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Smelly Guinea Pig

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Hannah Boo

Junior Guinea Pig
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The last few days I've noticed a horrible smell from my guinea pig (she is 6 years). It's nothing to do with the cage. It is always cleaned out (three times this week) . I bathed her yesterday and her rear end was mucky and she was a bit damp there.
She didn't smell for a day and today she is smelling again. I will take get to vets as the bath hasn't helped, but just wondered if anyone had an idea what might be wrong. She is eating and pooing fine.
 
The last few days I've noticed a horrible smell from my guinea pig (she is 6 years). It's nothing to do with the cage. It is always cleaned out (three times this week) . I bathed her yesterday and her rear end was mucky and she was a bit damp there.
She didn't smell for a day and today she is smelling again. I will take get to vets as the bath hasn't helped, but just wondered if anyone had an idea what might be wrong. She is eating and pooing fine.

Please have her seen by a vet. She has likely got a urinary tract infection or cystitis. A womb infection can also cause very smelly effluvia.
 
I will get her to the vets. It's hard to describe the smell. It's just unpleasant. If she had a uti would she not be squeaking when she wees. She's indoors and I've not noticed her sounding in pain.
 
I will get her to the vets. It's hard to describe the smell. It's just unpleasant. If she had a uti would she not be squeaking when she wees. She's indoors and I've not noticed her sounding in pain.

not always but this hopefully means you have caught it early, if it is one. the smell is how i knew maisie's had come back each time. the smell is unpleasant and i would best describe it as a stale urine type smell.

good look at the vets. :)
 
not always but this hopefully means you have caught it early, if it is one. the smell is how i knew maisie's had come back each time. the smell is unpleasant and i would best describe it as a stale urine type smell.

good look at the vets. :)

Come to think of it she doesn't drink much, especially considering its hot at the moment. Could this be a sign?
 
Come to think of it she doesn't drink much, especially considering its hot at the moment. Could this be a sign?

it could be. some say piggies who don't drink enough are more prone to these issues, but maisie was a big drinker (water not alcohol :))) and she still got cystitis. it's one of the most common piggy problems so fingers crossed just a one off if she does have one. i think someone said they are more common around this time of year aswell. might have been @Wiebke . your girl may drink less because she gets what she needs through her veggies and grass aswell, especially if she has never been a big drinker :)
 
Sorry just realised I never updated you all. She is fine it is old age - the muscles in her legs have weakened. When she is popping she doesn't know she is and isn't moving so she is sitting in her toilet. Hence the smell returning after bathing her. The vet says I need to wash her everyday and put Vaseline and sudo cream on as a barrier x

good luck. let us know how you get on :)
 
Sorry just realised I never updated you all. She is fine it is old age - the muscles in her legs have weakened. When she is popping she doesn't know she is and isn't moving so she is sitting in her toilet. Hence the smell returning after bathing her. The vet says I need to wash her everyday and put Vaseline and sudo cream on as a barrier x

she might benefit from daily metacam. alot of older piggies have muscle weakness, stiffness and arthritis. the metacam will help with this and hopefully mean she is able to move her muscles more easily and in turn this should help her toileting position so she is not toileting on herself as much or at all. although to have poop on her, the poop mustn't be the right consistency anyway so that might be something to look into. if she is in discomfort then her poops may be too soft. or she is urinating on herself aswell which seems more likely.

not sure whereabouts the weakness is specifically, but the vet can show you how to do some basic 'physio' aswell to help the joints and movement. i had to do this for maisie's arthritis ankle and it was actually quite easy and definitely seemed to help her :)

obviously it is a good idea to keep her clean and dry, but i feel her skin will likely become sore from it eventually, despite the cream. it might be better to try and get to the root cause of the problem instead so you have a chance to stop if happening in the first place, at least not as badly anyway.

how cavy-savvy is your vet? i would probably take her to see someone else if your vet isn't exotics/cavy-savvy. :)
 
Hi
she might benefit from daily metacam. alot of older piggies have muscle weakness, stiffness and arthritis. the metacam will help with this and hopefully mean she is able to move her muscles more easily and in turn this should help her toileting position so she is not toileting on herself as much or at all. although to have poop on her, the poop mustn't be the right consistency anyway so that might be something to look into. if she is in discomfort then her poops may be too soft. or she is urinating on herself aswell which seems more likely.

not sure whereabouts the weakness is specifically, but the vet can show you how to do some basic 'physio' aswell to help the joints and movement. i had to do this for maisie's arthritis ankle and it was actually quite easy and definitely seemed to help her :)

obviously it is a good idea to keep her clean and dry, but i feel her skin will likely become sore from it eventually, despite the cream. it might be better to try and get to the root cause of the problem instead so you have a chance to stop if happening in the first place, at least not as badly anyway.

how cavy-savvy is your vet? i would probably take her to see someone else if your vet isn't exotics/cavy-savvy. :)

Hi the vet is orchard vets in romsey. The rescue Wheek and squeak uses this vet and I trust them more than others. We travelled 40 minutes to get there even though there is a vet 2 minutes from our house. Her poos are perfectly normal. No problems with eating or pooing and they are normal pellets. I will just continue cleaning her out three times a week and she's indoors so I can keep an eye on her x
 
as wiebke said, it's an anti-inflammatory pain relief medication. usually used for the problems i mentioned, which sounds like what your girl has from what you've said :)
 
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