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Poorly guinea pig

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VickyMidlands

VickyMidlands

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone,

I've only joined today - I think I have a poorly guinea pig.

I have two guinea pigs, they are around 2 years old called Rio and Rooney.

They play on the sofa some afternoons together. Rooney is sat with his head facing the corner of the sofa. He is squeaking. He is moving around a little bit but is going back to facing the corner and raising his bum up a little bit every now and then.

I am really worried and scared - is he unwell?

Thanks everyone.
 
Has he poo'd/pee'd recently? Could he be trying to pass urine or a movement and suffering at the same time?

He ideally needs to go to a vet asap as they go downhill very quickly
 
welcome to the forum sorry your piggie is feeling unwell. It could possibly be a urinary tract infection or bladder stones. However you need to get to a piggy savvy vet asap. There's a trusted vet sticky thread on here if you need recommendations x
 
He is moving around freely, i.e. running back and forwards along the sofa. However, the squeaks he is making are quite loud for him and he hasn't eaten very much of the food that I have put out for him.

He hasn't poo'ed very much from what I can see from where he is sitting.

Can they die of constipation?

I'll take him to the vet first thing tomorrow morning.
 
you need to get him eating really. Give lots of fresh hay and if you have pellets you can soften them using boiling water leave to cool and then syringe feed him. Does he seem to have poo stuck in his anal sack? If so he's impacted and will need it pushing out. It's horrible but will make him feel better. Give the poo to him to eat. If this isn't the case it seems that he may have a uri or stones. Unsweetened cranberry juice is something you could give to help. The vet Will probably prescribe antibiotics, make sure you ask for fibreplex which is a probiotic that will help his gut while taking the antibiotics. Also get the vet to give you some 1ml syringes as you may have to force feed him if he's not eating properly. Let us know how you get on x x
 
Sounds to me like he's in pain through something though and no one knows your piggies better than you. Hope it all goes well at the vets
 
He's definitely in pain. He's no longer sitting facing the corner but I don't think he has urinated for a while as it's dry where he's been sitting although he has pooed.

He will let me pick him up and cuddle him. I feel useless :(
 
Hey Vicky, welcome to the forum and sorry your piggy isn't well. Where in the Midlands are you as someone might know of the best piggy vet near to you.

If he's in pain it needds sorting out asap. If he can't pee or poo he can't get rid of toxins well so it could make him pretty ill.

Hope he gets better soon.
 
Please have him seen by a vet as soon as you can.

Many guinea pigs will stop eating when in pain. It can be anything from urinary tract infection, bladder/kidney stones to gut problems.

Please weigh your boy at least once daily while he is not eating and drinking properly (hence less poo). Try to handfeed him with mushed up pellets and water. It will be fight if he has no appetite, but the more food and fluid you get into him, little but as often as possible, the better his chances of a quicker recovery.

http://www.guinealynx.info/anorexia.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/uti.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/stones.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
 
I'm in Bearwood, Birmingham. There's a vet called Manor Vets at the end of my road...they treat guinea pigs there but I don't know how good they are.
 
VickyMidlands said:
He is moving around freely, i.e. running back and forwards along the sofa. However, the squeaks he is making are quite loud for him and he hasn't eaten very much of the food that I have put out for him.

He hasn't poo'ed very much from what I can see from where he is sitting.

Can they die of constipation?

I'll take him to the vet first thing tomorrow morning.
Click to expand...


It's great you're going to take him to the vet, that's the best thing you can do, seriously! And the kindest.

And please dont feel useless! Animals get sick, and they die, and it's not your fault. Your poor piggie may be sick, but it's not because you've done anything horrible to him, is it! You've given him all your love and kindness and care, and sometimes sickness just happens. It's never fair and it's allways unpredictable, but it's not your fault.


