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Think i know whats up with ralphie

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Hi Claire

I'm so very sorry to hear about Ralphie and all his problems....it's just one thing after another for you both and am in a similar situation to you atm with several of my pigs so i do sympathise.

From my current experience:
Puffed up = pain. Pain stops them eating. Therefore need to stop the pain and identify the cause. If Ralphie will still take a syringe, then metacam liquid (what is his weight?) should do it otherwise other painkiller as suggested by AP or injected metcam.

PAIN
As an example: One of my pigs (Fleure, almost 6 years old) puffed up and stopped eating. X ray from second vet i consulted showed urethral and kidney stones. Former removed and she was put on metacam for the duration until she was put to sleep when renal failure became imminent. Having said that, she spent two happy months with her partner Grommie, eating to her heart's content provided she she was maintained to correct dosage on metacam daily. Not saying your pig has stones - just pointing out that removing pain enables them to eat if the cause isn;t teeth..

CAUSE - ?TEETH/SPURS
As to the cause - well that's where Grommie comes in. He is 6 years plus and has to have his molars trimmed every 5-7 months as they develop spurs which dig into his tongue. It's not for want of fibre etc - he eats very well and all the right things. But unlike Fleure, he would never gnaw on wood to keep his teeth in check and also there is a possibility that his jaw is slightly "out" so his teeth don't get worn evenly. At first it wasn;t easy to spot when they needed doing before he started losing weight and a nearly critical situation developed. But now, having been alerted to his recurring condition 18 months ago, I'm far more vigilant. I;ve noticed he starts to chew more on his water bottle and doesn;t eat all his dried food, leaving chopped up residue in the bowl. And most importantly - this time round just before he had his teeth done, he was gagging like Ralphie.

MOTILITY
Last time Grommie had his teeth done (with a new vet last month) he also developed bloat (diagnosed on X ray to rule out obstruction). He is still on Baytril as without it his respiration is bad and despite probiotics, now frequently has a very windy tummy which is evident when i tap his abdomen and it sounds hollow. I get this moving through his system with a single dose of Infacol (0.15ml for a 1kg pig), gentle massage, and thick Supreme Recovery which he woofs down from a spoon and am more careful about his diet so when he has an episode he just gets unlimited hay, Vit C (syringed) and dried food with no veggies (and Recovery)

GAGGING
However, I currently have other pigs that gag (or open their mouths unnecesarily wide ) when I syringe feed them Vit C or Baytril - and this is because they are currently unable to breathe properly through their noses, some have fluid on the lungs, and we are still trying to diagnose the cause (hence why Grommie is also on Baytril as he has some ?URI? ?heart?/renal?syptoms too)

BOTTOM LINE
I guess therefore all I;m saying is first remove the pain. If he still doesn;t eat then teeth is a likely cause.

GA/TEETH
Glad to hear you have found a rodentologist - I am going to apply for the course as Grommie can;t take another GA next time his teeth need doing..and I havent; found a vet yet who would do teeth without a GA (and more importantly - they insist on an the full injection/reversal GA rather than gas so there's no mask to obstruct where they;re working, which is far more dangerous for him in view of his age)

FOR YOU CLAIRE:
Hope some of this (rambling) info helps..(bear with me everyone it;s my first post I think).....please pm me for my phone number if you want a chat. It's not just Ralphie going through the mill at the moment...you are too and if a fresh face/experience would help either of you then I;m happy to chat/sob/rant with you as appropriate . My other pigs have developed their probs following neutering (abcesses etc) so completely understand your angst.

Best of luck my dear...you are doing everything you can for lovely Ralphie..and all paws are crossed for you both down here in Sussex

x
 
alcesterpigs said:
"If his mouth is sore it might also be worth asking for injected metacam, it is a painkiller as well as an anti- inflammatory, I wouldn't use oral if he isn't eating"

If he is not eating, because of a sore mouth, then Daktarin Oral Gel is the very thing that he needs, until any possible oral/dental problem is resolved.
Calpol liquid, dose 0.2ml, is a useful general painkiller which could be given in conjunction with the Daktarin.
Click to expand...

I meant oral metacam, because it can cause ulcers if taken on an empty stomach!
 
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How is he this morning? I hope he's still gaining a bit of weight.

