Very Ill Guinea Piggy, Please Help

[kerri Davidson]

Hi there, My 1 year old little guinea pighad became very ill suddenly. When i went down on Tuesday morning at 6:30 he was hiding in his house, which really isnt like him, but i fed and watered him as usual. Came home from work at 6:30pm, 12 hours later, and no nuggets, hay or water had been touched which instantly raised alarm bells! I took him out and gave him a stroke which he would normally love and speak to me but got no response. Made him comfotable on his soft beddy with a little blanky that night. Came back down the same time wednesday morning and he was sat there all puffed up and eyes half closed. Managed to get a vet appointment for that afternoon which my partner took him too as i was out at work. Dont think the vet was very sure what was wrong with him, checked his temperature and teeth, both fine, said he was quite swollen at the rear and was given antibiotics. Partner took him home and made his comfy again on his little beddy and he just lay there the rest of the day without any movement. I came home and stroked him without moving him and his breaths were very shallow, i honestly thought he was going. Theres been many tears i musy admit, extremely attached guinea pig mummy! We hand fed him with a syringe, mushed up his usual nuggets with water and he seemed to eat it a little but wasnt being entertained by the water but we got our hopes up that he had actually eaten something. We got him back into his bed and he tried to move about but seemed to struggle an awful lot but he did try to put his head in the food bowl and over in the hay. By the time i was going to bed i couldnt leave him so ended up sleeping in the living room with him! Barely slept a wink but just wanted to be there with him. Caughthim trying to drink some water out his bottle on his own which got my hopes up yet again. Went and got ready for work and came back down to give him his antibiotics that we were told to give him every morning till we run out. But before i could do it he started shaking, almost trembing, he managed to get himself over to his water bottle but couldnt seem to find the energy to actually drink it or gethis head up to the bottle. This was truely awful to watch and only set me off crying more. By this point my mum was up and she calmed me down and we took little Quintin out of his cage and sat with him in his bed on our laps while mum held him and i gave him the antibiotics but by this point he was looking extremley lifeless. I got him back in his cage on his bed and he just sat there for a while un moving but thankfully no longer shaking. I left for work and mum sat with him for another hour before leaving for her own work. She placed his little blanket on top of him and he looked to be fairly comfortable but i dont know what else i can do? This is totally unlike him and awful to see, the worst part is i cant even be there for him and as i type, everyone at home is out to work and i hate knowing he's just lying in his cagey on his own. Is there anything else i can do or any suggestions as to what it could be or if i'll ever see signs of improvement, its been killing me all morning! I'm going to pick up some probiotic on my way home hopefully to mix in with his water. Please someone help


This was Quintin this morning

 

[kerri Davidson]

PLEASE HELP

 

[Adelle]

Sorry to hear your little one is so poorly.

All i can suggest is you try and get seen by a piggy savvy vet asap- "swollen" isnt a diagnosis.

Where are you based? If in the uk, there is a recommended uk vet locator on the forum, and the "Guinea Lynx" website has recommended vets in other areas too.

You need to be consistent with syringe feeding- if a guinea pig doesnt have food going through their guts at a regular pace, they can and will start to shut down. So this is absolutely vital.. There is a guide here:
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

I really hope he is seen by a more piggy knowledgable vet soon x

 

[kerri Davidson]

Thank you so much for getting back to me, I'm totally new to these forums and not entirely sure how it works!

I'm not entirely happy with the vets so called 'diagnosis' either. Unfortunately i live in a small village in aberdeenshire, at leadt an hour away from the vet that is recomended on this site for being a guinea pig speialist

Ive also been reading a lot online (which I know is completely the wrong thing to do and has had me in tears many times this morning) but i see a lot that people are saying to give ill piggies probiotic in their water while on antibiotics and that this really should have been mentioned by the vet? Again i am totally new to all this and this has been my first piggy so i am not sure if this is right or not?

I hope I can just keep him as comfortable as possible so if he does sadly go he wont be in any pain Pains me even to have to write it!

Thanks again for helping x

 

[Adelle]

Personally i think if you can travel the hour it will be worth it..

Yes piggies should be given probiotics 1-2 hours after each antibiotic dose to keep the the gut bacteria in check.. But the priority here is having him seen sooner rather than later so he can be given a proper diagnosis.

It sounds like time is off the essence x

 

[Wiebke]

I agree with Adelle - please take the time to travel and to have him seen by a more knowledgeable vet as quickly as you can. If a guinea pig goes off food and water completely, this is an absolute life-and-death emergency. It takes me about an hour to see a piggy savvy vet in another town for those cases that are beyond my local general vets.
Tips For Vet Visits

You need to step in ASAP with syringe feeding and watering round the clock, little but often, to prevent the guts from slowing and then closing down once a piggy is starting to go off its food. Please read the tips in our illustrated syringe feeding guide; they also contain advice on what you can do with what you have got at home in an emergency.

 

[Eilidh]

I am so sorry about your little pig but as I am a relatively new piggy keeper I don't really have any advice to offer you, I can only wish you and Quintin the very best of luck.