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Please help me! I think I have a poorly Piggy!

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Amy1218

Amy1218

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I haven't been on the forum in a while, but I knew this was the place to come.

Bit of background info: I have 2 piggies, they are both boys, live outside and had them around 2 years.

I came home from work and put the piggies in the run so they could have a popcorn around and I noticed that one of my piggies wasn't moving. He was just standing there. He was staring into space, although he was alert.
Then I noticed he was doing something with his back, it sort of looked like a dog when they are going to be sick (if you have a dog you'll know). He was like hunching his back like a cat, then back down again, at the same time making a noise. Is this what happens when piggies are going to be sick?
What's happening? Does anyone know?
I know most people will say just take him to the vets but it will be extremely hard to get him there. Also, i know a lot of people will understand me when I say, I dont actually think my vet knows what they're doing regarding piggies.

PLEASE HELP!

p.s. he is eating and drinking water... however, not as much as normal.
Thank you. Amy xx
 
Hiya - I don't know that much about ill guineas but I do know they can't be sick.

Sounds like he may be trying to poo? Is he impacted and needs cleaning out? Have a look at his bottom to see if he has poop stuck in it. I don't know how to deal with it if he has but I am sure there are loads on here that do.

Just a thought and I am sure someone will be along soon who knows more.
 
No, he doesn't feel bloated.

He's turning away from food, usually he is sooo greedy.
But I have managed to get him to drink a bit more water which is good.
 
Well I have just been out to check on my piggies. Yorkie is still unwell. I managed to hand feed him a slice of cucumber, but that was all he wanted. (He usually eats loads and is the first one out for food on a morning). I also managed to get him to drink quite a bit of water, i just put the bottle to his mouth when he was in my arms and he was drinking a fair amount. However, when i put him back in their house he did that thing with his back and did a squeak which sounded like he was in pain. I have decided that they are off to the vets... only thing is i just hope they know what they're doing, as my previous vets didn't really have a clue.
P.S. Dave loved it as he got to eat all the fresh veg before his usual greedy brother got there.
Hope Yorkie is OK. wish me luck! xx
 
Good luck

I think you're doing the right thing. Guineas hide their illnesses very well so he's probably been poorly for a little while and if it's presenting itself now, then an urgent vet visit is advised.

I hope the vets can give you an insight into what might be wrong. I'm keeping everything crossed for Yorkie x
 
Hi Amy,

I have three guinea pigs, my youngest Tallulah did the exact same thing about a month ago.

I was holding her and she kept stretching out her back legs and sort of curling her back round and then hunching up again. I was very worried and could not take her to the vets as it was easter sunday. It looked like she was constipated as she hadn't pooed, I stayed up with her all night and kept trying to get her to eat.

She eventually did poo and in the morning was fully recovered.

Hope your piggy gets better soon.

Keep us posted.
 
Hi Amy,

It's a concern that he has lost his appetite, something is obviously amiss. Pain can be a problem and will put a piggie off their food, it sounds like this could be the case.

First thing that comes to mind is that I would have the vet check her bladder for signs of cystitis/infection or stones, and have her abdomen checked for signs of bloat, which may cause painful gastrointestinal spasms. Could she have eaten something she shouldn't have?
 
Update after a visit to the vets.

Thanks for all your comments. I had to go to work today so Yorkie went to the vets at 5.30. Unfortunately, wasn't fabulous news. The vet couldn't see, hear or feel anything wrong with him and has said he has lost weight. He then got straight to the point and said that basically it is most likely downhill from here. 8...
Poor Yorkie. 8...8... Well anyway, he said i can have xray, blood tests, urine tests all the usual if i want, but he said it wont change the outcome as there is very little they can do for piggies. They have however, given me some antibiotics for him to take for a week, and then have him go back next week... to rule out infection i suppose.
I am not going to put him through injections and operations etc and being away from his brother... I will do the best I can for him. I am going to buy some baby food (the nurse vet recommended) and syringe feed him tomorrow. I managed to get him to eat a slice of cucumber again tonight and he had a little nibble at some grass. However, he's still doing that thing with his back and making a real squeaking noise that sounds painful.

