Drezella
Adult Guinea Pig
I'm really worried about Paddy. Yesterday I found him lying on the hay tray all puffed up and still, his eyes were bright but his tummy seemed puffy and swollen. He has been eating, drinking, peeing and pooping as normal with no obvious signs of discomfort, however, I have noticed that he has been losing small increments of weight lately and he has been shedding more hair than usual. I have found dark urine stains on the puppy pads that we use and at times I have wondered whether there have been spots of blood, but it has been really difficult to tell as the boys have a habit of smearing their poo when they lie down. I fed the boys their veggies and he seemed to perk up, so I kept my eye on him checking on him every couple of hours. Today he jumped around a bit when he heard some bags rattling and wheeked for his veggies but apart from that has seemed a bit quiet. He ate his veggies but then went and did exactly the same thing in the hay tray and he went all puffy again. I tapped his belly and it did sound hollow and he kept doing little squeaks/noises when I tried to massage his tummy, so he seems uncomfortable. I'm wondering whether he has bloat or a UTI. I've bought him some gripe water but I'm not sure how much to give him, does anyone know for future reference? He keeps giving me mixed signals, I'm really worried about him, so I've booked him in at the vets, we are going in for 6.30 pm. Wish us luck!
Here is a video of him from before, he doesn't look too puffy in the video, but he was puffed up before whilst eating his veggies and just afterwards.
Here is a video of him from before, he doesn't look too puffy in the video, but he was puffed up before whilst eating his veggies and just afterwards.
The vet felt all his tummy area and sides and there were no signs of bloat or a blockage from what she could feel. She checked his teeth and coat/fur and they are fine too. I told her about the gradual weight loss, she weighed him and said that he is a healthy weight and that he had in fact gained weight since his last trip to the vets, but she said obviously she hasn't been weighing them every two weeks so he is bound to have gained since his last visit. She said to keep an eye on the weight loss, we worked out from my records that he has lost 20 grams over the past month in small increments, so that could be the difference between a full and empty bladder. If he carries on losing weight over the next few weigh ins then I've to take him back for further investigation. She recommended giving him some probiotics just to promote good bacteria in his gut and help to reduce the chance of him having any gastric issues. Can anyone recommend any good probiotics for piggies which are relatively easy to administer? She only charged me £9.95 for a consultation, I was expecting it to be around £30, so that was good. I feel so relieved.
