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Baby guinea pig falling over onto side.

skinger

skinger

New Born Pup
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Hello. I'm really worried about out new guinea pig. He is 8 weeks old. We have had him for 2 weeks and he has successfully bonded with our older male guinea pig. They have been very happy together. He has been eating drinking and pooing normally. Tonight after handling him for a short time we put him in the cage and it looked like his back legs gave way and he fell on his side and struggled to get back up. I have checked him a couple of times since and he is able to move along but it looks hard work and he fell over onto his side again. I also wondered if his tummy looked a little bloated. I can take him to the vet tomorrow lunchtime. But am very worried. Does anybody know what it could be?
 
skinger said:
Hello. I'm really worried about out new guinea pig. He is 8 weeks old. We have had him for 2 weeks and he has successfully bonded with our older male guinea pig. They have been very happy together. He has been eating drinking and pooing normally. Tonight after handling him for a short time we put him in the cage and it looked like his back legs gave way and he fell on his side and struggled to get back up. I have checked him a couple of times since and he is able to move along but it looks hard work and he fell over onto his side again. I also wondered if his tummy looked a little bloated. I can take him to the vet tomorrow lunchtime. But am very worried. Does anybody know what it could be?
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Hi

I am very sorry. This doesn't sound good. Fingers very firmly crossed for your little one!

Here is our one stop emergency care advice link with all the how-to tips to get you through the night:
Wiebke

Thread 'Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment'

1 Statement
2 Emergency assessment and accessing vets
- How urgent is my guinea pig's problem?
- Finding an emergency vet
- Seeing a vet not familiar with guinea pigs (including lists of safe and dangerous medications)
3 First Aid care and easily available products
- General 'always have at home' stuff and comfort measures for very ill guinea pigs
- Improvising support feed; recovery formulas...
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Wiebke

Thread 'Looking After Guinea Pigs With Limited or No Mobility'

Introduction
1 Why can guinea pigs stop moving around?
- Animal attacks, severe illness or pain
- Back leg paralysis with list of potential causes
- Post-op, sudden illness or acute pining after bereavement
2 Adapting the living space
- Bedding and cosies
- Everything within reach
- Warmth and stable conditions
3 Weight monitoring and feeding support
- Weighing...
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It could be a stroke or other neurological event. They can happen at any age depending on a genetic disposition. But my guess is as good as anybody's without any access to your piggy. :(
Wiebke

Thread 'CBS (Calcified Bulla Syndrome) and Neurological Problems - Symptoms and Care'

Introduction
1 General information and practical advice on CBS
- What is the difference between a syndrome and a symptom?
- What is CBS (calcified bulla syndrome)?
- How can CBS be diagnosed?
- What is causing CBS and how can I minimise the risk?
- Vet care and customer rights with newly bought guinea pigs
- Support and care information resources
- Leaflet with list of CBS symptoms and comparison x-ray pictures
2 Other common neurological...
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My thoughts are with you and little poorly one.
 
Oh no 🥺 he has been brilliant. Doing all the right things. Snuggling up with our older boy 😔 I just need it to be a little miracle and recover. We seem to be having a series of unfortunate events and can't do another one! I will hope and pray for little spud 🙏
 
I’m sorry your piggy is poorly. Good luck at the vets. I hope they can find out what’s wrong and it’s something easily treatable. Sending healing vibes to him.
 
Welcome to the forum, I'm afraid I have no advice just wanted to send healing rumbles from my boys ❤️
 
My husband took him to the vet. She ran through a few things it could be and just said she was unsure. She gave him some critical care food to give to spud and said let me know how he gets on! I have been with him this afternoon and he definitely has a bloated tummy, it is big and round. And he fell over again when he tried to walk. He sat in my lap still nibbling hay. Has anyone got experience of bloat? And is there any medication I can suggest to the vet? Thank you
 
When my Rainbow Piggy The Ever Beautiful Betsy had bloat, I used to gently massage her tummy to try and get to get the gas through her system I have also heard of people using old toothbrush heads on an electric toothbrush and popping the piggies in a box and putting it on top of a washing machine.

Another vet visit is a good idea if you suspect bloat. It is a very painful condition for a piggy.
 
I'm sorry to hear this.
Please do return to the vet. Bloat is a serious issue. He will need pain meds and gut stimulants.

