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Please help! Really need advice!

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emmyk89 said:
Why don't they prescribe it in the first place aswell? He hasn't squeaked while weeing for a ** day now .

My vet isnt open weekends?
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If you call the surgery's number, there is usually an automated message of the nearest out of hours practise.
Remember we have Bank Holidays as well so nothing is 'normal' until Wednesday...
Vets don't always prescribe stuff - many don't advise to give a probiotic if your piggy needs antibiotics as they can suffer upset tummies/diarrhoea as a side effect which can result in a very poorly and dehydrated piggy :...
 
Thanks guys. So is a probiotic painkillers?

If that's the case with the diarrhea then isnt it not a good idea to give him them?

I'm a newbie at having poorly animals x
 
emmyk89 said:
Thanks guys. So is a probiotic painkillers?

If that's the case with the diarrhea then isnt it not a good idea to give him them?

I'm a newbie at having poorly animals x
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No, Metacam is the painkiller, probiotics maintain the balance of the gut flora as antibiotics upset it as they kill the good bacteria as well as the bad hence causing upset tums.
Usually in a powder or paste form, I use Fibreplex:

[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Protexin-Fibreplex-Rabbits-Small-Rodents/dp/B0039ZBWDC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338671652&sr=8-1"]Protexin Fibreplex for Rabbits & Small Rodents 15ml: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home[/ame]

Most vets stock this and I always keep a tube in for emergencies just in case any one of my piggies get soft poos and it works very quickly :))
Dealing with poorlies is always a worry but experience has only taught me how to handle things along with info from members on here :)
 
I also don't/can't drive and none of my family or neighbors do either (ive always asked why my parents never learnt to drive! I haven't had the money to learn but I will doing when I start my new job soon :))
 
They have 2 surgeries one a ten minute walk, and a second which is where they do surgeries and ops/scans etc and that's 25 minutes in a taxi which will cost way.more then I have available at the moment :(
 
If at any time he stops weeing or wees less, a stone could be blocking his urinary tract & he must be got to a vet quickly if he is to survive.

I would be very concerned if he is weeing blood, have you given him any red veg/fruit apart from the juice? Stop any red peppers, tomatoes or carrots/beetroot for the time being so you can be certain it isn't colouring from a food source. This page on kidneys/stones is useful:

http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/kidneys.htm

If he continues to squeek & the blood continues I would get him to an out of hours vet for pain relief & an x-ray so you can find out if it is a stone & whereabouts it is.
 
Sorry I'm just a bit confused about probiotics, antibiotics and painkillers lol

Did you say antibiotics case upset tummies? I can't understand why the vet didnt prescribe painkillers aswell...? I told him that barney is in obv pain. Confused!
 
Depends how piggy 'savvy' your vet is.
Piggies are classed as exotic pets and most vets only have the basic training in their illnesses so may not prescribe things.
My vet is very savvy and offered us all of the meds. required for Harley but we took one of our girls to another vet in an emergency closer to our home and she gave her just antibiotics.
I never asked for probiotics because I was aware from the forum members it is advisable to give and have it in stock - I was surprised the vet didn't mention it but as I said, some don't :(
 
Antibiotics: medicines to kill off bacteria; piggies have antibiotics like Septrin, Baytril etc

Probiotics: A culture that re-balances gut flora, or good bacteria in the intestines/tummy, humans use Yakult yoghurt drinks, piggies need probiotics like Fibreplex or Pro C :
http://www.petsathome.com/shop/proc-probiotic-100gm-by-vetark-15796

Analgesics/Pain relief : usually Metacam is prescribed for piggies, humans have paracetamol or ibuprofen.

However if you are desperate & have children's Calpol available you can give 0.2ml twice a day until you can get Metacam. It is not a substitute for Metacam though, but it would give him some relief for the time being. 0.2ml is using a 1ml syringe, it is like this:

http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

Don't cut the end off, that one in the picture is used to syringe food to them.

Just to add you can give him "Poop soup" mush a few fresh poops from your other healthy piggy & mix with a little water & spoon feed it to him or offer him their fresh poos whole. That will do until you can get any probiotic.

Is there no-one who could take you to the vet? I am assuming your parents know he is ill, just wondering what would happen if he deteriorates :(
 
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I would have him seen as soon as possible he will benefit from Pain Killer's at least if at any point he stops urinating, hunches up and stops eating then it's possible he may have a blockage at this point emergency intervention will be the only way to save him.

