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Specialist What Is Wrong With Beans?

Beans&Toast

Beans&Toast

Adult Guinea Pig
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Feb 6, 2016
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Location
Falkirk,Scotland
Beans is getting on in years now, she's around 7, But has been generally well apart from having arthritis in her back legs and spine as well as some muscle deterioration there too for which she's on Loxicom and Tramadol.


Yesterday she was her normal self until around 1pm when I noticed she was refusing nuggets/veg. This is extremely out of character for Beans. She was also shivering and her ears were very cold. All she wanted to do was sit in the corner of the cage facing the wall, she was puffed up and her stomach was, for want of a better word, convulsing..? On either side, her stomach started going in and out very fast as if something was twisting, I could see all her bones as if she was anorexic. Her stomach was also making a gurgling sound.

I took her right down to the vets who kept her in. They done tests, took blood, gave her gut meds and monitored her for 4 hours. They phoned to say that they couldn't find anything wrong and she was acting normal, running around eating hay etc, only issue was slightly soft poos. My vet gave me Emeprid and Ranitadine to give for 2 days as he thought it was some kind of gut issue, colic pain etc. (Beans has never had bloat in the 3 years I've had her.)

She came home at 6pm yesterday and was back to normal.

She was her normal self this morning too until around 3pm it all started again. Refusing food, lying in the corner of the cage, stomach gurgling and looking fluffed up.

It came on suddenly yesterday and tjen again today. Seemed to be fine then out of nowhere in fluffed up and seems to be in pain/discomfort.


Anyone got any ideas what it could be? There's been no changes to her food or environment.
 
We'll need to wait for a health and illness guru to answer your question . However, if you're hearing gurgling , it's sounding like she's got a lot of gas - which'd be better out than in . Some members have bought vibrating massage cushions to do this . Another method would be to use the handle of an electric toothbrush - gently pressing the vibrating toothbrush against her abdomen . I have also heard some people have taken their guineas on a car trip as the movement will help "vibrate" some gas out .
 
PiggyOwner said:
We'll need to wait for a health and illness guru to answer your question . However, if you're hearing gurgling , it's sounding like she's got a lot of gas - which'd be better out than in . Some members have bought vibrating massage cushions to do this . Another method would be to use the handle of an electric toothbrush - gently pressing the vibrating toothbrush against her abdomen . I have also heard some people have taken their guineas on a car trip as the movement will help "vibrate" some gas out .
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Thank you, I did have a feeling it might be that. I went through 2 years of chronic bloat with Toast, (and all the gut meds under the sun) but what Beans is doing isn't the same behaviour as when Toast had it so I wasn't sure? Although I suppose different pigs would react differently to it.
 
Beans&Toast said:
Beans is getting on in years now, she's around 7, But has been generally well apart from having arthritis in her back legs and spine as well as some muscle deterioration there too for which she's on Loxicom and Tramadol.


Yesterday she was her normal self until around 1pm when I noticed she was refusing nuggets/veg. This is extremely out of character for Beans. She was also shivering and her ears were very cold. All she wanted to do was sit in the corner of the cage facing the wall, she was puffed up and her stomach was, for want of a better word, convulsing..? On either side, her stomach started going in and out very fast as if something was twisting, I could see all her bones as if she was anorexic. Her stomach was also making a gurgling sound.

I took her right down to the vets who kept her in. They done tests, took blood, gave her gut meds and monitored her for 4 hours. They phoned to say that they couldn't find anything wrong and she was acting normal, running around eating hay etc, only issue was slightly soft poos. My vet gave me Emeprid and Ranitadine to give for 2 days as he thought it was some kind of gut issue, colic pain etc. (Beans has never had bloat in the 3 years I've had her.)

She came home at 6pm yesterday and was back to normal.

She was her normal self this morning too until around 3pm it all started again. Refusing food, lying in the corner of the cage, stomach gurgling and looking fluffed up.

