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Please help me, I am really helpless,

Piggies&buns said:
She needs to be taken back to the vet urgently.

Guinea pigs do not need and should not be given supplementary vitamin c tablets - doing so long term can cause health problems. Piggies get all their vit c needs from a good balanced diet (from their veg and pellets) without the need to be given vit c tablets. There is not one long term owner on this forum that gives any form of supplementation.

If your piggy has been supplemented long term above and beyond her diet (veg and pellets) then their bodies get used to abnormally and unnecessarily high amounts of vitamin c. Unfortunately if long term supplementation then suddenly stops it can cause a risk to health - not because the levels are too low but because their body can’t cope with the sudden drop from the high levels that they have become used to.
Long term supplementation always has to be weaned off slowly.
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Hello, I'm bothering you again. Yesterday, while browsing the forum, I saw an article about arthritis. The poster mentioned that if anyone noticed their guinea pig showing symptoms similar to arthritis, they could send him an X-ray. However, I don't know how to send it, and now I can't find the article. Could you give me some guidance? I noticed that my hamster walks very slowly after being startled, but when she is very excited, she hops around like a rabbit. I wonder if this is related to being startled. I also looked it up on the forum and saw that this might be because some hamsters lack vitamin C, causing them to hop instead of walk. Calcium deficiency may also affect their mobility. Based on her current condition, these are the only two possibilities I can think of. I really don't want to take her to the hospital again and scare her, so I'm reaching out to you for help. I've already sent you her videos. I noticed that she always bites her own fur. There are four videos in total, two showing her walking and two showing her biting her fur.
 
dongzheng said:
Hello, I'm bothering you again. Yesterday, while browsing the forum, I saw an article about arthritis. The poster mentioned that if anyone noticed their guinea pig showing symptoms similar to arthritis, they could send him an X-ray. However, I don't know how to send it, and now I can't find the article. Could you give me some guidance? I noticed that my hamster walks very slowly after being startled, but when she is very excited, she hops around like a rabbit. I wonder if this is related to being startled. I also looked it up on the forum and saw that this might be because some hamsters lack vitamin C, causing them to hop instead of walk. Calcium deficiency may also affect their mobility. Based on her current condition, these are the only two possibilities I can think of. I really don't want to take her to the hospital again and scare her, so I'm reaching out to you for help. I've already sent you her videos. I noticed that she always bites her own fur. There are four videos in total, two showing her walking and two showing her biting her fur.
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We cannot diagnose anything and sending x rays and video won’t make any difference to us being able to tell you anything.

As I explained to you, vitamin c deficiency can be caused by giving too much vitamin c and then suddenly stopping. It is not a true deficiency, it is rather caused by their body being used to abnormally and unnecessarily high levels beyond what their body actually needed.
Calcium deficiency can cause temporary back leg paralysis.

Biting their own hair - barbering - can have many causes but it can be due to pain is the biting only takes place in one area.

Your piggy will need to go to the vet for a diagnosis of any other condition you think she may have.
We cannot tell you anything more about this than we already have
 
Piggies&buns said:
We cannot diagnose anything and sending x rays and video won’t make any difference to us being able to tell you anything.

As I explained to you, vitamin c deficiency can be caused by giving too much vitamin c and then suddenly stopping. It is not a true deficiency, it is rather caused by their body being used to abnormally and unnecessarily high levels beyond what their body actually needed.
Calcium deficiency can cause temporary back leg paralysis.

Biting their own hair - barbering - can have many causes but it can be due to pain is the biting only takes place in one area.

