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Emergency EMERGENCY- LIQUID BLOAT?

Jesse's pigs

Jesse's pigs

Adult Guinea Pig
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Hiya this is regarding my beloved Steve and I'm very very worried. I've only just lost Mo and I refuse to lose another guinea pig.

So Steve, seemed fine like literally an hour ago. I actually had him out and cleaned his penis shaft from some smegma. Skip to half nine and I decided to clean them out and let them run around. Only Steve just stays put where he runs too and seems rather puffed up. Not too unusual after I've messed with his butt. I offer veg but little interest.

He does look a little round but I wouldn't say swollen however when I tap his side's there is a noise and when I shake him gently (that sounds wrong but I read it in April Lodge website) there is a slight sloshing sound. So my immediate thought is liquid bloat. I massaged his tummy a little and he scampered off. His passed three poos within this hour and has been drinking. I'm taking him to the vets tomorrow morning asap as no vets are answering me! And only one who is doesn't have any small animal vets available.

What can I do in the meantime? I don't want to lose him but every where I'm reading that putting to sleep is best option. Am I gonna lose Steve too!?
 
Jesse's pigs said:
Hiya this is regarding my beloved Steve and I'm very very worried. I've only just lost Mo and I refuse to lose another guinea pig.

So Steve, seemed fine like literally an hour ago. I actually had him out and cleaned his penis shaft from some smegma. Skip to half nine and I decided to clean them out and let them run around. Only Steve just stays put where he runs too and seems rather puffed up. Not too unusual after I've messed with his butt. I offer veg but little interest.

He does look a little round but I wouldn't say swollen however when I tap his side's there is a noise and when I shake him gently (that sounds wrong but I read it in April Lodge website) there is a slight sloshing sound. So my immediate thought is liquid bloat. I massaged his tummy a little and he scampered off. His passed three poos within this hour and has been drinking. I'm taking him to the vets tomorrow morning asap as no vets are answering me! And only one who is doesn't have any small animal vets available.

What can I do in the meantime? I don't want to lose him but every where I'm reading that putting to sleep is best option. Am I gonna lose Steve too!?
Click to expand...

Hi!

I am ever so sorry. Bad problems tend to come in clusters in my experience. :(

Do any of the vets have an out-of-hours contact on their answering machine message or can you google for an out-of-hours/24 hour vet you can to a bit further away that you can still get to? They are really life and death emergencies, but they are no fault of yours.

Please follow the tips in these two guides. Severe bloat, blockage or a twisted gut all come on very quickly, seemingly out of the blue.
Emergency and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Bloat, GI Stasis ( No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

I am ever so sorry. Bad problems tend to come in clusters in my experience. :(

Do any of the vets have an out-of-hours contact on their answering machine message or can you google for an out-of-hours/24 hour vet you can to a bit further away that you can still get to? They are really life and death emergencies, but they are no fault of yours.

Please follow the tips in these two guides. Severe bloat, blockage or a twisted gut all come on very quickly, seemingly out of the blue.
Emergency and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Bloat, GI Stasis ( No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
Click to expand...

Thank you! Yes I'm currently googling and calling various places now. He's just chased Bellamy and Ive offered a cardboard tube to which he is now chewing gingerly on. He is drinking also. Do I still massage with liquid bloat? And does the massaging hurt? Only when I did it it made noises. Not Steve like the stomach.
 
Jesse's pigs said:
Hiya this is regarding my beloved Steve and I'm very very worried. I've only just lost Mo and I refuse to lose another guinea pig.

So Steve, seemed fine like literally an hour ago. I actually had him out and cleaned his penis shaft from some smegma. Skip to half nine and I decided to clean them out and let them run around. Only Steve just stays put where he runs too and seems rather puffed up. Not too unusual after I've messed with his butt. I offer veg but little interest.

He does look a little round but I wouldn't say swollen however when I tap his side's there is a noise and when I shake him gently (that sounds wrong but I read it in April Lodge website) there is a slight sloshing sound. So my immediate thought is liquid bloat. I massaged his tummy a little and he scampered off. His passed three poos within this hour and has been drinking. I'm taking him to the vets tomorrow morning asap as no vets are answering me! And only one who is doesn't have any small animal vets available.

What can I do in the meantime? I don't want to lose him but every where I'm reading that putting to sleep is best option. Am I gonna lose Steve too!?
Click to expand...
I hope Steve is ok and you manage to get him seen x
 
Jesse's pigs said:
Thank you! Yes I'm currently googling and calling various places now. He's just chased Bellamy and Ive offered a cardboard tube to which he is now chewing gingerly on. He is drinking also. Do I still massage with liquid bloat? And does the massaging hurt? Only when I did it it made noises. Not Steve like the stomach.
Click to expand...

If he is still fit and eating, he doesn't have a full-on blockage (liquid bloat from the build up of saliva) or gassy bloat yet, and he definitely doesn't have a twisted gut. No piggy will eat if it can no longer process any food as it will feel too uncomfortable and off very, very quickly. ;)

Yes, please do massage or vibrate.

So please take a deep breath. Still have him seen, though!
The sooner you can have him assessed and get gut stimulants into him, the better.
 
Wiebke said:
If he is still fit and eating, he doesn't have a full-on blockage (liquid bloat from the build up of saliva) or gassy bloat yet, and he definitely doesn't have a twisted gut. No piggy will eat if it can no longer process any food as it will feel too uncomfortable and off very, very quickly. ;)

Yes, please do massage or vibrate.

