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Very Wobbly Pig, Hypoglycemia

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Flower_Girl

Flower_Girl

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Hello,

As of yesterday evening, I have a very wobbly sow who is reluctant to move much and is having trouble balancing to groom herself etc. Watching her trying to move around is quite upsetting, she's staggering around and seems quite disorientated. She is quiet and though still eating seems less enthusiastic about her food than usual. She has lost weight.

We went to the vet first thing this morning and although he's an experienced smallies vet he doesn't treat too many exotics and he didn't really know what was going on with her. As far as I know there is nothing that could have caused her any injury, the vet thinks she's tender around the abdomen and she also seems a little sore around her neck/throat (she was flinching as I wiped under her chin after syringing her meds).

We came home with Baytril and Metacam which I started her on as soon as I got in. The vet also tested her blood glucose which was very low and he has told me to syringe feed her honey/golden syrup or similar at short intervals during the day to see if this helps so I've been mixing honey with a little warm water and syringe feeding every hour as well as giving her some extra veggies, treats and timothy hay to encourage her to eat, which she is doing in small amounts. Is the honey a good idea? I'm hoping that the low glucose is due to under eating but is there anything more serious that hypoglycemia could indicate?

I have also split the cage down the middle to give her a bit of quiet time with just my gentlest girl (the other two can be a little rough and one was mounting her this morning) but she seems distressed by the divider and has tried to chew on the grid which is somewhat unsettling so I'm not sure what the best thing for her is.

Does anyone have any other suggestions or advice? If anyone can shed any more light on what this might be I'd be extremely grateful as I'm finding this very worrying!
 
The separation is probably going to cause more stress and stop her from eating, i think the interaction with the other piggies will do her good, with regards to honey/syrup, in very small doses and too much sugar is not good for them. If you could give your location maybe we can recommend a more experienced vet, what has he prescribed these med's for to treat exactly?

I hope your little girl is better soon xx
 
Did you vet discuss the possibility of an inner ear problem or other causes for her disorientation? If not then I would suggest a second opinion.

I have found a bit of extra glucose/honey helps with pigs that have too little energy to eat, as your vet found a low glucose level I think this is a sensible course of action in the short term and once eating properly again the level should return to normal - if not further investigation maybe needed.

You may find the giving an electrolyte solution may help more - dioralyte is perfect at the solution given on the packet. The blackcurrant one is favoured by some pigs, the standard flavour by others. It should help restore the correct balance in the piggy's system. If they won't drink it voluntarily from the bottle syringing 10ml in 0.5ml mouthfuls every few hours should help.

Unless there is a medical reason to separate I would leave your pigs together so that they have the comfort of their normal surroundings.

HTH

Suzy x
 
Thank you both for your quick responses.

She is still with one other guinea pig and she can still see/smell the others through the grid, I was just worried about them being too rough with her and doing her more damage or causing her pain as they can be quite boisterous and she does seem very frail at the moment.

Suzy, I mentioned the possibility of an ear problem myself and he said he thought it was unlikely given that it's not just a head tilt but he did have a look inside her ears and said that the antibiotics would sort it if that was the problem.

I will definitely look into the dioralyte, I'll see if we have any in.

I live in North London, I know that there is a practice that deals more with exotics (Midland Veterinary Surgery) but it's over an hour away on public transport and I've had no experience with them before so I'm wary about putting her through the stress of another long journey without knowing how competent the vets will be on the other side.

I've just been watching her and she's had two short fit-like attacks which certainly wasn't happening earlier. She's been having jerking convulsions though remaining upright and silent for maybe 30 seconds? I've seen two in the space of about five minutes.

Really don't know what to do. :(
 
oh gosh I am sorry. Cant offer you any advice, you are doing the best for her. Fingers and pawsies crossed for your little girl xx
 
Hopefully the antibiotics will kick soon and the cause is dealt with. If there is any deterioration in her condition please phone your vet as we can only advise.

Fingers crossed for you and your piggy.

Suzy x
 
I am slightly concerned about these recent episodes you describe which could be symptoms of a deteriorating hypoglycaemia and therefore it is important to keep her blood sugar levels up. Rather than trying to syringe a solution - try and apply small drops of honey directly into her mouth as she may not be able to swallow volumes of liquid properly.