I just noticed he has diarrhea - http://www.guinealynx.info/diarrhea.html
 
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Thats true. how do you find a vet that is piggy savvy without trying them...? Theyve been our vets for years now.

argh I'm confused! Is that pearl barley stuff classed as a probiotic then for them? Should I give him some of that or not?

I have only given him cranberry juice in his water, and he is given carrots every day anyway, and had some earlier. Seemed to only be this colour after giving him the cranberry juice though?

Ive just had him sat on me for a while on his towel, he did wee a fair bit - it was normal colour! (?) He pooed one pellet aswell, and that had red in it just on the outside, with like 2 little holes on the outside of the pellet too. He did a squeek and did the back arching thing again.
 
emmyk89 said:
Thats true. how do you find a vet that is piggy savvy without trying them...? Theyve been our vets for years now.

argh I'm confused! Is that pearl barley stuff classed as a probiotic then for them? Should I give him some of that or not?

I have only given him cranberry juice in his water, and he is given carrots every day anyway, and had some earlier. Seemed to only be this colour after giving him the cranberry juice though?

Ive just had him sat on me for a while on his towel, he did wee a fair bit - it was normal colour! (?) He pooed one pellet aswell, and that had red in it just on the outside, with like 2 little holes on the outside of the pellet too. He did a squeek and did the back arching thing again.
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No pearl barley water that you make up produces a thick liquid that helps coat the lining of the bladder & so soothes it. You can boil up some pearl barley from the supermarket with some water it tells you on the packet how to do it.

A probiotic helps replace the good bacteria that is present in the gut of all animals, even humans. Antibiotics for illnesses such as cystitis, kills off lots of bacteria that cause the illness but also the good bacteria we have in our guts to help digestion, which is why a probiotic helps a piggy get back to normal again. As I said, you can use the fresh poops that your other piggies do for the time being, my piggy even used to chase the others around to eat theirs when she was on antibiotics.
 
No there isnt anybody at this moment. I'm 23 and live at home with my parents and sister and neither of my parens drive. My sister has a lisence but doesnt have a car, my grandad did drive but ni longer does, my neighbor is disabled and him nor his family drive either. My cousin does but i think she is out tonight too. Thats the thing though the vet i use is the nearest to me, its open every afternoon and morning, but its just their main bigger surgery is miles away in the middle of nowhere, near famland because they do horses too.

I dont have any calpol either :( at the moment I'm just trying to make him as comfortable as possible, think its all i can do atm. He's eating fine and isnt bloated.

Thanks for all your imput x
 
Hey guys! He's ok today.

Eating, drinking and springing about normally. Had him on the towel for the past half hour in a big box with me and hes weed and pooed. His wee and his poos have been a normal colour. He still arches his back tho when he does.

Cheers for your help :)

Emma
 
Update!!

Hey guys.

The medication I got didn't fo anything for him, he was still the same. So i took him back today, and they took him to their other surgery for a scan.... Which showed nothing.

They said they would take a blood sample, vut they coupdnt because they couldn't get the needle into any of his veins because he has very thick skin. This is what she said on the phone.

I was out, so ny mum went and picked him up when out near surgery opened and they had new info. They said that they had a look atg his backside and willy area and said there was a lot of muck inside so they've cleaned it out and he should be fine now and give me metacam.

So AFTER putting him through 2 injections last week, antibiotics for a week, further attempts at injections today, shaving his belly and scanning him they check if a blockage or problem on the outside is the problem? That's the first thing I suspected! I tried to look, but i dont know to get umm.. his Willy to come out of the skin in that area. I have read a few times that you press just above it but I have tried and didn't want to push any further in case i hirt him! Does ANYONE please have advice for me so I can check this regularly? I bet he was in loads of pain! Or even a video tutorial on how to do this?

Why did the vet check this LAST instead of FIRST? Do they usually suspect the worst first?

I feel mean on him. I tried to check his areas but i dont know how!

Thanks for your advice guys x
 
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Again, all depends on the vet. My vet has always given our piggies a real good 'examination' in the genital regions so was obviously checking for any problems.
Hope this may be of some help to you:

http://www.guinealynx.info/impaction.html#privates

Don't feel upset that this was missed, your boy is ok now and that is all that really matters. Now you have tried the other surgery, possibly use that one in future as they do sound more experienced with little ones :))
 
Thanks for your reply. They are the same surgery, exept they have a main one a few miles away which is where they perform surgeries and things, the smaller one is just a consultation type practise.

She didn't say it was inpaction because he's pooing fine. She said it was around his pens area, that there was a lot of stuff in there, not poo, but just, well i guess a similar thing to when a human male doesnt wash haha

them xx
 
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