Your piggy will need to go to the vet for a diagnosis of any other condition you think she may have.
We cannot tell you anything more about this than we already have
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I have already consulted a doctor, who stated that based on the video, there are no issues and advised me to continue observing the situation.
 
dongzheng said:
Hello, I'm bothering you again. Yesterday, while browsing the forum, I saw an article about arthritis. The poster mentioned that if anyone noticed their guinea pig showing symptoms similar to arthritis, they could send him an X-ray. However, I don't know how to send it, and now I can't find the article. Could you give me some guidance? I noticed that my hamster walks very slowly after being startled, but when she is very excited, she hops around like a rabbit. I wonder if this is related to being startled. I also looked it up on the forum and saw that this might be because some hamsters lack vitamin C, causing them to hop instead of walk. Calcium deficiency may also affect their mobility. Based on her current condition, these are the only two possibilities I can think of. I really don't want to take her to the hospital again and scare her, so I'm reaching out to you for help. I've already sent you her videos. I noticed that she always bites her own fur. There are four videos in total, two showing her walking and two showing her biting her fur.
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Please don't read the whole forum and turn hypochondriac about your guinea pig! With nerves, worry, stress, you might start seeing problems everywhere, despite your guinea not having those particular problems. Your vet said she doesn't have what you thought.

I was able to see one of the videos and your guinea pig didn't look startled to me, more playfully hopping to be honest.
I don't understand why you're now talking about a hamster. However, I have no idea about hamsters so I can't help there.
 
I agree with Mrs Tiggy Winkle - if the treatment for the cystitis has worked and your piggy is now peeing ok then it is so important that you don’t go looking for something else.

I still can’t see the videos, they just won’t play. But please do also remember that piggies popcorn when they are happy which can show as little hops, and as for biting her fur, she may well just be using her teeth to scratch an itch.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Your video isn’t playing - it’s just still images - but it’s good that your vet has said there is nothing wrong.
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When you click on it, it's a video, but for the first few seconds, you think it's a picture. There are two videos. Swipe to the side and there's another one, which is him now. They're all hopping around like little rabbits.
 
dongzheng said:
When you click on it, it's a video, but for the first few seconds, you think it's a picture. There are two videos. Swipe to the side and there's another one, which is him now. They're all hopping around like little rabbits.
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the images dont move at all - I’ve kept it going waiting for something to happen but it doesn’t play at all

Try uploading it to YouTube instead of instagram and link it here
 
Mrs Tiggy Winkle said:
Please don't read the whole forum and turn hypochondriac about your guinea pig! With nerves, worry, stress, you might start seeing problems everywhere, despite your guinea not having those particular problems. Your vet said she doesn't have what you thought.

I was able to see one of the videos and your guinea pig didn't look startled to me, more playfully hopping to be honest.
I don't understand why you're now talking about a hamster. However, I have no idea about hamsters so I can't help there.
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It's a guinea pig. It's a guinea pig, but because of a translation error, it was translated as a hamster.
My mother and I are very worried because we feel that its hind legs are weak. Since it was frightened, my mother and I feel that it now walks very slowly and stretches its body out, somewhat like the posture of crawling on the ground. If you look closely at the video, you can still see it. My mother and I are quite worried, so I looked it up on that website. Now we're even more anxious.
 
Piggies&buns said:
I agree with Mrs Tiggy Winkle - if the treatment for the cystitis has worked and your piggy is now peeing ok then it is so important that you don’t go looking for something else.

I still can’t see the videos, they just won’t play. But please do also remember that piggies popcorn when they are happy which can show as little hops, and as for biting her fur, she may well just be using her teeth to scratch an itch.
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Look closely at his movements and body language. He seems to be hunching his back. Look closely, he bit the hair on his legs twice, and it feels like he pulled out a lot of hair. Am I being too neurotic? I didn't notice this before. He used to walk like this, but now I always feel like his hind legs can't stand up. I don't know if normal guinea pigs are like this too.
 
That’s better - I can now see the video.

There is not enough movement on the video to make an assessment. We would need a video of your piggy walking a longer distance.
I can see why you think she looks hunched up, and it is possible that she is but because she isn’t moving far enough it is hard to tell.

The fur biting - to me looks like normal grooming and scratching.
If she is doing it over and over again for days on end, if she is biting her hair off so there is just stubble left (remembering that piggies do tend to have bald patches in the inside of the front legs), if her skin looks red and sore, if there are open wounds - then I would be concerned but from that clip she just looks like she is grooming normally
 
Piggies&buns said:
That’s better - I can now see the video.

