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Poorly Boy With Odd Symptoms

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Piggly

Adult Guinea Pig
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Hi folks!

Having a bit of a worry with my boy Eddie. He is 4.5 and showing an odd set of symptoms I can't connect. I'll be ringing the vet tomorrow to hopefully book him in tomorrow afternoon or on saturday. In the meantime though it would be great if anyone has a clue about what might be the cause of his problems.

Hes been going out in the run recently for whole afternoons. When I put him back indoors in his cage, for his entire life his reaction has been very happy - hes always loved his cage and is very happy to be put in it, pulling at your clothes until he is put back. However the past three times he has been out in the run and I put him back in his cage he has a huge freakout. I've never known Eddie to act that way, he isn't that type of pig. But now he appears very frightened when I put him back, runs round the cage freaking out and leapt twice the height of his shelf to land on it. He is more attention seeking than ever as well!

He is showing a couple of other things as well - small poops and not too many of them, he seems to not be eating his hay and nuggets much (but I orginally attributed that to eating a lot of grass). I also just had to take a poop out his bum for him, but beyond that there is no blockage. His cagemate before he died suffered a fair bit with impaction, but with Eddie there seems to be little sign of that. He doesn't like to touched near his bum at the moment, constantly complaining to me about it!

There is some weight loss too, he currently weighs 0.926kg, but this isn't particulary unusual. He does feel bony though.

Any ideas? Is the problem physical, and he is getting so irritated with it that it causes the behavoural problems? I have no idea.
 
Does he seem bloated at all? If you tap his sides do they sound hollow?
 
How about his hair? I think the bum can be a common site for mites or even fungal. Can you see any hairs that are broken half way down the shaft?
 
helen105281 said:
How about his hair? I think the bum can be a common site for mites or even fungal. Can you see any hairs that are broken half way down the shaft?
Click to expand...

Just had another look over him. There are a few broken hairs around his grease patch, and that seems to be the bit of concern. The grease patch is browny looking (he has pink skin) and lumpy. That's the bit where he grumbles quietly and moves around if I touch it.
 
It could be a skin condition then maybe, and he is in pain. Definitely needs a vet visit. When was his grease gland cleaned? was it sensitive then?
 
He hasn't had a bath since his cagemate died. Reggie had long hair so he had monthly baths, and eddie got a bath with him so they could put their feet up on each other! He hasn't had one by himself though as he is short haired, so it hasn't been cleaned recently at all.
 
It may be that his grease gland is uncomfortable then if it hasn't been cleaned. How long roughly do you think? It is important to clean grease glands regularly with washing up liquid or Swarfega though some boars need it cleaning less often than others.
 
Sounds like it could be the case - I hope thats all it is! Do you think this could contribute to his bizarre behavioral change? I didn't know his grease gland needed regular cleaning, poor boy! At least now I can change this.
 
It could do if he is in pain but I wouldn't rule out a skin condition yet especially as some hairs are shorter, this could indicate mange mites and he would need to see a vet for treatment, ideally Ivermectin injections (a course of 3 around 10 days apart).

Ask the vet for some pain relief too.
 
Quick update on eddie: he has gone downhill today, not a happy piggy! No energy at all, not eating his food or his soft poops, weight dipped below 0.9kg. He has a vet appointment at 4.30pm today so we will see what the problem is. He is biting and itching himself silly as well, so I strongly suspect a skin condition now. I hope very much it it isnt mange mites. Poor boy! I feel bad for him :(
 
Piggly said:
Quick update on eddie: he has gone downhill today, not a happy piggy! No energy at all, not eating his food or his soft poops, weight dipped below 0.9kg. He has a vet appointment at 4.30pm today so we will see what the problem is. He is biting and itching himself silly as well, so I strongly suspect a skin condition now. I hope very much it it isnt mange mites. Poor boy! I feel bad for him :(
Click to expand...
Oh poor baby. Good luck at the vets.
 
Thankyou all - he has been to his vet appointment. I'm not happy with the outcome at all, however. They are a guinea pig savvy vet, I booked there especially as they were recommended to me by Suzy at GGPR. They didn't tell me that their exotics specialist wasn't in though! So he saw a nice guy who was well meaning but I felt I knew far more about what might be wrong about my guinea pig than he did.

Eddie came away without a diagnosis, having had two injections (one apparently for pain killer, the other to get his guts moving again). I was given some medicine for Eddie to have by mouth called "Emeprid" which he says does the same thing as the injections. I asked about the possiblity of skin problems, he said maybe but did not test for anything. I suggested should I use the over the counter standard mite treatment I have? He said that might help.

Two hours later Eddie seems a little brighter, has had a bit of broccoli stalk but not touched his nuggets or hay. He's still pretty lethargic, doing little more than laying in one spot with eyes closing and a few yawns. Slightly more with it than earlier though.

Essentially I have something to vaguely combat some symptoms, but not the cause. I'm still worried he has mange mites or something just as bad making him ill, but I really have no idea! I'm afraid I might lose him over the weekend - his cagemate never even made his vet appointment earlier in the year. So worried. Any advice folks?
 
