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Guinea pig health scare

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GuineapigEm

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Hi all, just looking for advice really

last night (about 9pm) my 7 month old male guinea pig suddenly went really quiet, was hunched in the corner of his cage stood up with his face hair all puffed out. I immediately recognised something wasn't right and started monitoring him, I took a weight which was about 6g less than the week before so I am not too worried hes lost weight.

He ignored his 5 week old cage mate climbing all over him which usually he would push him down and do a little rumble. I also noticed he hadn't eaten any of his nuggets and hadn't touched his evening veggies.

Alarm bells were ringing so I tried to get some water into him and used vets now for an out of hours video consultation to see if they agree he needed to be seen asap and by 10:30pm we were in the car on the way to the local vet now emergency clinic

When there I wasn't in the consulting room with him but she said that his only complaint was an eye ulcer and she prescribed eye drops. She also gave him a shot of metacam and he did perk up considerably after the ride home. She said his heart, lungs and gut sound fine.

I guess my question is, could there be something else going on? The eye ulcer is tiny, would that be cause enough for him to go off his food and go all quiet and hunched up? Also, she couldn't send me home with metacam as apparently that is out of the remit of the emergency vets so should I go back to regular vets today to ask for some in case by tonight hes all quiet again?

Sorry if I am rambling, these pigs are my world and last night was one of the scariest I have been through in a while 😢

attached pics of 2 of my 3 boys on their latest weigh day just for cuteness- these two have been together since Sunday and all has been smooth sailing so far touch wood.
 

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What adorable guineas I'm no expert at all but hopefully someone will be on here soon. I think follow your gut feeling though perhaps ask you regular vet if you can have a second opinion when you fetch more Metacam? 🤔
 
I'm not one of the forum experts but pain can cause all sorts of other symptoms. I imagine that even a small eye ulcer would be very painful hence the metacam perking him up. When Sir George has a UTI he's definitely not himself, I notice his behaviour before the squeaky weeing starts. He seems to get much better as soon as he gets the metacam, definitely before the antibiotics have started to work.
Having said that, it's always better to get a vet check and hopefully find nothing.
 
fluffysal said:
I'm not one of the forum experts but pain can cause all sorts of other symptoms. I imagine that even a small eye ulcer would be very painful hence the metacam perking him up. When Sir George has a UTI he's definitely not himself, I notice his behaviour before the squeaky weeing starts. He seems to get much better as soon as he gets the metacam, definitely before the antibiotics have started to work.
Having said that, it's always better to get a vet check and hopefully find nothing.
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I am giving him the eyedrops that the vet gave me but I wasn't given anymore metacam (she gave him an injection last night and I think it lasts 24 hours anyway?), do you think my usual vet would be able to prescribe this without an appointment as they have all the clinic notes from last night so can see that he was given some, I just don't want to stress him out again taking him to the vet just for them to give me metacam to give him if I can just drive up there and get it for him
 
GuineapigEm said:
I am giving him the eyedrops that the vet gave me but I wasn't given anymore metacam (she gave him an injection last night and I think it lasts 24 hours anyway?), do you think my usual vet would be able to prescribe this without an appointment as they have all the clinic notes from last night so can see that he was given some, I just don't want to stress him out again taking him to the vet just for them to give me metacam to give him if I can just drive up there and get it for him
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I’m sure they would….. see if you can speak to a Vet or a nurse
Hopefully he will start to improve - he’s beautiful
 
Roselina said:
I’m sure they would….. see if you can speak to a Vet or a nurse
Hopefully he will start to improve - he’s beautiful
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He really is my majestic boy, he likes what he’s likes and he’s a bit of a diva if he doesn’t get it but my gosh he has me round his finger
 

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update: took him to the vets again yesterday and this morning and they are all telling me there is nothing wrong with his teeth, guts, heart or lungs but he is still very much not himself. He will eat a tiny bit of food (no nuggets at all) and then sit in the corner of the cage all hunched up and puffy. He is on metacam but hes still not eating properly. He has lost 40g since yesterday which I know is normal variance but combined with everything else I am really starting to worry. I have mashed up some of his nuggets and tried to encourage him to eat them with a syringe but he was having none of that either.

Please if anyone has any advice on what I can do, or things to tell the vet I would really appreciate it cause my gut is just telling me that something is wrong and I dont know what more I can do as I have been to the vet 3 times who just tell me his eye ulcer hurts but its been 3 doses of metacam and eye drops now, every other eye ulcer I have sorted did not get this sort of reaction or for this long.
 
I’m sorry to hear this.

Please could you tell us his metacam dosage and how often he is getting it, and whether it is (0.5 mg/ml) or dog metacam (1.5mg/ml)
Piggies need their pain meds twice as they metabolise them in around 12 hours.

