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Panicking Mummy!

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Carol

Carol

Junior Guinea Pig
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I've adopted 2 piggies from my local pets at Home - Maisie and Daisy - and I adore them both! However within the first week Daisy was taken ill, screaming when she wee'd and blood in her urine. I took her to the vets in-store and they found that she had stitches in her belly that I wasn't told about and that she had a history of cystitis! Daisy was prescribed antibiotics and meta cam for the pain. As you can imagine i was a tad nervous about giving her this as she hadn't had time to settle in with me before i was having to man handle her!
Anyway we persevered and although its not always gone smoothly we managed to get her to take her medicine. We went back to the vets this week and they have given her a pediatric anti biotic and told me to keep her on the meta cam but Daisy looks so doped up! She hardly moves now and doesn't seem to have a lot of interest in her food!
I really want to do whats best for her so any help or advice would be gratefully received :(

( By the way Maisie is doing well - nervous still but eating and drinking well and i think she has a soft spot for my hubby!)
 
Sorry to hear of your problems. Firstly if she is in discomfort she won't want to eat and will lay huddled up. It won't be the meds. Are you supplementing her in any way? It's important she eats to keep her gut moving. If you aren't already you can buy recovery food or you can mash pellets up with warm water and allow to cool and syringe feed her. Have they given her anything for the cystitis?

Did they say why she had stitches?
 
If feeding antibiotics you need to give probiotic to stop it upsetting their tummies. Pets at home do one called pro c or you can get from vets or online
 
If she has Cystitis I recommend feeding her Cystease. One capsule a day, half in the morning and half at night. This is what I give my boy with Cystitis. She needs a strictly controlled diet. I do not give my boys with Cystitis pellets as I find this upset their guts a lot, especially my boy who has it a lot worse than the other piggie.

@helen105281 Might be able to give a bit more advice.
 
I think it is discusting that pets at home are re homing ill pets. When I adopted rupert I had to sign to say I'm responsible for any future vet costs etc.. what a load of rubbish. at least they told me he had issues though not telling you is terrible. I think you should complain to head office they may cover your bills if you do
 
Hi Guys
First thanks for the support! Apparently the stitches were from having to spay her and the op was done sometime in November and, as i say ,they were only noticed when i went the other day. I will try the mashed up pellets thank you. This morning she's just hunched up and hardly able to move. I've given her some water in a syringe and cuddled her. I use the pro biotic powder to mix in their water already.
Will keep you updated :(
 
Oh poor baby. Sounds like she has been through a lot.

Is it Septrin she has been given? And what dose of metacam is she on?.

First of all I recommend an over the counter cystitis remedy such as Canesten oasis. This really helps.

I also agree with the Cystease recommendation which you can buy from Vetuk.

It does depend on the type of cystitis as there is the type that is an infection and then there is interstitial cystitis that can be more long term and need management over time as it is inflammation of the bladder.

For the pro c I would not put it in the water as it reduces the quality and probiotic should be given an hour apart from antibiotics. You could give it with her syringe feed. Also she will need plenty of fluids.

One thing I will note is that if this is Intersitial cystitis then giving cranberry juice (diluted or not) is not a good idea as it can make the condition worse. You may have seen this recommended online.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000477.htm
 
Hi Helen
Yes its Septrin she's on 0.3ml once a day and the metacam is a small bit from the end of a syringe! The vet did think this would be a long term thing but she's gone downhill so quickly.
How much food ( I've mushed it up) should i give her and how often?
At the minute I've put her in a make do medical centre to rest as Maisie was trampling over her.
 
The septrin is 0.3? That seems very low. The metacam also sounds quite low, my vet suggests at least 0.2ml twice a day. Is it given via the metacam syringe? As I think that has different measurements on it.

The food ideally needs to be at least 120ml in 24 hours and should be given every 3-4 hours. This is based on a pig that is not eating. Cut the end of a 1ml syringe making sure the plunger can't come out and feed from the side of the mouth so the syringe goes behind the front teeth. Feed in 0.5ml doses if easier and take it slowly.

If you can speak to the vet today about higher pain relief that would be good.

Also if there is no improvement, ask about an xray to rule out stones.

Can I ask which dry mix you feed and what veg? Or if you have not had her long do you know what she was fed before? How old is she?
 
