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Mamich

Mamich

New Born Pup
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I hope someone can help me.

My boar George had been neutered two weeks ago. His recovery has been terrible.

He stopped eating, since bringing him home. I have been syringe feeding him since. (Also syringe feeding water since he has stopped drinking)
I also noticed he had an infection at his surgical site.

I took him to the vet again, and they had given me some new medication but he had diarrhea and started squealing during bowel movements (even when hard stools.)

He was hospitalized for 4 days, had his infection treated and force fed. Also received an IV too.

Unfortunately when he finally came home, he had developed a limp(not even sure, he hops like a bunny) and he would always be laying down.

I tried putting him in the middle of the hallway and he just laid there. I tried to walk past him to get a better view of how his limp was but he didn’t even move. He’ll face plant into his dish of hay when I try to encourage him to eat and eat.

I’m at the vets again, but they are unsure.
They are taking an x-ray to see if he has any fractured bones but I don’t know.

He no longer stands upright and it’s almost like his head is too heavy for him.

Please if anyone has any idea, I would appreciate help.
(Sorry, English is not my first language)
Thank you
 

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Side note: His cage is right next to 3 sows.
They are side by side but he is completely uninterested in them at the moment and immediately lays on his side.
 
Hi. Sorry, most of us are from UK and it's still early morning. The moderators will be along soon with advice.
But I would say take him to a vet immediately. If he was like this when vet discharged him I would be looking for a better vet as he shouldn't have come home.
 
I’m not 100% sure of my translation, I hope it is okay:
Metacam 0.1 cc (for pain) once per day
Baytril 0.3 cc twice a day but he was switched to Chloramphenicol 0.3 cc twice per day but had to stop due to diarrhea.

I’m unsure what exactly they used for the IV, but it was because he was not drinking.
I believe they said they injected him with Baytril twice a day or something similar while he stayed.

He is off medicine now, he had his stitching removed and the results of the X-ray said nothing was wrong he had a little gas but that’s due to not eating enough.

I was told to increase more on the powdered pellets they gave me since critical care is unavailable in my country.
 
Is that cat/guinea pig metacam Or dog metacam? 0.1ml of metacam (cat) once a day is a very small amount. Piggies need pain meds twice a day as they metabolise them quickly and a piggy in pain is going to be reluctant to eat.

Are you weighing him daily so you can ensure he is getting enough food?
 
I’m going to put dates to make things clearer.

George was neutered on the 17th. He weighed 852g before going in.

When he was discharged on the night of the 18th, he was 812g.

I noticed he hadn’t been eating much and tried to crush some pellets and was able to have the vet see him on the 20th. He still weighed 812g.
Up until this point he was on Metacam (I’m unsure which type to be honest, the vet did not specify) and Baytril.
They said there may be a possibility that the Baytril was causing the appetite drop and I also voiced my concerns about one side of his testicles (or what was remaining) was swollen.

They gave him an IV to supplement for the lack of eating and switched to Chloramphenicol.

I noticed no change in appetite and he refused to eat, I had to fax (haha) my vet since they were closed and it was a holiday.
They said to keep giving him his favorite vegetables to get him to eat and if it persists to contact them again.

I decided to buy a syringe and grind pellets to force feed him (we don’t have critical care in my country.) He took a few bites of veggies and refused to take even 10mL of grounded pellets mixed in warm water (cooled down!)

He did take off his cone of shame a few times and those were the only times I witnessed him eating a teeny tiny bit and drinking water on his own. So I decided to take the cone off permanently.

On the 21st he started squealing when trying to pass a stool. The stools were normal but he would let out a loud squeal.

On the 23rd I noticed he had diarrhea and called the vet. They said stop all medication and bring him in the next day. His weight had dropped to 722g

He was hospitalized from the 24th to the 27th. When he was discharged he weighed 742g. They gave me some grounded pellets to use.
They also said painkillers were no longer necessary so he hadn’t been given any while hospitalized.

But I noticed when I brought him home he wasn’t walking properly and he would just lay there. He wouldn’t get startled when people walked by. He would just lay there. He no longer drinks water on his own so I also syringe feed him water too.

His weight has fluctuated since between 748-753g Very very VERY slowly he has been eating some more hay, but only when I take him out to syringe feed him. In his cage his food remains untouched.

I went to the vet today again to have his stitching removed. I asked about the limping and they did an X-RAY. Nothing abnormal. They said there was slight gas in his stomach but if I try feed him more it will likely get better.

Unfortunately guinea pig care is very poor in my country. This is the only vet in my area, I called another vet 2 hours away and they said the doctor for guinea pigs is away until April.

My mother has an acquaintance who is a vet but is 3 hours away by car. She is experienced with neutering so I’m thinking of asking my mother of making an appointment with her.

Sorry for the wall of text.

Summary:
1) Unsure of which metacam (I’m sorry!)
2) I have weighed him daily but he isn’t gaining much.

I still have some Metacam left, do you think I should try to give it to him?
 
Firstly I am sorry your boy is so ill.
Secondly your English is excellent - no need to apologise.

It sounds like your boy is very ill right now and due to a lack of good vet care you really need ot step in and make sure he is getting enough nutrition until he can eat properly for himself again.