On a good note, the vet checked Dave out and said he's in great health. But if anything happened to Yorkie I know Dave would die of a broken heart. They were squeeling for each other just being 1 foot apart in the vets, nevermind if he had to live without him.

Fingers crossed.

Thank you guinea wiggies... I am going to separate them tomorrow and see if he is pooing or not.

Thanks everyone. Yorkie is only 2... lets hope he has a few more years left in him. :)
 
Fingers crossed that the antibiotics give him a bit of relief and get him on the road to recovery. Good luck with the syringe feeding. Big hugs for both of you. x
 
I am so sorry about your ordeal! I just don't think that your vet has a clue what is wrong with your boy.

Could you try and have him referred to an exotics vet/specialist?
 
Sorry to hear this. Syringing baby food is a good start but I would also recommend that you syringe some pellets into him to give him the necessary fibre to keep his gut going. Many poorly piggies actually die because their gut shuts down rather than from the illness itself.

Soften pellets by pouring a little boiling water on some in a small dish. Mash them and then put them into a syringe. As a guide, most piggies will need 120mls per day to keep going at regular feeds.

I hope he pulls through.
 
Sorry to hear your pig is unwell. It sounds like a second opinion is needed from a vet. It sounds like the sort of motion or noise they make if straining to pee or poop due to infection. If so your pig will be in considerable discomfort and will likely need pain relief as well as antibiotics. What dose did your vet give?

An appetite stimulant might help. Metatone tonic (for humans) is also good for perking up guineas.

Please get a second opinion if you can, or ask the advice of a rodentologist. All may not be lost!

Sophie
x
 
threelittlepigs said:
Sorry to hear this. Syringing baby food is a good start but I would also recommend that you syringe some pellets into him to give him the necessary fibre to keep his gut going. Many poorly piggies actually die because their gut shuts down rather than from the illness itself.

Soften pellets by pouring a little boiling water on some in a small dish. Mash them and then put them into a syringe. As a guide, most piggies will need 120mls per day to keep going at regular feeds.

I hope he pulls through.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I will try this also. x
 
sophiew said:
Sorry to hear your pig is unwell. It sounds like a second opinion is needed from a vet. It sounds like the sort of motion or noise they make if straining to pee or poop due to infection. If so your pig will be in considerable discomfort and will likely need pain relief as well as antibiotics. What dose did your vet give?

An appetite stimulant might help. Metatone tonic (for humans) is also good for perking up guineas.

Please get a second opinion if you can, or ask the advice of a rodentologist. All may not be lost!

Sophie
x
Click to expand...

Hi. I was given 3 days of 0.16ml of Baytril
Where can I get metatone tonic from?
Thank you for your help x
 
How is he today? You can get Metatone from Boots or sometimes Tesco. I give 0.5ml twice a day. Probiotics you can buy Biolapis or Avipro online at sph supplies or Pets at Home sell one in store. 3 days doesn't seem long on baytril. Whereabouts are you? Perhaps someone might know someone in your are

Sophie
 
I am worried that 3 days of Baytril wont sort anything out. If it's an infection of some kind shouldn't it be 5 days at least?

You can buy a probiotic from pets at home that goes in the water - it's not ideal but it might be the only thing you can get today. It's about a fiver. There is a much better one you can buy online that you syringe them over a short period of time.

I agree I hope you find a better vet. Your one does sound useless.

Good luck honey - get syringing that food down him.

xx
 
sophiew said:
How is he today? You can get Metatone from Boots or sometimes Tesco. I give 0.5ml twice a day. Probiotics you can buy Biolapis or Avipro online at sph supplies or Pets at Home sell one in store. 3 days doesn't seem long on baytril. Whereabouts are you? Perhaps someone might know someone in your are

Sophie
Click to expand...

