worried about chesney, advice please

[biscandmatt]

firstly, a bit of his background - he was 2 years old approximately when we adopted him in march 2009. he had been to different homes and the rescue and been neutered a short time before and his weight was 1025g (could have been his ideal weight or lower than it should be as he had been through alot) hhe is a very short pig in length. he has a big tum and bum and as he has got oolder his back seems bonier. he's over 4 years old now.

anyway, he turned into a huge piggy! always around the 1400g mark. we saw the vet in may 2010 who helped me with their feeding plan which i have done since then (hay, grass, leafy greens, dried herbs, natural foods, small amount of pellets)

ches has kept to a similar weight with the diet change although he is quite lazy.

the other day i noticed some soft poops when i cleaned their cage out. there was a few of them but i didn't know whether they were soft or just wet from having wee on them.

yesterday chesney seemed a bit quiet. nothing i could quite put my finger on though, just a bit quiet for him.

i weighed him and his weight is very low - 1160g. maisie has stayed the same approximately at 1200g and ches is usually much bigger.

i can't find their recorded weights from recently. i'm such an idiot but i can't find them at all. i have found the weight from jan-april time ish though.

ches -

1402g
1356g
1385g
1386g
1395g
1383g
1431g

then i can't find april to june i don't remember him losing alot though, i would have panicked if that had been the case. although i know one result was 1275g which we thought was good because we had been trying to get him exercising more.

this last month or so i haven't weighed them. i know i'm an idiot. there has been so much going on and now i feel awful. 8...

his weight today is 1160g and that is really low for him.

his poops are fine now, he is weeing, he is eating and drinking normally, i can't hear anything in his chest or see anything obviously wrong with him.

the thing is that just after the soft poops the other day our fridge broke. it has been a bit tempremental for a while. i think maybe he could have eaten some veg that was not ideal because of the fridge, even though the veg looked ok. but that is a possibility.

he seems ok in himself, maybe a bit quieter than normal and a bit more tired. he has always been quiet and lazy though.

i just did their tea and he ran over as usual and stood up biting the bars to tell me to hurry up! he ate it all and didn't look to be struggling with eating it.

i rang the vets we use which is a top exotics vet but they aren't in until monday. there is another vets nearby which is open tomorrow that i will ring but i don't know if their exotics vet is working tomorrow. and all the other vets around here really don't have a clue and i wouldn't trust them to care for any pet of mine.

i'm not feeding any veg to them now from the fridge. the new fridge is coming next tuesday so in the mean time they have to have just herbs.

they have had some dried herbs recently, some barley grass mix from pampered piggies and some dried dandelion. i gave small amounts but could this have upset his tummy?

what else would cause that much of a weight loss? the loss must have been recently, the last month or so.

looking over at chesney now, he's burrowing in his hay as normal and he's moving around the cage, and rumbling at maisie as normal. he doesn't look ill as such, just slimmer.

does anyone have any ideas? i love this little piggy so much and i'm not sure what is wrong. they can't lose that much surely from more exercise in a month?

eta: i've given them pellets now aswell and given him cuddles etc.

 

[CandyFloss]

Hi, When one of my pigs (Ebony) lost weight she had spurs on her teeth that needed filed down. It looked to me that she was eating normally .... but she was obviously not getting as much as usual (she lives and eats with 4 others and they leave nothing so one of the others would have 'helped' her finish her quota). She never went through a soft poop stage though so may not be related.
Best bet is get him checked out with one of the good vets you mentioned - no point in going to the clueless ones IMO.
Good luck at the vets and let us know how you get on,
Hope Chesneys okay
xx

 

[flintstones]

In the meantime weigh him daily but your right to get his weight checked out that is a huge amount of weight loss.