It came on suddenly yesterday and tjen again today. Seemed to be fine then out of nowhere in fluffed up and seems to be in pain/discomfort.


Anyone got any ideas what it could be? There's been no changes to her food or environment.
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Please have her checked for bloating/gass issues; a scan with minimal sedation may be helpful.

Something is clearly wrong, but it is obviously one of these things that are not quite obvious what is causing these episodes. The problem can lie in the digestive tract, but it can also be an internal problem impacting on the guts. :(

If necessary, talk with your vet about gut stimulants. My gut instinct is rather that something is impacting on the guts.
 
Oh poor Beans. It does sound like something is interfering with her guts. Hope you can get to the bottom of it soon and she can soon feel back to normal.
 
Wiebke said:
Please have her checked for bloating/gass issues; a scan with minimal sedation may be helpful.

Something is clearly wrong, but it is obviously one of these things that are not quite obvious what is causing these episodes. The problem can lie in the digestive tract, but it can also be an internal problem impacting on the guts. :(

If necessary, talk with your vet about gut stimulants. My gut instinct is rather that something is impacting on the guts.
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She was given Ranitadine and Emeprid to take for 2 days. It seems to come in waves. It doesn't last all day, rather comes on then goes again an hour or 2 later. She had an x-ray, blood taken and checked yesterday and they couldn't see anything untoward. Stumped :(
 
Beans&Toast said:
She was given Ranitadine and Emeprid to take for 2 days. It seems to come in waves. It doesn't last all day, rather comes on then goes again an hour or 2 later. She had an x-ray, blood taken and checked yesterday and they couldn't see anything untoward. Stumped :(
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I am so sorry; sadly no further ideas from me. This is out of my own experience. :(

@helen105281 @Jaycey @Freela @Pound Shilling & Pig
 
@Beans&Toast I'm sure you would have mentioned it if you had, but have you fed her anything differently before she started looking ill?

Anorexia isn't really a thing in guinea pigs so I wonder if she's had a mild stomach/digestive issue which has now flared up.

My Jon Snow has kind of a piggy IBS. He has a thickened intestine so he doesn't absorb as much nutrients as he should so he's a bit of a thinny pig. Another symptom of it is an unbelievably rumbly stomach. Certain foods set him off so I have to be careful and I always have Fibreplex on hand just in case. He has Oxbow Digestive tabs every and Pro-C probiotic.

Have you thought about sending some poops off to be tested? I did it with Jon a while ago when he started to lose weight and it highlighted a fungal issue. We treat it with Itrafungal and he gained the weight back.

A vet might be happy to trial Itrafungal anyway if you don't want to test her poo. I went direct to the lab to get Jon's poo tested, it was a lot cheaper!

I find that bloat can affect pigs very differently so I wonder if Beans has a digestive issue that was/is flared up into a mild case of bloat which is causing her to be lie around and not eat.

I thought I was quite experienced with bloat but each pig seems to display it differently.

It would be worth keeping a good diary for her to see if any type of food affects her.
 
Just another thought - has her urine been checked?
Any signs of blood?
Could it be a stone on the move and causing her intermittent pain.

I only ask as I am just back from the emergency vet after going through almost the exact same thing with Ruby for the past 2 days.
 
Swissgreys said:
Just another thought - has her urine been checked?
Any signs of blood?
Could it be a stone on the move and causing her intermittent pain.

I only ask as I am just back from the emergency vet after going through almost the exact same thing with Ruby for the past 2 days.
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I hope Ruby is okay?

Thanks but yeah that was checked and given the all clear :hmm:
 
just a thought, but do you have any gripe water at home? try her with a few ml of that - see if it makes any difference? approx £3 in the baby aisle tesco & asda etc/

could the wretching movement be a form of 'heaving hiccups'? maybe she's gasping in air with these & causing the bloat so making her uncomfortable?