There is not enough movement on the video to make an assessment. We would need a video of your piggy walking a longer distance.
I can see why you think she looks hunched up, and it is possible that she is but because she isn’t moving far enough it is hard to tell.

The fur biting - to me looks like normal grooming and scratching.
If she is doing it over and over again for days on end, if she is biting her hair off so there is just stubble left (remembering that piggies do tend to have bald patches in the inside of the front legs), if her skin looks red and sore, if there are open wounds - then I would be concerned but from that clip she just looks like she is grooming normally
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Sure, no problem. Since I'm not very familiar with Instagram, it's mainly for you to see more videos and photos of the piglets. I'll upload some of the videos you need to Instagram right now.
 
I used to stress out when I first got my piggies, I thought I was doing something wrong or that something was wrong with them! Turns out the only problem was my anxiety and overthinking. Have you considered a companion for your girl yet? They need a cage mate, it’s the worst thing for your girl mentally to not have another Guinea pig to be around. 🙏
 
Loveatfirstwheek said:
I used to stress out when I first got my piggies, I thought I was doing something wrong or that something was wrong with them! Turns out the only problem was my anxiety and overthinking. Have you considered a companion for your girl yet? They need a cage mate, it’s the worst thing for your girl mentally to not have another Guinea pig to be around. 🙏
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Thank you very much for your kind words. I have indeed given this matter some thought. I must follow my beloved to this unfamiliar city of Vancouver, despite my reluctance to leave. I don’t know if you can understand my feelings. Since the day I found out I had to separate from my child, I’ve felt like I’d rather die than live. I had no choice but to leave her with my mother. Fortunately, my mother is a kind-hearted person and even offered to find a playmate for the child. But how could I be so selfish as to leave my mother to care for two children alone? My mother’s legs are already in poor condition, and she cannot walk. She hasn’t even gone to the hospital for a check-up. For my child’s sake, she has made numerous trips to the hospital. When the child is sick, my mother cannot sleep all night. I am truly in agony!
 
Piggies&buns said:
Looks fine to me
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Family, my little pig seems to be eating and drinking normally, but its weight is now less than 900 grams. My mother feeds it 6 grams of guinea pig food and vegetables every day. Now it drinks less water and eats less than before, but it still eats. The doctor said to let it run around more so it can eat more, but didn't say anything else. What should I do? I think I should have some other tests done. Do I need to have a blood test?
 
dongzheng said:
Family, my little pig seems to be eating and drinking normally, but its weight is now less than 900 grams. My mother feeds it 6 grams of guinea pig food and vegetables every day. Now it drinks less water and eats less than before, but it still eats. The doctor said to let it run around more so it can eat more, but didn't say anything else. What should I do? I think I should have some other tests done. Do I need to have a blood test?
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She doesn't like dried grass, but she's okay with dried grass and Timothy grass from northern China.
 
mmexport1753846012450.webp
This is her favourite grass, but I hadn't dared to give her any because of her UTI and bloating. Just now, I asked my mother to give her some of her favourite grass because I felt she was severely malnourished. The doctor has told me to observe her for now and has not offered any other effective solutions.
 
How much weight has she now lost?
She is losing weight because she is not eating enough hay and grass.
The picture is the hay she is eating at your post #201 is absolutely fine and what she does need to be eating.
Make sure there are large piles of that hay available to her in her cage at all times.

If she is losing weight you will now also need to step in with mushing her guinea pig pellets with water and syringe feed that to her or give her the oxbow critical care food to stop her losing weight.
She needs to have 60ml of the syringe feed given to her per day to stop her weight loss.

Guinea pig food and vegetables is not enough and not what her gut needs to keep functioning properly. It also does not keep her teeth wearing down nicely. She needs to have lots of hay every day.

Is her UTI now gone?

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
 
Piggies&buns said:
How much weight has she now lost?
She is losing weight because she is not eating enough hay and grass.
The picture is the hay she is eating at your post #201 is absolutely fine and what she does need to be eating.
Make sure there are large piles of that hay available to her in her cage at all times.