 

[biscandmatt]

char_x replied to me on the rabbit forum so i'll copy my replies to here and todays post:


it was definitely soft poops rather than diarrhoea. they weren't stuck together but each one was softer than normal. they are back to normal now though as when i found them soft and him with a bit of a messy bum, i reduced the veg slightly and upped the hay to firm the poops up a bit. i did slightly part his bum to see if i could see any type of impaction but i couldn't see anything obvious.

i know his weight loss wasn't that dramatic because i would have panicked but i know one of the readings was 1275g which is low for him but like i said, we have been trying to up his exercise and he has been moving around alot more as i bought them new toys to play with. i have searched everywhere for the paper i wrote the weights on but could only find those i listed above. i'm so upset he's lost weight recently when i haven't weighed them and i normally weight them regularly. :cry:

i noticed earlier that when i put the pellets in he had some but he hasn't been a greedy guts and eaten loads which he normally would do. he even warns maisie off the food bowl sometimes and scoffs pellets for himself! so could this be related to his teeth maybe? he is definitely eating his veg (although they only have leafy greens which are soft) and he is definitely eating hay. he doesn't drink very much water anyway so that's the same.

he looked a bit tired yesterday and this morning but looks ok now. he even did a pop when i cleaned his cage yesterday. he isn't making as many noises as he usually does though. he isn't a loud pig anyway but usually romances maisie every chance he gets.

i thought maybe it could be age related but like you, i thought it wouldn't be that much of a weight loss.

i will do what you said and weight him in the morning and again in the evening tomorrow and see what the results are.

i know my usual vets will do a more thorough job which is why i wanted to go monday but obviously i would have tried the other vets tomorrow if he was really not himself.

his symptoms don't seem to point to anything in particular really. if he hadn't lost weight there wouldn't really be anything else i could pinpoint. :?

he's interested in food and coming over for his veg and burrowing in the hay as usual. i keep going over and switching the toys around to see if he's interested and he is, he comes over to explore.

i can't wait until monday though, i just want him checked over and any tests done that they think he needs.


i've just sat with him for ages and he picked up a pellet, dropped it, then picked up another and chewed it quite slowly. he ate some dried dandelion easily though. he had one more pellet and went off again. that is definitely not like him, he usually eats loads of them at once. so it could be his teeth. i've just looked at some poops he's done and they're not soft as such but one seems slightly wet. and it smells really strong, stronger than normal anyway so that could be his tummy maybe. i guess he can have a thorough check on monday.

thanks for the help and i will keep updating on how he is. x


well chesney is a happy little piggy today. he looks bright and alert. he teeth chattered at me when i said good morning! (normal, he likes his sleep! ) then he ran over when i rustled the dried herbs bag. i gave them a dandelion leaf and he ate that ok.

i got him out and weighed him. he is 1181g this morning. up 21g but i know that's not really classed as much of a change. afterwards he really enjoyed cuddles and strokes. i checked him over again and again i can't notice anything obviously wrong. checked his bum again and there's not anything wrong that i can see, his penis area is clean, his fur is clear etc, i can't hear any wheezy noises or see anything in his eyes or nose.

when he went back in the cage he even came over waiting for another reward!
gave them their breakfast, coriander and basil which he ate no problem. then he did his usual dive into the fresh hay and ate a few strands.

he came over to the pellet bowl and again he picked one up and dropped it and then after that he kind of crushed it and ate a tiny bit. i picked one up and held it for him to eat and his eyes lit up (if you have piggies you'll know what i mean!) and he nibbled it but then snatched it off me and dropped it, attempted to pick it up but couldn't and left it. he's spending time at the pellet bowl but is having trouble eating them. between every bit he has some water. he's not a big drinker and he's always had trouble drinking properly because he doesn't lick the bottle spout, he never has - he puts his whole mouth over it and kind of nods his head up and down to make the water drip out. he's done this from when we got him though and the vet couldn't find any reason for it when i had him checked over for that. it's just a habit it seems.

if the weight loss wasn't so much i would be glad because he is such a short pig and if anything he looks much better at this lower weight. but obviously a sudden loss is not good news.

but he seems bright and happy so that's good. i guess i will just tell the vet anything we have noticed and get him completely checked over and see where we go from there.

i'll weigh him again this evening before his tea.

