Lulu
New Born Pup
Hi everyone, I'm a little new to the forum so I'm sorry if this isn't in the correct spot but since the summer I've been having on and off problems with my guinea pig, Espi. This is going to be a long one, as she has decided to make up for almost 4 years of not getting sick in a matter of months haha. (: Please do let me know if I should post her health issues seperately or not, as she has multiple.
In July, she went to the vet for what they thought was a URI, and she also had weird poos. She was treated with baytril and her stuffy nose went away but not the poo problem. When her URI symptoms came back two months later we switched to a more experienced cavy vet and they gave baytril, and said she could have chronic rhinits and suggested a few things including switching to fleece from paper bedding to cut down on dust and it works very well for her. She was better, but the poo issue still wasn't solved.
We pushed the hay a lot more and syringed a bit of water because her poo indicated she was a little dehydrated. Since then she has had trouble getting it out, and will sometimes hunch her back or fluff up in a corner until she can pass them. Most would be tear dropped shaped, some normal sized but mostly smaller. I also found quite a few pieces strung together. I was wondering if mucus from her nose could go into the GI tract and mess with her passing stools as some of it looks coated in something. This has been going on for months now and I'm not sure what to do anymore. It kills me to see her this way and I wish I could fix it. ):
In October, she started squealing in pain a few times in a week while trying to go. It slowed down last month to where I've only heard her do this 4 times for all of November leading up to now, but again the poo is still coated in what looks like mucus. She has on and off small poos and then longer shaped poos, all with a few tear drop shaped. I'm not sure if a bacterial infection could cause this, or if it is because of her mucus-y nose.
It's now December, and this whole week her on Tuesday I noticed that her allergies have been acting up again, making it harder for her to breathe through her nose. On Tuesday, her eye looked really weird like she had cataracts or an ulcer, and her stomach felt hard and she didn't want anyone to touch it. She was still eating and drinking pretty normally, albeit a bit less than usual on her pellets. We took her Thursday to the vet and she said espi did in fact have an ulcer and gave her eye drops and have her Zyrtec for the nose congestion. The vet said her stomach may have fluid, or something enlarged like her uterus, but doesn't think it's a cyst which I hope is true.
I'm not sure what to think of this, and researching on the internet gave me multiple things that it could be if everything is connected. Has anyone had experience with these types of symptoms? I read online that the rhinits and possible fluid in stomach could be signs of a heart issue, but I wouldn't know unless she had an x-Ray or ultra-sound.
I also thought she lost weight, and the trip to the vet confirmed that. She weighed 946g the last time we weighed her in September and now she weights about 783g which is definitely too much lost. (I don't have a scale at the moment but am hoping to purchase a new one this week).
She will be going back to the vet in a week or earlier if need be. Should I ask for an x-Ray? A blood test? I'd appreciate any advice or knowledge on this and am very sorry my post is so long, Espi has been a bit of a medical-case this year. Hopefully we'll find out what's wrong soon (:
In July, she went to the vet for what they thought was a URI, and she also had weird poos. She was treated with baytril and her stuffy nose went away but not the poo problem. When her URI symptoms came back two months later we switched to a more experienced cavy vet and they gave baytril, and said she could have chronic rhinits and suggested a few things including switching to fleece from paper bedding to cut down on dust and it works very well for her. She was better, but the poo issue still wasn't solved.
We pushed the hay a lot more and syringed a bit of water because her poo indicated she was a little dehydrated. Since then she has had trouble getting it out, and will sometimes hunch her back or fluff up in a corner until she can pass them. Most would be tear dropped shaped, some normal sized but mostly smaller. I also found quite a few pieces strung together. I was wondering if mucus from her nose could go into the GI tract and mess with her passing stools as some of it looks coated in something. This has been going on for months now and I'm not sure what to do anymore. It kills me to see her this way and I wish I could fix it. ):
In October, she started squealing in pain a few times in a week while trying to go. It slowed down last month to where I've only heard her do this 4 times for all of November leading up to now, but again the poo is still coated in what looks like mucus. She has on and off small poos and then longer shaped poos, all with a few tear drop shaped. I'm not sure if a bacterial infection could cause this, or if it is because of her mucus-y nose.
It's now December, and this whole week her on Tuesday I noticed that her allergies have been acting up again, making it harder for her to breathe through her nose. On Tuesday, her eye looked really weird like she had cataracts or an ulcer, and her stomach felt hard and she didn't want anyone to touch it. She was still eating and drinking pretty normally, albeit a bit less than usual on her pellets. We took her Thursday to the vet and she said espi did in fact have an ulcer and gave her eye drops and have her Zyrtec for the nose congestion. The vet said her stomach may have fluid, or something enlarged like her uterus, but doesn't think it's a cyst which I hope is true.
I'm not sure what to think of this, and researching on the internet gave me multiple things that it could be if everything is connected. Has anyone had experience with these types of symptoms? I read online that the rhinits and possible fluid in stomach could be signs of a heart issue, but I wouldn't know unless she had an x-Ray or ultra-sound.
I also thought she lost weight, and the trip to the vet confirmed that. She weighed 946g the last time we weighed her in September and now she weights about 783g which is definitely too much lost. (I don't have a scale at the moment but am hoping to purchase a new one this week).
She will be going back to the vet in a week or earlier if need be. Should I ask for an x-Ray? A blood test? I'd appreciate any advice or knowledge on this and am very sorry my post is so long, Espi has been a bit of a medical-case this year. Hopefully we'll find out what's wrong soon (:
