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Emergency Guinea pig is skin and bones

SydneySharkk

SydneySharkk

Junior Guinea Pig
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(She’s supposedly 2 years old, she’s been eating, but she seems to be eating less and less. She gave birth to a baby two months ago, her names Xiao-Xiao)

I noticed a little less than a week ago that my one guinea pig apparently lost a lot of weight. I don’t have any kind of scale here so I’m very sorry but I can’t weigh her. I can feel practically all of her bones, especially right on her butt. She was making weird grunting noises about a week ago, but I haven’t heard them since. She also seems to be having some balance issues, which really scare me, she’s darted to the other side of her cage (which is not big enough, I’ve ordered things for a big cnc cage that should get here next week.) and a couple times she’s fallen on her side and she scrambles for a second before getting up. Her eyes are now slightly watery and dull. I’m so scared, I lost her sister because of a mistake I made, I don’t want to lose her now too. Is it maybe an uri? She was on paper bedding that I didn’t clean for about two weeks :(((( and then aspen that I left for about one week, this past month. I was in the process of moving and I was slacking on the cage cleaning part of my guinea pigs. I’ll ask my mom if she can take us to the vet, hopefully we can go tomorrow.
 

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I would definitely advise seeing a vet as soon as possible from what you're describing it is best to get her checked out. Is she eating at all? What are her poos like? Does she have an appetite?
 
You really do need to get your piggy to a vet as a matter of urgency.
 
SydneySharkk said:
(She’s supposedly 2 years old, she’s been eating, but she seems to be eating less and less. She gave birth to a baby two months ago, her names Xiao-Xiao)

I noticed a little less than a week ago that my one guinea pig apparently lost a lot of weight. I don’t have any kind of scale here so I’m very sorry but I can’t weigh her. I can feel practically all of her bones, especially right on her butt. She was making weird grunting noises about a week ago, but I haven’t heard them since. She also seems to be having some balance issues, which really scare me, she’s darted to the other side of her cage (which is not big enough, I’ve ordered things for a big cnc cage that should get here next week.) and a couple times she’s fallen on her side and she scrambles for a second before getting up. Her eyes are now slightly watery and dull. I’m so scared, I lost her sister because of a mistake I made, I don’t want to lose her now too. Is it maybe an uri? She was on paper bedding that I didn’t clean for about two weeks :(((( and then aspen that I left for about one week, this past month. I was in the process of moving and I was slacking on the cage cleaning part of my guinea pigs. I’ll ask my mom if she can take us to the vet, hopefully we can go tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Please see a vet ASAP as a life and death emergency!

Here is emergency care advice but it does NOT replace the urgent veterinary care your guinea pig needs NOW: Emergency Information and Care
 
Jesse's pigs said:
I would definitely advise seeing a vet as soon as possible from what you're describing it is best to get her checked out. Is she eating at all? What are her poos like? Does she have an appetite?
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She was eating some veggies yesterday, and she’s been eating some alfalfa pellets, but it looks like she hasn’t touched her hay since yesterday. Her poops are really little. I’m going to call the vet right now.
 
The guinea pig vet isn’t here today, and the vets office is closed tomorrow, I’ll have to go to Winnipeg (which is over 2 hours away) to get her seen today, but my dads busy and can’t drive me, and my moms car is kind of broken. I don’t know what to do.
 
I found an exotic vet in Dryden which is 2 hours away, compared to the 3 hours it takes to get to Winnipeg. But neither of my parents are answering me.
 
I have antibiotics at my other house (1 hour away) that my parents could drive me too, it’s called novo-trimel. Could that help if it’s a uri? Because I think at this point the internet is going to have to diagnose her, and then I’ll have to find what antibiotic she needs.
 
I’m sorry but there is nothing we can do but advise you to get her to a vet. She really does need to see one.
 
You can’t give antibiotics on spec. You need a vet to diagnose, decide on the correct treatment and then to prescribe it according to weight etc.
 
To be fair because she is an abysinian guinea pig, she doesn't look very very skinny. ( because of how much fur) But I can see she's lacking that sort of pear shape that adults have. Good luck at the vets when you can make it👍
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
Are you making sure she gets enough vitamin c in her diet?
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I’ve been giving her red peppers and other veggies. I used to give them vitamin c cookies but I’ve ran out. I think I’m going to have to wait until Monday. I think that’s when the guinea pig vet gets there. I’m debating just stealing the car and driving to Dryden myself at this point. I’m hand feeding her carrots which she’s really interested in and she’s eaten a good bit, she keeps getting food stuck in her mouth though, she opens her mouth up really wide like she’s getting food unstuck. I checked her mouth/teeth but I didn’t see anything.
 