For animals suffering hypoglycaemia the recommended immediate treatment to stabilise the condition is 1g of glucose solution or honey per kg of body weight so you need to try and get at least 0.75g honey down her in the next hour in order to reverse/stabilise the clinical symptoms - assuming they are down to the hypoglycaemia. (Dioralyte initally is not suitable - each sachet made up in 200ml of water contains 3.5g of glucose/dextrose so that equates to 57ml of solution - whch is far too much for a piggie in one sitting and would also contain too many sodium and potassium ions)

If the honey doesn;t work, and the convulsions continue then she will probably need a vet trip. Given her current condition I do not think a trip across London to Leyton by public transport in the rush hour would be in her best interests so nearer options are as follows:

Can you get to Hampstead?
http://www.villagevet.co.uk/content/hampstead/home/43

This pratice has surgeries all over North London but the Hampstead one and the Maida Vale one have the exotics vets and the Hampstead one operates the 24hour emergency and hospital service.

Another alternative is the Royal Vet College in Central London - the Beaumont Hospital is open til 7.30pm otnight but emergencies are handled by their other hospital in Potters Bar
http://www.rvc.ac.uk/BAH/Contact.cfm

It might be worth giving one of them a ring now and describing her symptoms and see what they say as to whether they think further treatment should be given tonight other than what your vet has already supplied/recommended.

As to what is causing the hypoglycaemia and or/convulsions - that is more difficult especially given the sudden onset. The tenderness under the chin could be swollen lymph nodes indicating an infection and it could be this is spreading to involve the nervous system or started in for instance the inner ear (which the vet wouldn;t be able to see). Virulent infections can cause a temporary hypoglycaemia which should resolve once the bugs are got under control by the antibiotic However the neurological symptoms could also be down to a stroke - this however would not normally be acocompanied by hypoglycaemia. There is one other cause I have found recorded for two piggies who showed very similar symtpoms to what you describe and that is an insulinoma in the pancreas which means there is an overproduction of insulin. It can be managed by keeping up the blood sugar levels but as to whether it can be cured in piggies I'm afraid I don;t know.

Are there any eye symptoms when she is having these episodes eg rolling eyes or eyes flickering/moving from side to side? This would be more indicative of a stroke.

Is her chest clear and her breathing normal? Did the vet take her temperature? an elevated temperature/breathing issues would be more indicative of an infection goin on.

At this moment providing she is breathing normally and not showing further signs of distress you have antibitioics and painkiller/anti-inflammatory and most importantly you have honey to keep her blood sugar levels up So unless she deteriorates in her breathing/sugar levels/fluid levels/poo output and requires more vet support then I think, sadly, all you can do is wait for 24hours and be prepared to take her back tomorrow. However as above I suggest you ring a 24hour vets and prime them on the possibility you might have to take her in later tonight.


Once you have got the honey down her you will need to provide regular top-ups with Diarolyte - 10ml every 2 hours or more frequently if the convulsions come back. Fresh grass is always tempting - even for poorly piggies as is mashed cucumber and grated carrot - the latter will help keep up the sugar levels. You may also want to try a small amount of syringe feeding of mushed pellets that have been pre-soaked in boiled water and allowed to cool. Given her condition however, syringe feed only tiny amounts of fluid at a time 0.1-0.2ml as she may have trouble swallowing larger amounts. Keep an eye on her poo output - this will probably diminish over the next 12 hours given she is not eating very much and she may need a gut stimulant (cisapride or metoclo-promide together with zan-tac)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you can get her through this critical 24 hours - don;t hesitate to ring a vet if she deteriorates any further.

Hope this helps - sorry I cant be more positive.

x
 
Last edited:
Pebble said:
I am slightly concerned about these recent episodes you describe which could be symptoms of a deteriorating hypoglycaemia and therefore it is important to keep her blood sugar levels up. Rather than trying to syringe a solution - try and apply small drops of honey directly into her mouth as she may not be able to swallow volumes of liquid properly.

For animals suffering hypoglycaemia the recommended immediate treatment to stabilise the condition is 1g of glucose solution or honey per kg of body weight so you need to try and get at least 0.75g honey down her in the next hour in order to reverse/stabilise the clinical symptoms - assuming they are down to the hypoglycaemia. (Dioralyte initally is not suitable - each sachet made up in 200ml of water contains 3.5g of glucose/dextrose so that equates to 57ml of solution - whch is far too much for a piggie in one sitting and would also contain too many sodium and potassium ions)

If the honey doesn;t work, and the convulsions continue then she will probably need a vet trip. Given her current condition I do not think a trip across London to Leyton by public transport in the rush hour would be in her best interests so nearer options are as follows:

Can you get to Hampstead?
http://www.villagevet.co.uk/content/hampstead/home/43

This pratice has surgeries all over North London but the Hampstead one and the Maida Vale one have the exotics vets and the Hampstead one operates the 24hour emergency and hospital service.