He does sound to be uncomfortable and something isn’t right. The difficulty comes when it’s not yet diagnosable symptoms (other than the eye).
Really all you can at this point is daily weight checks, syringe feeding but go back to the vet if you are worried or he goes downhill.
40g is still within normal fluctuation (50g or more is considered weight loss) but continue to monitor daily. If he loses more weight over the coming days then he will need to be syringe fed.
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry to hear this.

Please could you tell us his metacam dosage and how often he is getting it, and whether it is (0.5 mg/ml) or dog metacam (1.5mg/ml)
Piggies need their pain meds twice as they metabolise them in around 12 hours.

He does sound to be uncomfortable and something isn’t right. The difficulty comes when it’s not yet diagnosable symptoms (other than the eye).
Really all you can at this point is daily weight checks, syringe feeding but go back to the vet if you are worried or he goes downhill.
40g is still within normal fluctuation (50g or more is considered weight loss) but continue to monitor daily. If he loses more weight over the coming days then he will need to be syringe fed.
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He’s on 0.41ml of cat metacam once a day which is what the vet prescribed and antibiotic eye drops for his ulcer. He was given an initial injection of metacam at the emergency vets on Thursday night and has had 2 oral doses since and his appetite just doesn’t seem to be returning, I think I see him eating hay and he’s definitely eaten at least a couple of pieces of cucumber and lettuce but hasn’t touched his pepper, nuggets or carrot which he normally goes mad for. I’ll be weighing him again at 1 ish as that’s when I weighed him yesterday and I really hope he’s holding his weight at least 😔
 
You can only do what the vet tells you regarding pain relief - as I say, twice a day for piggies is the normal dosage. I’ve never had my vets prescribe once a day as they know they metabolise in around 12 hours in piggies.

It’s best to weigh first thing in the morning as that is when it’s most accurate.

All you can do at this point is monitor and see if he improves.
 
Mystery illness is so hard to cope with.
You’ve done everything right in getting a thorough vet check.
I can’t offer any advice but do offer my support
 
All you can do is follow the advice but also follow your gut feeling and go back if you are still not happy once you feel you have given it enough time. Also as said before the weight checks are vital 💕
 
update: He held is weight today! Still around 30g less than he was on Thursday but the same weight as he was at the same time yesterday. He is definitely eating hay as I saw him doing it today and he ate a few nuggets and had a nibble on some fresh veggies too. He still doesn't seem 100% himself but is absolutely perkier than he was this time yesterday. One of the only weird things he is doing now is hes kind of sleeping in front of his fleece forest instead of inside it like he normally dose but I dont think that's related to him not feeling well as his 4/5 week old cage mate is inside and it kind of looks like hes defending the entrance?
 
OK another update, he lost 20g from yesterday, overall 50g now since Thursday. He does appear to be getting his appetite back, could this just be the last few days catching up with him? At what point can I stop worrying about him because I am exhausted and stressed and I just want him to be ok and I am worried that there is still something going on but I dont want to make him ill again if he is getting better by stressing him out- feel like I am in a catch 22 :(
 
You need to continue to monitor his weight - 50g of total loss is the point at which you start to get concerned and it actually does become weight loss.
Weigh him again tomorrow morning and see what that shows. Is he loses more then he needs to some top up feeds to stop more weight loss.
If he is getting his appetite back then hopefully he will stabilise and all will be well
 
Piggies&buns said:
You need to continue to monitor his weight - 50g of total loss is the point at which you start to get concerned and it actually does become weight loss.
Weigh him again tomorrow morning and see what that shows. Is he loses more then he needs to some top up feeds to stop more weight loss.
If he is getting his appetite back then hopefully he will stabilise and all will be well
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it definitely appears like his appetite is coming back, on Thursday he didnt touch his dried food at all and left almost all of his vegetables, yesterday he had a few nuggets and ate some veg, not as much as he usually would but a fair amount. I have also seen him eating hay a lot and I am trying to fluff it up and top it off so that he stays interested in it, as well as sprinkling some dried dandelion salad throughout it to try and help entice him. I have got some baby food on standby just in case he needs it though.
 
GuineapigEm said:
it definitely appears like his appetite is coming back, on Thursday he didnt touch his dried food at all and left almost all of his vegetables, yesterday he had a few nuggets and ate some veg, not as much as he usually would but a fair amount. I have also seen him eating hay a lot and I am trying to fluff it up and top it off so that he stays interested in it, as well as sprinkling some dried dandelion salad throughout it to try and help entice him. I have got some baby food on standby just in case he needs it though.
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It is hay intake which keeps the weight stable so he needs to be eating a lot of it.

If he needs syringe feeding then it is not baby food he needs - he needs either his normal nuggets mushed with water to make a slurry through a syringe or a proper recovery feed such as oxbow critical care.
Baby food does not replace the fibre the gut needs so won’t help him.
 
Piggies&buns said:
It is hay intake which keeps the weight stable so he needs to be eating a lot of it.

