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URGENT - Very ill/dying guinea pig

Maisy and Poppy

Maisy and Poppy

Adult Guinea Pig
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Location
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My guinea pig Poppy is 4 years old and has recently had bloat and uti so has been on antibiotics. This afternoon around 5pm she was sitting in her cage all hunched up, with laboured breathing (her body moving in and out), crusty and unusual eyes, and not eating or drinking.

We took her to the vets for an emergency visit and they gave her some pain relief, more antibiotics, anti-gas, as she still feels a tiny bit bloated, and something to get the gut moving.

I have separated her from her friend as they don't always get on and she's just lying there, taking a few tiny nibbles of her favourite veg but not moving unless I pick her hidey hole up.

Do I give her some critical care or is there anything I can do to help her? The vet has made it clear that she probably won't survive the night 😭
 
Hi,
Have you tried rubbing her stomach or using an electric tooth brush to try and release the bloating, it's worked a bit for me in the past?
 
Do you have an electric toothbrush? Try turning it on and putting the handle (not the brush bit) on her tummy as the vibrations will help the gas to move a bit.
You just beat me to it @Mother Hubbard!
 
Betsy said:
Do you have an electric toothbrush? Try turning it on and putting the handle (not the brush bit) on her tummy as the vibrations will help the gas to move a bit.
You just beat me to it @Mother Hubbard!
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I'm glad you clarified how to use it, I wasn't thinking when I put that out there...fingers crossed for Poppy.
 
Thank you both, she doesn't seem too bloated, it's more that she seems extremely weak, when I got home from the vets 2hrs ago she was eating a bit of grass, tiny bit of hay, running around (slightly) jumping into travel cage, and enjoying being stroked and cuddled, then about 30 mins ago I lifted up her hidey hole and she tottered over to her tunnel, and now she is just sitting there when I lifted up her hidey hole to out more hay in.
It's like she's very weak and giving up just sitting there, but I'm not sure if holding her will help?
5-10 mins ago I also gave her a tiny amount of Supreme critical care on my finger and she had about half the size of a pea roughly? Took her ages to eat it (unusually so) and she didn't want any more after that, she looked like it was an effort to eat :(
 
So sorry for your situation.
Maybe this is her time to go and the best gift you can give her now is to ensure she is warm and comfortable.
She is loved, that too is a precious gift.
Holding you in thought and prayer
 
Thank you I've had a look, she doesn't want to eat and it seems cruel to force feed her, do you think it would help?
We had to syringe feed her antibiotics around 2 weeks ago twice a day and she got very distressed trying to paw it away and squeaking, as well as refusing to open her mouth.
 
Merab's Slave said:
So sorry for your situation.
Maybe this is her time to go and the best gift you can give her now is to ensure she is warm and comfortable.
She is loved, that too is a precious gift.
Holding you in thought and prayer
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Would a heat pad help?
 
Betsy said:
Have you started syringe feeding? Complete guide here:-

Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
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Thank you I've had a look, she doesn't want to eat and it seems cruel to force feed her, do you think it would help?
We had to syringe feed her antibiotics around 2 weeks ago twice a day and she got very distressed trying to paw it away and squeaking, as well as refusing to open her mouth.
 
Don't know what to advise anymore. You know your piggy best and if you think it'd be cruel to force feed her, maybe @Merab's Slave is right. Sometimes the call of the Rainbow Bridge is too strong and they just have to go. A heat pad would help to keep her warm. You have given her a good life and have loved her and she knows that. She'll go to the Rainbow Bridge a happy piggy.
 
sorry to hear Poppy is not well. could you try discussing with vet(as an emergency) giving extra pain relief, if she's lacking in appetite & hunched up this may be because of pain?
If she's not too bloated, could you find any more grass/dandelions, etc to tempt her to eat? hand feeding strands of hay/favourite treats sometimes works for me too. (greens can cause bloat, but so can not eating & she really needs to eat to stay alive).
gently massage her tummy if she is bloated & you have no electric toothbrush, in an emergency with bloat i would try mine with Gripe water if you have any (or from the baby aisle in the supermarket)? but it sounds like the vet has given you some gut stimulant to try & keep things moving - this needs to keep going or her digestive system could go into stasis & complicate matters further. Keep her warm & free from draughts to make her comfortable as possible.
could putting her in view &chatting distance of her friend help her to get motivated & competitive for eating?
if she has a respiratory infection, her heavy breathing will cause an increase in air intake giving her a gassy tummy too, hopefully if she has an URI the antibiotics will kick in quick enough to sort it.

If she doesn't improve you may need to take her to the vets & help her over Rainbow bridge, but you do know your little girl best & you will be able to tell if she is ready to go or not.
Thinking of you at this difficult time & hope things improve for you ASAP. lots of love Andrea & the Girls.xx
 
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Syringe feeding helps them survive so their guts don’t stop moving. It’s definitely not cruel, it stops them starving to death. I’ve syringe fed mine before, sometimes they don’t want it but once you get it to their mouths they munch on it.

I would definitely start syringe feeding if she’s not eating.
 
It's good that she survived the night and that she is still in the Land of the Living. :)
 
I feel like syringe feeding could be beneficial but it was such a struggle last time that I think it might finish her off and zap her remaining energy.
 
She's now just lying there with her head touching the ground, not responsive and breathing very quickly :(
 
@Maisy and Poppy To give them a chance to fight they need strength, and that comes from food. If they're not eating for themselves then we need to feed them.