 

[William&Keith]

I'm in the same boat.

William has gone from being a 2lb 2oz fat lump to a very small 1lb 11.5oz lump. He lost a LOT of weight when Keithy died as he was in mourning, then when I got him the twins he put his weight back on and was very happy.

About 4 weeks ago his weight just DROPPED.

I have taken him back and forth to the vets, with not much luck as the illness is a little bit of a mystery.

William was hovering at 1lb 9oz for a little bit (almost as small as the 9 week old boys!) but slowly but surely his weight has been building up through hand feeds of mushed up pellets, fresh food, love, care and attention.

William is weighed twice a day now, fed three times a day via syringe, has Metatone added into his diet and William is allowed extra food to try and boost his weight back up.

Keep an eye on your piggie and if needs be just whisk him to the vets. In some instances I have literally grabbed William popped him in the carrier I have for the piggies and just gone to the vets, no appointment needed and they can usually squeeze you in.

Good luck!

 

[biscandmatt]

I'm in the same boat.

William has gone from being a 2lb 2oz fat lump to a very small 1lb 11.5oz lump. He lost a LOT of weight when Keithy died as he was in mourning, then when I got him the twins he put his weight back on and was very happy.

About 4 weeks ago his weight just DROPPED.

I have taken him back and forth to the vets, with not much luck as the illness is a little bit of a mystery.

William was hovering at 1lb 9oz for a little bit (almost as small as the 9 week old boys!) but slowly but surely his weight has been building up through hand feeds of mushed up pellets, fresh food, love, care and attention.

William is weighed twice a day now, fed three times a day via syringe, has Metatone added into his diet and William is allowed extra food to try and boost his weight back up.

Keep an eye on your piggie and if needs be just whisk him to the vets. In some instances I have literally grabbed William popped him in the carrier I have for the piggies and just gone to the vets, no appointment needed and they can usually squeeze you in.

Good luck!

i'm sorry to hear this. you must be so worried with the not knowing. because they couldn't find anything obviously wrong, did the vets do some tests? i'm just wondering what they will do for chesney. i assumed maybe urine testing and bloods? obviously a thorough check over aswell.

i've given them unlimited pellets for now and i'm offering him extra herbs when i walk past to make sure he is getting something often just incase he isn't eating as much an normal. he does seem to be eating hay though.

i'm thinking maybe spurs at this stage.

my usual vets are fantastic and many times with the rabbits i've just rang up, said i have to bring them now and they've let me and been ok with that. it's just typical the two exotics vets are not in until monday.

if chesney gets worse though i will take him asap to any vet although that makes me nervous as i don't trust them. luckily for now though, ches seems to be quite happy in himself.

 

[biscandmatt]

i've just read about malocclusion/elongated tooth roots on the guinea lynx site and it does sound like that.

ches does sometimes look like he chews in a strange way like he is trying to unstick something in his teeth, he picked up the pellets and dropped them again, he chews the cage bars at veg time so could have done some damage, and obviously he has lost alot of weight.

how quickly can malocclusion occur. is this something that could have been building up for a while? and how quickly does weight loss happen? could he have lost this much weight in a week, a few weeks, or would it have been over a month?

my vets are fantastic but can anyone give me a general idea of what they will do if he has dental problems please so i am prepared.

thanks.

 

[William&Keith]

i'm sorry to hear this. you must be so worried with the not knowing. because they couldn't find anything obviously wrong, did the vets do some tests? i'm just wondering what they will do for chesney. i assumed maybe urine testing and bloods? obviously a thorough check over aswell.

The vets have done every test under the sun for him! I'ts unfortunately one of those mysteries that piggies love to get!

Each time William goes in they check for mites, check his ears, check his teeth, check his eyes, nose, mouth EVERYTHING, his temperature taken (not a William favourite!). He's had an ultrasound, his bloods and his urine sampled.

Just get everything you can done it will put your mind at ease and you may be able to find the cause. Unfortunately William's cause is somewhat hidden rolleyesrolleyes but that's just William

Good luck in finding out what is wrong with Ches and just keep a vigil eye on ANY changes in eating habits, drinking habits, wee habits and the age old favourite pooping habits

 

[biscandmatt]

i really feel for you. one of my rabbits, bisc, had so many problems at one stage and we just couldn't find what was wrong for ages even with test and after test. it was a worrying time.

william didn't appreciate his temperature being taken then! i remember maisie's eyes nearly popped out when she had hers taken. i don't remember ches being too bothered actually. he's easy going really so i don't think lots of tests will phase him at all.

the vets are very thorough so will check everything but i like to take a list of 'requirements' just so i don't forget to ask anything! rolleyes

i am watching chesney very closely, although i think he's playing me as he is asking for food everytime i walk past! he's making the most of getting food whenever he asks for it! rolleyes i will keep a really close eye on him.

thanks for the advice. and hugs for william. x

 

[biscandmatt]

right - i've been sat watching them all day practically and noticed that chesney is not eating as much hay. he is eating some but choosing the shorter, thinner strands. i gave them unlimited pellets today and most are still left. there is no way he wouldn't have eaten them all if he could have. he is still dropping some of them when he picks them up.

i've fed him extra herb leaves and dried herbs through the day and he has eaten those fine. he's drinking aswell and passing normal poops.

i weighed him again before his tea this evening and he's 1182g. should he have gone up by more throughout the whole day? he was 1181g this morning.

another thing i noticed was that twice he kind of stretched his body and then it looked like he pushed his bum back. i've never noticed him do that before. :... and when i got him out to weigh him he had some wetness down one leg which he has never had, he's usually very very clean. i also noticed he walks ok but when he tried to move quicker he hopped his back legs. again, i've never noticed that before. :...

in himself he is fine. he seems happy, he's moving around alot and rumbling at maisie. he looks fine as in his eyes are bright and he looks alert.

anymore thoughts anyone?

 

[flintstones]

Firstly don't weigh more than once a day you will send yourself loopy. Best weigh him daily at the same time everyday before his breakfast and take his weight this will be the most accurate read you'll get.

As for malocclusion/elongated tooth roots, your jumping ahead of yourself not to be ruled out but he could have spurs on his teeth which are jagging into his mouth making it painful to eat = which results in him eating slower or dropping food. Both my Patrick and Fred have had spurs. My Fred lost 50 grams in a week then I noticed him struggling to eat.

I recorded him :[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_z8_v2YLU0[/ame]

Patrick also lost over 100 grams due to a UTI and Crystal formation he was in alot of pain crying when urinating. He also had spurs I believe because his painful bladder was affected his food intake, you can't feel the pain if your asleep.

I must add once both pigs have had dentals to remove spurs they have returned back to normal and Fred hasn't needed another dental for months and months now.

 

[biscandmatt]

Firstly don't weigh more than once a day you will send yourself loopy. Best weigh him daily at the same time everyday before his breakfast and take his weight this will be the most accurate read you'll get.

As for malocclusion/elongated tooth roots, your jumping ahead of yourself not to be ruled out but he could have spurs on his teeth which are jagging into his mouth making it painful to eat = which results in him eating slower or dropping food. Both my Patrick and Fred have had spurs. My Fred lost 50 grams in a week then I noticed him struggling to eat.

I recorded him :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_z8_v2YLU0

Patrick also lost over 100 grams due to a UTI and Crystal formation he was in alot of pain crying when urinating. He also had spurs I believe because his painful bladder was affected his food intake, you can't feel the pain if your asleep.

