Guinea pig wanted to eat, had malocclusion, now doesn't want to eat.

[RheMae]

He was doing so much better.
He wasn't eating but he wanted to.
He no longer wants to.
He won't close his mouth with syringe feeds, he's losing weight.
It feels like it happened overnight. He stopped pooping all of a sudden. We took him to 3 hospitals. When I last saw him, about 2 days ago, he had just had minor dental surgery and it didn't change anything.
They want us to put him down. I'm scared. I know I should listen but why can't they syringe feed him? I'm just confused and sad.

What do I do?

 

[Swissgreys]

He was doing so much better.
He wasn't eating but he wanted to.
He no longer wants to.
He won't close his mouth with syringe feeds, he's losing weight.
It feels like it happened overnight. He stopped pooping all of a sudden. We took him to 3 hospitals. When I last saw him, about 2 days ago, he had just had minor dental surgery and it didn't change anything.
They want us to put him down. I'm scared. I know I should listen but why can't they syringe feed him? I'm just confused and sad.

What do I do?

I am so sorry you are going through this.
listen to your heart.
You know your own piggy best.

 

[RheMae]

I am so sorry you are going through this.
listen to your heart.
You know your own piggy best.

My heart says this isn't him and I can fix this. But I don't know. I have an appointment with a specialist tomorrow at 12:30. They're worried he'll pass away overnight.

 

[RheMae]

Hi guys!
I can't sleep. My guinea Guts is in the hospital right now, to get steady fluids and feeds and pain killers and such. When our journey started, he was struggling to bite or pick things up, but he wanted to eat badly.
We took him from the hospital to his vet, who did dental surgery and said he had a VERY SLIGHT malocclusion and his teeth looked like they may spur in some areas. He shaved it down and corrected it. Supposedly.
But now our boy won't eat, he's very lethargic, his mouth seems to be stuck open and food is falling out. He's at the hospital, but they're saying it doesn't look good. I'm taking him to a specialist tomorrow, but only if he survives the night.
I'm scared and it's my birthday. I pestered them to make sure he was on all the meds he was on before, when he was doing well, because they had suddenly stopped one gut medication, the anti nausea, and the probiotic. They were giving him just a pain med, an antibiotic, and one gut medication.
I believe he stopped wanting to eat due to them stopping the meds, and I'm worried our vet isn't as guinea pig savvy as he claims to be- but I feel bad acting like I know more than professionals.
Has anybody ever corrected their vet and been right? Why do vets claim to know about guinea pigs if they don't? Just be honest with me so I can take them somewhere proper.

Any good thoughts/prayers or stories would be so so appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[RheMae]

Hi guys! Hope you're having a good day.
Trigger warning, I'll talk about Guinea's passing.
My guinea pig Guts has been acting off since his brother passing. I thought it might be grief, since I found him staring in a corner when I found his body. Right away, he was at the vet. The vet said he had slight GI stasis and bloat and gave us medicine for it. The regular stuff. Metacam for pain, the m gut mobility, and an antibiotic. Staying up and trying to syringe feed him was a struggle, and he began to drool, and I could tell he hurt, so we rushed him to ER.
At the ER, they hospitalized him quickly, gave him fluids, 2 gut mobility meds, bloat meds, antinausea, an antibiotic, and a probiotic. He kept wanting to eat, but couldn't. He bit for awhile, ate slow. But now he doesn't try at all.
After dental surgery for a slight malocclusion, multiple X-rays that revealed slight arthritis in his hips, and his teeth and jaw looked to be okay- the only info we were given by a specialist is that his jaw "felt funny".
And it does. His cheeks poof in and out now and then and it shakes. He can't close his mouth fully, which is why I believe he won't eat. It almost feels bumpy, for lack of a better word, when I try and help him chew. His mouth CAN close, he just can't close it. He goes from very still and staring and puffed up, to running and happy talking, and then still again.

After seeing so many vets, and a specialists, I just thought I'd have more answers by now. Does anybody know why he might not close his mouth?

 

[weepweeps]

I’m so sorry Guts doesn’t seem to be improving. It’s so sad when everything is done for them and they just don’t get well. Maybe he’s had a really bad reaction to the anaesthetic? I lost my Percy in August. He had a bladder stone. The op went really well but he just couldn’t get over the anaesthetic. He went back to the vets every day for three days. They gave him lots of different medication. But nothing worked. Sometimes the call to the bridge is too strong. I still don’t understand why he passed. You’ve tried everything you can. If a vet is saying there is nothing else to try I personally would listen to them. But obviously you know Guts best. You have to know in your heart that you’ve tried absolutely everything. Good luck at the vets.