We do not recommend the use of simethicone. Simethicone gathers gas into one big bubble. That is fine for human babies and the nature of our gut but for piggies one big bubble can make the whole thing more painful and difficult to pass.

Please switch to daily weight checks so you can monitor food intake and syringe feed him. Feed as much as he will take at each sitting and as many sittings per day as necessary to keep his weight stable each day

I hope he is ok

I’ve added our bloat guide, weight guide and syringe feeding guides below

Wiebke

Thread 'Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)'

1 Not eating (anorexia) and the importance of syringe feeding fibre
2 Soft poos and runny diarrhea
3 Acute bloat (severe dysbiosis) - blockage - twisted gut - persistent milder bloating
4 GI stasis (no gut movement)


Severe runny diarrhea, bloat, blockage or a twisted gut, GI stasis and excessive salivating in guinea pigs that are not eating are absolute life and death emergencies that need to be seen ASAP by an out-of-hours vet at any time of the day or night or that should be seen by a vet as soon as you can get an appointment outside the UK...
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Wiebke

Thread 'Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support'

1 Weight and Weight Loss
- Why regular weight monitoring matters
- How weight changes over a lifetime
- How to weigh on your kitchen scales (with video)
- The weight loss rules
- How critical is the weight loss for my piggy?
- Possible causes for weight loss
2 Body Mass Index (BMI) or 'Heft'
- Why is understanding your piggy's weight so important?
- 'Average' weight vs. individual weight - the big trip up
- How to check for the BMI...
  • Like
  • Love
Wiebke

Thread 'All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures'

Introduction
1 Choosing the right place to medicate/feed your piggy
2 Guinea pig whispering and asserting your authority
3 Recovery products and emergency improvisation
4 Syringe recommendations
5 Weight monitoring: your biggest ally
6 Weight loss guidelines and when to step in with feeding
7 Syringe feeding amounts/frequency advice
8 Practical medication and syringing tips (incl. missed a dose)
9 Medicating and feeding cooperative guinea pigs (videos)
10 Medicating and feeding uncooperative guinea pigs (hold pictures and tips)
11 The line between...
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Thank you so much for all the information. spud has just been very keen to eat some carrot and cucumber. Less keen on the syringe food. I will keep trying. Thank you so much for the support
 
I have just got back from the vet. She was incredibly kind and caring but did say that she is not a guinea pig expert. I told her I was concerned it might be bloat. She took an x ray but still seemed to think it wasn't bloat. But said it doesn't look good! She felt his tummy and said it felt a little hard on both sides. She listened to his heart and said it was normal. He has had some water from a syringe and was very keen to eat some pieces of cucumber, spinning them round with his front foot while I supported his back end. I left him munching hay. But he did roll over again when I put him in. My older male has licked spuds back end a few times once straight after he has a wee. I'm hoping this is a good thing and he is looking after him🤞he is pooing well and his poos are normal.
I'm really not sure what to do from here other than keep him warm and comfortable and make sure he is eating and drinking regularly?
 

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It doesn't look like bloat to me tbf, but I'm not a vet! I believe gas/air shows up black on xrays.
Could it be fluid, maybe?
I wonder if the vet could fine needle aspirate to see what comes out if it's appropriate?

It might be worth travelling to a specialist exotic vet to get a other opinion. If Northampton is an option for you, the cat and rabbit clinic are brilliant.
 
Wheekallweek said:
It doesn't look like bloat to me tbf, but I'm not a vet! I believe gas/air shows up black on xrays.
Could it be fluid, maybe?
I wonder if the vet could fine needle aspirate to see what comes out if it's appropriate?

It might be worth travelling to a specialist exotic vet to get a other opinion. If Northampton is an option for you, the cat and rabbit clinic are brilliant.
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She said the same about gas being black on the x ray. We are a little stuck as we live on an island and there is just the one vet so no specialists available. Thank you for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it
 
Thank you so much for all the positive thoughts and healing vibes. Spud will eat on my lap and has eaten some nuggets cucumber and hay this morning which is positive. He is struggling to get around sadly😔 but will keep trying to help him🤞
 
Wiebke said:
Thinking of poor Spud and you and holding you in my thoughts.

How are you getting on?
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Thank you. I'm just popping in on him every couple of hours and giving him a cuddle on my lap and some food. Also syringing water when he wants it as I'm worried he is not taking it from his bowl even though I have put it right near him. He only seems to take 1ml then turns his head away. But is very keen on cucumber.
 
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