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Poorly Boy

  • Thread starter Thread starter Andrewpeel
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Andrewpeel

Hi All, I have a poorly guinea boy. I took him to the Vets on Friday as he as lost lots of weight and not his usual self. The vets said that they thought he was on his last legs and thought putting him to sleep was a possibilty. I didnt want him to be in pain but didnt want to give up on him either. The vet gave me some recovery food to feed him by syringe and another for water and gave him a pain killer injection, they asked me to bring him back in the next day. I fed him hourly and all through the night. The next day came round and the vet could believe how much better he was, he gave me more recovery food and painkillers for him and advised me to cut back on the recovery food. The vet thought he might have scurvy and to try and get more vitamin c in his diet. He is now doing ok i am not feeding him with the syringe quite as much but he is eating little and not moving much. He is pooing and weeing but just not his usual self i am worried that he is relying on the syringe feed and this is what is keeping him alive. I am also weighing him twice a day and his weight is not increasing, he weighs 1.8 lbs. I have got as much veg with with high vitamin c as possible and trying to feed him that too. I am getting more worried that he is not eating independantly. two months ago i lost a guinea girl in similiar circumstances but i also have 3 other very health guineas. If he does not get any better i will take back to the vets. Does anyone have any tips to help? i am scouring the net looking for things to help, please reply with any suggestions. Thanks.
 
How old is the pig?
Does he want to eat or is he unable to eat?
 
He is about 2 years old. He loves to eat from the syringe. He has eaten some veg but just seems to nibble then get bored.
 
Hi. Sorry your piggie is so poorly.

There are lots of people on here who know more about GP health issues than me - and i'm sure they will reply to you asap.

All i wanted to say is that 2 is not old - i assumed you were talking about a 5 or 6 year old piggie! I would not be happy if my vet told me my 2 years old was "on his last legs". It looks like you are fighting for this piggie and i just wanted to send my encouragement to you.

Keep fighting little boy
Rach
 
A bit of a shot in the dark - but could it be a teeth/mouth problem ?

If he is eating well from syringe maybe he is hungry but can't eat solid food? Maybe when he nibbles the veg he isn't getting bored - perhaps it just hurts him too much so he gives up?

In my experience it only takes a couple of days of not eating properly for a piggie to go from perfectly healthy to being on deaths door. If he perked up that much when you started feeding him with recovery food, maybe he is so poorly cos he hadn't been eating ?

Just a thought
Rach
 
As alecesterpigs said - is he trying to eat and then putting it down? Are you sure he's "getting bored" of food or finding it difficult to chew? Does he pick up the same bit of veg several times in sequence? He could be having teeth problems in which case his molars will need examining. This seems likely if he is willingly eating from the syringe.

Don't stop the syringe feeding - keep this up until the problem is sorted and he is back to himself. If you can get him to take larger feeds he may not need hourly feeding. You should check out furryfriends thread on Pops - a pig she hand fed for a very, very long time. It is no bad thing if a pig is relying on your handfeeding - it could be that it is just too uncomfortable for him to eat solids.

This link should help with the hand feeding http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html (it is also worth an explore as for other possible causes)

Good luck! And well soon to your boy.
 
Thanks for your reply the vet checked his teeth and said they are fine, i do question how much they know as they dont always seem as interested in the smaller animals! Just been feeding him now i came of hourly feeds a while ago. he seems to have discomfort on his tummy.
 
Thanks for your reply and support. The vet checked his teeth and said they were ok. He has just had a good feed before bed. Thanks again.
 
Just one final thing you may want to consider. A severe throat infection can present indetical symptoms as dental and require strong antiobiotics,. It may be that your vet checked his throat at the time but please consider this. Particularly if he is tryihng to eat. Good luck
 
Well he did it more than once, from what i can remember he opened his mouth and looked at the length of them. He may of done more but i was comforting Dylan. He is eating from the spoon today, he has had a nibble at some fresh greens and i have put some veg in with his rescue mix he is chewing fine. I think if he is in pain anywhere its his abdomen. Oh and good news over his weight slighly increased yesterday! Thanks.
 
It sounds like he didn't check the back teeth then - those are most commonly the problem teeth. The incisors tend to go wrong when the back ones have been overgrowing for a while, so - in a sense - in some cases an incisor problem is a symptom as opposed to the initial problem. The upper molars may be curving out and cutting into his cheek, or the lowers may be arching over his tongue preventing him from chewing any food down. Molars are easily treatable with the right tools - and no anesthetic is necessary.

As has been mentioned, an oral infection can also be the cause. Daktarin Oral Gel (available from chemists, don't say it is for animal use!) is a good medicine for this, the dose is 0.5ml three times a day, and reduced to twice a day after a week, then once a day for the last week. The Daktarin will soothe any sores/ulcers/discomfort caused by overgrown teeth also.

