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Guinea pig just not happy!

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Daisydoo

New Born Pup
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Hello everyone,

I’m a bit worried about my guinea pig, she just isn’t herself. She is an indoor piggie and lately makes a cave for herself out of her fleece liners and just hides herself away. I would say she is maybe looking a bit thinner and she has puffed all her fur out. She will eat if I give her favourites but all the food isn’t being clearer away although she is eating, I haven’t seen her drink, I am watching for this when I hear the water bottle.

I took her to the vet yesterday and they couldn’t find anything physically wrong with her so have given her anti inflammatories and said to let them know how she gets on.

I know from last experience how quickly these little guys can deteriorate so I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas what this could be.

She is only 18 months old and I’ve started weighing her daily. It’s as though her companion knows she’s not right and when she comes out she cleaned her face and eyes for her. I thought maybe her eyes were sore as she often closes them but the vet said they look fine.

My husband tells me I’m fussing over her but she just isn’t right!

Any wise words or experience of this would be much appreciated, thank you x
 
You know your piggy. And if you think there is something wrong there probably is. Keep on with the anti inflammatories and keep weighing her daily to make sure she is eating enough. Go back to the vet if you don’t see an improvement soon. Also have you lost a piggy recently? If so, maybe she is sad they are gone?
 
Daisydoo said:
Hello everyone,

I’m a bit worried about my guinea pig, she just isn’t herself. She is an indoor piggie and lately makes a cave for herself out of her fleece liners and just hides herself away. I would say she is maybe looking a bit thinner and she has puffed all her fur out. She will eat if I give her favourites but all the food isn’t being clearer away although she is eating, I haven’t seen her drink, I am watching for this when I hear the water bottle.

I took her to the vet yesterday and they couldn’t find anything physically wrong with her so have given her anti inflammatories and said to let them know how she gets on.

I know from last experience how quickly these little guys can deteriorate so I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas what this could be.

She is only 18 months old and I’ve started weighing her daily. It’s as though her companion knows she’s not right and when she comes out she cleaned her face and eyes for her. I thought maybe her eyes were sore as she often closes them but the vet said they look fine.

My husband tells me I’m fussing over her but she just isn’t right!

Any wise words or experience of this would be much appreciated, thank you x
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Hi

Your instincts seem to be working perfectly well. Guinea pigs are prey animals that suppress any telltale symptoms to an astonishing degree; once they show them, they are usually already very ill. It doesn't make a vet's work any easier.

Please step in feeding support since what she is eating less of is hay, which makes around 75-80% of the daily food intake and which you cannot control by eye. Just give her as much as she will take as you are top-up feeding and not round the clock feeding with a guinea pig that is completely off their feed.

Licking is moral support; your instincts are right - her companion is providing moral support. It could well be something inside her body but has your vet checked the teeth, just to be on the safe side? Mystery weight loss is my least favourite symptom as there can be so many wildly different things behind it. Very often there is a pain issue anywhere in the body behind it, if it is not something major hiccup with the digestive tract somewhere between the mouth and the anus - that is a very wide field. :(

Here is our ons top illness and emergency care advice and information collection link: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Fingers firmly crossed that you can get to the bottom of it!
 
Thanks for your quick responses, it’s much appreciated as I know you are all so knowledgable here!

The vet I took Coco to isn’t the nearest to me but was recommended and he has guinea pigs himself, he did check her teeth and said there was food there so she had been eating. he said the next steps would be to refer her to the exotic vet for blood tests. She has eaten Kale for her tea and a tiny bit of food but I’ve not seen her eat much hay at all so I have ordered some critical care. She has taken her medicine well and had a few pea flakes afterwards but she is just hidden away in her strawberry house now.

Her little friend is out all time time eating hay and pottering, she is a lively little thing and it’s so noticeable now that she is by herself most of the time now. They are well bonded and have been together about a year now from when we lost our last piggie, she has just washed her again when I got her out for her medicine.

What is the best thing for me to do food wise, I know she’ll probably eat a lettuce leaf but I assume that wouldn’t do her tummy any good to keep giving her greens or are they better than nothing? Or should I try to syringe feed some mushed pellets?
 
