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Guinea pig rolling over and not eating much at all.

K

KorgMiekBarneyRalph

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One of our boys is acting very strange. He's constantly rolling on his side, as if he's in some kind of discomfort and he's rocking his head back and forth. He ate his breakfast no problem and has been grazing for most of the day. Only in the last few hours he has started this behaviour and won't eat much at all. He managed one spinach leaf around 10 minutes ago. We're not able to get him seen by a vet this evening but we will take him first thing tomorrow morning, I'm just very worried so I wanted to see if anyone else had experienced this.

Many thanks!
 
I’m sorry to hear this.

I appreciate you have said you can’t take him to the vet but this sounds rather like he is in distress and possibly pain - possibly an emergency situation requiring urgent vet care.

Otherwise, all you can do is switch to daily weight checks (each morning) and step in with syringe feeding (fibre recovery feed or mushed pellets in an emergency measure) if he is not eating hay/loses weight.

I hope he is ok

Wiebke

Thread 'Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment'

1 Statement
2 Emergency assessment and accessing vets
- How urgent is my guinea pig's problem?
- Finding an emergency vet
- Seeing a vet not familiar with guinea pigs (including lists of safe and dangerous medications)
3 First Aid care and easily available products
- General 'always have at home' stuff and comfort measures for very ill guinea pigs
- Improvising support feed; recovery formulas...
  • Like
Wiebke

Thread 'List Of Life And Death Out-of-hours Emergencies'

You need to contact and ideally see a vet at any time of the day or night as a potentially life or death emergency if your guinea pig has got these symptoms:

- Heavy or heaving breathing, this can include a visible effort with your piggy’s breathing (usually the abdomen sucking in and out showing they are using their abdominal muscles to breath) and any kind of open mouth breathing, these are signs of respiratory distress

- Seizures or loss of consciousness. For any fit which lasts more than around 2 minutes the vet should be called...
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Wiebke

Thread 'How to Improvise Feeding Support in an Emergency'

1 Feed
- Important crisis management resources
- When is improvising necessary?
- Which food group am I replacing with my feeding support?
- How much and how often should I feed and water?
- What can I use that I have already got at home?
- Other possible easily available foods with their pros and cons
- How do I prep a syringe for rougher pellet fibre?
- What can I do without a syringe?
- The role of lukewarm water
2 Probiotics
- Probiotic products...
  • Like
  • Love
Wiebke

Thread 'Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support'

1 Weight and Weight Loss
- Why regular weight monitoring matters
- How weight changes over a lifetime
- How to weigh on your kitchen scales (with video)
- The weight loss rules
- How critical is the weight loss for my piggy?
- Possible causes for weight loss
2 Body Mass Index (BMI) or 'Heft'
- Why is understanding your piggy's weight so important?
- 'Average' weight vs. individual weight - the big trip up
- How to check for the BMI...
  • Like
Wiebke

Thread 'All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures'

Introduction
1 Choosing the right place to medicate/feed your piggy
2 Guinea pig whispering and asserting your authority
3 Recovery products and emergency improvisation
4 Syringe recommendations
5 Weight monitoring: your biggest ally
6 Weight loss guidelines and when to step in with feeding
7 Syringe feeding amounts/frequency advice
8 Practical medication and syringing tips
9 Medicating and feeding cooperative guinea pigs (videos)
10 Medicating and feeding uncooperative guinea pigs (hold pictures and tips)
11 The line between life and...
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  • Love
 
KorgMiekBarneyRalph said:
One of our boys is acting very strange. He's constantly rolling on his side, as if he's in some kind of discomfort and he's rocking his head back and forth. He ate his breakfast no problem and has been grazing for most of the day. Only in the last few hours he has started this behaviour and won't eat much at all. He managed one spinach leaf around 10 minutes ago. We're not able to get him seen by a vet this evening but we will take him first thing tomorrow morning, I'm just very worried so I wanted to see if anyone else had experienced this.

Many thanks!
Click to expand...

Hi

I am very sorry. It sounds like a potentially neurological event but without access any guesses of mine are as good as yours... :(

Please try to keep him has comfy as you can and if he is collapsing to one side, try to keep him propped up as much as possible.

Here is our practical one-stop emergency care bundle which tries to cover as much ground as possible, including any worst case scenarios:
Wiebke

Thread 'Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment'

1 Statement
2 Emergency assessment and accessing vets
- How urgent is my guinea pig's problem?
- Finding an emergency vet
- Seeing a vet not familiar with guinea pigs (including lists of safe and dangerous medications)
3 First Aid care and easily available products
- General 'always have at home' stuff and comfort measures for very ill guinea pigs
- Improvising support feed; recovery formulas...
  • Like

The second part of this guide deals with the most common neurological problems and symptoms in as practical a way as possible.
Wiebke

Thread 'CBS (Calcified Bulla Syndrome) and Neurological Problems - Symptoms and Care'

Introduction
1 General information and practical advice on CBS
- What is the difference between a syndrome and a symptom?
- What is CBS (calcified bulla syndrome)?
- How can CBS be diagnosed?
- What is causing CBS and how can I minimise the risk?
- Vet care and customer rights with newly bought guinea pigs
- Support and care information resources
- Leaflet with list of CBS symptoms and comparison x-ray pictures
2 Other common neurological...
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I sincerely hope that the information can help you in getting your boy through the night. My thoughts are with you.
 
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