Vet was no help

[MrsScarr]

I have three local vets in my area, all happy to admit they dont often treat guinea pigs.
Anyway my cavy is poorly, shes not eating, she's limping suddenly, she is lethargic, her eyes are almost dry looking (dull i guess) I picked her up she didnt make a fuss where normally she is quite happy to wriggle in protest. She just buried herself into my body and fell asleep on my tummy.
She's urinating and pooping, the poops are solid but moist looking. No dramatic weight loss than I can see.
The vet took an xray of her leg and said she was fine, I wasnt given any antibiotics because they said they didnt know how to treat her so I've come here for advice.
She has soft bedding and good guinea pig food from the pet store, looks of dried peas and veggies etc, plenty leafy greens as an afternoon treat. Her pal is doing fine so I dont think its anything she has eaten, she has no mites, no ringworm etc. I put it to just being a little bit older maybe shes just getting more tired but I cant explain the limping, her pal hasnt bitten her.
Any advice?

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

What does she weigh? I would weigh her daily to check her weight. Is she eating plenty of hay?

Please have a look on the vet locator on this forum to find a cavy savvy vet. If she’s lethargic and limping she could of had a stroke or something. It definitely requires a good vet. How old is she?

I hope she feels better soon!

 

[MrsScarr]

Button is two years. She had a pregnancy early on and gave birth to three pups so now she has her cage pal- her daughter.
She's not touched the hay, we tried hand feeding her cucumber her favourite she merely nibled it and then ignored it. Dumbo (Buttons daughter) is a greedy piggie so I think she's been eating twice as much because Buttons been leaving her food.

 

[DMS260820]

I have three local vets in my area, all happy to admit they dont often treat guinea pigs.
Anyway my cavy is poorly, shes not eating, she's limping suddenly, she is lethargic, her eyes are almost dry looking (dull i guess) I picked her up she didnt make a fuss where normally she is quite happy to wriggle in protest. She just buried herself into my body and fell asleep on my tummy.
She's urinating and pooping, the poops are solid but moist looking. No dramatic weight loss than I can see.
The vet took an xray of her leg and said she was fine, I wasnt given any antibiotics because they said they didnt know how to treat her so I've come here for advice.
She has soft bedding and good guinea pig food from the pet store, looks of dried peas and veggies etc, plenty leafy greens as an afternoon treat. Her pal is doing fine so I dont think its anything she has eaten, she has no mites, no ringworm etc. I put it to just being a little bit older maybe shes just getting more tired but I cant explain the limping, her pal hasnt bitten her.
Any advice?

Scurvy is ringing alarm bells here, do you five enough vit c veg? Are you feeding muesli? ( the colourful mix food) ? If so, go and get nuggets instead with added vit c

 

[MrsScarr]

Scurvy is ringing alarm bells here

I thought that but we give her brocoli peppers cauliflower all the time.

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Button is two years. She had a pregnancy early on and gave birth to three pups so now she has her cage pal- her daughter.
She's not touched the hay, we tried hand feeding her cucumber her favourite she merely nibled it and then ignored it. Dumbo (Buttons daughter) is a greedy piggie so I think she's been eating twice as much because Buttons been leaving her food.

Ah poor girl. Okay first thing is to step in with syringe feeding. Have you got any critical care? If not you can add water to pellets and mush it down, use a syringe to give it to her. There’s a great thread for advice on syringe feeding on how to do it.

What’s her weight currently?

 

[DMS260820]

I thought that but we give her brocoli peppers cauliflower all the time.

Try some kale , not too much too often. Just a little bit. Which bell pepper do u feed? Other than that I'm thinking arthiritis with the leg. I cant diagnose but just thinking

 

[PigglePuggle]

Ah poor girl. Okay first thing is to step in with syringe feeding. Have you got any critical care? If not you can add water to pellets and mush it down, use a syringe to give it to her. There’s a great thread for advice on syringe feeding on how to do it.

What’s her weight currently?

I was just about to post the same thing @Cavy Kung-Fu ! A piggy not eating needs syringe feeding a recovery food formula or mushed up pellets until you figure out what's wrong. Hope your piggy is ok!

