Slightly Concerned about Arnold

[MommaPiggy]

I'm just a little concerned about my little boy, Arnold.

I've noticed it about 4 times over the past few days.
He'll sometimes sit down and tense the back of his body, sort of like they do when they wee. That sort of motion.
But he squeaks like he's uncomfortable. It's a higher pitch squeak than normal. It's unlike him.

I don't think he's weeing when he does it, the fur around their gets really wet when he wee's. He has long fur around his bits, I've picked him up and checked him and he hasn't been wet around there, so I don't think he's actually going to the loo when he does this.
As for number 2's, I'm unsure.

He's eating properly. Drinking, popcorning at lights out, like normal. He seems okay, a bit more skittish than usual, though. When I go to pick him up, he struggles more than normal and squeals.
I gave him a good feel around his belly and he doesn't seem to be in any pain.

But this noise is sudden and it really sounds like he's uncomfortable whenever he does it.

I was planning on keeping him in the living room with me tomorrow. So I can keep a proper eye on him.
But what could it be?
Is it just a noise they make and I've never noticed?

Could he be having trouble pooing, do you think?

Should I just keep an eye on him tomorrow and see how it goes?

I've just never heard either of them make this noise before.
Louie had constipation before he died and he used to make it when he tried to poo but he was also off his veggies due to this.
Arnold is eating like normal.

 

[MommaPiggy]

I just saw him now. I had him on my bed with Ralph, eating some veggies.
All was normal.

Then once they had finished eating and had a wander around, Arnold starting squeaking and he stopped.
He poo'd once and then moved on, then he stopped and made the noise again and he poo'd 4 times in a row.
His poo's were a little oddly shapen. With "pointy" bits at one end, normally they're just like oval pellets.
They were also a little off colour. They had light brown patches on them.
They're normally just a really dark brown.

 

[lovelygirl]

no advice but sending my best wishes and i hope you can get to the bottom of this problem no pun intended lol

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Is he a good drinker? His symptoms can, in some cases, indicate dehydration.

I would mainly be inclined at this stage to watch out for signs of cystitis, and just ensure he's eating/drinking/moving around well.

 

[MommaPiggy]

Is he a good drinker? His symptoms can, in some cases, indicate dehydration.

I would mainly be inclined at this stage to watch out for signs of cystitis, and just ensure he's eating/drinking/moving around well.

He normally drinks alot at night, when he's eating the nuggets.
But I can't say I see him around the drinks bottle all that much during the daylight hours.
I'll keep a good eye on him.

What are the signs of cystitis?

I gave him some veggies just now and it took him a while but he did start chomping down on them.
I was worried for a minute, he wasn't all that enthusiastic but once he started, he didn't stop.

 

[Wiebke]

http://www.guinealynx.info/uti.html
With a cystitis, you will also notice that the urine smells very stale.

 

[MommaPiggy]

http://www.guinealynx.info/uti.html
With a cystitis, you will also notice that the urine smells very stale.

Thank you


My poor boy. I'll be sure to watch him very carefully.

 

[MommaPiggy]

He's quite cuddly today...Which is weird for him. He's never been a very cuddly pig. But he lay out on me, and stretched his legs and rested his chin on my arm.
He's just not like that.

I just noticed now, too...That his poo's have gotten larger since yesterday and are almost completely off colour. The tips on each end are dark but the rest is a light brown color.

What should I do? Should I keep watch over him for another day and take him to the vets Friday, if it continues?

 

[Tracyxx]

I always thought that light poo was a sign of dehydration. I've had rescue pigs come here with light poos because they haven't had clean water to drink. If his poos are dry, they'll be harder to pass..I wonder if that's causing pain? I have no idea if pigs can get 'constipated' as such, just throwing thoughts around. You could try giving him a good bit of cucumber, as well as something high in Vit-C, like red pepper, and see what happens?

 

[MommaPiggy]

I always thought that light poo was a sign of dehydration. I've had rescue pigs come here with light poos because they haven't had clean water to drink. If his poos are dry, they'll be harder to pass..I wonder if that's causing pain? I have no idea if pigs can get 'constipated' as such, just throwing thoughts around. You could try giving him a good bit of cucumber, as well as something high in Vit-C, like red pepper, and see what happens?

