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worried about Winnie :/

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weesilvie

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Hi all

Not sure whether the problem is physical or otherwise - off to the vet tomorrow to get her checked out.

Winnie just hasn't been herself lately and has lost over 100g in the past 2 to 3 weeks wih no noticeable cause. She's still eating and keen to eat, she was even checked by thd vet three weeks ago and no problems were noted.

There is some herd history - two older sows from the herd died towards the end of last year. Winnie was a little withdrawn after this so I thought her and her boarfriend Rory might like a new friend. So along came Macy at the beginning of February. The three of them seemed to have no problems with each other and Winnie let Macy know where she stood with just a look! Now Winnie seems to be alowing Macy to get under her skin. No active aggression, just a bit of irritation.

I'm really sad because Winnie seems to have lost her spark. She was such a characterful pig before Woolly and Bingo left us. After a promising start, the arrival of Macy doesn't now appear to have heped and I'm now starting to entertain the possibility of splitting them up and finding Macy a new friend.

Will see what the vet says tomorrow. Anyone got any thoughts? I don't really know what to think.
 
Just wanted to wish her the best of luck at the vets, fingers crossed you can get to the bottom of it!
 
I have found that sometimes if a piggie is under the weather for some reason then they can be a bit less tolerant than usual of their cagemates. The 100g weight loss is definitely something I would want to get checked out at the vets. I think you are very sensible to take her in, I hope it goes well & do let us know what they say. Good luck to Winnie for tomorrow :)
 
I don't have any experience with herd dynamics, so I can't offer any suggestions there.

Just wanted to wish you luck for the vets today. Please let us know how you get on. Fingers crossed for Winnie.

PS) Highcroft, I assume? I took Jerry there for the first time two weeks ago and I'm incredibly impressed! :)
 
Thanks everyone :)

Turns out Winnie has hormone issues - she has cystic ovaries :( I was worried when the vet first mentioned it thinking that was something sinister but it turns out that its less so. It means they have fluid in them and are swoillen, probably pressing on her other internal things like the gut, hence the weight loss. There's still a small possibility it could be something more serious but because the vet checked her out only about three weeks ago, we know the swelling has come up within that time so she's fairly confident in the diagnosis.

Options for treatment are spaying, hormones, an implant or needling the fluid out. Needling will need to be done often and introduces opportunity for infection and abscesses each time, spaying is the last gasp option because its so drastic and difficult with pigs, hormones are human ones and expensive so the implant probably sounds like the best one at the moment. There's still a small risk of abscesses but presumably less than regular fluid removal.

However, I don't need to make a decision just yet - the vet is going to a conference in a couple of weeks where one of the sessions is on cystic ovaries in pigs! So she's going to she what she learns there in case there are other ideas and options we could try. I love my vets (yes, Highcroft :)) - I love they're so keen and enthusiastic to learn new stuff and that the practice supports the vets to do so. She's going to ring me afterwards to see what we want to do. I'll let you know.

Because it's hormones, it could well have been caused by the changes in herd dynamics over recent months. Makes me feel guilty for introducing Macy which might have tipped Winnie over the edge with this, but I guess it's one of those things you never know is going to happen until it does.

In the meantime I've to monitor Winnie's weight and see how she's doing, making sure she's eating enough. Any tips for some high calorie things I can feed her?
 
oh poor Winnie. I know if I give my girls flaked peas (which they love) they put weight on, so they dont have them any more. What about porridge, carrots...sure others will offer more helpful suggestions...
 
Lots on guinealynx about cystic ovaries if you do a search.

Your vets sound lovely & I hope winnie will be ok.

We have had great results getting some weight on Pip who was severely skinny with Wagg Crunch muesli guinea food of all things! I think it's probably the flaked corn & peas that do it. You can give baby corn as a veggie treat for putting on weight too but as with everything, I would use in moderation!

Best wishes, shiny :)
 
I had a guinea pig with suspected cysts on her ovaries. She was so hormonal constantly humping the others all the time. The vet decided to spay her. She was fine on the very same day. :)
 
It's so reassuring to have a vet that clearly knows what they're talking about, is up to date on all the latest research, and is not afraid to ask others for advice :)

Don't blame yourself about changing the herd dynamics. Like to said, you had to try, and it may not even be that anyway.

I find corn on the cob good for helping to increase weight. It would usually only be given sparingly due to its high calorific content
 
Glad it is nothing sinister. One of our piggies had an hormone injection for ovarian cysts in the past, it worked well.

Lots of love to Winnie
 
sport_billy said:
Glad it is nothing sinister. One of our piggies had an hormone injection for ovarian cysts in the past, it worked well.

Lots of love to Winnie
Click to expand...

I agree with sport billy, I've had a few females with cysts & each time they have had the hormone injection which worked really well, in fact poor Petal who also has bladder issues had those on top of everything else, but after 2 injections they have shrunk completely. Spaying is drastic & a risky major op. Also I would be inclined to think about getting her scanned rather than x-rayed, all Petal's soft tissue issues including the cysts were picked up that way. In the meantime she may need some minimal pain relief to keep her comfortable. Good luck, hope you get her sorted soon. :)
 
Thanks for the support and suggestions everyone :) I'll get a wee bag of muesli and some sweetcorns to try with her. Will order some more lovely timothy hay too.

The vet did say that there's a possibility the cysts could go away on their own but its probably not likely. We'll see what happens over the next couple of weeks and see what her suggestions are after the conference.