I give them the vitamin C from Vetark or something which they have in their water. I'm assuming this is a probiotic? I am in the Leeds area. How long do they usually give piggies on Baytril? Longer than 3 days I'm assuming?

He is looking a bit perkier, he has managed to eat 2 slices of cucumber and i have managed to syringe feed him, not much, baby food. I also bought some supreme recovery feed which he actually went crazy for the smell of. I dipped his cucumber in it and he loved that which was good. He hasnt eaten any pellets nor any other veg. He is refusing his favourite: parsley. He just isnt himself.

Dave was licking the baby food off of yorkie's mouth, so i thought oh ill give some to him and he absolutely loved the baby food!

Oh well, fingers crossed. Although I have never seen him so down and he just doesnt move or anything.
Not nice.

Thanks everyone for your help.
xx
 
I have had to syringe feed my guinea pig bramble a few times, i'm doing it now because he is struggling to recover from being neutered. hes on baytril too, he's lost weight and is very quiet and not interested in his food. I find that fibreplex, available from the vets and is made for rabbits but is fine for guinea pigs helps the digestive sytem to cope with the antibiotic and science recovery is brilliant at keeping him going while he's off his food. I give him a full packet every day, he normally weighs 1400g and is 1220g at the moment.His weight was down to 1200g before starting syringe feeding him. It's also important to keep him indoors when he's ill to maintain a constant temperature. Doing all this has pulled him through a chest infection and gastric stasis last summer and losing his front teeth a couple of months ago. Hopefully it's going to work again for him this time so he can be paired up with his new girlfriend. I hope your pig pulls through, from what I've read in books etc and on the internet it sounds like the symptoms of a water problem, I read that they usually lift up their back ends to urinate and can squeak because it hurts. If it was one of mine i would be looking for a second opinion from another vet. Keep up what you're doing, it's amazing what tlc can do. :)
 
Hi, I've only just seen this thread but thought I might share a couple of tips that others have given me when I've had ill piggies.

Firstly, I was told to soak some hay in water overnight and then strain it off so that the piggie drinks some fibre in with the water you are syringing (its called hay water apparently!). Secondly, to soak some pellets in water and syringe these aswell for food.

I'm sorry that your piggie isn't well. I think that we feel quite useless as they seem to go downhill so quickly.

Keep up the good work and I'm sure that you'll see some improvement.

take care, Leigh
 
Update on Yorkie

Well, I got in from work to find him still not moving much, and not very happy. I phoned the vets and asked if they could leave me some painkillers out for him, and they said he's need an injection, so off we went to the vets again and they gave him 2 lots of pain relief. (I was worried he was in pain and wanted to make sure he's not). Poor thing, he squeeled out really loud.

I only managed to give him a small amount of baby food yesterday, about 1ml! but today hes had about 25ml of baby food mixed with the science recovery. He's also drinking water frequently. I'm hoping that the increase in food will help him. He weights a little over 1kg, which is worrying considering last time we visited the vet he was classed as overweight! Hopefully his extra fattiness has helped him!
I'm so worried though. My mum thinks i should take him to get put down tomorrow, she says he's dying.
What would you guys do? I got up at 5.30 this morning and sat and fed him with a syringe for 1 hour before work, and again ive done this tonight after the vets. I am happy to do this for as long as he needs me to.

He currently lives outside, do you think it would be better to bring him inside? I dont really have anywhere to put them inside where it wouldnt get too warm, only place is the conservatory and with this heat it would be hotter than outside.

I may have to buy some more science recovery then if you were giving 1 sachet a day, hes had half a sachet in 2 days, but he didnt eat much yesterday.

Dave loves the science recovery (he wanted a nibble) and he loves the baby food. I also bought them some very expensive pellets, and yet again, dave loved it. I bet he thinks all his christmases have come at once!

I hope he recovers from this guys, i really am hoping. I am so upset about all this, hes only 2. Fingers crossed and ill keep praying!

xx
 
This is so hard and I know what you're going through. I had my own boar put to sleep last Friday.

