Diarrhea And Losing Weight

[DLee]

Please help us with any ideas you may have. My boyfriend and I have always had 4 guinea pigs. They are separated with 2 in one cage and 2 in the other.
A year ago one of our guineas suddenly passed overnight. She had experienced bouts of diarrhea and had lost weight. We had taken her to the vet several times and tried medications. Her cage mate also experienced diarrhea and began losing weight, we took him to the vet and got medications as well.
After she died we got him a new friend once his diarrhea had cleared up. He never regained all the weight he lost. They were together for about 8 months before he became very ill quickly, losing 130 grams in 10 days and losing his appetite and strength. After several vet visits and more medications he passed suddenly last night and we are devastated.
Now, his friend has horrible diarrhea and has lost 30 grams in the past couple weeks. She is still active and eating a little bit, but not as much as she use to. We are syringe feeding critical care, giving medications, and laying off fruits and veggies hoping the diarrhea will clear up but we are worried.
Meanwhile, the other cage of guineas are doing very well and haven't been sick at all.
I apologize for the long post, but we would love to hear any ideas you may have. We don't want the same thing to keep happening and we want our single piggy to one day be able to have friends without worrying they will become Ill. What could be passed on in one cage over time for over a year?
In case you're wondering we feed unlimited hay, oxbow pellets, and daily vitamin C treats and veggies. They live in C&C cages with fleece bedding and I clean poops daily. We have replaced bedding when it becomes soiled and gotten them new huts.

Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

 

[Kerrie74]

Hi,, I'm not trying to scare you but please ask your vet to check their stools for parasites.

I've lost a guinea myself to one and it's made me feel very down so I can only imagine how your feeling.

When I'm out of bed I'll pm you some info so you can see if they have the same symptoms. Can't type much on my tablet.

 

[DLee]

Hi,, I'm not trying to scare you but please ask your vet to check their stools for parasites.

I've lost a guinea myself to one and it's made me feel very down so I can only imagine how your feeling.

When I'm out of bed I'll pm you some info so you can see if they have the same symptoms. Can't type much on my tablet.

Thank you I'd appreciate any info. They did a stool test on my piggy who passed away, but it would be worth checking the one who is sick now. The vet didn't think it was necessary but I will push to have it done.

 

[Kerrie74]

Info sent If it's not that then maybe other people will have idea's.

 

[Adelle]

I agree that could be some form of parasite or nasty gut bacteria. What treatment did the vet give for the last piggies that had this?
I think a full examination and tests on the poo from the current sick piggy would be your best vet.

Are u content with the treatment your vet has provided thus far? Are they piggy knowledgable?
All the best

 

[helen105281]

I'm so sorry for your losses. I agree with advice so far that it is best to get the vet to test for parasites.

 

[Kerrie74]

I've given @DLee information in PM.

If anyone wants the info on the parasite I'm talking about coccidiosis please feel free to pm me and I'll give you the link to some info on FB, either that or you can google it and it should pop up on there.

As I said before, I am NOT saying your guinea has this, but I can't think what else would make them ill.

 

[DLee]

I agree that could be some form of parasite or nasty gut bacteria. What treatment did the vet give for the last piggies that had this?
I think a full examination and tests on the poo from the current sick piggy would be your best vet.

Are you content with the treatment your vet has provided thus far? Are they piggy knowledgable?
All the best

The vet is very piggy knowledgeable, but I suppose I feel that she does not spend enough time in the appointment and rushes along so maybe she's missed something. They are the only piggy vet in the area, and the best ones too. She tests the poop every time and says she finds nothing. They have all been given an antibiotic called SMZ and it clears up for a bit but then the diarrhea comes back occassionally.

 

[Jeniva]

Diarrhea is a nightmare.
My piggie has it too, but doesn't lose weight - and I haven't found out really what caused it. Poo tests all clear too.

Could they do scans to see if there's something else going on in the gut?

 

[Kerrie74]

If she does the stool sample before they are treated then I'm not sure either, if it's after they are treated then it probably won't show the parasite and they can come back unfortunately. It's ingested in their faeces and as they like to eat their poo.. that's how it gets recycled. I hope it isn't that parasite though.