Think Winnie is pretty shattered after her vet visit and generally at the moment - when we got back and I put her back in the cage, she disappeared staright into a pigloo and just flopped out! She's also spending a lot of time sitting in a hay rack, just watching the world go by. I do hope we can get this sorted out satisfactorily for her - she's usually so lively and bright but just isn't at the moment.
 
I've been being a proper nosey so and so and have googled the UK vet conference! I've found a lecture at it about reproductive issues in guinea pigs and novel ways of dealing with them - guessing that's the one my vet is talking about. Lots of other interesting stuff too, wish I could go! Looking forward to hearing what she comes back with.

I've also been googling all about overian cysts - seems that spaying is quite a common treatment for them and also the hormone treatment. I read that the hormones are a couple of injections, a couple of weeks apart, then possibly repeated after a couple of months. Implants are what's called a 'chemical spay' and last up to two years. My vet says that they have used implants with a high success rate at their practice, but another practice they know of have had a high incidence of abscesses with them. I've read about them being used in ferrets - apparently adult lady ferrets MUST either be spayed or have an implant to keep them healthy.

I'm sure that once the vet feels like she has a full list of options to offer me and Winnie, we can talk more about what the implications are of each.

Meanwhile, Winnie is really quite lethargic and susceptible to being annoyed by the others, particularly Macy. I don't want to separate them but if it gets too relentless, I will consider it.
 
There are quite a few threads on guinealynx about speying for ovarian cysts. Of course, as surgery, it carries risks & that's what you need to weigh up. It's always difficult to know which way to go. I hope Winnie will be ok over the next couple of weeks before your vet goes to the conference. I would keep a close eye on her weight.

Hugs to Winnie x
 
Thanks Shiny :) - yep, I've been looking at some of the threads on Guinealynx. For now, I'm keeping spaying in mind as a last resort for just the reasons you mention. Winnie is around four and half years old - I know that's not too old for surgery but equally I know that this would be big surgery! Currently , before I know more about it all, I like the thought of the implant best.

And yes, I'm keeping an eye on her weight :) No significant loss this week, she's pretty much maintaining. I'm weighing her every couple of days, when I clean the cage. Don't want to disturb her more than necessary - those cysts must be uncomfortable, if not painful! She's still perfectly enthusiastic about eating. I'm slightly concerned that she might get more uncomfortable and sore over the next couple of weeks - especially as we're heading into the Easter bank holiday weekend! Always the way... Will keep a close eye on her.
 
She is a lucky girl, sounds like she is getting the best of care both at home & from your vets :)
 
Quick update on Winnie

I gave the other two a bath yesterday and put them in the spare cage beside the radiator while they dried off. This gave Winnie a few hours in the big cage on her own which I think she really enjoyed. As well as that, since they've all been back in together afterwards, they seem to be quite a bit quieter and more calm. Result!
 
Further update from the vet after the big conference.

The only new thing she learned was a different way to do neutering surgery, which is no use for dodgy ovaries. So the original range of options still stands. I have decided on the implant - hopefully just a one off or at least just once a year or so at the most (effects last a very minimum of six months but typically two years). She explained how she prepares and finishes the site surgically, even though its just a needle. It is a big needle, like microchips for cats, so Winnie will get a short general anaesthetic.

We're booked in on Wednesday - wish us luck!
 
I've just caught up with this thread. Over the years I've had 4 girls suffer with cystic ovaries and I've always gone down the spay route with them. Luckily with a good vet and aftercare each one has made a full recovery. Its a choice not to be taken lightly particularly with the older girls. I did try the hormone injection with one of them but it was unsuccessful so I never tried it with the others but that's just personal choice. Sending Winnie lots of luck and piggy kisses from the gang for a speedy recovery. x
 
Good luck with the implant for Winnie :)

Sometimes I can feel my cat's microchip pellet under the skin, it's like a grain of rice. I guess it's a similar size thing for the implant so it's better for guineas to have a brief GA I'm sure. It will only be very a quick GA I'm sure so the risks will be minimal.

Cheeky little Pip send his best wishes to Winnie too, he is trying to help me type this! He is running around the hall popcorning & coming to stand on the laptop where I am typing away on the floor. He has just finished trying to eat the radiator pipes rolleyes long enough to tread on a few keys but I'm afraid I deleted his message as it wasn't at all easy to understand...
 
Hope all goes well on Wednesday. Keep us updated on her progress.
 
Vet has phoned and left a message to say that the implant procedure went well and that Winnie is fine :-) However, she said she found a small ringworm lesion on Winnie's underside which is not good :( Will speak to the vet properly later when i collect them and read up when I get home. Can't help but feel itchy...
 
Oh no not ringworm! Thank goodness the actual procedure went well though.
 
I know, my poor little Winnie pig, it's all happening to her at the moment :(

Good thing is its just a little spot, I might not have noticed it if we hadn't been at the vets today for the implant so we've caught it early and I have mycozole spray for all three pigs. Anyone got any good tips for dealing with ringworm?
 
We used the cream version on Bertie's nose when he had ringworm. I used cotton buds to apply it directly to the affected area to avoid getting it too much on my hands. You need to do really good handwashing after you handle her. It did not transmit to Bertie's cagemate. Ringworm generally needs something to get into like a tiny cut.

It us important to complete the full course of treatment rather than stop when it looks better, you need to keep going to make sure it's really gone.

I'm not sure how easy it will be to use a spray as it might scare the piggies & you would have to be very careful of eyes, cream might be easier.

Hope this is helpful :)
 
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