Pain in the abdomen is a concern. Is his abdomen distended/swollen at all? Tender to touch? Does his tummy feel soft and squishy, or tight and springy? Especially with his eating troubles, bloat is a possibility. I suggest this loosely, but it is something to consider. Whether the "bloat" is caused by not eating, or the not eating is caused by the "bloat", would be hard to tell.

I recommend giving the Cambridge Cavy Trust a call (ring Vedra on 07721 026401) and asking if there is a rodentologist or experienced vet near you. Your piggie needs an experienced hand and mind to figure out his exact troubles.
 
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The vet did use some sort of instrument to look in his mouth, could this be him checking the teeth? Today he has been grazing had plenty of grass and some fresh veg and of course the critical feed. If this was his teeth would he still be able to eat like he has been doing today? the vet said he belly was taught and needs to be more lose, which it is losening up slowly. I think the taughnest was probably caused my the intial 'bloat'. Generally he is picking up. Thanks.
 
An otoscope could have been the instrument used to check the teeth if he didn't wrap him up firmly to check. Buccal pad separators can only be used with the pig wrapped up well and laid on their back, I imagine it is easier to pop an otoscope in and peer at the mouth. It's not as thorough a job and work can't be done while using the otoscope, so buccal pad separators are the tool that provide the best chance to examine and treat dental problems.

If he is eating well on his own, his teeth will probably not be the "actual" problem. Since the vet also mentioned the tightness of his tummy, I too would be inclined to believe the bloat was the problem which led to him going off his food. Did the vet give anything to treat the bloat? A gut-motility drug (Metaclopromide) or a specific bloat medication (Bloat Guard, Birp - or even an over-the- counter human medication such as Gripe Water or Infacol) could have helped speed his recovery up.
 
No the only thing he gave me was some pain killers called metacam i think it is an anti inflamatery too. he does appear to be improving more but i am still keeping up with critical care food now with mashed veg in it. Although he does seem to be getting better i have just noticed whilst picking him up he did have a runny nose, he has not had this before. Thanks.
 
Just checked on the net for how dangerous a runny nose is and got him booked in at the vets in 20 mins! the same time i start work. Looks like he is coming with me. Thanks all for your support and comments. Fingers crossed for dylan. x
 
I wonder how many vets know what normal teeth look like in a guinea pig?
It is interesting to note how many people wrap the pig in a towel, I only do that on very rare occasions. I find that an otoscope is useful but more can be learnt by probing the teeth.
 
I am back from the vets the double checked his teeth, the gased him to do so and whilst he was asleep the vet asked me if i wanted an x ray as his teeth were fine. I said yes, the x ray showed that he had calcium lumps on his back that i thought was bone and this why his body was so rigid. Even the lining of his stomach was white with calcium his body was not even that floppy even when he was asleep with the gas. From my training to be a nurse i can understand what affect this was having. The vet said he had never seen this before and said he would always be in pain he said he could investigate more by taking blood but this would be risky as he was so slim.

I have felt for the last few days that i was bearly keeping him alive and it was cruel. Not taking the decision lightly i have agreed to put him to sleep as he would never have had a good quality of life. I thank all of you on here for the support and advice over the last few days. I also know that some of you will have your own thoeries etc, please bear in mind that i have had to make an hard decision and i am very upset and dont think any of your theories are going to help me or Dylan, So please keep them to yourself. Thank you all again for your kindness and support. xx
 
I'm so very sorry you lost him. It is never an easy decision to make. Rest well, dear Dylan. xx
 
What are and where exactly are "calcium lumps"?
How old was the pig?
 
Thanks rach, i am pleased he is not in pain. I feel sorry for his little brother. The vet was very good showed me the x ray. It was one of the hardest decisions i have had to make. x
 
What exactly will you achieve though? and please feel free to ask questions but not in tackless manor! I have just lost a guinea pig and more importantly a guinea pig as had to be put to sleep.
 
Just caught up with this thread. So sorry for your loss, what a horrid decision for you to have to make. (Hugs) x
 
I'm so sorry to hear about Dylan Its always particularly difficult when you are faced with the decision of putting him to sleep. Any decision made by a pet owner to end the suffering of their animals can never be wrong, It just shows that you did not want your little one to suffer unneccessarily. Little Dylan will now be running free at Rainbow Bridge and try to take comfort from the fact that you did all you could for your little man. Sending hugs to you from my piggies....
 
I'm so sorry Andrew, I've never had to face this but with my numbers one day it will come. I dread it and can't imagine the loss you are going through. Will keep you and Dylan in my thoughts I certainly wouldn't judge you for doing what you can for your pig and I do feel you tried your best.

Take care

Louise
 
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