 

[DLee]

I've given @DLee information in PM.

If anyone wants the info on the parasite I'm talking about coccidiosis please feel free to pm me and I'll give you the link to some info on FB, either that or you can google it and it should pop up on there.

As I said before, I am NOT saying your guinea has this, but I can't think what else would make them ill.

Thank you so much! The information was extremely helpful. It does sound like that is what it is.

 

[Poppy'sMum]

The other thing I was thinking is Giardia. Guinea Lynx have a comprehensive page on parasites : Guinea Lynx :: Diarrhea One of these is passed intermittently in the faeces so you may get false negative for them. Can you put your country/place of whereabouts you are @DLee please? Your vet is likely to have done a fecal float test, it's very basic & won't show these more unusual parasites. I would recommend a full fecal analysis, if you are in the UK I can give you details of where your vet should send the sample to.

 

[Kerrie74]

No problem @DLee

 

[Kerrie74]

@Poppy'sMum They really aren't very nice are they :/ I sent DLee a lot of info about Coccidia because one of my guinea was put to sleep a few months ago who had it, won't go into it but it was lack of knowledge and the vet thinking she knew best when I gave her info on it.

I really hope it's not any of the parasites though.

 

[Poppy'sMum]

@Poppy'sMum They really aren't very nice are they :/ I sent DLee a lot of info about Coccidia because one of my guinea was put to sleep a few months ago who had it, won't go into it but it was lack of knowledge and the vet thinking she knew best when I gave her info on it.

I really hope it's not any of the parasites though.

I'm so sorry Unfortunately there is a multitude of things it could be. I would personally be inclined if it was me to completely get rid of the cage they were housed in & throw every item that was in it, including beddings, hidies etc just to eliminate anything that could be harboured in there. I realise that is probably not feasible though, especially due to cost of replacing everything. What are the vitamin c "treats" you are giving them @DLee ? I would stop those as well. One of my piggies had soft stools virtually all her life & a comprehensive test showed that mine carried Sacchromyces found in rabbits, although they never had contact with a rabbit as far as I'm aware. The other thing to consider is an internal fungal problem which could be worth checking for & treating with Nystatin.

 

[DLee]

I am located in Maryland in the US. I hadn't thought about a full fecal analysis, they only did a fecal float so far. I will ask about that. The vitamin C treats are Timothy hay based made by Oxbow company. I read that they need extra vitamin C when they have diarrhea which is why I've been giving them. I will be throwing out as much of the cage as we can afford. We will clean the cage grates and get new bedding. We don't want her to get too sickly, she is doing okay so far and hasn't lost too much weight as of right now. Fortunately she loves her medicine so she is taking that well.
Thank you for your input!

 

[Poppy'sMum]

You are welcome, you now have a few suggestions to explore & Guinea Lynx also has a forum, might be worth posting on there as well, as it is based in the US they might have some other ideas If you can get some appropriate cage cleaner like F10 we call it here, that kills fungal spores & is one of the best cage cleaners going. If you can replace the correx in your c & c that might be an idea. However if your ladypig has diarrhoea now, she can probably pass it on to another piggy so a total thorough cage clean is probably sufficient for the time being & anything you can't wash I would bin. Once you get her diarrhoea sorted then maybe replace the correx before you get her a companion. I don't think the vit c tabs would upset her tummy but maybe try taking her off them for a week just to see if that helps. What veg does she get when you do give it?

 

[Kerrie74]

I'm so sorry Unfortunately there is a multitude of things it could be. I would personally be inclined if it was me to completely get rid of the cage they were housed in & throw every item that was in it, including beddings, hidies etc just to eliminate anything that could be harboured in there. I realise that is probably not feasible though, especially due to cost of replacing everything. What are the vitamin c "treats" you are giving them @DLee ? I would stop those as well. One of my piggies had soft stools virtually all her life & a comprehensive test showed that mine carried Sacchromyces found in rabbits, although they never had contact with a rabbit as far as I'm aware. The other thing to consider is an internal fungal problem which could be worth checking for & treating with Nystatin.

