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Poorly Guinea Pig

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abbeybooth

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My guinea pig is not well. He only eats tiny, tiny bits off food. he has lost weight and wont leave his house. We took him to the vets on Monday (now wednesday) and he was given some antibiotics and some emergancy food. The vets couldnt find anything wrong with him. the other pig he lives with is protecting him and is bringing him food and is gettign aggressive when we go near the ill pig (very unlike him) the white fur is now yellow (as he is tri coloured) and I'm really worried about him. He doesnt have diarrhea or constipation. He is really healthy. Except for the fact that he isnt. If you get me. :/ I'm really worried about him. Does anyone know what is up with him and whether we should take him back tot he vets or what.
If he dies i dont know how the other pig will take it as they have literally never been seperate their whole lives as we knew the breeder and theyre brothers. please help me :(
 
You need to start syringe feedng him as a matter of urgency, without food piggies digestive systems pack up, not to mention they dont have energy to fight any illness.

I would go back to the vet and get some critical care, failing that mush up some of their pellets and syringe feed those, weigh him daily.
 
Thank you, we started to syringe feed him at lunch today and are gonna keep up with it, i think it is the critical care emergancy food stuff. i read somewhere that you have to do it 4-6 times a day. Its been visable that hes lost weight over the last few days. I'm so worried about him
 
Yes, you need to aim for 120ml in a 24 hours period, most piggies try to resist syringe feeding, but you have to show them who is boss, using gentle force where necessary. I had a poorly boy earlier this year, i had to syringe feed him around the clock, and by doing that i saved his life, it was very emotionally draining, but so worth it. Did the vet check his teeth? x
 
Thank you, i wasnt sure how much to feed him, earlier when we did it, it was horrible he was squeaking and making sick noises but once it'd squirted out he didn't seam to mind as much. The vet did check his teeth, she checked everywhere but they couldn't find anything wrong with him :/ what was wrong with yours x
 
Did she check his back teeth? You have to be careful with syringe feeding, just do little bits at a time, if they inhale into their lungs it will be fatal, so do not overfill his mouth.

He had slightly overgrown back teeth and a dental abscess as a result, their teeth grow a matter of mm's per week, so a few days without eating their teeth will overgrow and cause discomfort and stop them from eating.

But it could be anything, i am a little concerned your vet has prescribed Antibiotics without a prognosis, AB's are harsh on the guts and can put them off their food, you should be giving a pro-biotic whilst he is on AB's you can get these from pet shops and mix it with their water or pellet mush.

What dose of AB's is he on and how often?

If you give us your location, someone may be able to recommend a better vet, a cavvy savvy vet wouldn't just send you away with AB's and no prognosis, they would want to find out what is wrong and go with the correct treatment. xx
 
hes on 0.3mls 2 times a day, they said that if he didn't get better within 5 days to come back and they'd have a look in the back of his mouth, i live in teesside and just went to the vets i've always gone to, I'm not sure if they specialise in any animal. I'll feed him tiny bits, i've never had an ill guinea pig before, they've always been really healthy. I thought it was a bit weird that they just gave him some ABs without knowing what was wrong with him :s xx
 
Aw, i dont understand why they didn't look/feel his back teeth when you were there? 5 days is a long time to wait for a piggie who isn't eating, the more the teeth grow the more complicated the procedure to get them right becomes. x
 
I think i'll make an appointment again as I'm really worried about him and i want him to get better, thank you so much xx
 
Your more than welcome sweets, sorry to be blunt and sound like i am having a go about your vets, but it just seems odd, that they have just prescribed AB's for no reason and sent you away. Have you had a good feel over him for any lumps and bumps? Is his nose and eyes clear? is his breathing ok? xx
 
Oh no dont worry about it, you didnt come across blunt :) he doesnt have any lumps or anything his eyes are watery and his breathing is fine xx
 
His eyes are watery or do you mean aren't watery? You really need a vet that specialize in piggies!

c
 
Oh bless him, i would have him seen again and ask them to have a listen to his chest, he could have a URI which is easily treatable if caught early, but fatal if left. But dont panic, he is on AB's already so IF it is a URI he is on the correct med's but you need a proper diagnosis, have them check his teeth if he hasn't been eating too xx
 
I will do, thank you so much for the help I really wasn't sure on what to do I'm going to find a guinea pig vets near me to try thank you so much xx
 
Your welcome, please keep us updated and ask anything your unsure of. I would weigh him daily to make sure he isn't losing any more weight, but it could be an allergy to his bedding his watery eyes, xx
 
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I will do, thank you, i dont think its his bedding as it hasn't changed :s I'm gonna book him in at the vets xx
 
You might want to give some vitamin C also - if he's not been eating much he could be deficient by now and one of the symptoms of vit C deficiency is loss of appetite so it becomes a downward spiral.
I have done this before, alongside critical care. I got the syrup that's made for kids and my little piggy loved it, gave it with a syringe. She perked up within days.
Really hope your little pig is soon feeling better.
 