So please take a deep breath. Still have him seen, though! the sooner you can get gut stimulants into him, the better.
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Thank you! He's moving a bit now! I just got him out to massage again cos he ran off last time and he's moving about on the floor a little bit like himself. He's drinking which is good to see. Just gave me kisses! Best I think I can do is get an early appointment tomorrow :( just hope he's okay. I'm going to massage now and should I set a timer to do it again? I get up at 4 anyway for work so it's not too long a night
 
Its sometimes hard to get the night shift vets to answer the phones, the vet and the nurses get stuck treating other emergencies like opserations sometimes. This happened when i called at night once. I wish your steve the best health 👍
 
Jesse's pigs said:
Thank you! He's moving a bit now! I just got him out to massage again cos he ran off last time and he's moving about on the floor a little bit like himself. He's drinking which is good to see. Just gave me kisses! Best I think I can do is get an early appointment tomorrow :( just hope he's okay. I'm going to massage now and should I set a timer to do it again? I get up at 4 anyway for work so it's not too long a night
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I would check on him at least once before you get up; sorry, it's going to be a night with very little or no sleep in these kind of situations. :(
But if he is still eating/drinking and happily moving around, then things are not at the desperate level; however bloat is coming in waves so please keep checking.
 
Goldie said:
Hope Steve is ok - any news?
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Betsy said:
Did you manage to get Steve to the vets?
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Hi all, not last night no. Both my local practices were closed and the one that offered emergency vets did not answer either of my calls. And the ones I tried further afield (one being the vet they're registered with) either didn't answer or had only dog/cat vets available.

On waking up, he seems perky still. Not many poos but there are some and I've seen him munching on pellets! I've given another clump of fresh hay and a massage before coming to work. I'll be booking an appointment today to have him checked. I'm glad he's still perky today I thought I'd wake up to him in an even worse state.
 
Okay, got him booked in. The vet said over the phone that the fact he is eating still is good. They said that if it worsens rush him in earlier than the appointment but at least I can finally get him seen by his proper piggy vet. Phew. I'm still at work but I've got my mum massaging his tummy for me. He is eating his pellets still.
 
Jesse's pigs said:
Okay, got him booked in. The vet said over the phone that the fact he is eating still is good. They said that if it worsens rush him in earlier than the appointment but at least I can finally get him seen by his proper piggy vet. Phew. I'm still at work but I've got my mum massaging his tummy for me. He is eating his pellets still.
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You may want offer him additional recovery food if his appetite is diminished, which will then express itself in a day or two in the form and shape of the poos. Please be aware that is takes about as long as that for the things to manifest at the other end.

All the best! It is a very good sign that he is still tucking in, so he is not in acute danger of life. Hopefully it is a relatively minor problem. A scan or x-ray may help to work out what is exactly going on.
 
Wiebke said:
You may want offer him additional recovery food if his appetite is diminished, which will then express itself in a day or two in the form and shape of the poos. Please be aware that is takes about as long as that for the things to manifest at the other end.

All the best! It is a very good sign that he is still tucking in, so he is not in acute danger of life. Hopefully it is a relatively minor problem. A scan or x-ray may help to work out what is exactly going on.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your help all of you. Really calmed me down. Yes when I called and confirmed he was still eating pellets and drinking they seemed alot more relaxed. He is a fighter so I'm hoping after the vet all should be fine. What exactly should I expect them to give me? And is there anything I should be doubtful of them giving me? My vet is the best I've found with guinea pigs but I've never encountered this before so don't know what sort of medication should be given. Again many thanks.
 
Jesse's pigs said:
Thank you so much for your help all of you. Really calmed me down. Yes when I called and confirmed he was still eating pellets and drinking they seemed alot more relaxed. He is a fighter so I'm hoping after the vet all should be fine. What exactly should I expect them to give me? And is there anything I should be doubtful of them giving me? My vet is the best I've found with guinea pigs but I've never encountered this before so don't know what sort of medication should be given. Again many thanks.
Click to expand...

For medication, please look for metacam (painkiller), zantac and emeprid (both gut stimulants which work on different parts of the digestive tract and which should be used in combination whether you are dealing with bloat, GI stasis, diarrhea or another problem).
You can see the full list of what works and what not in the Bloat guide: Bloat, GI Stasis ( No Gut Movement) And Not Eating (proof-read by a very experienced exotics nurse)
Avoid steroid injections; but that is more of a general vet problem during out-of-hours emergencies with very ill piggies.
 
Exciting update! Steve is fine!:bronco::clap::yahoo:

The vet said he is perfectly fine now and tummy is perfect. I'm so happy he's ok. Not entirely sure what occurred Saturday night but I'm glad it cleared up. I've attached some pictures of the lil rascal
 

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Goldie said:
Great news ... aren’t guinea pigs a worry sometimes?! And it is usually when we aren’t expecting it 😰
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Thank you all for your comments! Steve says thanks also...or I imagine he would if he stopped munching for long enough 😂. And yes they certainly are! I really thought I might end up losing Steve for a moment there so I'm so relieved he's okay. Oh yes I always find that just as something good happens a bad thing occurs shortly after! Ive actually just put a deposit down on a kitten and then Steve went funny. I just thought oh god my lil boy.
 
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