REALLY worried...

[mittenpie]

Hi everyone,

I posted about 2 and a half months ago about my guinea pig Billy who was squeaking in pain when he was pooing.

I took him to the vet when it didn't get any better after a couple of days and he was squeaking every time he pooped (poos normal, normal amount, colour etc etc)

The vet prescribed Baytril as he thought he might have an infection. This didn't help so I went back again.

The vet then gave him an anti-inflammatory injection which seemed to stop the squeaking for about a week and then it started happening again.

He has had an x-ray to rule out any kind of bladder issues - no stones or calcium (?) build up that might be causing issues and was given another anti-inflammatory injection which again helped for a bit and then he was just back to the squeaking.

The vet pushed a thermometer up his bottom and there was no blockage - he is not impacted.

The vet did say he noticed a tiny tiny dark patch on his spine on the x-ray, like a slipped disc or some injury to his back that may be causing him pain when he bunches up to do a poo but is reluctant to give him anymore streroid injections as he has never given treatment like this to a guinea pig for such a continuous amount of time and doesn't know how it will affect him.

I was wondering if any of you have any ideas what might be going on - the vet wasn't 100% sure it was his back but said it would seem to fit the picture. I wouldn't like to think that he was just fobbing me off to stop me worrying or feeling bad because he hadn't been able to diagnose after 4 visits for the same problem.

Does anyone have any ideas or any suggestions of how I can make my piggy more comfortable? Or help with this painful pooping? And if it is a slipped disc or back problem - how long to piggy backs geerally take to heal? If at all?

I am really worried...

Thanks in advance for any help...and sorry for the long story!

 

[stargrrlclaire]

hey honey, i have back problems and sometimes toiletting hurts, but not always! try introducing more fiber to little ones diet,that will help!

 

[Lisajazz]

Hiya. Gosh I don't know but I just wanted to say hang in there. How hard to see your guinea squeaking all the time like that.

I just know someone will be along soon who has a suggestion.

 

[alcesterpigs]

Rimadyl, 10mg daily is a good pain-killer/anti-inflammatory drug, (it is prescription only and is not licensed for use on guinea pigs)
Vedra, at the CCT, will use it on pigs for upto four weeks, if needed, with good results.

I suggest you give her a call on 07721026401, if she doesn't reply it is better then to send her a text message.

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Jasmine, one of my sows, had similar symptoms - for around 2 years, she had intermittent bouts of squeaking when pooping (and occasionally peeing). We tried courses of Baytril and Septrin, with no results. Painkillers (we tried both Metacam and Rimadyl) helped a little but the squeaking always returned. She even had two injections of HCG to see if it was "hormonal cystitis". She did not squeak every time she pooped, and she did not do it every day - she'd usually go through a phase every few weeks of squeaking a few times a day. Sometimes she'd go months without any problems, but it'd be rare to go for more than 5 weeks without one or two incidents. She was x-rayed for stones, which showed nothing.

After researching and typing up the information about Calcium: Phosphorus ratios within the diet, I modified the diet of my own pigs significantly to correct the ratio. Since then, Jasmine has not had any problems at all - she has not squeaked when pooping for five months. Her diet is much more varied, there is more calcium in the diet (I had all the pigs on a very low calcium diet for years prior to this change) and I feed a wide different variety of veggies each week. It seems Jasmine needed an overhaul of her fresh foods, although I can't exactly explain why it would make such a difference. Some pigs are especially sensitive to high levels of calcium - it was like Jasmine was sensitive to high levels of phosphorus!

If any of this rings true, it might be worth looking through the following thread:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=30297

Good luck, I hope you can get to the bottom of Billy's problems.

 

[Charl]

Is your guineapigs food too rich for him? My rabbit had trouble going the toilet, and it was because the squashed peas in his feed were too much for him. So we used the Supa rabbit excel food. What are you feeding him currently?