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Please can you help?

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sare

Hi my name is Sarah and i have kept guinea pigs all my life often with them living to the great ages of 7 - 8 years. At the end of last year i had 7 gps, 2 boys living together and 5 girls (they are all house gps) Within a matter of weeks i was left with one female Florence. They all went down one after another with the first symptoms being instead of walking their back legs would "hop", they seemed keen to eat but couldn't and within days be dead despite visits to the vet and me syringe feeding them. The vets didn't know what it was and why it would affect such a healthy bunch, i asked them to do a post mortem and they said it probably wouldn't show the cause.
Anyway we left it over 2 months and since Florence is just under 3 yrs decided to get her a new friend. We have had Jelly now for almost 2 months and yesterday i am sure she is showing the same "hopping" signs. I just don't know what to do, it is so frustrating not knowing what it could be and why it is not affecting Florence at all, have any of you had any experience with this, thanks so much in advance
Sarah x
 
Greetings
Hopping movement is sometimes caused by mineral/vitamin deficiency.
I have had success treating them with Osteocare, 0.5ml daily for a week.
Likewise a vitamin E supplement.
Worth a try, nothing to lose.
 
Could you post some more details of their housing arrangements, bedding, daily diet and so on as this might give more of a clue?
 
I did wonder myself if it was some sort of vitamin deficiency [the vets thought not] but i have always kept my guineas the same way for years. They live in a large indoor cage bedded down with shavings, straw and hay. I also keep rabbits separately from my guineas and make sure i always use a food for guinea pigs and not rabbits. In the summer they have have access to grass in their runs outside, they enjoy carrots, apples and spinach too. This morning she seems just the same, like with the others i had to take her to the water bottle where she drank readily but seemed unable to do this for herself. I just don't know what to do :(
 
Welcome to the forum Sare, I'm sorry you have had so many losses lately.
Are apples, carrots and spinach the only veg they get, or do they get more variety?
Shavings are now not thought to be safe as bedding for many small animal, including guinea pigs, due to the skin and respiratory complaints that can often be associated with the shavings. Aubiose or Megazorb are generally more economical and safer.
 
Its funny how one is ok though? Could the remaining guinea be a carrier of something? what do you guys think?

It does sound like scurvy, I just find it odd though how one is still ok and now the little one is showing signs of being unwell.

Welcome to the forum. :)
 
Do they get fruit?

Is she eating? A runny nose or eyes? Is she crying when handled?
 
It definately sounds a bit odd. A couple of questions that I have:
  1. Were the boars housed seperately from the sows? If they were it reduces the likihood of it being an infection (although it doesn't eliminate it entirely).
  2. Is there anything that the older sow won't eat that the others will? The reason I ask is that some poisons (specifically insecticides) can cause these types of symptoms and as you mention them going out for grass it's possible that some has contaminated other things that they can eat while they're out there.
  3. Do you supplement their food at all? Overdoing some supplements can cause similar problems
Whatever this is it's a bit of mystery why one pig wouldn't be affected but the others are.
 
Straw doesn't do anything for pigs, they don't eat it and it can cause eye damage. Hay is essential, both for bedding and as part of their diet.
 
Thanks for your welcome guys. I took Jelly to vets today and saw a different vet who after listening to all that has recently happened reckoned that Florence is a carrier of something :( He gave Jelly anti biotics and i am back to syringe feeding again but i don't hold out much hope. He said if she does pass away they can send her body off for tests to see exactly what it is. I feel really annoyed too though because i did ask when the others died if there was anything they could have tested for and the vet at the time said no. Had i known then that Florence was a carrier of something i would never have got Jelly to just have her end up ill. Sadly it also means that if Jelly doesn't make it then Florence who herself is healthy will have to live out the rest of her days with no other gps to chat to.

Anyway thanks again for your help, i'll keep you posted
Sarah x
 
Have you tried my suggestions yet?
Try the CCT on 07721026401, you may have to try a few times to get a reply, alternatively try texting.
 
