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Scurvy

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Sarah95

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi, I recently got a friend for my guinea pig unfortunately the piggy is ill I have taken him to the vet they said he has a cataract and scurvy I was told you give him a supplement in his water and veg which he has been getting since he arrived here. He is incredibly skinny you can feel all his wee bones. I was tolooking I need to be referred to a specialist. While i wait is there any way I can try help really boost his vitamin c he gets veg high in vitamin c and food with it in but he still looks really ill any help would be greatly appreciated
 
Sarah95 said:
Hi, I recently got a friend for my guinea pig unfortunately the piggy is ill I have taken him to the vet they said he has a cataract and scurvy I was told you give him a supplement in his water and veg which he has been getting since he arrived here. He is incredibly skinny you can feel all his wee bones. I was tolooking I need to be referred to a specialist. While i wait is there any way I can try help really boost his vitamin c he gets veg high in vitamin c and food with it in but he still looks really ill any help would be greatly appreciated
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Please have him checked by a piggy savvy vet. Has your vet checked the back teeth?

Cataracts are unfortunately untreatable, but as sight is not the most important sense, piggies learn to adapt and compensate with their other senses and can still lead a perfectly normal and enriched life.

I would recommend to top up your guinea pig with syringe feed, as much as he will take in one go 2-3 times a day or more often round the clock if he takes only very little. The more fibre he gets into his belly and guts, the better. Make sure that he has access to unlimited hay and check his poos; they should hopefully become a good texture, colour and size with that. I would also recommend to add some probiotics to either the water or the syringe feed to help boost his guts. Weigh him daily at the same time to monitor his food intake. cheap scales from the supermarket are perfectly fine.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

Please do not add the vitamin C to the water bottle (you can't control the intake; guinea pigs drink noticeably less when their water contains additives) and rather syringe it dissolved in 1-2 ml of water 1-2 twice daily for best effect. that way, you know that he is getting it all. Vitamin C doesn't store in the body, any excess is excreted, so giving half a dose twice daily gives the body more chance to take it up.

Give him a varied diet for a wide range of nutrients, as he will need those too, but make sure that you introduce only one new veg or herb in a smaller portion per meal in case he is not used to them and in order to give the guts time to adjust. I would recommend to give some fresh herb like coriander/cilantro, parsley or dill every day, as they contain not only vitamin C, but a range of other necessary minerals and vitamins.
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
 
If you update your profile to include where you live, then we might be able to recommend a good specialised vet.

What are the supplements that he is currently getting? Once you let us know then someone should be able to recommend what vitamin C to use, and what dosage to give.

Is he eating okay? It's worth keeping a record of his weight. Weigh him at the same time every day, then you will be able to see if he's losing weight. If he is, then you'll need to supplement him with syringe food. There's a guide on here on how to do it, and what you'll need.
 
I am waiting to hear from my vet about a small animal specialist as they weren't able to offer any advice or really check him over,never looked in his mouth. They just checked his eye and gave eye drops I had to point out you can pinch his spine (not pinch obviously but you can very very clearly feel) she said it was probably scurvy and to just put the supplement in his water I haven't done that as I read it's a waste of time. I've been trying foods high in vitamin c. His weight is sitting at around 490g I will weight him every day been doing once a week as he his eating loads. There's always fresh hay in the cage that's topped up as soon as it's finished. As soon as he thinks food is coming he's out waiting for it he eats really well. I don't understand how some one could leave him to get that bad
 
Sarah95 said:
I am waiting to hear from my vet about a small animal specialist as they weren't able to offer any advice or really check him over,never looked in his mouth. They just checked his eye and gave eye drops I had to point out you can pinch his spine (not pinch obviously but you can very very clearly feel) she said it was probably scurvy and to just put the supplement in his water I haven't done that as I read it's a waste of time. I've been trying foods high in vitamin c. His weight is sitting at around 490g I will weight him every day been doing once a week as he his eating loads. There's always fresh hay in the cage that's topped up as soon as it's finished. As soon as he thinks food is coming he's out waiting for it he eats really well. I don't understand how some one could leave him to get that bad
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Can you plase click on your username on the top, then go personal details and scroll down to location where you can add your country, state/province or UK county. This makes it appear underneath your username in every post and allows us to tailor any advice and recommendations to what is relevant and available for you where you are,with local tips and links where possible. We have got members from all over the world.

Please start syringe feeding asap! You can find tips on what you can do with what you have got at home or easily available in the syringe feeding guide.
 
I'd need transport to get to the nearest one which I can't do until next week I read some where about giving vitamin c chewable tablets I'm not sure how safe that is?
 
My little guy passed away tonight I tried everything just could to save him but i couldn't I was about to take him to the out of hours vet when he passed
 
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