Daisydoo said:
Thanks for your quick responses, it’s much appreciated as I know you are all so knowledgable here!

The vet I took Coco to isn’t the nearest to me but was recommended and he has guinea pigs himself, he did check her teeth and said there was food there so she had been eating. he said the next steps would be to refer her to the exotic vet for blood tests. She has eaten Kale for her tea and a tiny bit of food but I’ve not seen her eat much hay at all so I have ordered some critical care. She has taken her medicine well and had a few pea flakes afterwards but she is just hidden away in her strawberry house now.

Her little friend is out all time time eating hay and pottering, she is a lively little thing and it’s so noticeable now that she is by herself most of the time now. They are well bonded and have been together about a year now from when we lost our last piggie, she has just washed her again when I got her out for her medicine.

What is the best thing for me to do food wise, I know she’ll probably eat a lettuce leaf but I assume that wouldn’t do her tummy any good to keep giving her greens or are they better than nothing? Or should I try to syringe feed some mushed pellets?
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Hi!

Please do mushed pellets for the time being until your recovery formula arrives. You need to cut off the tip of the syringe just before it widens with a pair of scissors in order to allow the much rougher bits of fibre to pass through but still keep the plunger in. If Coco is still interested in food and eating on her own what she can process, you can also try serving the still slightly warm pellets in a bowl or a little plate. The mush and the recovery formula are there to replace the 75-80% of hay/grass that is the mainstay of a piggy diet.

A little fresh herb does usually go down well with coriander having the softest stems, as does lettuce or anything green cut into small strips, which makes them much easier to pick up and eat. Peeled cucumber in small strips does also work for dental piggies. During the growing season, the best thing to feed is fresh dog pee-free grass (which is also rich in vitamin C).

Please monitor the food intake by weighing daily at the same time to minimise the daily weight swing of around 30g and have a better comparison. I find first thing in the morning when the weight is lowest the best time as I can then plan the level of feeding support care throughout the day accordingly. Your kitchen scales are your best friend during any illness!

These guide links here will hopefully help you with all the little practical details:
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Weight - Monitoring and Management
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely

All the best!
 
Hello, thank you for your advice especially about the cut grass! I think that has kept her going, I was worried I could give her too much but the exotic vet I saw said it was ok!

I took her to the exotic vet on Wednesday and he also struggled to find anything noticeably wrong with her, he did say that he thought it could be an ovarian cyst that has twisted but then untwisted as there is a funny lump there but it was difficult to tell without further investigations.

He said the anti inflammatories that the first vet prescribed were the wrong dose and would have done nothing to help so he has given the correct dose for a week and also treatment to get her tummy moving again, she’s taken that medicine now but I still don’t think she is right.

She is still not earning hay, dried food or drinking. She did wolf down some critical care earlier and will eat greens and cut grass and she isn’t really losing weight, fluctuating by about 30g over the last week.

I still think there might be an issue with one eye, when I got her out earlier to try and feed her one eye was to totally closed and to be honest I thought I was losing her as she just lay on me but she has just been eating some grass with her eyes open. Would an eye injury / ulcer hide itself from 2 vets examinations? I think I need to take her back tomorrow to be checked again.

I think I have some antibiotics here from another guinea pig, I’m tempted to start her on those incase it is an eye infection, what do you think?

My husband is out of all nights so I’m struggling to syringe feed her on my own, she ate the critical care from a spoon earlier today but is refusing that for me now.
 
Sometimes guinea pigs close their eyes when they are in pain. So there doesn't have to be anything wrong with the eye itself.
Did you tell the vets to check her eyes?
Did they have a really good look at her teeth?

I wouldn't give her antibiotics when you don't know what's the matter and without a prescription from a vet, because it could make things much worse.