I must add once both pigs have had dentals to remove spurs they have returned back to normal and Fred hasn't needed another dental for months and months now.

i know i'm getting myself if a right state. i always do. 8... i get over obsessive and start to watch them all the time and research too much info on the net and get panicky.

if he seems happy then that's good isn't it. he can't be in pain or anything or he wouldn't look bright and alert and he would be making some pain type noises wouldn't he?

i've checked him over again and apart from having a wet leg i can't find anything else obvious.

i'm such a worrier and i can hear him now as i'm typing and he's rumbling at maisie and acting normally. :{rolleyes

i'll update tomorrow morning with his weight. sorry for stressing. :red x

 

[flintstones]

Fred was happy and popcorning when he had spurs - the vet quickly sorted the problem and he piled on the weight after that.

Wet underneath could be a sign of UTI or stones, My Patrick suffers alot from UTI's and sometimes he's wet underneath. Of course he could have just been mid wee when you picked him up and his aim went a bit off course . Patrick also squeaks when urinating.

Ps. Don't worry about stressing, I am the queen of Anxiety over piggy illnesses. I can honestly say I understand! x

 

[biscandmatt]

Fred was happy and popcorning when he had spurs - the vet quickly sorted the problem and he piled on the weight after that.

Wet underneath could be a sign of UTI or stones, My Patrick suffers alot from UTI's and sometimes he's wet underneath. Of course he could have just been mid wee when you picked him up and his aim went a bit off course . Patrick also squeaks when urinating.

Ps. Don't worry about stressing, I am the queen of Anxiety over piggy illnesses. I can honestly say I understand! x

i'm glad i'm not the only one who stresses i'm a nightmare with it really. :red

i weighed him twice again... :red... 1178g and 1179g. down a bit but not to that lowest weight on friday.

today he has been completely fine in himself. you wouldn't know anything was wrong at all.

the only thing is when i checked him his legs are a little wet again and that is definitely not normal for him. in all the time i've had him he has never had any wetness on his bum or legs. it's not alot but it is there. he also has a tiny bit of poop on his bum aswell. again, that has never happened before either.

i haven't seen him push his bum back today, and his wee and poops are normal.

he ran over excited for his veg, he ate it all with no trouble. he is definitely eating hay and some pellets, but i still think he is eating the thinner strands of hay and nowhere near enough pellets as i would expect, especially as i am giving them pellets for all day and night.


other than that, he's acting normally. he's bright and alert and seems happy. he's not made any noises to indicate he's upset or in any discomfort. he's coming over for attention and just being himself really.

i will update after the vets tomorrow. thanks for your support.

 

[biscandmatt]

right, he's just done that same pushing his bum back and he did it and a poop came out. usually the poops just drop out. so what would cause him to have to push backwards to poop? :{

 

[William&Keith]

Pop him to the vets and put your mind at ease

 

[biscandmatt]

we went to the vets, ches and maisie were so good in the taxi and the waiting room.

chesney was 1189g when weighed so again, more than he has been since i weighed him at his lowest weight.

vet thinks that perhaps he did have a dodgy tummy which caused weight loss and now he is building his weight back up, but he said he is by no means underweight he thinks he is still overweight really at 1189g..

his back teeth are slightly too long, about 1-2mm but he doesn't think it would be enough to stop him eating enough.. but it's the most likely reason for the weight loss overall.

thirdly, it could be something going on inside that isn't obvious yet.

for the next week or so, we have to monitor chesney's weight and see if it starts to go back up as it has done the last few days. if it continues to go down then we have to go back next week where ches will have his teeth filed down and a blood test aswell.

he couldn't find anything obvious on chesney, he said he looks great apart from being a bit too overweight. and ches was so good, he just sat there no problems at all.

maisie had her eye checked. he put some dye into it and checked for any scratches etc but it was completely fine. (she had hay stuck in it the other day so we wanted it checked over)

he said maisie is overweight aswell. she weighed 1207g.