If she is losing weight you will now also need to step in with mushing her guinea pig pellets with water and syringe feed that to her or give her the oxbow critical care food to stop her losing weight.
She needs to have 60ml of the syringe feed given to her per day to stop her weight loss.

Guinea pig food and vegetables is not enough and not what her gut needs to keep functioning properly. It also does not keep her teeth wearing down nicely. She needs to have lots of hay every day.

Is her UTI now gone?

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Click to expand...
It should be fine, and no further check-ups are needed. The doctor said that if there are no symptoms, there is no need to check again. So, at present, there is no further bleeding, and everything else is normal, except that his weight has dropped from 915 at the beginning to less than 900 now. As mentioned earlier, guinea pig feed should not be given in excessive amounts, so only six grams were given. Could it be because the guinea pig feed was not given in sufficient quantities? In addition, there is a lot of discharge in his ear, and the doctor said that this is not normal. I am preparing to do so again.
 
Piggies&buns said:
How much weight has she now lost?
She is losing weight because she is not eating enough hay and grass.
The picture is the hay she is eating at your post #201 is absolutely fine and what she does need to be eating.
Make sure there are large piles of that hay available to her in her cage at all times.

If she is losing weight you will now also need to step in with mushing her guinea pig pellets with water and syringe feed that to her or give her the oxbow critical care food to stop her losing weight.
She needs to have 60ml of the syringe feed given to her per day to stop her weight loss.

Guinea pig food and vegetables is not enough and not what her gut needs to keep functioning properly. It also does not keep her teeth wearing down nicely. She needs to have lots of hay every day.

Is her UTI now gone?

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Click to expand...
I think her guinea pig food should be 15 grams.
 
They lose weight because they are not eating enough hay. It has nothing to do with the guinea pig food as it is not an important part of the diet. Some of us don’t give our piggies the guinea pig food at all. I don’t feed dry guinea pig food - My piggies get unlimited amounts of hay and their daily portion of vegetables.

The amount of guinea pig food she should be given is one tablespoon per day. We don’t measure it in grams.

However if your guinea pig has lost more than 50g in weight in total then you must syringe feed her.

If you need to use the guinea pig food as a syringe feed, then you ignore the one tablespoon rule and instead feed her as much of the guinea pig food as a mush with a syringe as is needed to stop her from losing weight. The aim is that you give 60ml of guinea pig food mush.
If you have oxbow critical care then you use that instead of making a mush with the guinea pig food. Again, she needs around 60ml of it.

Feeding the critical care by syringe or the mush made of the guinea pig food mush of critical care replaces the fibre intake which she has lost through not eating enough hay. Once she is eating enough hay again you then stop syringe feeding, and go back to one tablespoon of guinea pig food per day.

If your guinea has lost less than 50g in total, then she is not considered to have lost any weight at all and you don’t need to do anything.

Discharge in the ear is not normal.
What is your vet going to do about it?
 
Piggies&buns said:
They lose weight because they are not eating enough hay. It has nothing to do with the guinea pig food as it is not an important part of the diet. Some of us don’t give our piggies the guinea pig food at all. I don’t feed dry guinea pig food - My piggies get unlimited amounts of hay and their daily portion of vegetables.

The amount of guinea pig food she should be given is one tablespoon per day. We don’t measure it in grams.

However if your guinea pig has lost more than 50g in weight in total then you must syringe feed her.

If you need to use the guinea pig food as a syringe feed, then you ignore the one tablespoon rule and instead feed her as much of the guinea pig food as a mush with a syringe as is needed to stop her from losing weight. The aim is that you give 60ml of guinea pig food mush.
If you have oxbow critical care then you use that instead of making a mush with the guinea pig food. Again, she needs around 60ml of it.

Feeding the critical care by syringe or the mush made of the guinea pig food mush of critical care replaces the fibre intake which she has lost through not eating enough hay. Once she is eating enough hay again you then stop syringe feeding, and go back to one tablespoon of guinea pig food per day.