Another alternative is the Royal Vet College in Central London - the Beaumont Hospital is open til 7.30pm otnight but emergencies are handled by their other hospital in Potters Bar
http://www.rvc.ac.uk/BAH/Contact.cfm

It might be worth giving one of them a ring now and describing her symptoms and see what they say as to whether they think further treatment should be given tonight other than what your vet has already supplied/recommended.

As to what is causing the hypoglycaemia and or/convulsions - that is more difficult especially given the sudden onset. The tenderness under the chin could be swollen lymph nodes indicating an infection and it could be this is spreading to involve the nervous system or started in for instance the inner ear (which the vet wouldn;t be able to see). Virulent infections can cause a temporary hypoglycaemia which should resolve once the bugs are got under control by the antibiotic However the neurological symptoms could also be down to a stroke - this however would not normally be acocompanied by hypoglycaemia. There is one other cause I have found recorded for two piggies who showed very similar symtpoms to what you describe and that is an insulinoma in the pancreas which means there is an overproduction of insulin. It can be managed by keeping up the blood sugar levels but as to whether it can be cured in piggies I'm afraid I don;t know.

Are there any eye symptoms when she is having these episodes eg rolling eyes or eyes flickering/moving from side to side? This would be more indicative of a stroke.

Is her chest clear and her breathing normal? Did the vet take her temperature? an elevated temperature/breathing issues would be more indicative of an infection goin on.

At this moment providing she is breathing normally and not showing further signs of distress you have antibitioics and painkiller/anti-inflammatory and most importantly you have honey to keep her blood sugar levels up So unless she deteriorates in her breathing/sugar levels/fluid levels/poo output and requires more vet support then I think, sadly, all you can do is wait for 24hours and be prepared to take her back tomorrow. However as above I suggest you ring a 24hour vets and prime them on the possibility you might have to take her in later tonight.


Once you have got the honey down her you will need to provide regular top-ups with Diarolyte - 10ml every 2 hours or more frequently if the convulsions come back. Fresh grass is always tempting - even for poorly piggies as is mashed cucumber and grated carrot - the latter will help keep up the sugar levels. You may also want to try a small amount of syringe feeding of mushed pellets that have been pre-soaked in boiled water and allowed to cool. Given her condition however, syringe feed only tiny amounts of fluid at a time 0.1-0.2ml as she may have trouble swallowing larger amounts. Keep an eye on her poo output - this will probably diminish over the next 12 hours given she is not eating very much and she may need a gut stimulant (cisapride or metoclo-promide together with zan-tac)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you can get her through this critical 24 hours - don;t hesitate to ring a vet if she deteriorates any further.

Hope this helps - sorry I cant be more positive.

x
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for all this information, you have been extremely helpful, especially with those vet links. The vet listened to her chest and took her temperature, both normal. There doesn't seem to be anything going on with her eyes during the convultions, but I have given her more diluted honey since the last episode and haven't seen another one so I'm hoping that it's starting to help already.

I will syringe some pure honey now and I've just been out to buy Critical Care and also Diarolyte so I will certainly follow your recommendations and will stay with her through the night if need be.

I also have someone who may be able to drive me if I need to get her to an emergency vet but I will do everything I can do get her seen if she gets any worse.

I really appreciate the support from everyone so far, thank you so much. x
 
Flower_Girl said:
Thank you so much for all this information, you have been extremely helpful, especially with those vet links. The vet listened to her chest and took her temperature, both normal. There doesn't seem to be anything going on with her eyes during the convultions, but I have given her more diluted honey since the last episode and haven't seen another one so I'm hoping that it's starting to help already.

I will syringe some pure honey now and I've just been out to buy Critical Care and also Diarolyte so I will certainly follow your recommendations and will stay with her through the night if need be.

I also have someone who may be able to drive me if I need to get her to an emergency vet but I will do everything I can do get her seen if she gets any worse.

I really appreciate the support from everyone so far, thank you so much. x
Click to expand...

That's brilliant that she hasn;t had another episode since you;ve started feeding the honey. Try and get 0.5ml neat honey (in very small doses) over the next hour and then supplement with dioralyte.