I have been given the one for cats (0.5mg/ml syringe). The vet said that if i put in enough so it was level with the 2 (the first mark on the syringe) then give only about a third of that, then that should be enough.
I've been feeding them the Pets at Home guinea pig nuggets and until she got poorly she's sampled red peppers;cucumber;carrots;broccoli and apple. Obviously not all at once!
Her age is a bit of a mystery. When i adopted them i was told they had always been together and Daisy is approximately half the size of Maisie but that's as much as i can tell you.
Thank you for the help so far:tu:
 
You're welcome.

Am not overly familiar with the dosing of cat Metacam, but I will find out for you.

The diet will need tweaking especially longer term as the pellets from Pets at Home are very high in protein and calcium and full of additives and bad ingredients like soya and mollasses and this will not help the Interstitial cystitis. For now the priority is to get her eating so use the pellets you have for syringe feeding, though if you could get hold of some recovery food from the vets that would be good.

A friend of mine has been doing lots of research into IC and dry food and it is proving very difficult to find a food that has all the right ingredients, even those made for bladder conditions have cranberry in and other bad ingredients. She has found that the following 2 foods are probably the best but we do have trouble getting ours to eat them.

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small...kraft/262148?gclid=CKvCme6SirwCFccSwwodBWYAyA

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/food/guinea_pig/bunny/195679

The pellets in these are big so you would need to break them up.

A diet that is high in all different types of hay (except Alfalfa, but not Alfalfa King timothy hay as that is a brand) is best together with veg that is low in calcium such as cucumber, celery, coriander, green beans and small amounts of spring greens can be fed too. They can also have pepper rotating the colours each week.
 
Hi! Helen has given you lots of good advice. We have a thread about a low calcium diet for bladder piggies at the top of our food section which you may find helpful as it lists all aspects of a diet and gives you a list of veg. It has been written by a member who has carefully researched all aspects for her own bladder/kidney piggies.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...or-piggies-an-option-to-be-considered.105930/
 
Ok I have more information on the Metacam and the dose seems way too low. For cat Metacam, airing on the conservative side, 0.2-0.3 mls 2 x a day would be recommended so I think you need to discuss this with your vet.

The information I have given above regarding diet was put together by Karen Malt who runs the guinea pig clinics at Vets and Pets in Broxbourne. She advocates that no fruit should be given to be a pig with IC and this has come from vast amounts of research and dealing with clients whose pigs have IC. The research includes consultation and approval by a vet who is the exotics vet at London Zoo, plus the vets at Vets and Pets, a vet at Medivet plus her local vets in Essex. My local vets have also been receptive to this information. Most of the vets above go further, especially the exotic vet at London zoo and recommend hay and water only, though this would require supplementation with vitamins.
 
Thank you again Helen - your advice is invaluable.
Daisy perked up a bit this morning but is now dozing in a corner of her medical center. Shes making a very low noise in time to her breathing? Is this normal or is it vet time?
 
If it helps places like Savers and Asda sell Cystitis remedies for £1 x
 
Carol said:
Thank you again Helen - your advice is invaluable.
Daisy perked up a bit this morning but is now dozing in a corner of her medical center. Shes making a very low noise in time to her breathing? Is this normal or is it vet time?
Click to expand...

I have taken one of my piggies to the vet due to a similar noise and it turned out the had the beginnings of a URI. Best to get it checked by the vet even if it turns out to be nothing :)
 
I would get her to a vet to be checked out and ask for higher pain relief too and a gut stimulant if she is not pooing such as Emeprid. Also if it turns out she has fluid on her chest at all then she would need a diuretic.
 
Hello everyone.
Just to let you know that we took Daisy to the vets but there was nothing they could do for her. She passed away at 2.30 today. Even though i've only had her 2 weeks i am absolutely heart broken.
Thank you for all your help, it was reassuring to have friends who could help.
:(
 
This is such a sad story, another one i have seen because pets stores sell poorly piggies :(
I am so sorry for your loss Carol, I want to cry! At least Daisy is not in pain anymore. I hope Maisy gives you lots of cuddles now
 
Thank you everyone it's been a difficult day to say the least. Maisie is doing ok i think but will keep an eye on her. I know i did all i could but i wish i could have saved her :(
 
I am so sorry to read of your loss, huge hugs x

RIP Daisy
x x
 
I am so sorry to read what you and poor Daisy have gone through. You did all that you could for her and gave her a loving home for her last days. It is heartbreaking to lose a pig at any time, so I am sorry for your loss.
 
I am ever so sorry that you have lost her. You were a good mummy and cared for her as best as you could.
 
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