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Poorly piggie

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Dolomite66

Dolomite66

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello everyone, I ‘m hoping someone on here can help as I have a poorly piggie and I’m sick with worry.
Liddie suddenly stopped eating and drinking last Monday and by Tuesday morning she had been admitted in to my vets ‘hospital’ and was being syringe fed. He also put her on antibiotics.
Her teeth were fine and she didn’t have a temperature but he did find two ovarian cysts, one of which was large. He did say that she would be hormonal because of them but didn’t seem to think they would be the cause of her loss of appetite.
After two days she was allowed home – she wasn’t 100% but felt she would improve and to return her if she didn‘t. She hasn’t but neither has she taken a turn for the worse.
Her eating is very erratic. Sometimes she will eat hardly anything and another time she‘ll devour bits of cucumber, hay and grass. She is passing pellets but they are so tiny that they could have come from a mouse. Some of them are a strange shape. She is losing weight and I don’t think she is drinking much. I have also noticed her eyes have a crust around the rims but her breathing is not wheezy or anything.
She is unnaturally quiet and just hides away. Sometimes I find her with her head stuck underneath a pile of hay or with her bum stuck out of the doorway to her little house as if she is shielding herself from the light. She also flicks her head to one side now and again which she‘s never done before.
Before I take her back to the vets and subject her further tests and scans, I was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and could advise me? Am I missing something obvious?
She is an indoor piggie but has been grazing out side on my lawn before autumn took hold and therefore could it be a case of worms?
Any help would be so appreciated as I don‘t want to lose my lovely little girllie
 
I am sorry I have no idea, but has your vet checked

a) the molars (weepy eyes can be caused by tooth trouble)
b) mouth or throat rush - can put a piggy off food; try daktarin oral gel

Her poos simply reflect her food intake. Are you weighing Liddie regularly, in her case best daily?

I don't think that worms will cause loss of appetite or erratic appetite, rather than unexplained weight loss combined with a good appetite.

Hopefully, some member with a wider experience than me can come in and can help you more with what can go wrong in the guts.

PS: How old is Liddie?
 
She's only 16 months. I have weighed her regularly - she was 1lb 12 at the start of her illness and today she's 1lb 8. She's long haired but has a slender frame and now it feels as though there's nothing to her :(
 
I am so sorry - you are trying your best, but it is so hard when you (and obviously your vet) haven't got a clue.

Could you look for a specialist vet for exotics (as which guinea pigs are classed at) or ask your vet to refer you to one?

Could you try and feed Critical Care or something similar to help slowing the weight loss. here is a list of possible causes for wieght loss:
http://www.guinealynx.info/anorexia.html
 
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Hi Helen,

Wiebke, Liddie is my little Liddell, well Helen's little Liddell now. (coincidentally Wiebke was going to adopt Ace & Liddell originally but I thought I may be able to keep them so told her to go ahead and adopt some others - I've seen your new additions Wiebke, they're gorgeous!)

Helen has taken such great care of her and noticed straight away when something wasn't right. We're so worried though :(

maybe it is her teeth and the vets didnt notice? is it cavy vet you will be taking her too? hopefully they can help.

wish there was something I could do, hate to think of her suffering. Are she and Ace still separated?

xx
 
Hi Danielle
During the day we seperate the c cage so we can monitor what Liddie's eating and drinking - I have been syringe feeding as well.
She starts to fret in the evening and bites her metal partition to try to reach Ace. So at night we take it away and they have started to snuggle up together to sleep.
I just want to be able go to the vets armed with some ideas what could be wrong so there's no time wasted.
She just nibbles at bits and pieces, however yesterday she ate a whole romaine lettuce leaf which gave me some hope. But today she's showing no interest and I'm back to stressing.....
 
It does seem like there's hope since she's up and down and still eating, I know you're doing a fantastic job looking after her.

I have posted in the main guinea pig chat forum with a link to this post so that hopefully more people will come and take a look at it, as I know there are people on here with tons of experience.

xx
 
Perhaps having an x-ray (not necessarily with general anesthesia)?

I hope that later on, alcesterpigs and Laura will come on and can help .

In any case, I'm sending my vibes to poor Liddell - let her and Ace sleep together as that gives her consolation!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
Helen, I am sorry to hear Liddie is so poorly at the moment. I tend to agree that the fact she is eating at times is encouraging.

What was done/suggested for the ovarian cysts, if anything?
Did the vet mention the possiblity of bloat at all; he would have found the abdomen to be quite tight if this was the case, but bloat can lead to some of the symptoms described.
Did the vet examine her back teeth?

The tiny poops are related to the unusual eating patterns; dehydration can also lead to small poops which can sometimes be "connected" by mucous. Ensuring she is getting plenty of water as well as regular syringe-feeds should help get things back to normal there. How much are you managing to get into her overall each day, with the syringe-feeds?

I do wonder if there is something systemic upsetting her - has she been "wormed" with Ivomec and Panacur at all? I usually recommend this particularly for pigs who graze outdoors. A severe case of intestinal parasites (or worms) would cause weight loss and I believe can affect the appetite. There is a recent thread about worming which I can link you to if you're interested.