SydneySharkk said:
I’ve been giving her red peppers and other veggies. I used to give them vitamin c cookies but I’ve ran out. I think I’m going to have to wait until Monday. I think that’s when the guinea pig vet gets there. I’m debating just stealing the car and driving to Dryden myself at this point. I’m hand feeding her carrots which she’s really interested in and she’s eaten a good bit, she keeps getting food stuck in her mouth though, she opens her mouth up really wide like she’s getting food unstuck. I checked her mouth/teeth but I didn’t see anything.
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Tricky one isn't it. I wouldn't steal the car, you might end up getting it impounded and stranded with a Guinea pig.
 
SydneySharkk said:
I’ve been giving her red peppers and other veggies. I used to give them vitamin c cookies but I’ve ran out. I think I’m going to have to wait until Monday. I think that’s when the guinea pig vet gets there. I’m debating just stealing the car and driving to Dryden myself at this point. I’m hand feeding her carrots which she’s really interested in and she’s eaten a good bit, she keeps getting food stuck in her mouth though, she opens her mouth up really wide like she’s getting food unstuck. I checked her mouth/teeth but I didn’t see anything.
Click to expand...

It does sound like she may have dental issues, so a vet trip is imperative. You cannot, without a specialist scope, see whether there are problems with the back teeth.
 
I called the exotic vet in Dryden, they said that could see me Monday, and my dad said he could drive me. I’m hoping she’ll hold on until then. Is there anything else I should be doing? Should I be keeping her warm/cool? I’ll be hand feeding her lots of veggies today. And don’t worry, I won’t actually steal the car.
 
I syringe fed my pig with dental issues and he quite enjoyed it. It won’t take the place of hay but it will help lessen the weight loss til you can see the vet on Monday. Good luck - you’ll need it!
 
I agree that syringe feeding would be a good idea to ensure she is getting the right nutrition until you can get to the vet. Please read the guides carefully.
 
Ok I’ll try it. I gave her some carrot and she’s been going at it for a while, but it looks like she’s just taking bites out of it and not actually chewing/swallowing much. There’s little pieces of carrot all over her cage.
 
Apparently nobody has a syringe where I live, I’m going to try and make some mush and see if she’ll just eat it off my finger
 
SydneySharkk said:
Ok I’ll try it. I gave her some carrot and she’s been going at it for a while, but it looks like she’s just taking bites out of it and not actually chewing/swallowing much. There’s little pieces of carrot all over her cage.
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Then you really do need to step,in with syringe feeding if you are to give her a chance. Good luck
 
I
VickiA said:
She’s probably really hungry. Are you syringing them or leaving it as a mash for her to eat?
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can’t find a syringe anywhere, so I’m feeding her the mush off a fork. I’ve been giving some to my other pigs too. Should I stop and give her a break if she’s eaten a lot? Or just give her as much as she wants?
 
SydneySharkk said:
I

can’t find a syringe anywhere, so I’m feeding her the mush off a fork. I’ve been giving some to my other pigs too. Should I stop and give her a break if she’s eaten a lot? Or just give her as much as she wants?
Click to expand...

You can also feed it off a spoon, or leave it in a bowl or saucer in the cage for her. I’d keep feeding her for as long as she will eat as she is clearly hungry
 
VickiA said:
You can also feed it off a spoon, or leave it in a bowl or saucer in the cage for her. I’d keep feeding her for as long as she will eat as she is clearly hungry
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Ok I think I’ll try to find a little plate to put it on. She’s really got it down pat now. She’s probably eaten over a tablespoon now.
 
That's good to hear. You'll have to get some syringes. You can get 1ml syringes off Amazon. I have the 1ml Terumo syringes.
 
SydneySharkk said:
I

can’t find a syringe anywhere, so I’m feeding her the mush off a fork. I’ve been giving some to my other pigs too. Should I stop and give her a break if she’s eaten a lot? Or just give her as much as she wants?
Click to expand...
Pretty much all chemists/drug stores will have syringes.
You just need to go in and ask, becasue they don't put them out on display.
Failing that you can always ask at the local Dr's surgery for one. Explain why you need it (1ml syinge for a sick guinea pig) and they should happily hand one over.
 
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