Aww poor piggy! Hope he starts to feel better soon. Some things that I have found useful in the past is to syringe water as well as food if they are not drinking which sounds like he isnt. You dont want your piggy friend getting dehydrated! Also if he is on antibiotics try getting some probiotics down him. You can buy this in most pet shops and you just add it to the water. Simple! And it keeps their little bellies healthy while they are having their nasty meds. Also, if its a teeth problem (which does sound likely) you could try offering him somthing he really likes or porriage? Piggies tend to love it even if they are ill and it puts weight on.
Good luck! hope this helps
xx
 
Poor thing... the three things I would really insist that a guinea pig savvy vet look at would be upper respiratory tract (especially with runny eyes), back teeth overgrowth, and screen the urine for occult blood (even blood that you cannot see can make a piggie feel lousy enough to go off their food.) It's definitely worth trying to find a vet that specializes in guinea pigs or small animals/exotics because it can make a huge difference, particulary for finicky rodent-specific issues like teeth overgrowth. Good luck, and hope makes a full recovery!
 
Thank you, last night i managed to get him to eat some lettuce (i know its bad for them but its the only thing he would eat) and feed him that stuff through a syringe. We did it this morning and at lunch. It seams he gets bad on a morning and better on a night. I was watching him eat and he seams to be chewing weirdly on one side so we are going to take him back to the vets so they can have a good look in his mouth and then hopefully they'll find something and that they can fix it. I am going to feed him some water with this multi-vitamin guinea pig liquid (just a small amount) through a syringe in a short while as we just feed him and put him back. thank you all so much for your help we are making a vets appointment today for asap so thank you so so much x
 
Do you syringe feed him throughout the night? If not, he could be worse in the morning as he is a little weak through lack of food. Have a good feel around his mouth and jaw for any lumps, i noticed the abscess on my boy because one side felt ever so slightly different to the other, there was a slight lump - which slowly grew, obviously the abscess wa causing him discomfort so he did not eat, i was syringe feeding him mashed pellets every 2 hours around the clock, no matter if he wanted it or not, he had no choice.

Good luck at the vets, if he is eating on one side i would definitely say this is a dental issue and needs to be sorted ASAP. xx
 
I've got him an emergancy appointment and he is going this evening. He is eating slightly differently on one side of his mouth so i think its that, I just want them to find something as they havent yet and I'm really really worried about him. I am going to feed him throughout the night tonight to see if that makes him better well if hes at home. I am just so worried about him xx
 
Bless him, Please have them check his back teeth and feel for any potential abscesses. xx
 
Fingers crossed that with a proper diagnosis and the correct treatment, he will be fine, if they say any of his teeth are overgrown, have them done while you are there, there is another thread like this one where a vet said the back teeth are overgrown, but told the person to go back in a few days! Which (no disrespect to the other member) is ridiculous, if teeth are overgrown they need doing there are then. Also, ask for some pain relief med's like metacam, these will make him more comfortable and hopefully more likely to eat. xx
 
Right so if its over grown teeth i have to get it done there today, Which i will make sure that they do. THank you so much for the help, ive never had an ill guinea pig and the fact that the vet couldnt find anything was really stressing me out so thank you so much, il let you know how he gets on xx
 
I have my fingers crossed for you! and Your little piggie.

P.S yes teeth need sorting as soon as a problem is evident, clearly your piggy seems to already be suffering, teeth grow a matter of mm's a week, if dental procedures are delayed, this gives the teeth more time to grow, causing more discomfort, more lac of eating, more weight loss and a much longer healing process.

Some vets say they cannot look at the back teeth without the piggy going under GA, if your vet says this, leave and find a better one, a good vet will have the equipment to clamp the mouth open and the correct tools to get a good look and feel for the back teeth. If they have a good look at the teeth and say they are fine, ask them to check everything else possible, take a fresh urine sample with you (sit him in a washing up bowl until he wee's and using a syringe collect a sample and pop it in the fridge until you leave, poo sample as well wont hurt.

Sorry i am babbling. Good luck and fingers crossed xx
 
no no, dont be sorry, your really helping me :) i will make sure that they dont do it under ga as I'm not sure his body could cope with it at the moment and i will do :) thank you so much il let you know how he is xx
 
Good luck, hopefully if they test the urine and it comes back clear (no blood or anything) atleast you can rule UTI and bladder stones out, not that he is displaying any symptoms for these, but you know!

x
 
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