A systemic fungal infection can also lead to the symptoms you have described. This would ideally be treated with a course of Itrafungol.

It's one of those cases where it can be any number of problems causing the symptoms...I hope that some of the things that came to my mind gives you some things to discuss and consider with your vet even if they are ruled out.

Best of luck, do keep us updated!
 
i cannot say what would be wrong with your baby as so many things can do this but re the feeding try pureeing some fresh herbs into a paste and syringing or offering on a spoon,Critical care is also a good idea its available from your vets,syringing a few ml of water after each bit of food should help to keep her hydrated.
i hope Liddell is ok,keep us posted x
 
For the ovarian cysts he said she may need an operation to remove them at a later date when she was feeling stronger but that was something we could discuss at a later date.
Personally I'm not sure whether an operation would be good especially as I've read posts on this forum concerning ovarian cysts. He did check her teeth at the back - it was one of the first things he did. Although I know my vet is pretty good and I do have some confidence in him, the practice is a general core one and I really think she needs somewhere with specialist experience.
I have done some research in my local area and I have found an exotic pets tier two small animal accredited practice about 5 miles from me. I gave them a call and she's booked for 9am tomorrow. Yay!
 
Oh good - I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that gorgeous girl of yours and hope that you can get to the bottom of it all!
 
May I just say that I have been really really touched by everyone's support and help.

This has been such an emotional week 8... and it's fantastic that there are such nice people out there who are willing to give advice.
I rarely post on this forum but I do read lot of others comments and threads.

Someone once posted a comment about getting to know your piggie as only you would know if there was anything wrong.I don't remember who posted it but it was sound advice which I took onboard. I'm glad I did as it may have initially saved her life. Thank you! xx>>>
 
sorry i have no advice but i wanted to send my love to liddie and i really hope you get to the bottom of the problem and can help her.
 
Good luck with the appointment!

You mention you've read a bit about ovarian cysts on the forum, so you'll probably be aware that a spay is not required and there are "safer" treatment alternatives. Hopefully the new vet will know, or be willing to learn about, these and will not say a spay is the only treatment! Especially with you being concerned about her general health, surgery would not be a greta option for her any time soon.

Fingers crossed you have some answers from the new vet this morning.
 
Thank you to everyone for their concern and well wishes for little Liddie!
Just got back from the vets and he's going to take her through a process of elimination. Firstly he's going to x ray her jawline to see if there's any problems with her back molars that the first vet missed - he does'nt suspect the teeth are a problem as he says Liddell would be drooling if there was. But he needs to check them out just to be sure.

He was alarmed by the size of her ovarian cyst and because she expressed extreme discomfort when he examined her in that area, he suspects cyst pain may be the cause of her erratic eating.

I've got to give them a call at 4pm to discuss the xray results and if they are ok then she's coming home with painkillers to see if her appetite improves.

If the cysts are giving her pain, he did mention spaying her - which to be honest I'm not too keen on especially after reading about other methods on this site.

I'll soon find out if he's open to other options at 4pm.... but I don't want to jump the gun just yet. One step at a time.....
 
Best of luck with the check!

Here is a good collection info on ovarian cysts, if you haven't come this thread already.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=39983&highlight=ovarian+cysts

If possible, can you ask your vet not to put Liddell under for an x-ray? in most cases it is enough, if you wrap them up tightly. As prey animals they tend to freeze in the middle of a room in strange suroundings.
 
It sounds like this new vet is doing things more thoroughly. As you say, one step at a time - with any luck something this new vet tries will turn things around for Liddie.
 
Just a quick update for you folks... and it's all encouraging stuff!
X rays were taken of Liddie's jawline and her teeth examined. The left lower molars had some small spurs that were filed down but the teeth were too good to be the cause of her anorexia. There was no dental abscessation or impacted molar roots.

X rays were taken of her abdomen and there was no bladder stone but there was a large soft mass visible which they strongly suspect is a cystic ovary and the cause of her loss of appetite.

The recommended therapy was an operational remove the one large ovary. The vet - Brandon - did listen to my concerns and was very open to my suggestions of hormonal injections and admitted that he'd have to do some research on it. However one of his colleagues had just completed a course on alternative therapy for small mammals and I was welcome to have a chat with her at a later date.

The main course of action now is getting Liddie's weight up and I have been told to be aggressive in feeding her critical care for the next 24hrs.

Not sure if that's needed (lol) after watching her tuck into carrot, apple and parsley and did I mention hay? I am truly thrilled to bits but it doesn't get her out of being syringe fed! She also has a course of vetergesic pain killers to take!

I'll keep you posted on her progress and a big hurray to the Barrier Animal Care clinic - especially Brandon - thank god I found you guys! :)
 
I'm so glad that you have found a vet who is open to suggestions and very careful - i.e. that you have struck gold!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Liddie that it all will work out. Keep on eating!
 
Wiebke said:
I'm so glad that you have found a vet who is open to suggestions and very careful - i.e. that you have struck gold!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Liddie that it all will work out. Keep on eating!
Click to expand...

He was from South Africa - top chap! xx>>>
 
I'm thrilled you have a vet who will listen and work with you on getting Liddie better!
 
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