If he needs syringe feeding then it is not baby food he needs - he needs either his normal nuggets mushed with water to make a slurry through a syringe or a proper recovery feed such as oxbow critical care.
Baby food does not replace the fibre the gut needs so won’t help him.
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I got it to make the recovery food more palatable not to replace it entirely :)
 
GuineapigEm said:
I got it to make the recovery food more palatable not to replace it entirely :)
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You would do better to try giving mushed pellets to him first without adding the baby food. Pellets make it more palatable simply by being a familiar flavour.
 
Piggies&buns said:
You would do better to try giving mushed pellets to him first without adding the baby food. Pellets make it more palatable simply by being a familiar flavour.
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Oh yeah I am going mushed pellet route first if I have to, I would just rather have everything on hand and not need it than need it and have nothing because I live fairly remotely so it'd be hard to get anything out of normal hours, I also have baby food in the house routinely anyway for my non-furry baby :D. He has been munching hay all afternoon so I hope this reflects on the scales tomorrow and I dont have to do any of it.
 
Ok update (buckle in it’s a long and frustrating one):

After seeing the vet 3 times and being told he was only in pain due to an eye ulcer and being completely dismissed with my concerns, I tried syringe feeding him mushed pellets and he did not want them, and I was too inexperienced to know how to help a complete refusal pig. I took him back to the vets on Tuesday as an emergency and begged them to help as at that point he’d lost 80g at least and was visibly dehydrated and bony in his thighs. She did absolutely nothing, didn’t check anything on him, told me as long as he’s nibbling hay that’s all that matters and to come back on Monday if he hasn’t improved (this was Tuesday and all she sent me home with was metacam after reluctantly agreeing to increase his dose to twice a day) I knew something was not right in my gut and I started him on fibreplex and tried to syringe him some more but I was just struggling so much and I wanted to trust the professional who hadn’t told me at this point to syringe feed him. By Thursday he’d lost 100g and I took him to a different vet who told me he was in critical gut stasis, actually listened to me and showed me how to syringe feed him. He was in such critical condition I had to syringe him 5ml every hour from 6pm to 6am. He had a GA on Friday to check his teeth and mouth and this showed nothing, so we got sent home with a gut stimulant, more recovery food, antibiotics and metacam. In total he had dropped around 130g since the first day this all started, but since Friday he has maintained his weight, shows interest in hay again and is showing more and more interest in his veggies. We are still stepping in with syringe feed when needed but trying to tempt him to eat actual food as well. Any tips on tempting him to eat again? So far I have 3 brands of meadow hay, the original readigrass and the oat husk readigrass in his cage. I have mushed pellets and oats with a sprinkle of dried parsley, coriander and grated carrot to tempt him to his pellets again but he still doesn’t seem overly keen. He doesn’t like the recovery food much and doesn’t seem keen to eat it and refuses if offered on a spoon or in a bowl. I would like my happy food hungry boy back and whilst he’s been more like himself the last 24 hours or so he’s still a little food reluctant

Sorry it’s a long one, and yes we will be putting in a complaint about that vet as our new vet told us they would have killed him if we followed their advice and not our guts
 
I am so sorry to hear all this.
You have been through the wringer but good for you going with your instincts and seeing a new vet.
Good to hear there’s some improvement.
I used to mix a bit of mashed banana into the Critical Care which went down very well.
Mine past piggies loved mashed banana so I also popped a small ramekin dish of the CC & banana mush into the cage to encourage independent eating.
The other piggies always helped !
Another small ramekin dish of grated carrot mixed with raw oats was also well received.

Looking after a sick piggy, especially when also dealing with a poor vet is very draining on you so look after yourself too.
Chocolate helps 😁
 
Merab said:
I am so sorry to hear all this.
You have been through the wringer but good for you going with your instincts and seeing a new vet.
Good to hear there’s some improvement.
I used to mix a bit of mashed banana into the Critical Care which went down very well.
Mine past piggies loved mashed banana so I also popped a small ramekin dish of the CC & banana mush into the cage to encourage independent eating.
The other piggies always helped !
Another small ramekin dish of grated carrot mixed with raw oats was also well received.

Looking after a sick piggy, especially when also dealing with a poor vet is very draining on you so look after yourself too.
Chocolate helps 😁
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The last 10 days have honestly been some of the hardest I’ve been through and I’ve definitely struggled to keep myself going- but my partner has been really good at reminding me that I can’t help him if I’m not looking after myself! The annoying thing with Bunsen is he has never been one for fruit, even before he was sick he’d stick his nose up so I’m struggling to find things to tempt him with! I tried the apple juice in the water to get him to drink with no success and the banana that his cage mage ended up eating the entirety of! I’ve never tried him with melon though so maybe I’ll put some of that in his cage to see if that tempts him maybe….
 
CTWC said:
When one of ours wasnt too good with it baby puree apple and strawberry helped a little 💐
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Typically the only baby food I haven’t got in stock, I will pick some up tomorrow and see if he’s interested- he’s definitely upped his hay intake as he hasn’t left his kitchen area for hours and he’s consistently munching so I think his meds have definitely started doing their thing 🥰
 
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