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Buttons rumbly belly is back

stef.trg

stef.trg

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Some of you might remember that Buttons suddenly started getting a very loud gurgling belly when Cornelius wasn’t right a few weeks ago. We managed to get a handle on that one pretty quickly with some fibreplex, gripe water, belly massages & no veg for 48 hours.

The ordeal started again at some point last weekend because when I weighed her last Saturday she was down to 1006g when she‘s usually around 1050g. As she was acting normally, eating, drinking, toileting & begging for food I decided to monitor and see what was going on. On Sunday she was back up to 1038g and I thought it was a fluke because that’s still in her normal weight fluctuation range. Then Tuesday came along and with it the rumbly tummy. Every evening from that point onwards you could hear some really loud gurgling noises coming from her stomach - I‘m not in during the day so can‘t say if it’s the same during the day or not. Her belly is soft albeit a little firmer than usually. When I give her belly massages you can really feel and hear the gas swooshing around in her tummy. You can tell that massages and vibrating pillow rides are uncomfortable for her but other than that she‘s acting completely normal and is her usual self. Her weight‘s been stable between 1010g and 1038g since last Sunday. She‘s been having fibreplex, rodicare akut and gripe water which help immediately once the belly starts rumbling, but it still comes back every day.

I have to admit I haven’t fully taken her off veg so far, but I will do this for the next 48 hours. This week she only had herbs & fennel. If it‘s still there on Monday night I‘ll ring my vet and get her booked in for a check up. Oh how much I would like a break!
 
I’m sorry to hear this, poor girl.

What were the grumbles put down to? I have never really heard of a grumbly belly, and I am interested in finding more if there is anything more to it.
Or is it just the movement of a gas buildup.

Sounds like you and your vet are on top of it so don’t have much to add but I am wishing you and her all the best and hopefully her stomach settles down soon x
 
I hope Buttons belly calms down over the weekend. Good luck at the vets if you have to take her.
 
piggl said:
I’m sorry to hear this, poor girl.

What were the grumbles put down to? I have never really heard of a grumbly belly, and I am interested in finding more if there is anything more to it.
Or is it just the movement of a gas buildup.

Sounds like you and your vet are on top of it so don’t have much to add but I am wishing you and her all the best and hopefully her stomach settles down soon x
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We don‘t know yet what‘s actually causing it as she hasn‘t had a thorough examination yet. I‘m hoping it‘s just a problem with her gut balance but I also think there‘s a possibility she has non-hormonal ovarian cysts that put pressure on the digestive tract. Over the weekend I‘ll try all the tricks in the book to restore her gut balance and if that doesn’t solve it, she‘s off to the vets for a check up and an ultrasound next week.

The gurgles that can be heard are a build up of gas/movement of gas. Pretty similar to what our bellies do when we’ve eaten something that causes us to get gas.

Thank you for your well wishes! x
 
stef.trg said:
We don‘t know yet what‘s actually causing it as she hasn‘t had a thorough examination yet. I‘m hoping it‘s just a problem with her gut balance but I also think there‘s a possibility she has non-hormonal ovarian cysts that put pressure on the digestive tract. Over the weekend I‘ll try all the tricks in the book to restore her gut balance and if that doesn’t solve it, she‘s off to the vets for a check up and an ultrasound next week.

The gurgles that can be heard are a build up of gas/movement of gas. Pretty similar to what our bellies do when we’ve eaten something that causes us to get gas.

Thank you for your well wishes! x
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That’s really interesting.
Maybe if it’s ongoing, you might be looking to investigate in the future even if it goes away now, incase it is a side affect of a different ailment in the body.

Again fingers crossed you can get it under control or if not let us know how you get on at the vets x
 
piggl said:
That’s really interesting.
Maybe if it’s ongoing, you might be looking to investigate in the future even if it goes away now, incase it is a side affect of a different ailment in the body.

Again fingers crossed you can get it under control or if not let us know how you get on at the vets x
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Oh yes, absolutely! Especially since we recently lost Benito so tragically without knowing why (my vet suspects a very aggressive cancer but as we didn’t do a post mortem, I‘ll never know for sure). They were also meant to have their annual health check a couple of weeks ago but my vet was ill so we had to postpone and I hadn’t found time to reschedule yet so I‘ll have to make an appointment anyways.

Will definitely do, thank you! x
 
Although her tummy has settled a little bit she still looks rather wide and her belly feels firmer than usual. I've booked her in for a check up at 4:15pm today. Cornelius will be accompanying her to her appointment because she's a very timid lady that needs a support piggy with her (he isn't aware of his luck as of yet).
 
Poor Buttons, hope everything goes well today at the vets and her tummy is easily sorted 🤞
 
Bill & Ted said:
Poor Buttons, hope everything goes well today at the vets and her tummy is easily sorted 🤞
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Thank you! I hope so too. A part of me thinks it could be stress related because Pewter really is a bit of an impossible pig and Buttons is so timid and sensitive. But I wouldn’t want to put it down to stress without having her checked first.
 
Buttons has a sizable ovarian cyst (3,5cm) on her right side that‘s causing her bloating and rumbly belly. She‘s had a hormonal injection and we‘re due back at the vets on Friday to check if it‘s working. If the injection isn’t helping she‘ll need to be spayed. Not quite what I‘d hoped for but in reality exactly what I‘d expected.
 
Poor Buttons. But at least now you know what you are facing in the short term and potentially the longer term. I hope the injection works for her.
 