Syringe feeding her will give her a chnace to fight. It's not a fun job, especially when they're resisting but it's a job we have to do

If she looks like she's given up and isn't able to swallow then the nicest thing we can do for them is to let the go. It's an awful decision to make but having them pts means they're not going to suffer.

I had to do it earlier this week. I hated having to do it but I really didn't want the piggy to suffer and struggle for any longer than necessary.
 
Jaycey said:
@Maisy and Poppy To give them a chance to fight they need strength, and that comes from food. If they're not eating for themselves then we need to feed them.

Syringe feeding her will give her a chnace to fight. It's not a fun job, especially when they're resisting but it's a job we have to do

If she looks like she's given up and isn't able to swallow then the nicest thing we can do for them is to let the go. It's an awful decision to make but having them pts means they're not going to suffer.

I had to do it earlier this week. I hated having to do it but I really didn't want the piggy to suffer and struggle for any longer than necessary.
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Thank you, I'm so torn between syringe feeding or not :(
 
Either syringe feed or take her to a vets to be humanely pts with anaesthetic, please don’t let her starve to death :(

This is going to sound harsh but it’s a choice between syringe feeding and losing your pig. Really you need to see a more experienced vet and keep her going with round the clock care and I’m sure she’d be fine but if you don’t want to syringe feed her then it’s kinder to help her over the bridge than it is to leave her.

It’s choice that sadly has to be made and I’d do it sooner rather than later to keep her suffering to a minimum. Good luck.
 
@Maisy and Poppy

@Cavy Kung-Fu is completely right. They need to eat to have a chance to fight. If their stomachs are empty then their digestive systems shut down and they'll die anyway.

If she is able to swallow food then you MUST syringe feed her to give her a chance to recover.

If you don't feel able to then you either need to make the decision to euthanise her, or find someone who can syringe feed her, whether that is a friend, family member or having her booked in to stay at the vet for them to do it.
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
Either syringe feed or take her to a vets to be humanely pts with anaesthetic, please don’t let her starve to death :(

This is going to sound harsh but it’s a choice between syringe feeding and losing your pig. Really you need to see a more experienced vet and keep her going with round the clock care and I’m sure she’d be fine but if you don’t want to syringe feed her then it’s kinder to help her over the bridge than it is to leave her.

It’s choice that sadly has to be made and I’d do it sooner rather than later to keep her suffering to a minimum. Good luck.
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Jaycey said:
@Maisy and Poppy

@Cavy Kung-Fu is completely right. They need to eat to have a chance to fight. If their stomachs are empty then their digestive systems shut down and they'll die anyway.

If she is able to swallow food then you MUST syringe feed her to give her a chance to recover.

If you don't feel able to then you either need to make the decision to euthanise her, or find someone who can syringe feed her, whether that is a friend, family member or having her booked in to stay at the vet for them to do it.
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Thank you both, she took a while to eat the tiny bit of food I gave her last night, I think I'll attempting syringe feeding her some critical care.
The vet did say a side effect of the pain relief (metacam? I think) was that she could be quite drowsy which may explain why she's sitting all hunched up but I'm not sure.
 
Maisy and Poppy said:
Thank you both, she took a while to eat the tiny bit of food I gave her last night, I think I'll attempting syringe feeding her some critical care.
The vet did say a side effect of the pain relief (metacam? I think) was that she could be quite drowsy which may explain why she's sitting all hunched up but I'm not sure.
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Being hunched is normally a sign of pain or discomfort, is she on dog metacam? What’s the dose?

As for syringe feeding if you can get a bit of wheat grass powder I’ve found the pigs like a bit of that mixed in with pellets and critical care. Iggy was a pain in the bum to syringe feed initially but loves it now :)
 
Can I ask, has she passed any poo at all? And wee? I would definitely try her with a syringe (max 10ml) of critical care and some water and continue with massaging the bloat. If the bloat is severe I always thought it was dangerous to feed them, as you are feeding on top of a blockage, which risks aspiration. If she has passed something that’s a good sign. Also you said they gave her antibiotics, baytryl can suppress the appetite I believe. So should always be given alongside critical care or some alternative.
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
Being hunched is normally a sign of pain or discomfort, is she on dog metacam? What’s the dose?

As for syringe feeding if you can get a bit of wheat grass powder I’ve found the pigs like a bit of that mixed in with pellets and critical care. Iggy was a pain in the bum to syringe feed initially but loves it now :)
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Thank you, I'm not exactly sure what she had but I'm pretty sure it was metacam.
 
G&C said:
Can I ask, has she passed any poo at all? And wee? I would definitely try her with a syringe (max 10ml) of critical care and some water and continue with massaging the bloat. If the bloat is severe I always thought it was dangerous to feed them, as you are feeding on top of a blockage, which risks aspiration. If she has passed something that’s a good sign. Also you said they gave her antibiotics, baytryl can suppress the appetite I believe. So should always be given alongside critical care or some alternative.
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Yes I think she had some antibiotics and it was baytril, we have just syringes fed her some critical care and she had a little but it was a big effort to eat it. She also took a nibble of a green salad leaf.
I don't think she has pooed or weed but it's hard to tell as she's remained under her hidey hole in a nest of hay and I don't want to disturb her, I found one tiny poo earlier this morning. Just after giving her critical care I let her walk around and she had a short wander outside and in her cage before settling back down again.
She doesn't seem bloated now, she just felt a tiny bit bloated ever since she had bloat but it's gone down now.
Should I syringe feed her again within the hour?
 
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