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Ongoing Health Problems

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kerrie
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Kerrie

Hello,

Wiebke suggested that I post here about my guinea pigs constant health problems. I'll copy and paste what I said in my other post.

We adopted two boars from a local guinea pig rescue, one of them was always smaller than the other, no matter how much he ate he didn't seem any bigger, then they both got conjunctivitis and of course the stuff I was using was being blamed by the rescue even though it was just normal hay and wood shavings, we took them to the vets and got that sorted out, a few weeks later I woke up one morning and went to check on the boys as I always do when I get up and I noticed the smaller one had a bad head tilt, it freaked me out and I burst out crying, we got him into the PDSA who said he had a nasty ear infection, his eye was rolling as well and the vet said that it's possible he has a brain lesion caused by his previous owners neglect, he said that the reason he was eating so much is because his body was trying to fight off what was going on with him, a week later he hadn't pick up and he sounded like he had a cold, so we got him into the PDSA again who said he had a URI... *sigh* after two weeks he started to pick up with checks at the PDSA, then the other one caught the URI but not nearly as bad. That cleared up and a month or so later the smaller one got an ear infection... again to the vets and more meds, he picked up again, and then we noticed he kept scratching his ear (in fact he scratches everywhere?), he was taken to the vet again because we thought he had a problem with his teeth this time but the vet was too busy checking his ears and taking swabs to see if he has mites, no mites, but he gave him an injection just in case... he's still scratching, the other one doesn't scratch nearly as much as the smaller one. They also may have a cold again... the smaller one has to go back on Friday (this week) so I'm going to send a note with my son pointing out the different things I've noticed, if he does have a cold then I'll take the other one to the other vets (it's hard to get appointments at the PDSA because it's charity run). Luckily he has put weight on now and isn't a bad size, he's still not as big as his brother and we've noticed he poops a lot more than his brother as well. Oh yeah.. the pet rescue claimed that the smaller one was the same size as the other, he never was, if he was I wouldn't have commented on the fact he was eating so much but not putting weight on.

Read more at: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/bonding.116979/#post-1583277
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I've left the link there just in case anyone wants to look at my original post :)
 
Hi Kerrie
Sadly it seems to me that your piggies are victims of "The Snowball effect". One illness (eg eye/ear infection) can spark off URI's, mites and other issues because their immune system is just too compromised.

All guinea pigs carry the bacteria and parasites that, given the right circumstances such as a weakened immune system or open wound, can cause "opportunistic" infections - be it URI's, UTI's, abcesses, ear and eye infections, mites, lice etc Some guinea pigs carry nastier bugs than others in that the bugs have developed resistance to the normally-used antibiotics or anti-parasitics - (or if they have been in proximity to rabbits carry rabbit pasteurella, bordetella and other bugs).

I completely understand how frustrated and upset you feel with all these problems coming one after another in your poor little piggies. However it DOES appear that your PDSA vet really knows their stuff and is diagnosing and prescribing well.

I suggest that the vet now takes swabs for culture of the possible new respiratory infection (ie from nose or throat) in order to determine what the bugs are and what resistance they may have to the routine antibiotics you have already been giving. (My vet no longer prescriubes baytril or septrin for my pigs as they carry resistant organisms. We now opt for doxycycline as first choice.)
Hopefully then, your vet can prescribe the appropriate medication to "bomb" these bugs once and for all.
I would also suggest
a) a poo sample culture in case the head tilt is parasitic as opposed to bacterial in cause
b) continues the mite injections - in total three at 7-10 day intervals
c) you print out this post and send it with your son to the vet! with BOTH piggies
HTH
x
 
Thanks for replying, I'll do as you've said and print what you've said out, they do take notice when you give them notes, I do it with my dog as well when he has to go to the vets.

It just seems like the one main guinea pig (Sheamus) who gets ill and then Big E catches it if it's a cold as I call it. Luckily because Big E is so healthy he doesn't get too ill and doesn't have it as long as Sheamus.

We did introduce them to our new boar but then I decided against trying to bond them because I didn't want him to catch things from Sheamus, plus if Sheamus does have a lesion I don't want to stress him out. I hope he does get better, because he is the nicest little guinea pig with a bit of an attitude lol.

They do usually give them baytril.

I'll see if they will let Big E in with Sheamus, they may not have any room for him so I might have to take him to a private vet :/ Like I said, it's a bit hard to get appointments with PDSA because of it being charity run, people like myself who can't afford vet fees go there and donate what we can afford.
 
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Whoopie, we got both Sheamus and Big E booked into the PDSA together :D we just had to have an earlier appointment and my Mum is taking them for me, I'm just going to send a note along with the advice from Pebble. My dog's booked in for next week so it's all go here. I also need to book the baby guinea into the vets for an health check. I'm just glad we got Big E in with Sheamus as well :D
 
Hi, my son ended up taking the boys to the vets. In regards to Sheamus, he is almost the correct weight (2lbs), the pooping a lot is good, because it means his digestive system is working, he may have a parasite rather than a lesion, so they were both given worming stuff, Sheamus does have a cold, and something called "trim" was given to him, his teeth are fine and she also suggested giving them Vitamin C, but I'm pretty sure they get enough Vitamin C, they are on Science Selective and I checked what it contains and it says Vitamin C, plus then they have veg twice a day, different types of lettuce (not iceberg), sometimes pepper, and carrot (yes I know carrot has Vit A), I'm going to try them with kale, they also have cucumber. Would it hurt them if I gave them a bit more Vit C, she suggested soluble ones, which I already have, she said to put it in their water but I read that's not really a good way of doing it and that you should syringe it?

