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Skyla Is Poorly

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Hello everyone! It's that time again when I've got more piggie problems.

So my 3-year-old Skyla recently had a horrible UTI, moved into her own cage in order to monitor her better, and it seemed all was well. Her appetite wasn't great but I think that had a lot to do with the Metacam. When we took her in on Monday, the UTI was all cleared up. Anyway, the other day I noticed her front paws were all swollen, one of them is pretty bad. So I took her to the CavySavy vet yesterday and she thought it could've been an allergic reaction to the CareFresh that I just started using for her. But when the vet felt her belly, Skyla was squeaking in pain an awful lot. An X-Ray showed a fair amount of gas buildup, not bloat but almost.

She's currently on Metoclopramide every 8 hours, Metacam every 24 hours, and a probiotic, Benebac, every 24 hours. I was advised to massage her belly several times a day, and try to get her to move around. The vet said that the Metacam will act as an anti-inflammatory for her paws until we can do further treatment (she said the gas must be our first priority).

I'm having a really difficult time trying to make sure Skyla's alright. How do I know if she's getting better? A friend of mine that has a guinea pig that recently bloated told me not to feed her pellets or veggies, hay only. Is this true? She's dropping weight, even though she's eating hay. She is drinking some water and letting me syringe her a little extra. She's producing a fair amount of stools, a pile every time I massage her as well as throughout the day in her cage. They're a little small and very dark in color. Good sign or bad sign? I can't get her to move around a lot, I'm sure her paws are sore. She's been laying down a lot and munching on hay here and their. Her belly isn't very distended. I'm hopefully getting out tomorrow to get her a massage pad as I've heard that can help. Fortunately, her eyes are bright and she seems to be in good spirits considering!

What should I do at this point? I want to keep everything under control so that this doesn't become bloat or anything else serious.

Any advice is greatly appreciated, thank-you!
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I am very sorry for all your problems!

- Please take your girl off any fresh food, as that can add to the gassing. Plain fibre like hay would be best. If necessary, mix some recovery food and offer that in a bowl or hand feed. Fibreplex would also be great. Only re-introduce veg carefully in small portions one by one 48 hours after all gassing has completely gone. Best start with fresh herbs like coriander/cilantro or parsley.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...vitamin-c-overview-with-product-links.115404/

- Gentle massaging or vibrating can help a lot with bloating. A massaging car seat, car journeys or even an electric tooth brush will go towards that.

- You could ask your vet whether she's OK with trying gripe water in connection with your other meds (it should be) to see whether that can additionally help towards breaking up the gas. Another active ingredient you could ask her about is ranitidine. Contact your vet anytime things are not going down or are getting worse.

- Please be aware that it takes time for the digestion to right itself and that it can stay dodgy for some weeks to come after some serious bloating. make sure that you have got the necessary meds at home to bridge the time until you can see your vet.

- All the best for the poorly paws. Please try to find an alternative for carefresh; you are not the only owner it is causing problems with.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/bedding-for-guinea-pigs-overview.114219/
 
Aww she's really pretty :drool: :love:
Hope she's feeling better? How's she doing today?
Sorry I can't really offer any other advice. Wiebke seems to have covered most bases :)

Regarding the small poops, they'll gradually get bigger &more normal the better she gets :)
Small poops are usually a sign of digestive problems or possibly dehydration.
Its good that you're giving her a little extra water.
Just go careful she has swallowed the water before giving her another mouthful. They can easily choke /aspirate where the liquid goes into the lungs so only small doses at a time.

But if the poops are coming out you're obviously doing the right thing with massaging &it would indicate no blockages which is also a good sign :)
Good luck to your gorgeous furball &speedy recover :)

From the girls &I . Xx

Ps would it be worth trying her on fleece or vetbed until her feet have cleared up a bit? Just so she has soft bedding &bumblefoot doesn't decide to come into the equation.
The fleece would need to be washed 3times without conditioner to make the urine wick through the fleece not sit on top of it-I'm not sure if vetbed needs any special pre use treatment. Hopefully one of the experts on here can help with that dept tho. Xx
 
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