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Poorly Tetley

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hayls<3

hayls<3

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Location
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When arriving home from work today, my partner started shouting me to come quickly. When I came into my room, he tried to get Tetley's attention, with no luck. When scooping him up and placing him on my bed for closer inspection, his body and head was limp, legs splayed, eyes glazed and crusty. We knew something was instantly wrong, Tetley was moving but seemed unsteady like drunk and was slumped, breathing heavily.

I rang our local vet who managed to get us an emergency appointment within the next 20 minutes. When arriving the vet checked his teeth, which were causing him no issue, listened to his heart rate and breathing. She mentioned that his breathing sounded chesty and 'fluffy'. Also, that his stomach felt empty, only gassy. She provided Tetley with an anti-inflammatory injection to help with any pain and breathing - he did not make a muff. She advised to start him on Baytril to fight off any infections and to start to syringe feed.

I tried everywhere locally to find Critical Care; I rang our vet again for advice as it was becoming difficult at 6 on a Friday evening and she recommended as a last resort to use baby food, preferably something fruity as it would be more pallet-able and to try again tomorrow.

I have managed to get in him 10ml of baby food and 5ml of water an hour ago and provided him with his first round of antibiotics. I have placed him in the pigs usual bathing bowl with a blanket and a heat pat underneath so it wasn't too hot. He has been wriggling, turning and laying in different positions every so often but is still breathing heavily. I've left him some cucumber in case he starts to feed on his own. He has not yet peed or poo-ed.

I've been reading the Guinea Lynx advice on feeding, but If you have any advice, tips or any ideas, I would be extremely grateful. Do I need to carry on feeding every so many hours through the night? I was due to work tomorrow but hopefully I may be able to stay at home to help him but if not, he will have to come with me!

Picture.webp x
 
If you feed pellets mash some up and add water to make a paste. This is good replacement for critical care. You can try offering it him on a spoon.

If you have a spare syringe you can syringe it into his mouth but ideally you want a small syringe. 1ml is best. If you cut off the tip its easier to feed it him slowly that way. You need to go in with syringe behind front teeth to the side so it going into mouth rather than straight down. Feed him half a syringe give him time to chew before giving other half.

You should try to feed every couple of hours usually you can do 5ml-10ml in one sitting for each 5ml give 1 ml fluid.
 
@Briony_S Thank you for your advice, I have crushed up and added some hot water to some pellets and mixed in abit of baby food. I have a 1ml syringe so it's been easy enough to get it in his mouth and promoting his swallowing. He seems to be wriggling alot now like he can't get comfy.
 
I agree with Briony about the feeding. Poor little guy. You said that the vet thought he was gassy - could it be bloat? Is his tummy hard and painful? Is he perking up at all, or is he still floppy? Any poops yet? If things aren't moving through him as they should it can cause massive problems.
 
Aww poor darling. I would prob not give him anymore baby food too much may upset him if he's not used to it x
 
I am very sorry! I am keeping my fingers firmly crossed for Tetley!

Yes, you want to feed little but often, throughout the night as well. You can mush up pellets with boiled. cooled water and give those. Use a 1ml syringe where you have cut off the tip just below where it widens. Feed half the syringe in one go; that is about a mouthful. Wait until he has swallowed (which may take some time if he is very weak and apathetic).
Syringe 1ml of water for every 3-5ml of firm food or more. The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and thirdly the need to eat. Dehydration is often overlooked. Again, give 0.5 ml in one go to avoid asphyxiation (things going down the wrong way). Take your time and make sure that one lot has gone down before giving more.

Has your vet given you a gut stimulant and some anti-gassing meds in addition to the baytril (which can additionally cause loss of appetite).

If you can get hold of some probiotics from a pet shop tomorrow, that would be good. Syringe a pinch dissolved in 1ml of water about 1-2 hours after the baytril. That will hopefully help bolster the guts a bit.

It is going to be a hard and emotionally taxing slog for you over the next few days and nights, but every bit you get into him can make the difference of him making it! You will likely struggle to get as much into him as guinea lynx are recommending; your first aim is to keep the guts from closing down. During an acute crisis you generally struggle to get in more than 5-10ml in one go, and may struggle to even make as much!
 
I was trying him with another syringe full of water and the first go was fine and he was happy to help himself but the second I cant seem to be able to even promote him to chew or swallow. He is very limp now and dazed. His stomach is soft to touch but he did wince when the vet felt him. He hasn't poo-ed or peed since I have been with him in the last 4 hours. I can now hear his breathing sort of a shushing noise, it is still very rapid.
 
Any poo experts? Hope everyone has eaten, i'll keep as a thumbnail for the squeamish.
poo 002.webp
When picking Tetley up to place him back in his bowl, I noticed he had poo stuck, when wiping away, it seemed like there was more coming but it isn't easy to move for him so ill check him again soon.
 
Those poos look like we would expect from a very sluggish gut.

I agree with all of the advice mentioned above. I am also concerned about his breathing though, Did the vet think there was any fluid on his chest? If so he needs diuretics from the vets, however, these can also be dehydrating so if the vet does prescribe them I recommend giving Dioralyte throughout the day too to rehydrate him. This will also help with any gas. Massage therapy is good too, massage his tummy with anything that vibrates, take him out on a car journey or put him on a massage pad if you have one. Gripe water would also help if he is gassy, 3ml every few hours.
 
Thank you all for your help and advice and support but Tetley did not make it through the night, I managed to get into bed around 12 only managing to get him to swallow water before hand, I woke again at 2 and he had already gone. Bless his little heart x
 
Thank you both, it was a difficult morning. I have let the girls say goodbye before I came to work. It's just a hard feeling of 'what else could I have done to help'. x
 
I am so sorry for your loss. It sounds like he had pneumonia which is very very hard to beat. You did your best for your little man x
 
It was all very sudden and a shock, i'm trying to go through all what it could have been, what I have given them, where he has been and if it is contagious. Muffin is 8 and Tetley was only approx 2 years old, if anyone I would have thought she would have picked up an infection. Would it be recommended to take the girls to be checked out at the Vets?
 
I don't have any experience of pneumonia (If that what it was) so will tag @helen105281 to see if she knows. I'm not sure if they pick up these infections from other piggies or can pass them on, hopefully it won't be the case, just keep a close eye & weigh your oldie regularly x
 
I am so so sorry, he was gorgeous. You tried your best, that's all you can do. Hugs. Rip Tetley x
 
Sorry to hear that. Our Del had similar symptons, although his belly was making awful noises as loud as a human. Eventually the vet recommended putting him to sleep as they suspected he had a stomach tumour (not proven though). I did the same and racked my mind what could have caused it but I will never know. I regret not coming on here before as I may have been given advice that could have saved him, that is the worst thing that plagues me, that whatever caused his illness was treatable and that I signed that form to put him to sleep when he could still be here. RIP Tetley
 
So terribly sorry to hear of your loss. It's heartbreaking but you did all that you could. RIP Tetley xx
 
It is possible that it was Pneumonia or even a typical Pneumonia (known as Walking Pneumonia) which can literally strike out of the blue. It does not always affect every pig in the vicinity but I do think it is worth getting your other pigs checked in case. When we lost Rosie to it our others were fine but it is best to be cautious. If the vet finds any fluid on their chests please ask for diuretics. When my Buzz had Pneumonia we got him through with Diuretics and Zithromax. However, it came back a few months later and we lost him.
 
When googling Pneumonia in guinea pigs, they all seem to match his symptoms.

'Signs of pneumonia may include laboured or rapid breathing, discharge from eyes and nostrils, lethargy and inappetence'

I will get the cage cleaned out just incase of any bacteria and get them in to be checked by the vet just to be safe, I will also monitor their weights over the next few days instead of weekly.

@helen105281, How would the vet find fluids on the chests? Can this be heard or is it tested for? Just when I go back, i'd like to mention.
 
I am very sorry for your loss. It rather sounded like you could be dealing with heart failure on top of the pneumonia, which would explain the gassing. There is nothing you can do if the body is closing down. You have certainly not failed Tetley in any way! URI can in some cases kill very quickly despite prompt and appropriate treatment.

Feelings of guilt or of having missed out on the vital clue are very normal for a loving, responsible owner. They are part and parcel of the first stage of the grieving process and we all get them! :(
 
Yes they should be able to hear on a stethoscope.

I agree with Wiebke that there was probably heart failure going on aswell. Poor boy, I'm so sorry, sometimes these things happen so quickly that there is nothing more we can do. Hope you're ok.
 
Thank you all for your kind words. It's difficult watching my girls, my eyes are wandering to find my Mr.

I've laid him to rest in a plant pot so I can always take him where ever with me. It is full of plants which bee's love, hopefully it will bring us some joy watching them visit him.

pot 004.webp
x
 
helen105281 said:
Yes they should be able to hear on a stethoscope.

I agree with Wiebke that there was probably heart failure going on aswell. Poor boy, I'm so sorry, sometimes these things happen so quickly that there is nothing more we can do. Hope you're ok.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your help. I will keep myself busy with my girls, but he will be missed.
 
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