Good luck at the vet.
In the mean time, keep your pig warm and comfy, dont stress him out too much with excessive attention. Make sure that 'wet food' is accessible to him should he want it, ie cucumber and kale.
 
ive heard manor vets are very good with guinea pigs,

could you try syringe feeding him some mushed pellets around 20-30mls per sitting ? if they dont eat for 12 hrs the gut starts to shut down and they can die.

if you can sit him in a clean tub and feed him cucumber if he wont take that try syringe feeding some water, 1ml syringes are best, wait for him to wee and draw it up in a syringe and put it in the fridge and take it to the vets with you so they can test it!

mushing pellets...

measure an egg cup size amount of pellets.

pour boiling water on them to cover them...

wait 15mins...

pour some more water on...

wait 15 mins then mix with a fork...

wait for them to cool down....

and draw them up into a 1ml syringe....

put a towel on your knee.

hold the head with your hand from above.- so your hand will hold his head up from going over the top of his head.

put the syringe into the mouth just past the cheeks (inside) and push slowly the contents of the syringe into the mouth.

aim for around 20-30mls in 20mins.

after you have done this give around 10mls of water, this flushes the food away from the back of the mouth . DONT SQIRT THE WATER OUT FAST, as this will go into the lungs.

what the vet needs to do and to save you money/time and the guinea pig unessary pain in the long run.

is do an x-ray of his bladder which doesnt always need to be done under a GA IF nothing is showing on the xray ask for a contrast to be done where they inject die into the bladder and see if any blockages show up.

I suspect from the fact he isnt eating or that he is dry and not pooping much, that he has a bladder stone.

sometimes the stone blocks the urethra if this is the case he can not wee and this will kill him so if he doesnt wee he needs to see a vet asap.

but he really, really and i cant stress enough, needs to go the vets first thing in the morning because if it is a stone and not a UTI he will die if the urethra is blocked, and the pain is really really bad for them.

please come back on here and let us know how he is and what the vet has said.
its also worth asking the vet for Metoclopramide medicine which is a gut stimulant, as once a guinea pig has stopped eating its very hard to get the guts working again and they normally will not eat on their own again while they are so weak and end up getting weaker and die.

this is why syringe feeding is a must for any guinea pig not eating, and Metoclopramide helps t keep the gut moving and to also help to give them a appite.

he must have 120mls in 24 hrs syringe fed for him to maintain his weight and to help stop him dehydrating

its far eaisier to do the above with the vet because if they just give you antibiotics and in a few days he isnt any better he maybe to ill to with stand any xray or op, so its best now to find out if you are dealing with a stone or not so you can get straight to the point x
 
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Hi everyone,

He's had an X-Ray and it's a bladder stone. The receptionist was useless and advised me that the vet is trying to remove it and will operate if needed. I thought the operation was needed to remove it?!

How are anti biotics administered after the operation and how frequently?

I am so worried about him, the poor little thing.
 
oh blimey, hope hes ok hon. there are loads of posts on here about stones if you search for them.

Fingers and paws crossed here x
 
Manor Vets are very good, if you can, go to the Edgebaston branch, they have an exotic specialist there ask to see her in the future as they are brilliant.

I took my Bert there last year and they did everything possible to help him. I've since moved to Cannock but my new vet has already said that they refer to Manor Vets Edgebaston for any specialist cases or if they feel they're out of their depth (which was very honest for a vet!).

Try not to worry about your little on, they will do everything possible and you acted as quickly as possible.
 
Sending loads of wheeeeky healing loves from the girls and I XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It's always so hard waiting for the vets to call, we all know how you feel xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>
They will talk you thru what meds etc.. when you bring home Rooney
Gather your info and when you go in ask your questions :)
 
of course you are worried, we all would be, but he is in the best place love, and if you have any questions or are unsure of anything, ask the vet when you pick him up, you pay them enough money, make sure you come away confident.

x>>
 
He is at Manor Vets in Edgbaston - it's my local surgery (only a 5 minute walk from my house).

Can they remove it without operating?
 
The vet has just called - the stone was in his penis and had to be moved up into his bladder and then he has been opened up and it's been removed. Poor little thing. The vet said it went as well as it could do and he's just lifted his head up after the anaesthetic. Poor little thing - I'm going to spoil him rotten later with lots of cuddles :-)

They haven't told me how much it's cost yet - worth every penny though, whatever it's cost.

I've got to give him anti biotics twice a day. I'm away Friday afternoon - Sunday afternoon so my friend is going to have to come round and do it!
 