@Poppy'sMum I actually agree, when Cesaro had it, he was a lone boar due to him not getting on with other boars, but was next to the old boys as I call them, no contact though, his correx was thrown away and replaced, his bedding washed on it's own etc. I've now taken down the C&C he was in and will be throwing the grids away, the bedding and such have been bagged up to be thrown away. I did keep a few things because I was pretty attached to him but they are out of the way. You can never be too careful when it comes to horrible parasites and other nastys like these.

 

[DLee]

You are welcome, you now have a few suggestions to explore & Guinea Lynx also has a forum, might be worth posting on there as well, as it is based in the US they might have some other ideas If you can get some appropriate cage cleaner like F10 we call it here, that kills fungal spores & is one of the best cage cleaners going. If you can replace the correx in your c & c that might be an idea. However if your ladypig has diarrhoea now, she can probably pass it on to another piggy so a total thorough cage clean is probably sufficient for the time being & anything you can't wash I would bin. Once you get her diarrhoea sorted then maybe replace the correx before you get her a companion. I don't think the vit c tabs would upset her tummy but maybe try taking her off them for a week just to see if that helps. What veg does she get when you do give it?

That is great advice. I read that ammonia kills coccidia so we are going to clean her cage thoroughly with that, but I will looks into the F10. If we put her with our other piggies (once she's totally better) we will toss her current cage all together since the other pigs have never been sick their cage should be okay. We are going to buy some cheap fleece that we can throw away to put in her cage for now. She has started to make solid poops which is great! I hope it stays that way. She usually gets romaine or red leaf lettuce, arugula, bell peppers, and carrots. Thanks again!

 

[Poppy'sMum]

That is great advice. I read that ammonia kills coccidia so we are going to clean her cage thoroughly with that, but I will looks into the F10. If we put her with our other piggies (once she's totally better) we will toss her current cage all together since the other pigs have never been sick their cage should be okay. We are going to buy some cheap fleece that we can throw away to put in her cage for now. She has started to make solid poops which is great! I hope it stays that way. She usually gets romaine or red leaf lettuce, arugula, bell peppers, and carrots. Thanks again!

Great, whatever you do though rinse whatever you treat afterwards in hot soapy water then clean water to rinse. Ammonia might be toxic to piggies, not to sure on that so a proper piggy cage cleaner is best. Carrots contain high sugars so I wouldn't feed too much of those & I would take out the Romaine/lettuce for now. Make sure she has plenty of fresh hay (Replace daily with fresh) & water without anything added to it. Keep a note daily of what veg she has, hopefully eliminating one thing at a time you might find out if certain veg triggers it. Good luck & let us know how she gets on

 

[DLee]

Great, whatever you do though rinse whatever you treat afterwards in hot soapy water then clean water to rinse. Ammonia might be toxic to piggies, not to sure on that so a proper piggy cage cleaner is best. Carrots contain high sugars so I wouldn't feed too much of those & I would take out the Romaine/lettuce for now. Make sure she has plenty of fresh hay (Replace daily with fresh) & water without anything added to it. Keep a note daily of what veg she has, hopefully eliminating one thing at a time you might find out if certain veg triggers it. Good luck & let us know how she gets on

Great, I will so that. I am looking for the F10 too. I will keep you all updated!

 

[Kerrie74]

It's got to be a certain % diluted anyway (ammonia), I purchased some when Cesaro had it. I can't remember what % it was now, I think it tells you on the info I gave DLee. Apparently it's the only thing that will kill the parasite.

 

[Winifred]

The other thing I was thinking is Giardia. Guinea Lynx have a comprehensive page on parasites : Guinea Lynx :: Diarrhea One of these is passed intermittently in the faeces so you may get false negative for them. Can you put your country/place of whereabouts you are @DLee please? Your vet is likely to have done a fecal float test, it's very basic & won't show these more unusual parasites. I would recommend a full fecal analysis, if you are in the UK I can give you details of where your vet should send the sample to.

Hi. Could I please have details of where my vet should send sample to as I'm having the same problem with one of my piggies