VickiA said:
Poor Buttons. But at least now you know what you are facing in the short term and potentially the longer term. I hope the injection works for her.
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Absolutely, I much rather deal with something like this than a mystery illness. So far she‘s handling the injection quite well I think. She tucked into her dinner veg, munched hay and is currently napping. She seems a tad more tired but I‘m not overly worried about that.
 
Merab's Slave said:
Hope the injection works.
I’ve had 3 sows spayed due to ovarian cysts, all recovered very well.
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This is very reassuring to hear. My vet leans more towards spaying her to get rid of the problem once and for all while she‘s still young & fit which makes a lot of sense but I still worry for my little girl.
 
Betsy said:
The Ever Beautiful Betsy had an emergency spay at the beginning of Lockdown at the age of 4. She recovered very well.
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That is also very reassuring to hear, thank you for sharing. Buttons also thinks that mommy worries too much as she‘s a strong girly (with a very wet cucumber chin).

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Poor Buttons, hope the injections work, but if not good luck for spaying which makes perfect sense x
 
Buttons cyst has softened and it has gotten slightly smaller but we also found a small one on her left side today. My vet wants to nip the issue in the butt while she‘s still young-ish and fit so we‘re going to spay her in July when I‘m off work for 14 days, earlier if her condition should get any worse. This gives her time to recover from her belly problems (which are gone for now) and put that bit of weight back on that she‘s lost before having surgery. I thought I‘d be much more nervous or upset but I‘m feeling very calm. I feel like it‘s the right decision for her and her health in the long run.

The only thing that worries me a little is the fact that I‘ll have to have Buttons in a hospital cage for a bit after surgery because I can‘t have Pewps chasing her around like the mad pig she is sometimes. But even if that should mean the end of my trio, I have the option to expand the cage and have Pewter live in her own little kingdom as a neighbour to Buttons & Cornelius. Not what I would prefer because of the cage size and the fact that my flat is rather small but the option is there so that’s taking pressure away. I know, I‘m thinking 7 million miles ahead but I like to be prepared! 😂
 
Sorry to hear she needs spayed but hopefully it fix the issues for her in the long run.
I am glad you are calm with it and I have my fingers crossed all will go well.

As for medical separation it does seem you are aware of the risk of a bond breakdown but I would urge you to also be aware of the risks of the additional stress this may cause buttons.
I don’t believe medical separation is encouraged unless there is something infectious going on.

I will attach a great guide on post-op care if you haven’t seen it already, I couldn’t speak from experience as I haven’t had any piggies in for a major op, but it seems that many have more positive experiences than negative ones with keeping pigs together after surgery.
Tips For Post-operative Care

All the best for the surgery and whatever way you chose to handle post-op x
 
piggl said:
Sorry to hear she needs spayed but hopefully it fix the issues for her in the long run.
I am glad you are calm with it and I have my fingers crossed all will go well.

As for medical separation it does seem you are aware of the risk of a bond breakdown but I would urge you to also be aware of the risks of the additional stress this may cause buttons.
I don’t believe medical separation is encouraged unless there is something infectious going on.

I will attach a great guide on post-op care if you haven’t seen it already, I couldn’t speak from experience as I haven’t had any piggies in for a major op, but it seems that many have more positive experiences than negative ones with keeping pigs together after surgery.
Tips For Post-operative Care

All the best for the surgery and whatever way you chose to handle post-op x
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Thanks! We‘re in very good hands with our vet - she‘s a gem and super experienced with both guinea pigs & rabbits.

I usually wouldn’t separate (haven’t when both boys got neutered way back when) but with Pewter being Pewter it‘s necessary to keep them apart until Buttons is feeling better. Can‘t have her chasing Buttons around and nipping at her behind at every opportunity. Dog will split his time between the two ladies (who‘s cages will be adjacent) but would stay with Buttons if the trio was to break. I also want to see if the girls are happier in adjacent cages than they are in the same one so it’s a bit of a win-win really.

Thank you xx
 
Buttons weight‘s been down a little during this morning‘s weigh in. She‘s been very stable at 1020g for the last 3ish weeks or so and was down to 999g this morning. I know it‘s well within the normal range of fluctuation but with her cyst issues I‘m keeping a very close eye on any weight changes. And she used to sit between 1050-1060g at the start of May so it‘s a substantial loss overall. She‘s been eating and pooping fine, is bright and overall her usual self. Her belly has been fine ever since the injection.

I‘ll switch to daily weighing for a few days to see if it‘s an actual drop or just fluctuation. She sometimes tends to be a few grams lighter right after her season so it might be that but we‘ll know more in the next few days. Should her weight continue to go down/stay down I‘ll ring my vet next week and we‘ll probably spay her sooner than planned.
 
Buttons has been back up to and stable at 1012g for the past 2 days. That's still a 10g drop since her last stable weight at 1020g-ish. Talked to my vet and we decided to keep an eye on things and if she experiences another drop we'll spay earlier because she suspects that the drops might be pain related from the cysts growing. So we'll see what the next few weeks bring.

She's otherwise very happy and even zooming around so we're just taking it day by day. :)
 
Buttons weight is still sitting at exactly 1012g every day so I‘m very happy with that. Spoke to our vet this morning and booked her in for her spay on 20th July as I‘ll be off work then and can look after her properly. Not gonna lie, I‘m already dreading it a bit. She has no clue what‘s going to happen yet & is enjoying summer, lucky girl.

IMG_1005.webp
 
Aw hope Button’s operation goes well, she looks very settled there :wub:
 
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