The Daktarin is given via syringe, withdraw 0.5ml directly from the tube and syringe it into his mouth the same as anything else. It will essentially "coat" his mouth and soothe any soreness caused by dental overgrowth or spurs.
 
i have taken ralphie into the vets again this morning the vet had a little look into his mouth and could see a large collection of food which is **** from when Ive been feeding him i do flush after but it just stays i asked them to do the teeth with out a GA but they wouldn't so Ive had to have a GA on him i will know more at 4pm today when i collect him just hope he can hang on a little longer and doesn't have any problems with the GA but he has put on 30g since Friday with me hand feeding him but he just cant do it on his own he cant even use its water bottle,before he went off his food Friday he was biting hard on his water bottle so maybe these were all signs of problem teeth but will know more today will keep you all posted.x
 
Fingers crossed he is ok he is really going through the mill poor guy and poor you
 
Fingers crossed for you both, I hope he hangs on in there poor little guy. Sending you both (((HUGS))). I do know of a good vet that knows about Guineas, but she is not too local at the moment. She is doing locum work at Vets for pets at Cannock. Her name is Hannah Bould. Give them a ring if you feel the need too, maybe she could help. XX
 
Sending my best wishes to poorly Ralphie!
 
Pebble said:
Hi Claire

I'm so very sorry to hear about Ralphie and all his problems....it's just one thing after another for you both and am in a similar situation to you atm with several of my pigs so i do sympathise.

From my current experience:
Puffed up = pain. Pain stops them eating. Therefore need to stop the pain and identify the cause. If Ralphie will still take a syringe, then metacam liquid (what is his weight?) should do it otherwise other painkiller as suggested by AP or injected metcam.

PAIN
As an example: One of my pigs (Fleur, almost 6 years old) puffed up and stopped eating. X ray from second vet i consulted showed urethral and kidney stones. Former removed and she was put on metacam for the duration until she was put to sleep when renal failure became imminent. Having said that, she spent two happy months with her partner Grommie, eating to her heart's content provided she she was maintained to correct dosage on metacam daily. Not saying your pig has stones - just pointing out that removing pain enables them to eat if the cause isn;t teeth..

CAUSE - ?TEETH/SPURS
As to the cause - well that's where Grommie comes in. He is 6 years plus and has to have his molars trimmed every 5-7 months as they develop spurs which dig into his tongue. It's not for want of fibre etc - he eats very well and all the right things. But unlike Fleur, he would never gnaw on wood to keep his teeth in check and also there is a possibility that his jaw is slightly "out" so his teeth don't get worn evenly. At first it wasn;t easy to spot when they needed doing before he started losing weight and a nearly critical situation developed. But now, having been alerted to his recurring condition 18 months ago, I'm far more vigilant. I;ve noticed he starts to chew more on his water bottle and doesn;t eat all his dried food, leaving chopped up residue in the bowl. And most importantly - this time round just before he had his teeth done, he was gagging like Ralphie.

MOTILITY
Last time Grommie had his teeth done (with a new vet last month) he also developed bloat (diagnosed on X ray to rule out obstruction). He is still on Baytril as without it his respiration is bad and despite probiotics, now frequently has a very windy tummy which is evident when i tap his abdomen and it sounds hollow. I get this moving through his system with a single dose of Infacol (0.15ml for a 1kg pig), gentle massage, and thick Supreme Recovery which he woofs down from a spoon and am more careful about his diet so when he has an episode he just gets unlimited hay, Vit C (syringed) and dried food with no veggies (and Recovery)

GAGGING
However, I currently have other pigs that gag (or open their mouths unnecessarily wide ) when I syringe feed them Vit C or Baytril - and this is because they are currently unable to breathe properly through their noses, some have fluid on the lungs, and we are still trying to diagnose the cause (hence why Grommie is also on Baytril as he has some ?URI? ?heart?/renal?symptoms too)

BOTTOM LINE
I guess therefore all I;m saying is first remove the pain. If he still doesn;t eat then teeth is a likely cause.