If your guinea has lost less than 50g in total, then she is not considered to have lost any weight at all and you don’t need to do anything.

Discharge in the ear is not normal.
What is your vet going to do about it?
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You are absolutely correct. This may be because it is not eating enough hay, leading to weight loss. However, it is now eating hay every day, but the intake is insufficient, so I need to feed it 60 millilitres of Critical Care daily and observe whether it continues to eat hay, correct? If it continues to eat hay, can I stop feeding it Critical Care and instead give it one tablespoon of guinea pig feed daily, correct? If it stops eating hay after being fed 60 millilitres of Critical Care, should I continue to feed it 60 millilitres of Critical Care the next day? Do you think my understanding is correct?
 
Piggies&buns said:
They lose weight because they are not eating enough hay. It has nothing to do with the guinea pig food as it is not an important part of the diet. Some of us don’t give our piggies the guinea pig food at all. I don’t feed dry guinea pig food - My piggies get unlimited amounts of hay and their daily portion of vegetables.

The amount of guinea pig food she should be given is one tablespoon per day. We don’t measure it in grams.

However if your guinea pig has lost more than 50g in weight in total then you must syringe feed her.

If you need to use the guinea pig food as a syringe feed, then you ignore the one tablespoon rule and instead feed her as much of the guinea pig food as a mush with a syringe as is needed to stop her from losing weight. The aim is that you give 60ml of guinea pig food mush.
If you have oxbow critical care then you use that instead of making a mush with the guinea pig food. Again, she needs around 60ml of it.

Feeding the critical care by syringe or the mush made of the guinea pig food mush of critical care replaces the fibre intake which she has lost through not eating enough hay. Once she is eating enough hay again you then stop syringe feeding, and go back to one tablespoon of guinea pig food per day.

If your guinea has lost less than 50g in total, then she is not considered to have lost any weight at all and you don’t need to do anything.

Discharge in the ear is not normal.
What is your vet going to do about it?
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My vet will perform an ear discharge test on my pet to determine if there are any bacteria or other abnormal substances present, followed by a skin examination, and may prescribe medication for her. Fortunately, I asked the vet if the ear discharge was normal, and the vet said it was not, which suggests that this vet may be more professional than others, as other vets all said the ear discharge was normal. Additionally, I was wondering if the bacteria in his urine and the previous bleeding were related to his ears, as his ears have always had a lot of discharge. However, previous vets all told me this was normal.
 
dongzheng said:
My vet will perform an ear discharge test on my pet to determine if there are any bacteria or other abnormal substances present, followed by a skin examination, and may prescribe medication for her. Fortunately, I asked the vet if the ear discharge was normal, and the vet said it was not, which suggests that this vet may be more professional than others, as other vets all said the ear discharge was normal. Additionally, I was wondering if the bacteria in his urine and the previous bleeding were related to his ears, as his ears have always had a lot of discharge. However, previous vets all told me this was normal.
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Any issues with the bladder are highly unlikely to have anything to do with the ear
 
dongzheng said:
You are absolutely correct. This may be because it is not eating enough hay, leading to weight loss. However, it is now eating hay every day, but the intake is insufficient, so I need to feed it 60 millilitres of Critical Care daily and observe whether it continues to eat hay, correct? If it continues to eat hay, can I stop feeding it Critical Care and instead give it one tablespoon of guinea pig feed daily, correct? If it stops eating hay after being fed 60 millilitres of Critical Care, should I continue to feed it 60 millilitres of Critical Care the next day? Do you think my understanding is correct?
Click to expand...


You feed critical care until you piggy starts to eat enough hay independently and consequently maintains her weight by herself. At that point she would normally start to refuse syringe feeds and instead maintains her weight by herself.
You cannot gauge hay intake by eye so your daily weight checks are the guide as to whether your piggy is eating enough.
If your piggy continues to lose weight then she is not eating enough and you must not stop syringe feeding.
 
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