For gripe water i think some members use the dose 0.3ml every few hours, but the dose in extreme cases could be as much as 3ml every few hours? @helen105281 i'm sure has used it before (its dill based too). Have you tried only feeding her hay & nuggets for a few days & no greenery/grass/fruit or veg?
She might be refusing her nuggets if the gas build up is painful (although i would have thought her pain meds were strong enough to combat that)?
are her teeth & throat(thrush) etc all ok, that could cause her eating problems which in turn would make her more prone to gassy/bloat /digestive episodes.

Have a chat with your vet about circulation related problems too if her ears are cold.

Full & speedy recovery to Beans (@Beans&Toast) & Ruby (@Swissgreys)

xx
 
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So sorry to hear beans isn't well. It's always harder when the vets we trust so much are stumped too. Obviously if it continues to speak to your vet again about what they can try next
 
Have you also tried putting her on something that vibrates like a massage pad? We are going through similar with Dulcie May at the moment and she is on gut meds and massage pad.
 
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.

We haven't had an "episode" today but I'm still keeping a very close eye on her.

I've tried massaging her belly like I used to do when Toast got really bloated but she doesn't seem gassy or bloated. Toast had chronic bloat for 2 years on and off and it doesn't seem anything like what Toast had.

Could it be that as she's old, coming on 7, that her guts are just slowing down? I don't know if that's a thing? As horrible as this sounds I've thought for the past few weeks that Beans may be coming to her time. She's still active but much slower and she sleeps most of the day.
 
Betsy said:
7 is a good age you must have looked after her really well. My Rainbow piggies Lenny and Gizmo made it 5 and 5 and a half.
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5 is a good age though, that's considered "old" isnt it? I've only had her 3 years. She was an unwanted children's "toy" before that so she's definitely had the life of luxury with me. I think it helps as well that she's just so stubborn she just keeps going :P
 
Beans&Toast said:
5 is a good age though, that's considered "old" isnt it? I've only had her 3 years. She was an unwanted children's "toy" before that so she's definitely had the life of luxury with me. I think it helps as well that she's just so stubborn she just keeps going :P
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Yes 5 is a good age. Lenny was John's piggie he went first (died on John's birthday) and Gizmo (Marks piggie) died Christmas Day. They both went out in style and were buried in Champagne boxes.

It's so sad that parents get piggies for their children through pester power and then the children get bored of them. That's why I wouldn't let my friend's daughter have Dennis and Christian (even though she was 20 at the time) I knew it would just be a "flash in the pan" and they would be forgotten at the end of the garden with green water and no food. Even the OH said to keep them as he knew I would look after them properly and love them.
 
Beans&Toast said:
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.

We haven't had an "episode" today but I'm still keeping a very close eye on her.

I've tried massaging her belly like I used to do when Toast got really bloated but she doesn't seem gassy or bloated. Toast had chronic bloat for 2 years on and off and it doesn't seem anything like what Toast had.

Could it be that as she's old, coming on 7, that her guts are just slowing down? I don't know if that's a thing? As horrible as this sounds I've thought for the past few weeks that Beans may be coming to her time. She's still active but much slower and she sleeps most of the day.
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It's such a worry when we don't know what's going on with them. Unlike some other members that have commented, I'm no expert on this, but I did just want to mention something to you. I took my Maisie to the vet yesterday as she had lost weight, was off her food, quite lethargic and a bit fluffed up, but most of the time and not just episodes like Beans. The vet said that sometimes the guts can slow down for apparently no specific reason - it could be any number of things, like age, or a particular stressor, or nothing at all even. Just wondering if this might be the case with Beans? My vet has given Maisie Emeprid for 5 days, with Metacam and Critical Care to be used in addition to her normal food and this seems to be helping.
 
I wish I had advice for you. It's good that the vet hasn't found an issue, but frustrating not to have a reason for the illness. Especially with older pigs, it is so worrying when they are under the weather. I hope she makes a good recovery for you!
 
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