GA/TEETH
Glad to hear you have found a rodentologist - I am going to apply for the course as Grommie can;t take another GA next time his teeth need doing..and I haven't; found a vet yet who would do teeth without a GA (and more importantly - they insist on an the full injection/reversal GA rather than gas so there's no mask to obstruct where they;re working, which is far more dangerous for him in view of his age)

FOR YOU CLAIRE:
Hope some of this (rambling) info helps..(bear with me everyone it;s my first post I think).....please pm me for my phone number if you want a chat. It's not just Ralphie going through the mill at the moment...you are too and if a fresh face/experience would help either of you then I;m happy to chat/sob/rant with you as appropriate . My other pigs have developed their probs following neutering (abscesses etc) so completely understand your angst.

Best of luck my dear...you are doing everything you can for lovely Ralphie..and all paws are crossed for you both down here in Sussex

x
Click to expand...

thank you for your post its really nice(for me) to know that I'm not alone in this everyone on here has been so good to me i really dont know what it would be like without people as good as you guys:0...
his weight is 951g now has i put a little on with me feeding him by hand i have also just re-homed ,my 34th guinea pig since starting up my rescue at the end of august and had 2 mummy guinea reserved until they go to there new loving forever home on 16/12/09 x
 
Any news on Ralphie?

Hows he doing?

Did they notice anything wrong with is teeth?
 
they re-moved a couple or small spurrs nothing they said to stop him eatting but he was trying to eat 2nite and is even worse but through all this i didnt know we could get pdsa help has my hubby lost his job in september after 30 years of being there only found out today so my hubby has just taken him to the emergancy vets he gone there now,,he so wants to eat but they say guineas cant be sick as soon has the food gets the back of his throat he brings it back up he ssoooo wants to eat.when i rang the pdsa i started crying has I'm so worried about him wish someone could find out was is up with him its as if theres some thing there stopping his food go down the vets today looked in his mouth but not his throatmallethead makes me wonder if some thing is stuck in it hay, thorn ,tummor some thing is sooo wrong with him.this is the 3rd vets we have gone to now i hope its 3rd time lucky he has had around 7 GA now in 4wks and the vets wanted do another GA on him if no better to check his throat you think they would have checked it there and then to save anymore GA malletheadthey did say his tooth was cracked but not loose would a guinea get tooth ache has i thought they had no nerves in them?he had pain med he had metacam the vets said dont start it till tomoz has he has a injection or pain med i feel like i cant give up on him he is so fighting and it could be some thing simple like hay sharp pieace,or thorn or some thing i know its getting me down though
 
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Oh no I am so sorry to hear about Ralphie, I hope the PDSA can help him.

Have you tried leaving some food in a saucer in case he can lick it from there, maybe he panic being fed? He must be getting some water down him or he'd be very dehydrated.

I had to syringe feed Ginger when he was a bit ill after being neutered, and I tried Hipp Organic carrot baby food jar for 0-3 months, about 40p, and he seemed to take it quite well, better than pellets anyway.

Sorry I am sure you have thought of all the above, just trying to help in some way. Hopefully someone else will have some really good advice for you.

I really hope you can get some answers and that he is on the mend soon.

Edit: Ginger my avatar died on Weds, I know what you are going through, it's awful when they are sick :(
 
AWWW Louisdog. Poor you - this is heartbreaking all these gorgeous loved guineas being poorly and worse :(:(

I hope Ralphie is okay, hes had so many ga's i'mnot surprised he has no appetite. Mork only had one and he was off his food for about 3 days. Ralphie must be feeling pretty rubbish.

Poor guy and you too Claire. Your hubby sounds like a diamond.
 
hubby come back from vets they gave him another injection they think his stomach isn't working properly and when he tries to eat its making him feel sick his reaction is gagging really bad.he gags when trying to eat on his own as well they have said wait 2 days then see how he is.
hoping he will pick up he ate a little cabbage with me feeding him and when he gagged i rubbed his ears this seemed to take his mind off gagging and also had 60mls of recovery which he wanted has he was biting the syringe for more all on his own :)fluffiness went down a little as well while he has been sitting with me for the last 2 hours also he we'd on me it was a big one so know I'm giving him enough fluids:)) has he isn't ale to drink on his own or even lap it up has this makes him gag bad as well..neally a week away then he can have a girl friend hopeing this will pick him up
 
You sound like you're having a terrible time and my heart really goes out to you and Ralphie. I hope you get some good news soon.
 
" If at this appt you get no joy then take him to Alcesterpigs, you have nothing to lose by doing so"

Last resort!?.
 
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