 

[RheMae]

Update: we have been syringe feeding, giving him medicine around the clock, and I am monitoring to make sure he isn't in pain. He has been "bubbling" as I call it, I don't know what others call it, the happy talking while he explores and talks with his brother and plays with us during syringe feed breaks. Syringe feeding is not easy, but he began to accept it more with green pepper blending into CC.
And we have poops! Teardrop shaped poops which isn't perfect, but we're getting there. Working on getting more food and water into him. He still shows interest in food and water, but doesn't attempt at all, which breaks my heart. And his mouth is slightly open most of the time.
I have been reading around and I read sometimes, they can get things stuck in their throat that could cause this. Since the dentists are saying his teeth are perfect, and have no idea what it could be other than a jaw issue they can't diagnose, I'm just looking for any kind of answer. I'll continue to monitor his weight (he's losing less each day, because we're managing to get more CC into him. It seems more like a me problem at this point) but the vet did mention she was unsure what this thing in his throat was. Which is odd to mention, but not think it has anything to do with his condition. But now I'm thinking it could be distressing him, and causing him to not want to eat.

What do you guys think?

 

[RheMae]

Hello everyone!
I've been syringe feeding my boy Guts and it's been a rough go of it. We've been pumping his numbers up and getting the hang of it- and yesterday, we got him up to 6 ml in a session. He did that twice easily! No wiggling or anything. He's still losing weight however, we have another appointment tomorrow- two actually, just to get another opinion since a few vets keep telling me there's nothing wrong with his teeth.
Today, he began gagging at food. He even choked on his antibiotics, (thank you for the choking guide here I read ahead of time, saved his life), and we're worse off than ever with the syringe feeds. We've gotten maybe 2 ml in him all day, due to him gagging and fighting and pawing at his mouth.
He can take water just fine, so we keep up on that, to try and "wash things down".
But does this sound like spurs? I don't believe the vets I've seen so far are super pig savvy. I believe they're doing their best, but with him wanting to eat, still somewhat active, (when we can get food in him), and pawing at his mouth and gagging and chewing forever- it sounds like spurs or something in his teeth or throat maybe? He also wants to play at times, gets really interested but then just stops and might paw at his mouth.

Tomorrow, after we get our second opinion, we have a choice to make as well. And I could use some support if I am to lose my boy. I'm really scared to lose him, I'll do the right thing because we've already fought so hard. I just feel like he's in there and wants so badly to be himself again.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Hello everyone!
I've been syringe feeding my boy Guts and it's been a rough go of it. We've been pumping his numbers up and getting the hang of it- and yesterday, we got him up to 6 ml in a session. He did that twice easily! No wiggling or anything. He's still losing weight however, we have another appointment tomorrow- two actually, just to get another opinion since a few vets keep telling me there's nothing wrong with his teeth.
Today, he began gagging at food. He even choked on his antibiotics, (thank you for the choking guide here I read ahead of time, saved his life), and we're worse off than ever with the syringe feeds. We've gotten maybe 2 ml in him all day, due to him gagging and fighting and pawing at his mouth.
He can take water just fine, so we keep up on that, to try and "wash things down".
But does this sound like spurs? I don't believe the vets I've seen so far are super pig savvy. I believe they're doing their best, but with him wanting to eat, still somewhat active, (when we can get food in him), and pawing at his mouth and gagging and chewing forever- it sounds like spurs or something in his teeth or throat maybe? He also wants to play at times, gets really interested but then just stops and might paw at his mouth.

Tomorrow, after we get our second opinion, we have a choice to make as well. And I could use some support if I am to lose my boy. I'm really scared to lose him, I'll do the right thing because we've already fought so hard. I just feel like he's in there and wants so badly to be himself again.

Gagging and pawing are his mouth sounds as if he is struggling in some way - whether it is spurs we could not say but it would indicate an issue in his mouth/with swallowing

All you can do is keep going with the syringe feeding as much as he will take - you’re aiming for 40-60ml in each 24 hour period to try to stabilise weight loss - until a vet can make a diagnosis

 

[weepweeps]

Hello everyone!
I've been syringe feeding my boy Guts and it's been a rough go of it. We've been pumping his numbers up and getting the hang of it- and yesterday, we got him up to 6 ml in a session. He did that twice easily! No wiggling or anything. He's still losing weight however, we have another appointment tomorrow- two actually, just to get another opinion since a few vets keep telling me there's nothing wrong with his teeth.
Today, he began gagging at food. He even choked on his antibiotics, (thank you for the choking guide here I read ahead of time, saved his life), and we're worse off than ever with the syringe feeds. We've gotten maybe 2 ml in him all day, due to him gagging and fighting and pawing at his mouth.
He can take water just fine, so we keep up on that, to try and "wash things down".
But does this sound like spurs? I don't believe the vets I've seen so far are super pig savvy. I believe they're doing their best, but with him wanting to eat, still somewhat active, (when we can get food in him), and pawing at his mouth and gagging and chewing forever- it sounds like spurs or something in his teeth or throat maybe? He also wants to play at times, gets really interested but then just stops and might paw at his mouth.

Tomorrow, after we get our second opinion, we have a choice to make as well. And I could use some support if I am to lose my boy. I'm really scared to lose him, I'll do the right thing because we've already fought so hard. I just feel like he's in there and wants so badly to be himself again.

Good luck at the vets. I really hope they can find the issue and it’s easily treatable. You are doing a great job. It’s no joke feeding a piggy long term. Last summer I syringe fed my Pepper for 8 weeks. It was exhausting and stressful.