You need to be syringe feeding him every 4 hours and weighing him daily at the same time.
This can be hard work, but you need to find a method that works for you and gets enough food into your boy to prevent any further weight loss.
It is fine to use his regular pellets soaked in water.
The guide is here:
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre

If he is not moving a lot you need to make sure he is kept as clean and dry as possible:
Looking after guinea pigs with limited or no mobility

I personally believe he needs to be on pain killers - you really should insist that he gets a high dose twice a day. Please speak to your vet about this as if he is in pain he simply won't eat or drink on his own and Metacam will not do him any harm.

Good luck.
You are clearly a very caring owner and your boy is lucky to have you.
 
:agr:
Your syringe feeding is directly replacing the hay he is not eating for himself, so hd needs to be syringe fed very regularly and syringe enough to stabilise his weight loss.
He also agree, he needs to be on pain killers.
 
Thank you so much.
I will call in my morning to make another appointment.
I will also read these immediately.

Thank you so much!
 
Sorry that George is having such a rough time.
I can’t add to the advice but want to offer support.
Holding you in my thoughts
 
Thank you so much for the kind words!
It means a lot to me.
I was able to get the vet to see him but they told me they will not prescribe any pain medication. That he is fine.

So I will be using the remaining Metacam I have. I’ll also be looking into other vets and try to make the long drive as less stressful as possible.

On the bright side, his appetite is starting to improve and I saw he had drank some water on his own during the night.
 
I’m so sorry. I would definitely try another vet if possible. You could try using bedding from his cage in the carrier. That would hopefully make him feel more comfortable. Then hay and something to hide under.
 
I will tell you about when we have painkiller in case you want to discuss with new vet. I have had quite a few piggies over the years and some have had bladder stones which is very painful so we have had experience and vet discussions about the metacam. My vet is not a specialist but 2 at the practice keep guinea-pigs themselves and this has been very important in the quality of our treatment... some vets are not so interested in 'small furries'. Also my vet has said that people have now started to take unwell guinea pigs to them for treatment. In the past parents bought them for little children and did not expect them to live for very long so they thought, "Oh he is old and dying now" when he might only have been 3 and needing antibiotics. So vets did not see guinea pigs and did not get a chance to improve guinea pig medicine and care. Even now if my guinea pigs go into a new vet they will first ask, "Is it a child's pet?" and I say, "No they are mine!"

Metacam: there is 'cat' type (0.5mg/ml) and 'dog' type (1.5mg/ml). The 'cat' type of some brands is now also licensed for use in guinea pigs - it didn't used to be. So now people prescribe cat-type a lot.... playing it safe. We have always had dog type and this is used over here by vets with piggy experience. They tolerate it very well and enjoy the taste because it is sweet! It is just more concentrated x3.

Metacam is prescribed according to body-weight so the pig is weighed first and then the vet calculates your dose. My pigs have always been over 1 kilo (I have adults) and a typical dose would be 0.23ml of dog-type... and we have this twice per day now because of fast metabolism. You can see immediately that this would be more like 0.7ml cat-type - and twice per day! We have also gone even higher... double the dose for a sow who was trying to pass a stone on her own so just over 0.4ml (remember she was over 1 kilo) of dog-type twice a day. She did not show any bad signs for this high dose (and yes, she eventually got over her stone trouble). The vet even said we could try to take it higher if she needed it - but this was a gamble. We tried it for one day but on triple dose she looked rough and lost appetite. Back to double dose and she quickly perked up again. This vet had an old boar with a stone that could not be operated on so she had him on metacam long term as when pain got too much she would have to put him to sleep. It was her personal experience which lead to these discussions. The only thing about long-term use is are the internal organs affected... this we don't know much about. But my immediate concern is pain relief for my piggies.

He might still have trouble at the neutering site - pain and swelling would cause to squeal when he passed a poop. But also vet should check for abscess formation... maybe internal swelling with no external sign. If he is limping it might be something like this causing pain as he puts his foot to the floor? If he is lying on one side in the open maybe this position is to relieve the pressure on this swelling? Mine only lie on their side when hidden in tunnels or boxes. My nervous boar (also George) usually lies upright to keep a watch around, so does my territorial sow Zara.

There are apparently two methods to neuter. Two cuts - one on each side - or one cut - in the middle. One cut is a newer method and supposed to be quicker in the operation and give better results, but there has been some discussion on this forum about whether this is actually the case or whether it makes it more likely to get abscess or infection after the op as piggy 'sits' on the wound. One poster is involved with a rescue and has said that their vet (who does a lot of piggy neutering!) always used the two-cut method. It is something else to discuss with new vet.

If he is struggling and you are having to support feed round the clock it can be exhausting but psychologically the pig is often better at home than in a vet with the professional. My sow once stayed in for 5 days as they tried to keep her eating - and the vet nurse was very kind and gentle - but Ivy was sooo pleased to be back home again. It was only when she got home that I realised that she didn't know she was staying at the vets post-op... she must have thought that this was her new home - all alone with the big syringe every few hours. What a difficult time it must have been. At home he is with his family. Good luck and I hope you can find out the source of his problem. Be brave little George 💕
 
I forgot... if you can get any fresh, dog-pee-free grass it can really help to tempt the appetite. Even more than hay or veggies - nature's own medicine x
 
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