This all sounds like you;re on the right track - and well done to your vet for doing the blood test to establish hypoglycaemia - that's not normally a procedure that would be done by a vet on first consultation with a sick guinea pig but the fact they have done it is an absolute godsend in terms of how to manage/understand her current symptoms. I'd be tempted to stick with that vet for routine consults (BUT - do they have their own 24hr emergency service or do they contract out to a completely different practice/set of vets? If the latter - don;t bother ringing them tonight if you need a vet - go with the links I;ve suggested.)


So - well done - you;ve now got all the meds/supplements and also made preparations to see en emergency vet if necessary. You're doing everything you possibly can and giving her the best chance. So often with guinea pigs we can only manage the symptoms during the "critical" phase (which is what you are doing) and sometimes we never actually find out the cause.

Please keep a log tonight of exactly what she is given in terms of amounts and at what times together with her symptoms/behaviour. Record the times of any convulsions and the times/amounts of that she has been fed with amounts. This might be needed by the vet in determining future treatment

Me and the piggies are keeping are fingers and paws firmly crossed and hope she is now on the road to recovery.

Big hugs
x
 
She has had two more episodes, about an hour apart. Should I stick with the honey until the episodes stop completely? I've been giving about 0.1-0.2 ml every 15 mins or so.

She is moving around a lot more though and she's less wobbly which is encouraging. She's not interested in eating at the moment but I am giving her 1-2ml of critical care (as much as she will willingly take from the syringe) every 15 mins along with the honey.

The vet I use has an out of hours hospital but again they deal mostly with cats and dogs, I don't know what their exotics care is like but it is an option if I'm not able to get to one of the others.
 
Quick update before I attempt to sleep for an hour or so. No convulsions for three hours now, she's still definitely "off" but she's moving around a lot more now so though still wobbly and unbalanced she seems to be in much less discomfort. There was no interest in her dinner or any hay but I'm keeping going with the critical care and will be giving that with dioralyte regularly throughout the night. She's now snuggled on a piece of vet bed.

Massive thanks to everyone for their support this evening, I would be in pieces now if it weren't for the kind words and sound advice you've all given me so thank you all!
 
Just got caught up with this thread. Sorry your little one is unwell. Healing wheeks from me and the boys, and please keep us updated!
 
Pebble, I didn't see your comment last night and went on to dioralyte, I was getting about 1ml into her with about 2ml of critical care about every hour and a half (as much as she would tolerate).

She has just had another attack (straight after feeding), as far as I know this is the first one in about 14 hours (though she may have had another when I was asleep so I can't be sure) so I'll go back to the pure honey and see if that makes any difference.

One positive thing is that straight after the attack she started eating on her own and ate a good pile of grass which she had completely refused earlier this morning. She still doesn't seem interested in her hay but I'll get some more grass for her and prepare some veggies to hopefully tempt her as she hasn't been interested in eating on her own since yesterday afternoon.

I also took the divider out last night so they're all together again.
 
Glad to hear th attacks have reduced in frequency. Keep on with the honey for the next 24-48 hourswhich will also give the antibioitics a chance to kick in and start working.

If she is still having these types of attack after another 48 hours whenyou gradually withdraw the honey, then you really need to go back to the vet.

x
 
I haven't seen any more attacks since yesterday morning so fingers crossed that's the end of it, we will definitely go back to the vet if they continue though and I am carrying on with the honey.

Generally she seems much better though. She is generally keeping herself tucked into the corners of the cage but she seems bright and has been moving around a fair bit and definitely seems more herself. She's almost walking normally again which is a huge relief.

She still isn't eating a huge amount but is definitely improving. This morning she was eating hay and despite turning her nose up at watermelon this afternoon she has eaten a nice portion of veggies this evening which I am very happy about! I'm keeping an eye on her weight and will continue to syringe feed critical care a few times a day until I feel she's eating enough to sustain herself.

At this point I am very optimistic. :)
 
We ended up at the emergency vet this evening after Iris had become very floppy. The vet was lovely and very knowledgable and suggested that my girl most likely has an insulinoma.

She is still bright and starting to eat a bit more and the vet doesn't believe she is in any pain, so we decided that I'll keep going with the honey and the antibiotics for a few days and see if there is any progress.

I have been so hopeful that this is just an infection which the antibiotics would clear up but in my heart I think I now know that it is nearly time to say goodbye. Her symptoms do fit insulinoma and furthur investigations and/or surgery are likely to cause her more pain and stress and the vet has told me that the chance of a good outcome is very low for this condition.