whilst there i mentioned that maisie drinks alot of water and also she wee's alot and no matter how much i clean, she seems to be wet underneath. the vet thinks she may be diabetic, or have something going on urinary wise. he said he doesn't think pellets should be fed anyway but keep on the same as i am for now as we don't want chesney losing weight.. but when ches is sorted he wants to reduce the eggcup of pellets i feed them, reduce them gradually so they are having none at all and to see how that affects maisie's drinking and weeing.

maisie also had a check over and she's fine.


i showed him a list of what i feed them and he said all the leafy greens i feed are fine, feed the 4-5 a day i am doing and rotate the variety and that's all fine. he said the side plate size twice a day is fine, but with leafy greens they can basically have whatever amount they want so if they wanted more then that would be fine.

the hay and grass and dried herbs are ok aswell although he said apple sticks and leaves he wouldn't feed alot of, which i don't anyway so that's ok.

he said they look good and are very well behaved. i was so proud and i have their diet pretty much perfect except the pellets!


ches and maisie were fantastic and not too phased at all. they were glad to get home though. they've been happy today, ches had been doing pops so he must be feeling ok.

 

[flintstones]

How can he think Maisie is diabetic without doing the necessary tests. If Maisie is diabetic she will need a special diet.

Firstly the first port of call is a dipstick test - simple. If Glucoses appear the vet must immediately do a pin prick test behind the ear and check for Glucose. If Glucose are present on both tests she is likely to be Diabetic.

Bette was diabetic and used to drink 400mls in a day - easily.

I do hope Chesney continues to gain weight .

 

[Poppy'sMum]

How can he think Maisie is diabetic without doing the necessary tests. If Maisie is diabetic she will need a special diet.

Firstly the first port of call is a dipstick test - simple. If Glucoses appear the vet must immediately do a pin prick test behind the ear and check for Glucose. If Glucose are present on both tests she is likely to be Diabetic.

Bette was diabetic and used to drink 400mls in a day - easily.

I do hope Chesney continues to gain weight .

Can you use human dipsticks available from the chemists? Is the PH of piggies pee similar to human's at all, as it would give a good reason to go back to the vet's?

 

[biscandmatt]

How can he think Maisie is diabetic without doing the necessary tests. If Maisie is diabetic she will need a special diet.

Firstly the first port of call is a dipstick test - simple. If Glucoses appear the vet must immediately do a pin prick test behind the ear and check for Glucose. If Glucose are present on both tests she is likely to be Diabetic.

Bette was diabetic and used to drink 400mls in a day - easily.

I do hope Chesney continues to gain weight .

i worded that wrong.. i mentioned her drinking alot and weeing alot and asked for possible reasons for that. he said he see's quite a few diabetic piggies so we talked about that. he doesn't necessarily think maisie is diabetic. he wouldn't pinpoint a specific thing without testing. i did ask what amount of water was too much. maisie has about 100ml a day which he said seems alot but not excessive. we were just talking generally.

lets hope chesney continues to gain weight

 

[flintstones]

Can you use human dipsticks available from the chemists? Is the PH of piggies pee similar to human's at all, as it would give a good reason to go back to the vet's?

yes - and if glucose's show then you would go to the vets, but a fresh sample would have to be done and then a pin prick immediately after you have to do them one after each other.

This site is very good for information on Diabetic Guinea Pig's.

http://members.shaw.ca/patriciasimon/treatment.htm

After Bette died I learned about diabetes - although I couldn't change her death understanding it helped me move on.

100mls a water - isn't excessive. I always believe anything over 300mls is excessive and then you have to watch how the pig drinks my Fred is a fabulous example of how to get the water everywhere but in your mouth!

Anyways, great news all round that both piggies have been given the all clear just about . x

 

[kotov]

When we adopted our honey Nov 2009 I didnt know anything about guineas...
Ad in Russian newspaper printed for Russian immigrants was really attractive...
Ukrainian couple keep boar alone for 1.5 years in small cage as result we adopted 1460 gr ill piggy.I didn't know anything about them and start reading internet found that it is probably normal.Bad thing I noticed that he not walked more than 1m distance without short brake.In November 2010 his weight was around 1200 he has 2 cages 1m long each and walked daily around my 16m2 living room and 3 sows behind fence make him feel really good I think.
When he died in May 2011 vet told me he had cancer and many other problems.For my personal reasons I'm not trust vet anymore for really bad experience happens - but I think that board weight 1400 mean something wrong with his health or I'm wrong ?
On some web site I remember was info that daily changes of weight can be +/- 1oz (30gr).

 

[biscandmatt]

ches is down at 1158g today, even lower than the 1160g last friday. so it looks like he may be going in for a dental next week. the vet said it will be done with a light sedation/ga and he will have a blood test at the same time.

ches is happy in himself and he is eating and drinking. he's even been popcorning today,

but i am so scared of him having a dental. i've never been through anything like this with the piggies and i'm so terrified to be honest. 8... scared of leaving them at the vets and scared of the dental, scared he won't wake up, or they'll find something else wrong, then scared for afterwards getting him eating again. i always get in such a state, the rabbits have been in so many times and i'm always a mess. 8...

the vet said dentals are common for piggies, he does alot and i trust him but the vets is 40mins away so i don't know whether to drop them off and come home or stay close by to the vets just incase something happens so i can be there quickly to be with ches. i know i'm panicking, i just have this massive fear of them being alone at the end. i don't know why, i've always panicked about that.

sorry for ranting but i'm scared. 8...

 

[flintstones]

Hi There,

I'm a bit confused how much has he lost - you say his lowest weight but what weight has he actually lost?

Blood is very invasive - it is took from the Vena-Cava which is the main artery in the neck (that's how my vet did it). Milo had bloods done last month, Scary stuff. Before considering Bloods I do think it's important to weigh up what could be found - we did bloods as we thought Milo had Kidney Failure initially, as he is 18 months old, I decided it was the risk as we could medicate.

As for Dentals - Both Fred and Patrick have had dentals to remove spurs and been fine afterwards. Fred's was administered Valium as a light sedation and Patrick had his done conscious.

 

[Katie Krafter]

Hi there - perhaps I can help a bit. I have had a couple of post op/procedure guineas and the vets should make sure that:

(a) the guinea has whatever sedation is most comfortable for them - stressy piggie may be done with light ga - usually a gas box but a chillaxed piggie may be done conscious, perhaps wrapped in a towel. Also depends on the vet. Mine prefers a GA using the gas box which is a very gentle way of inducing for a short op like this.

(b) if has a GA then gut stimulant should be given afterwards together with any other medications that might be required (probably not for spur filing). These can be given by syringe, and include anti biotics, pain killers etc.

(c) the vet should hold onto the piggie until they are sure it has recovered - ie it is warm - test the ears if not sure - guineas sometimes get quite cold afterwards; has taken water and food and passed droppings. If any of these things haven't happened, ask questions!

Hope this helps.

 

[biscandmatt]

Hi There,

I'm a bit confused how much has he lost - you say his lowest weight but what weight has he actually lost?

Blood is very invasive - it is took from the Vena-Cava which is the main artery in the neck (that's how my vet did it). Milo had bloods done last month, Scary stuff. Before considering Bloods I do think it's important to weigh up what could be found - we did bloods as we thought Milo had Kidney Failure initially, as he is 18 months old, I decided it was the risk as we could medicate.

As for Dentals - Both Fred and Patrick have had dentals to remove spurs and been fine afterwards. Fred's was administered Valium as a light sedation and Patrick had his done conscious.

about 200g overall now. his usual weight range is 1356-1402g ish.

the vet said the blood would be taken from a pinprick type way from the back of the ear i think.

he said the back teeth (i don't know the proper name for those teeth) are slightly too long, about 1-2mm maybe, and they would just give him a light ga and file them down.

i think he is expecting ches to gain weight this week though. i don't think he thinks that the teeth are enough for this weight loss and because there could be the issue of spoiled food and a dodgy tummy, he wants to see if his weight goes back up this week and if not, then it is likely to be the teeth but he wants to be sure.

he did say it might be something else going on that we don't know about yet which is why he wants to take bloods whilst ches is asleep aswell.

the vet doesn't seem phased by any of it, but it's just me that gets in a real state. i can't help it.