You can only do so much. Guts has to help himself too if that makes sense. Just know you are doing your very best.

Are you feeding him by yourself or is there someone holding him for you? Also Pepper liked to have the radio on quietly when we fed him. I know it sounds odd but it really made a difference.

If it’s any help I would gently, but firmly, “pinch” Peppers nose kind of behind his top front teeth, lift his head up slightly and pop in the syringe at the side. I said at the time that my husband saved Peppers life just by sitting with him on his lap as I couldn’t feed enough on my own. Good luck you are doing amazing.

 

[RheMae]

Good luck at the vets. I really hope they can find the issue and it’s easily treatable. You are doing a great job. It’s no joke feeding a piggy long term. Last summer I syringe fed my Pepper for 8 weeks. It was exhausting and stressful.

You can only do so much. Guts has to help himself too if that makes sense. Just know you are doing your very best.

Are you feeding him by yourself or is there someone holding him for you? Also Pepper liked to have the radio on quietly when we fed him. I know it sounds odd but it really made a difference.

If it’s any help I would gently, but firmly, “pinch” Peppers nose kind of behind his top front teeth, lift his head up slightly and pop in the syringe at the side. I said at the time that my husband saved Peppers life just by sitting with him on his lap as I couldn’t feed enough on my own. Good luck you are doing amazing.

Thank you, really. It means a lot.
It is exhausting, my back is killing me, and sometimes I worry I'm putting him through too much stress. But we give frequent breaks, and he loves to curl up under a small blanket that smells like his old friend and he just talks and talks. And then he's good to go for a bit again.

My boyfriend is helping by doing the actual syringing. He seems to take it better from him than me, and I know how to hold him better. And when it's the two of us, it's a world of difference. I have no idea how people do it on their own, I struggle so badly with being gentle while also holding him still, etc.

And I'll try the radio. I did notice that soft music I played on the TV seemed to help but sometimes he doesn't like a particular song, lol.

 

[RheMae]

So, we finally found a specialist who would listen to me and it had me in tears but they were so gentle with my boy. They looked him over and even syringe fed him one ml of food to show me how properly, showed me how to clean his impaction, took gentle X-rays and let me stay there to soothe him. They did inform me his teeth are slightly long still, and the roots are a bit long, but the real problem seems to be his overbite. He's always had an overbite, it makes him special, but they said since his friend passed away, and it progressed so quickly - he may have always had arthritis in his jaw.
They prescribed him gabapentin since he initially perked up on the metacam but that seemed to stop working. And they saw him "choking" and it turns out he wasn't choking, he was trying to fix his jaw because it didn't feel right and was sore and he was just having trouble moving it the way he wanted to.
I'm thankful they took the time to show and talk me through things, because I trust the diagnosis.
However, since he's received the gabapentin, he hasn't moved much. He has been laying very flat, almost unable to hold his head up. We got 10 ml of syringe feed in him (which is insane, we struggled badly before.) And he didn't "gag" once.
When he walks around, he does stumble, and I know that the side effects of gab can cause dizziness and sleepiness, along with his lack of food before. He's just hardly responsive, and that's terrifying me.

I'm trusting the vets, and hoping with the nerve pain medication he can start eating again. I miss my bubbly boy already due to the medication, and they want me to call tomorrow with an update, they seemed so positive he'd eat by himself tonight. I'm gonna ask about lowering the dose from .15 to .1 and doing it as needed, since it's going to be for the rest of his life due to arthritis.

The relief of knowing he has been able to breathe this whole time though was amazing. The fact that he was in pain though? Not so much.

 

[RheMae]

He passed away during my lunch break at work.
I came to check on him and I just knew. He turned and looked at me and I phoned my boyfriend to come home. I told him mama's here, and it isn't scary, I'm only crying because I'll miss him so much. But if he has to go, he can go, but we had fun together these last few weeks for sure.

He started walking out of his hidey, and I knew he was trying to do the run to the bridge. He stumbled, and I scooped him up in his favorite blankie and he quickly hunkered down in my arms as he has done a million times before. Once my boyfriend came home, he held him and told him it was okay to go, and he went.

I'm so thankful he passed peacefully, though I'll never know what exactly happened, it just seemed like he wanted to follow his friend so badly I couldn't save him. And once I told him it was okay, he ran to the bridge.

Sorry if I've bothered you guys, and I'm sorry if I dragged this out. I'm glad I got the time with him I did, and my heart is absolutely in pieces but at least he's with Judo now.

 

[weepweeps]

I’m so sorry to hear this. I’m actually crying. He knew he was loved. I’m please you both got to say goodbye.

 

[RheMae]

I’m so sorry to hear this. I’m actually crying. He knew he was loved. I’m please you both got to say goodbye.

So am I, and I'm so thankful for you for sticking by me through the end of his life. You're an amazing piggy friend, and I needed your support, so thank you. I hope all your guineas live long happy wheeking and veggie filled lives!

 

[Bill & Ted]

I am so sorry you lost your beautiful boy to the bridge Take heart that he will have known just how much you both loved and cared for him. Treasure your sweet memories and take great care of each other x