run and he did 6 perfectly normal looking poops, not soft or anything. He's not pooping as much as normal but atleast what he is pooping is properly formed, his belly isn't as bloated either.

Fingers crossed the medication keeps working! :)
 
Bradley's medication seemed to be working and from Friday afternoon to Monday night we had normal solid poops. I gave him probably 1/4 of a handful of muesli, if that, and now his poops have gon soft again. At my wits end his brother now has tiny crumbly poops! mallethead
 
Too much more to do before even considering a decision of PTS...
(If you don;t get the co-operation of your vet from hereon then please consider consulting another, more cavy savvy vet)



First thing to think about:
piggies "gut transit time" is 20+ hours ...so what you see poop-wise is down to what they were doing/eating 24 hours ago. So allow 12 hours beore you start to panic ;)

Next:
"Grumpy guts"...or "ileus" to give it its proper name...... is when the gut doesn;t move rhythmically. Upsets can occur owing to the nature of food eaten.(veggie over indulgence = brassicas, pre-packed spinach/lettuce/salad that is 24 hours in storage, unwashed cucumber, residual pesticides in carrots etc etc ) ..or a reduction in food eaten....(eg caused by pain, dental, URi, UTI)

Symptoms include squishy/smelly/no/odd-shaped/mucus-covered poos (sometimes all alternating) ; and bloat/gas

You need to identify the cause and that is very difficult unless you practice the "exclusion" principle

  • Withdraw everything but hay and pellets.(sorry Bradley)
  • Give a PROPER PIGGIE probioitic (such as Biolapis or preferably Fibreplex)
  • Keep the guts moving by giving critical care or Suprmeme Recovery food either off a spoon or (if really necessary) via syringe...(c'mon Bradley - just behave for your mummy and take your meds)
  • Talk to your vet about prescribing zantac (2mg/kg daily) - very good for ossrting out motility porbs
  • If motility is a really serious issue then metaclopramide - oral meds 0.2ml once daily

Unless Bradley is really in a very serious conidition, there is currently no justification to PTS as there are plenty of things to tryo first to help him get back on his feet. PM me if you want a chat or further details...especially if you need assistance to help you deal with your vet on the next meeting

HTH
x
 
As a followup to the previous post....you DO need to find out the CAUSE....

So if you are sure there is no pain from some other conditon stopping eating..........and therefore that it is the diet that could be a ****:

Put piggie on the "exclusion diet" of hay/pellets only........gradually reintroduce after a week in the following fashion:

First wheek no veggies:
Next wheek - carrot every other day
Next wheek - no veggies - back to hay and pellets
Next wheek - a bit of lettuce every toher day for a week
Next wheek no veggies
Next wheek - spring greens
Next wheek - no veggies
Next wheek - spinach
etc etc


Monitor closely the poo output/appearance 24 hours after the next set of veggies is introduced.

If poos don;t "shape up" then also give zantac 2mg/kg once daily.

If bloat occurs.....metoclopramide 0.2ml (for a 1kg piggie) once daily for two days..plus critical care/fibreplex/tummy massage..(keep giving the zantac)

Obviously you need your vet to be "on board" to prescribe you oral metoclopramide/zantac...and also agree to the exclusion diet principle and the rest of the meds...

Hence if you need some back up with your vet then let me know

x
 
He's been on a hay and water only diet since last Friday, so well over a week. He is improving but very up and down, one minute he's pooping fine and the next day he's not. At the moment his poops are a normal shape but a bit soft, I'm unsure on how soft/firm a normal guinea pig's poop can be? Rodney has always had very firm poops but he doesn't drink as much water as the other two do. Can anyone give me a guide on what normal poops should be like?
 
GuineaPigg said:
He's been on a hay and water only diet since last Friday, so well over a week. He is improving but very up and down, one minute he's pooping fine and the next day he's not. At the moment his poops are a normal shape but a bit soft, I'm unsure on how soft/firm a normal guinea pig's poop can be? Rodney has always had very firm poops but he doesn't drink as much water as the other two do. Can anyone give me a guide on what normal poops should be like?
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How much water does he consume a day?
 
Between him and his brother I'd say around 300mls - 350mls, it varies though because on some days they drink a lot and others not so much. They do dribble when they drink also so I have to put a flannel underneath the water bottle to soak up any drips.
 
I was wondering if perhaps he could be diabetic as my Bette had periods of bloat and mis-shaped poo's but she would drink a full bottle herself everyday.

I would go with Pebbles suggestion, I did the exclusion diet with Bette and slowly started introducing foods to her if we had a flare up. It was back to square one that way you maybe able to find out whats triggering it.
 
He's bloated up again, lethargic and no poops. I can't keep him on just a hay diet forever because he won't get all the vitamins he needs, gave him some muesli and a sprig of parsley last night and he was fine before I went to bed. Pooped a bit this morning and now no poops and a huge squishy belly 8...
 
GuineaPigg said:
He's bloated up again, lethargic and no poops. I can't keep him on just a hay diet forever because he won't get all the vitamins he needs, gave him some muesli and a sprig of parsley last night and he was fine before I went to bed. Pooped a bit this morning and now no poops and a huge squishy belly 8...
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If his belly is squidgey, hes not bloated. A bloated belly produces a hollow noise when tapped, and feels a bit like a balloon.

Is he eating? Do you have Critical Care, if hes producing poops then hes not bloated?

Try gently massaging his tum, best book a vet appointment to get some gut stimultant.

Don't give up!
 
His tummy has suddenly gone huge, I can feel the air and his tummy feels firm but squishy-ish at the same time. He produced a few poops early this morning and since then all he wants to do is sit in his house, no poops since around 8 o'clock this morning I think.
 
GuineaPigg said:
His tummy has suddenly gone huge, I can feel the air and his tummy feels firm but squishy-ish at the same time. He produced a few poops early this morning and since then all he wants to do is sit in his house, no poops since around 8 o'clock this morning I think.
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Get him to the vet.
 
I've just been masaging his belly and he produced 4-5 poops, they were normal in shape and colour but soft, he then ate 2 of them. Is this normal? He's drinking and nibbling on hay at the moment.
 
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