I will be doing my best for her over the next day or so but if she does not make considerable improvements by Monday or Tuesday I will be making an appointment with my vet to have her euthanised. More than anything I don't want her to suffer through her last days and it's not fair to keep her going if she is only going to slowly deteriorate. :(
 
You have given your piggy that very best chance possible with your care and determination. The vet care you have received has been exemplary, if you could be kind enough to give their full details it will be noted in the recommended vets list.

As you now know the outcome is likely to be a sad one your decision to make her last few days great ones, and to prevent her from suffering any that are not, is commendable. Big hugs to you and your piggy, I will be thinking of you all.

Suzy x
 
You are doing your very best for her and she will know it, fingers crossed for you hun, she sounds like shes a figher, keep us updated please
 
I'm so very very sorry to hear that the prognosis is not good.

I completely sympathise - I've got piggies with a bad prognosis too and as SuzyGPR says - all you can do is make sure they enjoy good days before it's their time to go to the Bridge.

Hugs Hun - we're all thinking of you.


x
 
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Thank you so much everyone. Your support, kind words and advice has really helped me and I am so grateful.

Unfortunately I think today will be Iris' last.

Last night she took a bit of a bad turn, her breathing was raspy and she was clearly very uncomfortable. I gave her more honey which helped a lot (I had reduced the amount I was giving her after seeing the vet on Saturday) but I was up every two hours through the night to keep her going with honey top ups and a little critical care.

She is actually very bright this morning and eating hay quite happily with the others but after last night I don't believe this is going to go away. We have a 3:45 appointment this afternoon. I'd rather say goodbye now while she is still relatively comfortable than risk her suffering any more but I know it will be extremely hard for me to see her go while she still has fight in her. I just really hope I'm doing the right thing for her. :(
 
Goodness me. It turns out my girl is a fighter. Or maybe I am too optimistic, stubborn and/or foolish.

To cut a long story short, despite expecting to say goodbye to Iris today and due to a surprising blood glucose result and a very bright and contented guinea pig on the consult table, the vet and I have agreed that she is currently happy and not suffering (as long as I am keeping the honey going at the increased dose) and I will give the antibiotics another two days (making a full week) to see if there is any chance that her symptoms are caused by an infection after all and not a tumour.

We have an appointment for Thursday evening where we will re-evaluate. If she has any more attacks or gets any worse before then we are agreed that I will take her in to be put to sleep right away. I do not have unrealistic expectations for a miraculous recovery but as she is currently bright, alert and seems content I will continue to do my best for her and treat her like a princess.

What a rollercoaster this past week has been. @)
 
I am heartened to hear Iris had a good (?) blood glucose result and am sending you big hugs -

Absolutely sympathise - I took Willlow to the vets 3 times to be PTS over a 3 month period given his leukaemia/episodes/infections.kidneys and each time he rallied at the last minute, and they examined him and refused. Contrary to popular belief - good vets only PTS if the clinical symptoms at the time of examination justify it - not simply because of a poor prognosis.

It's an absolute roller coaster as you say. You';re doing all the right things for her even though it is extremely tough on you mentally and physically.

Big hugs

x

PS Good you;re still feeding the honey!
 
It has been over two months but I wanted to update this for anyone still following.

I had Iris put to sleep on the 5th of July, a few days after my last post. She had been on antibiotics for just over a week and there seemed to be no real improvement in her condition. I was keeping her going with regular doses of honey but over the last day or two especially she seemed to grow increasingly disorientated and had started staggering in circles around the cage. She was still eating a little and drinking on her own so I hope I chose a good time for her to go, and before she could deteriorate futher. This was such a hard decision to make. A big part of me wanted to hang on, just in case. But I know it would have broken my heart even more to watch her get worse and slowly fade, so I really hope I did the right thing by her.

iris_zps4b5ca79f.jpg


On her last morning I collected some fresh grass from the garden and my four girls all huddled together for a final feast.

girls_zpsddfa59fc.jpg


girls2_zps87279199.jpg


Everyone who posted here was so kind and supportive and I believe that you all helped me to do the best for my girl in her last week. I'm really grateful, thank you all so much.
 
I'm so sprry for your loss.

Those pics brought tears to my eyes. Bless iris. Ans bless your other cuties too.
 
I am so sorry for your loss. You did all you could and were a wonderful mother to your little girl.
 
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