I can see why the vet gave you Emeprid as if he has not been eating that well then his guts would slow down. See if he improves tonight now he has had the pain relief. Did they give you any to give at home once the injection has worn off?

Do you know when the exotic vet is back in? If you are worried I think you need to see another vet.

As for over the counter mite treatment, if this is mange mites then an over the counter spot on will not be enough to combat it. Over the counter versions are only strong enough for preventative treatment. As a rule I tend not to use Spot on anyway and ask for injections or oral dosing.

If he is not eating though you will need to supplement with syringe feeding. Are you ok with doing that?

Would you be able to post a photo of his bum area?
 
Yes I have some to give him 3 times a day for 4 days, starting tomorrow morning.

She is back in Monday they said but shes fully booked. I have an appointment for wednesday morning but that seems too far ahead to be of much use.

I really don't know if it is mange mites, but that seems to account for the itchy flaky skin and being generally very poorly and off food? He leaves dandruff everywhere I put him. The vets table had some fur and dandruff on it when I put him back in the box.

I have never syringe fed before, but I was given a 2ml syringe with the medicine so I can give him some water and mushed up nuggets this way. I'm about to give this a try and shovel in as much as he will eat and drink!

He has been in this same spot all day curled up snoozing until I go over to the cage. He is very pale.


Poops half the size and not eating the soft ones, these are the ones hes done since he had the injections:


His grease spot - he grumbled and whinged the whole time I was faffing around with his back trying to get a clear photo:


Flaky:
 
Could you ask to be seen as an emergency?

Glad you have pain relief for the next few days.

Do you have any 1ml syringes? These are better for syringe feeding as the 2ml is too big for their mouth, You can cut the tip off which makes it easier, just make sure you smooth off any rough edges and that the black plunger does not go into their mouth. Message me if you need proper syringe feeding guidance though.

If he is flaky then it is possible that this could be fungal either instead of or aswell as mange mites. Does the hair come out easily if you tug it gently? Is he going at his skin?
 
I'll see if I can contact her tonight. Yes, at least he has pain relief, so whatever problem he has the suffering is lessened a bit.

I've just had a feeding session with him on my lap, made him a nugget soup (mmm, tasty.... not) and he went mad both for the syringe fed nuggety water and the soggy nuggets. I can't give him enough! So thats great :) The 2ml syringe seems to do the job well, it narrows at the end so is not too bad.

He is flaky, and I always get a few strands of hair pulling it gently. He has shed a lot on his lap blanket.
 
Spoke to the vet surgery out of hours line - they can't get hold of the exotics vet as he isn't available until next week. So I've spoken to the regular vet who is currently at the surgery and mentioned my concerns about it being a mite or fungal problem. As I've managed to get some food down Eddie and will give him more in a bit he isn't an emergency thankfully, so I have to go and see the vet again tomorrow morning. I'm not happy that I'll have to pay out again when the vet today should have listened to my concerns that there was a skin infection of some kind and tested for it to get a diagnosis. So I don't want to pay out the same £57 again. But, we will see.
 
Wow that was expensive. Glad they listened to you though. Hope all goes ok in the morning. I think the possibilities are either mange mites, fungal or even some kind of bacterial infection though it is difficult to tell over the internet.
 
He has now had a single dose 'spot-on' type of treatment by the vet. I've been recommended to use the over the counter Xeno stuff I have for all the other pigs in the house, so they will each have 3 doses over the next few weeks. Eddie has some 'Recovery' food stuff to take over 24 hours which he seems to like! Still little improvement for now aside from the fact I can get him to take a bit of food now and again.
 
He is eating more, but his behavoural problems are still apparent.

While he has been poorly he has been living on the shelf in his ferplast 120, refusing to come down. I cleaned out his bedding today and put fresh in, took his food and water away from the shelf again and put him on the bedding - however, he had a huge freakout again. He seems to be incredibly frightened of it! Its Finacard brand cardboard bedding, which he has been on for about 3 weeks without a problem so far, until about 4-5 days ago. This strange behaviour was the first thing I noticed wrong with him, then he went downhill to the point where he wasn't eating.

What in the world could the problem be with his behaviour? Why is he frightened of the bedding, smelling every inch of it and freaking out if anything touches him?If I put him on his shelf he refuses to come down. I was concerned about his eyesight before. Has he gone completely blind, and therefore unable to see, and worried about everything being in new places, as well as the relatively new smell of different bedding? Thats the only thing I can think of at all. Is it related to his being unwell?

Argh! :(
 
Sorry I cannot give you any advice. But only wish that the exotic vet can give you some advice and treatment when you are able to see him. It is a frustrating and upsetting situation for you.
 
Have you tried clicking your fingers round his face? If not try it and see if he reacts?

Glad you saw the vet again. spot on isn't ideal but it's something. Do you think you'll be able to see the exotic vet this week?

How is his feeding now? You may find you get less mess with a 1ml syringe.
 
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