It seems to me in all honesty that you need to get a second opinion as your current vet cannot give you a diagnosis and although posters on this forum can give opinions none of us can examine your pet. Would you take him to the exotics vet that I suggested? I would imagine that he is very good as a chinchilla rescue uses him.

You are doing the right thing to keep him going by feeding baby food and science selective. If you can't get hold of more science selective then try him on softened pellets. The important thing is to try and keep his weight on and take it day by day. If it was me, I would have to get a second diagnosis, but if he doesn't improve then you will need to rethink.

Concerning where he lives, can you put him in a cardboard box or pet carrier somewhere safe and cool in your house? It doesn't have to be a big cage, but you should line it with newspaper, a towel or fleece so that you can check that he's pooping and weeing. It does need to be somewhere cool, though. Do you think he would miss his cagemate?

Hope this post has helped and please keep us updated.
 
threelittlepigs said:
This is so hard and I know what you're going through. I had my own boar put to sleep last Friday.

It seems to me in all honesty that you need to get a second opinion as your current vet cannot give you a diagnosis and although posters on this forum can give opinions none of us can examine your pet. Would you take him to the exotics vet that I suggested? I would imagine that he is very good as a chinchilla rescue uses him.

You are doing the right thing to keep him going by feeding baby food and science selective. If you can't get hold of more science selective then try him on softened pellets. The important thing is to try and keep his weight on and take it day by day. If it was me, I would have to get a second diagnosis, but if he doesn't improve then you will need to rethink.

Concerning where he lives, can you put him in a cardboard box or pet carrier somewhere safe and cool in your house? It doesn't have to be a big cage, but you should line it with newspaper, a towel or fleece so that you can check that he's pooping and weeing. It does need to be somewhere cool, though. Do you think he would miss his cagemate?

Hope this post has helped and please keep us updated.
Click to expand...

Yes I'm thinking a second opinion maybe in order. I was up at 6.30 today because i couldnt sleep, was thinking about making sure he had something to eat, we sat in the garden for 2 hours and i managed to get him to eat 10ml of baby food mixed with science recovery food. I will get him to have some more at lunchtime and then some tonight. He looks a bit perkier today, maybe from the pain relief, maybe the increased food, or maybe hes just tricking me :(
Their hutch outside is in like a purpose built hutch around that, which keeps all sunlight out during the day, then i cover them over with curtains on a night to keep them warm. do you think it would still be best bringing indoors? yes he would miss his friend very much. When i am feeding yorkie, dave is trying to escape, and he paces up and down the hutch looking for yorkie. They really cannot be apart! Soul mates! x)

I hope he comes round from this. I would miss him so muc 8...

xx
 
If you have space I would bring him and his friend indoors so you can keep a closer eye on him. You're doing a great job with the syringe feeding, but I agree with Pollie - a second opinion from a guinea savvy vet would be good, so you can get to the bottom of the problem

Sophie
x
 
Update on Yorkie

It's not great news. I have weighed Yorkie this morning, he weighs 962g 8...
Dave weighs 1169 and Yorkie used to be loads bigger than Dave.
Also, Yorkie was 1002g on Wednesday, thats a loss of 40g in 4 days. I am soo soo worried.
I was thinking I could pull him through this, but now i am beginning to think he's dying.
I dont know what else to do. I am trying to feed him as much as possible, we have just had a feed now, but he hates it, hes trying to make a run for it when hes on my knee all the time.

The weight loss has really worried me... I am going to buy some metatone today. Also, i think the vet said 3 days of the Baytril but there is enough in the container to keep going with it, so i am doing.

I really dont think hes going to pull through this. I'm back at work tomorrow, and i can feed him on a morning, and when i get home ( about 6 ) and then before bed, but this worries me. I'm worried its not enough when yesterday and today he will be getting fed continuously, and monitored throughout the day. Whereas when I'm at work i cannot do this.

Guys I'm honestly thinking hes going to die. I'm so upset. 8...8...8...
 
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