It's always a struggle when a piggy doesn't want to eat. :(
 
Hello, just to update, I was right about the eye and Coco has an eye ulcer. It’s a bit annoying as I have said all along to the vets that I thought it was an issue with her eye but hey ho, she is on eye drops now and perked up after just one dose so hopefully she is on the mend now.
The vet didn’t seem to think it would be making her that unhappy to hide away and stop eating but it must have done!
Thanks everyone for your advice and especially the grass tip, she is still on the grass and the vet said that was fine if that’s what she is eating as she hasn’t really lost any weight
 
🤞 Her eye ulcer heals very soon. My dental piggie Ted found hay quite difficult to eat some of the time and his replacement staple everyday was grass, he absolutely love it and the silica on the leaves will keep her teeth worn down too x
 
Daisydoo said:
Hello, just to update, I was right about the eye and Coco has an eye ulcer. It’s a bit annoying as I have said all along to the vets that I thought it was an issue with her eye but hey ho, she is on eye drops now and perked up after just one dose so hopefully she is on the mend now.
The vet didn’t seem to think it would be making her that unhappy to hide away and stop eating but it must have done!
Thanks everyone for your advice and especially the grass tip, she is still on the grass and the vet said that was fine if that’s what she is eating as she hasn’t really lost any weight
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I’m so pleased she has perked up with the eye drops. Maybe that was enough to make her so unhappy. 👍🏻
 
Hello, I hoped I would be updating with happier news but Coco seems to be going downhill after really picking up. From reading lots of threads on here that seems to happen a lot with guinea pigs. It also happened with my last one.

She has stopped eating and drinking, I can’t really tempt her with anything and I’m struggling with the syringe feeding and drinking, although she guzzles her metacam!

What would you suggest, she is lying in her strawberry house in her cage and her friend keeps checking in. She doesn’t seem in any pain or discomfort but I know they hide all this well.

Do I let her drift away or should I take her to the vet. The next steps were bloods and X-rays under anaesthetic and I don’t think she would make it through that now, and it also seems cruel to disturb her.

I feel bad now that I should have gone for the bloods and X-rays straight away and we might have been able to do something.

I’m surprised she made the night to be honest, I read the dying guinea info on here and I put her back in her cage but she’s still her today.

What would you advise?
 
I'm so sorry that things have taken this turn. If your girl is still with you I would recommend that you take her to the vet to ease her passing.
 
I’m so sorry. You have to do what you feel is best. I’d be tempted to take her to the vets just in case there is anything they can do for her. If not they will help her over the bridge with no suffering. Thinking of you at this sad time. ❤️
 
Hi everyone, thank you for all your support and kind messages.

I couldn’t get Coco to the vet yesterday as it’s a bit of a distance away and there was the storm!

I didn’t expect her to make the night but she did and even had a little bit to eat this morning.

I took her to the vet today and again they can’t see anything obviously wrong, her eye ulcer has healed and she hasn’t lost any weight so they have given her probiotics to try to get her eating again and have booked her in again with the exotic vet on Thursday in the hope that she’ll be eating again then and they can talk about more tests.

It’s a roller coaster with these little guinea pigs isn’t it! I was honestly prepared for the worse and expected her to be put to sleep. I don’t want to get my hopes up too much as I know they can deteriorate quickly, but I’ll be trying to syringe feed again later, off to get some carrot baby food now as that’s the only flavour we’ve not tried with the critical care so fingers crossed!
 
Other things I do when trying to help a sick piggy is mix a small piece of banana mashed into the syringe feed.
It goes down very well.
A small dish with raw oats and grated carrot or sweet potato also help

Hope Coco pulls through
 
I’m so pleased she is still here fighting. It must be so stressful you. Sending healing vibes ❤️ and a hug for you. 🤗
 
The lovely coco passed away peacefully this morning in her strawberry house.

I was half expecting it really but it’s still so very sad. I keep wondering if I should have asked the vet to put her to sleep yesterday but when they were so hopeful I didn’t want to take that chance away from her.

Thank you for all you support and kind words x
 
I’m so sorry you have lost Coco. Popcorn high over the bridge gorgeous. Take care. ❤️
 
Thank you everyone for your kind words, funnily enough, her little friend has been eating loads today after she passed. I think she has been fretting for the 2 weeks she hasn’t been well and now she’s gone she is catching up. She would wash her and then sit next to her shouting so loud as though she was trying to tell us she wasn’t well! She does look lost and the children have been asking when to get another so although it feels way too soon for me personally I will look to get a new piggie soon.

I can’t thank you all enough for the information and advice you provide, you are all amazing x
 
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