In regards to Big E, she said he's perfectly healthy, his weight is 2.6lbs, she did give him some trim as well, but she never really said if he had a cold or not, maybe it's just in case Sheamus passes his onto him? He's also got to take the worming stuff.

I printed out Pebbles post and she said unfortunately they don't have the right means to do it. I guess because it's charity run.
 
I just had a reply to a question I asked about the science selective piggie food, I asked about how much of the daily intake of vit C that it would give a piggie.

"If the guinea pigs eat only this food, then they get plenty of vitamin C and need no other source. If they eat a bit of this food, along with large amounts of other food which contains no vitamin C, then the overall diet could be deficient. Usually people feed mostly this food, with a small amount of other items as treats, and this will be fine regarding Vitamin C levels."
 
When a pig is poorly (ie a cold) it is a good idea to give extra Vitamin C so that will be why the vet mentioned it. It would be in addition to whatever pellet you are feeding. It helps their immune system. The Trim I think may be Septrin (Trimehtoprim/Sulfamethoxazole) which is an antibiotic.

I would not put it in their water but syringe at the same time you give the Septrin. Oxbow also sell it in tablet form called Daily C.

This thread may be helpful as it covers Vitamin C

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...vitamin-c-overview-with-product-links.115404/

Did the vet mention probiotics? Antibiotics can affect the gut so it is wise to give probiotics at least an hour after each dose. Septrin is not as harsh as some antibiotics though.
 
I've just been talking to my son about it, he said she wasn't very good at explaining to him what he had to do with the medication! It says on the bottle Give 0.1 tablet 2 times daily crushed in water and then syringe it, however when we had this for Sheamus before, we had one tablet that we crushed and put into a tablet bottle and added water which is what the other vet advised him to do... They both have two x trim this time.... it's a bit of a pain giving them 0.1 of the tablet? Any ideas?

We have some vitamin C tablets, soluble, would they be ok to give them? Obviously not the full tablet, I can take the rest of it lol.

Nope as far as I know she never said anything about probiotics, but my son said she was talking to fast lol. I'll go and look at that link.

Thanks in advance and for the advice.
 
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P@h probiotic will do for the moment.

We recommend that you get one of the better quality probiotics for your first aid kit, so you always have staples like 1ml syringes, recovery food and probiotics handy for an emergency - they never happen at a good moment!
 
It's the PDSA, what happens is, if you have a query with the meds, you call and the receptionist will ask the vet if they can because the vets are pretty busy.

We might just do it how we were told to do it before unless my son can work it out.

I've looked at the links, they have pepper, didn't know you could give it daily as I read it can give them gas, but if it's ok to give daily then that's what I'll do, I've no idea what they ate previous to us adopting them, their claws were long and curled as well, we've now managed to get them more or less sorted.

What annoys me is the way their previous owner neglected them, Sheamus is the loveliest guinea pig, very funny funny with an attitude, Big E is more timid, but pop corns and runs around the cage like a loon and does bite a little bit, it doesn't take a lot to give them some love and make sure they are well, they have been to the vets numerous times since we got them, I could have just given them back to the rescue but that's not going to help either of them really. I'm a very soft person when it comes to animals, I would have an house full of pets if I could manage them.. In fact my son's adopting a couple of mice when their cage turns up and I'm looking to adopt another guinea pig for our baby boar because I don't want to put him in with Sheamus and Big E.

Time, effort and a bit of love is all animals need and of course food etc.
 
Lol that's true.. ok when I get some money next I'll sort out a first kit for them, I never thought about it before, but you are right and you don't always get the recovery stuff and we were only given one syringe for two guinea pigs :/

The reason I asked about the one I posted was because I noticed the other things were recovery and the Oxbow is just Vit c? please feel free to suggest which is the best while they are both on antibiotics and I'll do my best to get it for them asap. I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to pribiotics and vit c for animals. I do apologise I don't concentrate too well and I have a very bad short term memory.
 
Oxbow is just vitamin C.

Probiotics are powders that contain "good" bacteria to counter the onslaught of an antibiotic, they are best given a pinch 1-2 hours after a dose of antibiotic to boost the digestive system.

Recovery foods are powdered fibres that your make up with water for hand feeding when a piggy is losing weight or has completely stopped eating and drinking.

When you are less stressed, you may want to have a look at our "Caring for an ill piggy" section, where you can find more information about how to best support an ill piggy on meds at home.
 
Ok ty :) I'm not too stressed.. well I say that, my neighbours are stressing me out big time with noise, trying to move house due to it!

Right I'll go and see if I can get some probiotics for them from the net and some vit C. I'll have to give them our Vit C until they turn up. We have them because I was taking them to see if they would help the gout attacks I've been having. I'll also go and have a look at the caring for an ill piggy section.

Thanks again for the help and advice, I really appreciate it :)
 
I've ordered some Avipro Plus. Thanks again for the info :) Do I just give them that in a syringe?

Thanks :)

PS

I've just noticed on the delivery note in my email that the expected date for it to arrive is the 12th.... *sigh*

I'll have to have a look somewhere else and just save that one as part of their first aid kit.
 
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