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

I found this on the vet locator, can you get to this vet?

Ashleigh Veterinary Centre
Aidan Raftery
221 Upper Chorlton Road
Lancashire
M16 0DE
0161 881 6868

 

[Wiebke]

I have three local vets in my area, all happy to admit they dont often treat guinea pigs.
Anyway my cavy is poorly, shes not eating, she's limping suddenly, she is lethargic, her eyes are almost dry looking (dull i guess) I picked her up she didnt make a fuss where normally she is quite happy to wriggle in protest. She just buried herself into my body and fell asleep on my tummy.
She's urinating and pooping, the poops are solid but moist looking. No dramatic weight loss than I can see.
The vet took an xray of her leg and said she was fine, I wasnt given any antibiotics because they said they didnt know how to treat her so I've come here for advice.
She has soft bedding and good guinea pig food from the pet store, looks of dried peas and veggies etc, plenty leafy greens as an afternoon treat. Her pal is doing fine so I dont think its anything she has eaten, she has no mites, no ringworm etc. I put it to just being a little bit older maybe shes just getting more tired but I cant explain the limping, her pal hasnt bitten her.
Any advice?

Hi! I am very sorry for your problems. Have you had a look at our vet locator whether you have one of our recommended vets within your reach, even if you may have to travel a bit further?

If necessary offer her some top up syringe feed if she is not eating properly. Please be aware that the more veg, pellets and treats you feed, the less hay a piggy will eat - but it is the hay that is ultimately the basis of good general health and a long life! Unlimited hay should make over 80% with veg at only ca. 10% and 1 tablespoon of pellets a day at 5%. If you regularly feed extra treats like peas or rich readigrass, they have to come out of your pellet allowance.

Recommended Guinea Pig Vets
Travelling with guinea pigs
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Emergency and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

 

[MrsScarr]

Try some kale , not too much too often. Just a little bit. Which bell pepper do u feed? Other than that I'm thinking arthiritis with the leg. I cant diagnose but just thinking

Green peppers usually sometimes yellow.

I found this on the vet locator, can you get to this vet?

Ashleigh Veterinary Centre
Aidan Raftery
221 Upper Chorlton Road
Lancashire
M16 0DE
0161 881 6868

Thanks its a good 50 mins away but I might give them a go.

I was just about to post the same thing @Cavy Kung-Fu ! A piggy not eating needs syringe feeding a recovery food formula or mushed up pellets until you figure out what's wrong. Hope your piggy is ok!

I'll try mushing up her food..

Shall I seperate the pigs to see whos eating what?

 

[MrsScarr]

Try some kale , not too much too often. Just a little bit. Which bell pepper do u feed? Other than that I'm thinking arthiritis with the leg. I cant diagnose but just thinking

Kale! Its not something usually buy, fab,I'll try her with that.

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

No probs, it is definitely worth it. If a piggy isn’t eating then you’re on a timer to get things sorted. I’ve found general vets to be so limited, often causing more damage than good. You’ll definitely need a proper examination and diagnoses for her as soon as possible to get her better.

Have you got a syringe? You have to actually give it to her to make sure she gets all the extra feed.

You could try kale at some point but it’s not likely to help for the current issues. It’s a nice snack but it’s high in calcium so we don’t really feed it now sadly.

 

[MrsScarr]

No probs, it is definitely worth it. If a piggy isn’t eating then you’re on a timer to get things sorted. I’ve found general vets to be so limited, often causing more damage than good. You’ll definitely need a proper examination and diagnoses for her as soon as possible to get her better.

Have you got a syringe? You have to actually give it to her to make sure she gets all the extra feed.

You could try kale at some point but it’s not likely to help for the current issues. It’s a nice snack but it’s high in calcium so we don’t really feed it now sadly.

I have one of the kids old medicine syringes, I've fed her with that in the best.
If we're going with the vitamin c deficiency should I buy some vitamins from the pet shop? Put it in with her water possibly? She's been eating like a trooper very varied diet, it's a shame to see her hobbling about. She's been sat on my tummy for an hour sleeping, she had a nibble of broccoli and went back to sleep. :-(

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

I have one of the kids old medicine syringes, I've fed her with that in the best.
If we're going with the vitamin c deficiency should I buy some vitamins from the pet shop? Put it in with her water possibly? She's been eating like a trooper very varied diet, it's a shame to see her hobbling about. She's been sat on my tummy for an hour sleeping, she had a nibble of broccoli and went back to sleep. :-(

That’s good, try feeding her little and often to keep her guts going.

