Poorly pig... Please help!

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guineapigs<3

guineapigs<3

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Can anyone help us... Our 2 year old sow lily is acting strange... We fed her some veg (nothing that she hasn't had before) then after she had a poo at least 5cm long that was light in colour and quite soft, she has since been lying head down and very rigid with watery eyes and heavy breathing. Does anyone know what's wrong with her please?! Very concerned!
 
I am sorry that your piggy is poorly :(

I am afraid I can not advise what is wrong with her but she doesn't sound well at all and I would be worried about her heavy breathing and watery eyes as this could be a sign of an upper respiratory infection (URI) http://www.guinealynx.info/uri.html

Apart from the veg she has eaten, is she eating and driking? Does her breathing sound crackly? is she wheezing at all, is her breathing laboured?

If I were you, I would see a vet tonight. Guinea pigs can go down hill very quickly.
 
Exactly as Claire said, how does her breathing sound? She sounds quite poorly so I would say a vet trip is in order. You can call your normal vets and their answering machine will have an out of hours vet number.

Sending her hugs

Amy
x
 
Her breathing is a little squeaky sounding every now and again but it's my as if she's taking really deep breaths. I have a bottle of septrin and have tried her with this but she is refusing point blank which is unlike her she hasn't eaten pellets or hay since the veg nor has she drank any water. I will phone the vets soon if I still fail with the septrin. I was thinking about a possible uri as well ;( will keep you informed and thanks.
 
The deep breaths sounds like she has laboured breathing which means she could be struggling to breath. It does sound like a URI although I am in no position to make a diagnosis, only a vet can do this.

Please be careful giving antibiotics without the advise of a vet. The last thing you want to do is overdose her and be warned that she will not be able to take any antibiotics a vet prescribes if you keep giving her the septrin.

Please do try and see a vet tonight as she does sound very poorly. In the meantime, keep her warm and quiet and keep her hydrated.

Thinking of you x
 
Please see an out-of-hours vet asap. You should be able to get the number from your regular vet's answering machine.

If you haven't got an out-of-hours number, contact your vet first thing in the morning as an emergency. Deep, heaving breaths can indicate heart failure. I am keeping my fingers firmly crossed for you!
 
We have phoned the vet and he says to keep an eye on her for the next few hours, we have given her septrin (don't worry we wouldn't of done this if we weren't confident in giving it to her, we have dealt with many a uri with one of our other sows, hence why the vet sold us a whole bottle) she has done a few more poops all soft but not long like the other two. She still hasn't eaten and is completely crashed out and quite cold. The vet said he couldn't do anything other than what we have but just charge £85 for it we will stay up with her all night taking it in shifts and if we need to call him out we will, thanks for all your help
 
Keep her warm and if necessary try to get some mushed up pellets into her.
 
Also just to point out (I don't know if it makes any difference) lily has physical disabilities with her feet and stunted growth (from a pregnancy at 2 months) she also isn't right mentally we don't think as she isn't like our other piggies she sits and rocks most of the time and has no idea what's going on half the time bless her, do you think she has other health problems? She has never been ill before.
 
I'm sorry she seems so poorly, when you go to the vet in the morning, if they say she has fluid on her chest, ask for diuretic as it can be a life saver.
 
Well we have taken lily to the vet just there. The vet is pretty certain Lilly doesn't have a uri, He thinks its possibly her heart.. He listened to her heart but said he couldn't really hear anything worrying but Lilly's heart sounds slower. He gave her 3 injections of diuretic, anti-inflammatory and some baytril. I was told to keep an eye on her for the next 24 hours and she should pick up.. He also said I should keep giving her the septrin. Is there anything else that we can do or any other medication we could get prescribed for lily? Thanks for all the help.
 
My concern would be is she eating and drinking enough. I found out to my horror how quickly guinea pigs can go downhill when they aren't eating or drinking. I think Wiebke suggestion of mushing up pellets, or if you have some critical care or recovery food, make up some of that and syringe feed her would really help. From experience I'd say little and often. Keeping her warm and quiet.

Everything crossed for her.

Amy
x
 
She hasn't been eating or drinking at all for a while.. Iv tried with the syringe but she just try's to run away.. She has been peeing and had wind since her injections she's in the cage now on a massive bed sleeping iv put the heating on 21 so it stays warm all night and left pellets,hay and a carrot near here.. Hopefully she eats something.
 
Feeding a resistant piggy is never easy and I'm not really able to advise. If you search the forum using the search bar at the top you may be able to find something in the old posts from a more experienced person. It is very important that she eats and drinks soon

Thinking of you

Amy
x
 
Iv been trying with food and water.. I tyres strawberries aswell I managed to get a small amount of strawberries in but she spat it out.. I also gave her a small amount of water which she has taken.. But her breathing is worse and it seems she can't swallow at all! She's having spasms aswell.
 
I would get her back to the vets ASAP this morning as it is very worrying that she can't swallow, it is important that she is able to take syringe feed or her gut will shut down, so if she is physically unable to swallow it may be time to make a decision with your vet. I am also unsure why he suggested antibiotics if it is her heart, I woud have thought that heart meds are the next option in addition to the diuretic.
 
They will have suggested antibiotics as a catch-all and although there are many knowledgeable people on here you need to make sure you get advice form a experienced cavy savy vet to get things sorted out.

She sounds like she may have internal organ problems associated with her other disabilities so she may not necessarily respond to treatment like the average piggy. It may also be that if she has an abnormality of her heart or other internal organs that there is not much the vet can do... Sorry if that sounds awful but as the owner of a lethal piggy, sometimes you just don't know what their insides are doing!

Keep her warm, keep getting fluids and food into her as difficult as it may be and we are all keeping our paws crossed for you both. x
 
Sadly lily passed away at about 1:30am.. We had been keeping her warm and trying to feed/water her but her breathing got worse and she died very quickly after. We let our other piggies see her to say goodbye. They all sat as close as possible to her and were squeaking and licking her.. Lola just froze and looked so scared/upset thank you all for your help iam still in shook how fast she went downhill.she was fine all day yesterday.
 
I'm really sorry to hear your sad news. You did everything you could so please don't blame yourself. My thoughts are with you. R.I.P. Lily. xx
 
I agree its imperative you get food into her, syringe feeding can help save a poorly piggy. Its not easy and sometimes the best way is to swaddle them makes it a lot easier to handle them and feed at the same time. Hoping that she is feeling more comfortable this morning x
 
I am sorry to hear that Lily has left you. Sleep well little one.

Sometimes despite our best efforts it just isn't to be. You did all you could and she is at peace now. x
 
HUGS

I am very sorry for your loss. You did everything you could!

I have lost two younger piggies to acute heart failure so far. Lily's symptoms and behaviour sounded similar, especially the inability to eat in the end. There is nothing you can do by that stage, unfortunately. It can come on quite suddenly and it leaves you shaken. Some seemingly healthy piggies live with a time bomb in their heart; you don't know that it is there and you never know when it will go off.
 
So sorry for your loss, you did everything she could have asked for it's good you were able to hold her paw while she passed. Love, hugs and our thoughts are with you.
Meg, Cookie and Sprinkles x
 
So sorry for your loss. I have recently lost a beloved piggy and know how hard it can be. My thoughts are with you x
 
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