Glad he's sorted. It must have been pretty sore for the wee lad.

I'm sure he'll be all the better for coming home to see you!
 
He's home. I don't know who's more traumatised - him or me when I saw the bill. £400! Worth every penny though.
 
£400 is VERY, VERY steep £200 is more the norm.

he will still cry a little while weeing for a few days.

first thing to do....

syringe feed him if he isnt eating or drinking a total of 120mls in 24hrs = you may have to do this until he is eating again so its poss you will have to take him with you when your away OR find someone willing to do this or he will die.

he needs some pain meds, ie metacam from the vets everyday for at least 4 days...

try to get as much water in him as possible this will help to flush the bladder out- the glass water bottles are better for bladder stone guineas as they tend to drink more with these type of bottles.

he will also need to go onto cystease for life which is a tablet used in cats but is SAFE in guinea pigs.

you can buy these off the Internet for around £20 for 100 tablets.

dosage is...

half a capsule dissolved into 1ml of water and give this via a 1 ml syringe.

save the other half for the next day and so on.

this helps to stop bladder stones forming.

he also needs a diet change...

so food like Kale

spinach,

broccoli.

cabbage,

parsley.

needs to be only given as treats every few weeks.
as these contain alot of calcium which causes bladder stones.

look for other foods that can be given that contain high vit c, ie peppers, and look on here (the forum) as lauraccc4 has a special diet for bladder stone guineas giving the calcium contain and other foods that can be given.

dont feed the muesli type of food as these are high in calcium, go for pellets but have a look on the Internet for low calcium dry foods for guinea pigs.

which antibiotics is he on?

he will also need probiotics which can be brought from pet shops he may not drink these via his water bottle so you can either add some to the mushed pellets or his veg if he is eating.

if he isnt eating its worth getting some vit c tablets- i use asda vit c for humans the chewable type and add half a tablet to the water bottle wait for it to dissolve and syringe feed this, so he is getting his vit c.

the best thing you can give is mushed pellets and poop from a healthy guinea pig all mixed together as it contains all the good stuff he needs until he is eating on his own.

and lastly there IS a risk 1-3 wks after a stone removal of it coming back.

i lost a guinea pig 3mths after the stone was removed :(

also keep him on white towels so you can see if he is weeing and the colour of it. it will be bloody coloured for a few days too x
 
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Thank you :)

I have a diet sheet so I'm excluding round lettuce from their diets now and giving them iceberg lettuce.

He is playing with his brother on the sofa as if nothing has happened and eating hay.

£400 included 4 X-Rays as the stone was in his penis to start with and had to be moved to his bladder to be removed. That includes two follow up appointments, the anti biotics and the painkillers. I'm about to give them the first dose of anti-biotic.
 
oh my good god that must have hurt him, lucky they got it eh? Really crossing our fingers tightly here xxxxxxxxxx
 
VickyMidlands said:
Thank you :)

I have a diet sheet so I'm excluding round lettuce from their diets now and giving them iceberg lettuce.

He is playing with his brother on the sofa as if nothing has happened and eating hay.

£400 included 4 X-Rays as the stone was in his penis to start with and had to be moved to his bladder to be removed. That includes two follow up appointments, the anti biotics and the painkillers. I'm about to give them the first dose of anti-biotic.
Click to expand...

I'm glad its sorted and that he's ok, please don't feed iceberg lettuce to your piggies as its very dangerous to them. Give him lots of cuddles and love and I'm sure he'll be just fine
 
romaine lettuce is better for them i can see the thinking of ice berg as its all water but it also acts as a diuretic and can cause kidney problems x
 
i'm really glad he came through his op well. Some great advice from Clairelove for you. Bless him pigtures please ;-) x
 
You're very lucky to have that Manor Vets branch so close. I've never found a vet that I trust so much as them.

£400 is a lot of money but your piggie is on the mend and that is all that matters xx
 
My piggies bladder stone op, X-ray and all consultations and meds cost in excess of £450 5 weeks ago. Ariel is 5 and had pneumonia in the post-op period and only seemed back to herself over last weekend, despite having to be hand fed due to broken top incisors and bottom ones being cut too short(by the vet!). Well worth it though!
 
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