Diarrhoea after having medicine

[Kancil]

Hi guys, Leo was super lethargic last Thursday and his back leg was very weak. I tried going to the supposedly 24 hours vet but they were close. I gave him critical care, plenty of hay, and veggies and he seems all better the next day so I didn’t bring him to the vet again.

I still couldn’t shake off the feeling thought + his weight was very alarming. This was my fault as I have never weighted the boys until then. So I brought him and Kancil again to the vet to get the checked out. They were given the all clear and a vitamin (for Leo) and a liquid vitamin to induce appetite (for both).

It is now my second day of giving them the vitamin and Leo’s poop is very watery and mushy. His weight usually goes up and down (I checked during morning and night before feeding) and since the medicine was administered he hasn’t had a gain in his weight. He also seems to have lost an appetite (left some of the bell pepper which he usually finished in seconds). He was also a bit lethargic just now.

Should I stop the medicine and see how it goes? I can’t go to any other vet as the one I went to is the only one who take exotic animals (my country is not yet that developed in terms of veterinary).

 

[Wiebke]

Hi guys, Leo was super lethargic last Thursday and his back leg was very weak. I tried going to the supposedly 24 hours vet but they were close. I gave him critical care, plenty of hay, and veggies and he seems all better the next day so I didn’t bring him to the vet again.

I still couldn’t shake off the feeling thought + his weight was very alarming. This was my fault as I have never weighted the boys until then. So I brought him and Kancil again to the vet to get the checked out. They were given the all clear and a vitamin (for Leo) and a liquid vitamin to induce appetite (for both).

It is now my second day of giving them the vitamin and Leo’s poop is very watery and mushy. His weight usually goes up and down (I checked during morning and night before feeding) and since the medicine was administered he hasn’t had a gain in his weight. He also seems to have lost an appetite (left some of the bell pepper which he usually finished in seconds). He was also a bit lethargic just now.

Should I stop the medicine and see how it goes? I can’t go to any other vet as the one I went to is the only one who take exotic animals (my country is not yet that developed in terms of veterinary).

Hi

Vitamins won't likely cure the problem; the symtpoms you are reporting are not what I associate with scurvy (vitamin C deficiency - those piggies typically hop). They are not typically affected in just one leg and are not lethargic. I can however not say what is exactly going on - it can be quite a few things in his body that are impacting on the nerve in the spine or on the leg inside the body.

If you regularly include vitamin C rich feed like a slice of sweet pepper, some coriander/cilantro herb or fresh green growing grass (please dog pee free) which is also high in vitamin C in your diet, scurvy should not be a problem, so please stop the liquid and go back to syringe feeding.

Keep off any fresh food until the poos have hopefully solidified within a day or two. Please keep in mind that hay makes over three quarters of what a guinea pig eats in a day. Veg, pellets and treat together only replace the supplementary role that wild forage would have had. This will hopefully give the gut microbiome time to realign itself. If you have a healthy companion, then making 'poo soup' (i.e. live guinea pig microbiome transfer if done properly), then that can hopefully additionally help to stabilise the gut again.

Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)
Looking After Guinea Pigs With Limited or No Mobility

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures (includes the guide on how to make poo soup so it is effective in the support products chapter)

 

[Kancil]

Thank you co much for replying! I have stopped the vitamins and his poop is in a better shape. I will go back to syringe feeding him.