 

[biscandmatt]

Hi there - perhaps I can help a bit. I have had a couple of post op/procedure guineas and the vets should make sure that:

(a) the guinea has whatever sedation is most comfortable for them - stressy piggie may be done with light ga - usually a gas box but a chillaxed piggie may be done conscious, perhaps wrapped in a towel. Also depends on the vet. Mine prefers a GA using the gas box which is a very gentle way of inducing for a short op like this.

(b) if has a GA then gut stimulant should be given afterwards together with any other medications that might be required (probably not for spur filing). These can be given by syringe, and include anti biotics, pain killers etc.

(c) the vet should hold onto the piggie until they are sure it has recovered - ie it is warm - test the ears if not sure - guineas sometimes get quite cold afterwards; has taken water and food and passed droppings. If any of these things haven't happened, ask questions!

Hope this helps.

thanks. i think he said a light ga. i worry about ga's but he said don't worry, it's a very gentle ga and it won't take a long time to file them so he won't be asleep for long.

he said it's the same as when the rabbits have been in - drop them off in the morning, they settle them in first and then ches will have the dental, and then back to the cage to recover. then he rings me to let me know how it went, how they are etc and then they then keep them there until the evening to make sure they are warm, eating, drinking, pooping etc. with the rabbits they gave me alot of things to bring home aswell like recovery food and pain relief so i know they will give me everything i need and tell me what to do. when i collect them again, the vet has a talk with me about what's gone on and everything i will need to do etc.

as i said in the above post, i think i'm just over worried as i haven't had to go through this with the piggies before. i worry so much. but we see the best vets in this area, they are exotics vets and they treat piggies everyday. so i know they are in great hands. it's just that they're my babies, you know, and i just worry so much about them.

 

[flintstones]

about 200g overall now. his usual weight range is 1356-1402g ish.

the vet said the blood would be taken from a pinprick type way from the back of the ear i think.

he said the back teeth (i don't know the proper name for those teeth) are slightly too long, about 1-2mm maybe, and they would just give him a light ga and file them down.

i think he is expecting ches to gain weight this week though. i don't think he thinks that the teeth are enough for this weight loss and because there could be the issue of spoiled food and a dodgy tummy, he wants to see if his weight goes back up this week and if not, then it is likely to be the teeth but he wants to be sure.

he did say it might be something else going on that we don't know about yet which is why he wants to take bloods whilst ches is asleep aswell.

the vet doesn't seem phased by any of it, but it's just me that gets in a real state. i can't help it.

Pin prick test -Bette had this and it really is nothing other than a pin prick, I was thinking full bloodworks under GA which is what Milo had.

200 grams in how long a week?

If he continues to lose weight I would book him in sooner, and perhaps start syringe feeding him to keep his weight up if it continues to drop.

I know your going to worry but by the sound of things you have a good vet. As Katy Krafter says the gas GA is very gentle.

 

[Katie Krafter]

Sounds like our vets are on the same page. I go to the Edinburgh Vet School (Dick Vet) where they have an exotic department and vets who are qualified in exotics. More expensive than most but at least I can be sure that the vet recognises a piggy. Good luck, sure everything will be fine!

 

[flintstones]

Sounds like our vets are on the same page. I go to the Edinburgh Vet School (Dick Vet) where they have an exotic department and vets who are qualified in exotics. More expensive than most but at least I can be sure that the vet recognises a piggy. Good luck, sure everything will be fine!

Hi Katie,

Could I possibly have your email address - I'd love to ask you some questions about the Vet Dick, Unfortunately I can't pm you as you don't have enough posts .

Thanks,