What antibiotic did the vet prescribe and any suggestions as to what infection the pig may be carrying?
 
Sadly our wee girl Jelly passed away this morning. When the vets re open after the holiday weekend i will take her in so they can send her off for testing to hopefully give me some answers as to what has happened. In over 20 yrs of owning and breeding gps i have never come across anything like this before:(
 
I'm so sorry Sare to hear of Jelly passing away. I said infection as I remember a while back someone else having this problem and it seemed to be the same pattern.

I hope you get some answers now, its sad that your lone pig will probably never have a pal but there is nothing you can do.

Thinking of you and Jelly.

Louise
x
 
Oh, my goodness. How horrible. This is like a horror story! Oh, those poor guinea pigs, and poor Florence. I'm so sorry for all of your losses, and I desperately hope you get some answers soon. This is such a sad thing, both for you and your guinea pigs. I'm sorry. Could it be some sort of food that the others eat, but that Florence doesn't? I've read that apples can cause ulcers. Or perhaps some poisonous plant? I guess it's unlikely to be a factor, but possible.
 
Hi everyone, i thought i'd let you know the outcome of the tests i had done on our poor wee Jelly. It took quite a while to do the tests but in the end it has come back as adenovirus. Has anyone heard of it? It is viral and not bacterial which is why anti biotics were not helping. They are pretty sure that Florence is a carrier of it and will shed it at various times and that is why all the others that she has come into contact with have died. I got her at around 3 months old and she must have been exposed to it beforehand. It means that i now can't get her a friend as she will more than likely affect another one at some point, it could be fairly quickly like in Jellys case within a couple of months or longer as in with my other gps but the fact is that she will infect them, though she herself remains happy and healthy.

Sarah xx
 
I'm pleased you got some answers .... but poor Florence, I'm sure she will be a pampered piggie x
 
OMG, what a diagnosis! Poor Florence, and poor you for what you've been through! At least now you know, and won't have any more deaths.

Never heard of it, and would never have thought of it, either! Thanks for telling us; it's something to keep in mind...
 
For what it is worth, I am relieved for you that you know what is going on. Florence will be a spoilt little girl for sure, bless her.

I found an article on guinea pig adenovirus. I am hoping it is correct!
http://www.taconic.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=281

Most of it makes no sense to me as yet, but I did find this little bit written in plain English!

".....Clinically apparent infections are usually limited to low numbers and most case reports have been based on only a few lesioned or dead animals. Affected animals may die without signs of illness or may show signs of respiratory distress, e.g. dyspnea, rales and depression (6 ). Transmission is by the respiratory route from virus- contaminated nasal secretions (4). The incubation period is about 5-10 days (4, 14) followed by a transient virus shedding period, in the usual nonfatal case, of about 10-12 days after which the virus is eliminated from the host (4). Virus is not shed in the feces or detected by PCR in abdominal organs (4)....."

It is interesting how it does not affect Florence, and how she remains a carrier of it, but it affects every pig she comes into contact with.
 
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Perhaps you could ask Vedra about it next time you see her Laura? I have never even heard of this......not sure if it is any of my books :{

So sorry to hear about Jelly and poor Florence having to live alone x
 
How awful - I've never heard of this. Poor you to have lost all of those piggies - does that mean you can't have any more at all now until Florence herself passes?

Sophie
x
 
I'm not sure of the human version of it, but all my gps symtoms were "hopping" first, then being unable to eat or drink but still wanting too, actually none of them ever fully lost their appetite, they would readily take from the syringe till the end but it pheumonia that they died of in the end very quickly.

Thanks to everyone for their sympathy and help and yes Florence remains a pampered wee piggy who is happy still and quite chatty despite not having a friend with her, she lives in the house so has plenty going on around her :)

Thanks again, Sarah xx
 
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