If she’s had a varied veg diet I highly doubt that it’s scurvy. Pigs don’t really need vitamin c drops, mine have never had any. And if they have a good veg diet and by the sounds of it with broccoli and such she’s got what she needs in that respects. She really needs a vet diagnosis as we don’t know what’s wrong with her. It could be anything sadly

 

[PigglePuggle]

Might be worth ordering some critical care or science selective recovery food, some 1ml or 2ml syringes, and possibly some pro-C probiotic/vit C supplement from Amazon if you can. Most of us keep this stuff in our piggy first aid kits just in case. You can give the pro-C in a syringe, like 1ml of pro-C water after every 3 or 4 mls of recovery food. It wont solve the underlying problem, but it will keep your piggy alive and take away any vit C worries and might help stabilise the digestion if your piggy gets given antibiotics at any point. It can't do any harm anyway. Healing vibes and wheeks!

 

[Merab]

If you can’t get to the vet @Cavy Kung-Fu has mentioned perhaps your vet would be willing to phone them for advice.
My vet did that last year when she wasn’t sure about one of my girls
Hope you can find good help soon.
Holding you in my thoughts

 

[MrsScarr]

A quick update:

I phoned a specialist "breeder" (I know don't judge me but I figured she might have seen this before) she also said vitamin C deficiency which really doesn't make sense to me given the foods we give her daily. And her cage mate is also eating the same foods and is fine.
So we're going to head down to the pet store see if we can pick up some vitamins to give her, hopefully in a couple days we will see improvement. I have provisionally booked her in with the vet for then so we can whisk her away if we don't see improvements.

One thing I will ask, she had her pups around a year ago, when she was pregnant or towards the later end of the pregnancy she didnt use her back legs, could the limping perhaps be an injury or strain from the pregnancy? Just thinking out loud.

We've had extra cuddle time this morning, wanted to check her tummy see if I could feel anything abnormal but she seems ok, looks like she hasnt moved from her house all night though, she is in the exact place I left her last night. Poor thing.

 

[Merab]

It must be so frustrating when you can’t find a problem you know is there.
Keeping you in my thoughts

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

A quick update:

I phoned a specialist "breeder" (I know don't judge me but I figured she might have seen this before) she also said vitamin C deficiency which really doesn't make sense to me given the foods we give her daily. And her cage mate is also eating the same foods and is fine.
So we're going to head down to the pet store see if we can pick up some vitamins to give her, hopefully in a couple days we will see improvement. I have provisionally booked her in with the vet for then so we can whisk her away if we don't see improvements.

One thing I will ask, she had her pups around a year ago, when she was pregnant or towards the later end of the pregnancy she didnt use her back legs, could the limping perhaps be an injury or strain from the pregnancy? Just thinking out loud.

We've had extra cuddle time this morning, wanted to check her tummy see if I could feel anything abnormal but she seems ok, looks like she hasnt moved from her house all night though, she is in the exact place I left her last night. Poor thing.

Yea honestly I don’t think it would be a deficiency. It could be damage from the pregnancy but only a vet could say. Just keep a close eye on her as piggies go downhill very fast. I doubt vitamins will help for this but metacam (pain relief) from a vet could help her move as it is likely pain related too.

If she’s sitting in one place be sure to replace bedding etc and keep an eye on her for urine burns as it can lead to bumblefoot which is the last thing you need right now!

Hopefully the cavy savvy vet can help you get to the bottom of this. Fingers crossed for her.

 

[YvonneBlue]

I think you really do need to take your piggy to see a cavy savvy vet. Ashleigh have a couple of exotics vets and are very good with guinea pigs. I would definitely make the trip if you can, i'm afraid that only a vet can really tell you what is wrong and provide the correct treatment. I'm sure you don't want to see her deteriorate and it can happen very quickly.