Thank you. I'll try that. I'll give him some cucumber right now.
And then some more later at veggy time.
I actually have a few red peppers, too. So this is great.

 

[MommaPiggy]

He's gotten worse
He sounds like he's really in pain when he tries to go to the loo now...
Before it was just discomfort but his squeaks broke my heart this morning. It sounds so painful.

I called the vets today, to make an appointment for tomorrow but when I told them about his problem, they squeezed me in for 2pm today.

Wish me luck. I hope it's nothing serious. 8... My poor little boy!

 

[flintstones]

Good luck! ... Fingers and paws crossed here xx

 

[Laura-CCC4]

I hope the appointment goes ok. xx

 

[MommaPiggy]

It went okay. The vet said he's unsure what it is...He said it's most likely cystitis or something in his gut that's making his poo's hard to pass.

He had 3 shots. He was such a brave boy, he didn't squeal, although he did flinch

He had an antibiotic, a painkiller and something for his gut, just incase there's some bacteria there that's causing a problem.
My vet is very good, he keeps Guinea pigs himself, so I do trust him.

But what do you guys think...Does that sound right to you?

It cost me £36 and I need to go back tomorrow so my vet can check him over again and make sure he's doing okay but he's worth every penny.

 

[CavyWonders]

Did the vet check to see if he was impacted?

When boars get impacted they get a big build up of droppings which they cannot pass themselves, but can still pass normal droping and sometimes depending on the size of the impaction they can be in pain with it.
Worth checking to see if he is impacted

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Overall his symptoms sound typical of cystitis, they can be symptoms of other problems but cystitis is the most common and can cause pain when defecating.

If the vet does believe it could be cystitis, Arnold should be given a course of antibiotics and, ideally, anti-inflammatories too.

Plenty of fluids too - water and cranberry juice are both good.

 

[MommaPiggy]

If the vet does believe it could be cystitis, Arnold should be given a course of antibiotics and, ideally, anti-inflammatories too.

Plenty of fluids too - water and cranberry juice are both good.

I think my vet will most likely give him antibiotics tomorrow, if his symptoms persist. I have a feeling that's why he wants me to go back.

How would I go about giving Arnold cranberry juice? And if I do give it to him, how much should I give?
Also, I assume it should be pure and not from concentrate? I can grab some on the way to work, I work near a Sainsburys and a Tesco.

 

[alcesterpigs]

Pure cranberry juice is the best. You cannot overdose him.
You should aim to get him to take at least 20ml per day. Should he want more, that is even better.
Most pigs need the juice to be syringe fed.

 

[MommaPiggy]

Pure cranberry juice is the best. You cannot overdose him.
You should aim to get him to take at least 20ml per day. Should he want more, that is even better.
Most pigs need the juice to be syringe fed.

That's good. As long I can't overdose him and hurt him.
Thank you. I'll give it a try. Hopefully he'll like it and won't cause me too much trouble.

 

[MommaPiggy]

My Brave little star!

Arnold was so very brave this morning.

We went back to the vets for a second visit.
The vet had a really good feel around and Arnold gave him a run for his money. Yesterday when the vet was feeling him...Arnold just let him do it, he didn't whine, he didn't squeak...He just sat there.
It's so unlike him...

But today! He was squealing like a trooper! He wouldn't have any of it. He was trying to bite the vet he was wriggling like crazy and he made his mummy's day...When he got free from the vet, the first thing he did was to me and curl up against me. To me, that means that Arnold trusts me...Which makes me so happy...I thought he hated me...But when he was all scared, he came running for me 8...

I had to hold him, though and let the vet squeeze him :x but it was for his own good.
He ended up peeing all over the table and then he pooped a billion times. xx>>> His poops were normal size, normal colour and normal shape.

He didn't strain, either. He just pooped like there was no tomorrow.
He's so energetic and alert today, he hasn't been like this all week. :<>

Oh! My brave little darling! You're mummy's little star!