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Heart Beating Loud/Faster than usual/Barbering/Reddish eye

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misfitpetunia

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My 6 y/o female two nights ago had a blood shot, cloudy eye. Her eye also seem enlarged? Today it is looking a bit better, her doc recommended a warm compress and wiping her eye occasionally. She sees a vet on Monday.

Other than that, she seems to have done some barbering near her one leg/part of her belly - no redness, swelling, not anything wrong with those areas. I also took a listen to her heart and its beating much faster/harder than usual. Her heart reminds me a bit of a dog having congestive heart failure - you can really feel it. It is so odd. I'm at a loss of what could be going on with her. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

She is still wheeking for her food, drinking, going potty - all normal. No discharge from her eye, no hay stuck from what I can see, and no other off S/S. Just those few things going on are odd and I just dont have the best feeling about it.. That could just be me being anxious though, ugh.
 
I’m glad you are able to get her to the vet on Monday.

Barbering in one area can mean there is discomfort/pain in the area.
The eye and heart obviously do need to be checked.

In the meantime, ensure you switch to home care - instead of weighing her once a week, ensure you weigh her once a day so that you can monitor hay intake much more closely. Stepping in with syringe feeding is as loses weight.

Let us know how she gets on at the vet. I hope she is ok

Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
 
misfitpetunia said:
My 6 y/o female two nights ago had a blood shot, cloudy eye. Her eye also seem enlarged? Today it is looking a bit better, her doc recommended a warm compress and wiping her eye occasionally. She sees a vet on Monday.

Other than that, she seems to have done some barbering near her one leg/part of her belly - no redness, swelling, not anything wrong with those areas. I also took a listen to her heart and its beating much faster/harder than usual. Her heart reminds me a bit of a dog having congestive heart failure - you can really feel it. It is so odd. I'm at a loss of what could be going on with her. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

She is still wheeking for her food, drinking, going potty - all normal. No discharge from her eye, no hay stuck from what I can see, and no other off S/S. Just those few things going on are odd and I just dont have the best feeling about it.. That could just be me being anxious though, ugh.
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Hi and welcome

I am very sorry but glad that you can be seen tomorrow for your old lady.

The heart and the eye do both need proper veterinary attention and assessment; there is nothing you can do about that today.

Self-barbering a defined spot usually indicates pain/discomfort located in or under the skin. Barbering around the legs in the elderly is very often a sign of arthritic pain. It is not uncommon at all. A high maintaince dose of dog-strength metacam and glucosamine-based joint care should deal with that.

Please switch to weighing on your normal kitchen scales daily first thing in the morning for best day-to-day comparison; this is when the daily weight swing of ca. 30g is at its lowest.. Hay makes over three quarters of what a piggy eats in a day; you cannot control the hay intake by eye and the poo output is always running a crucial day or two behind the actual food intake. With an already frail you want to be able to step in with feeding and watering support as promptly as needed. Veg, forage, pellets and treats all together only replace the supplementary role that wild forage used to have. Both our syringe feeding guide and the emergency care guide links contain advice on how you can improvise in a pinch if needed and guide lines on when to step in with the appropriate level of support.
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos)

Both care guide links in the first post also contain a chapter with further links if your girl is suddenly taking a turn for the worst with detailed information on how to spot it and what you can do during that process.
I am keeping my fingers very firmly crossed that you won't need all this but our information and practical advice are there for you in the case you do; especially as you are behind the UK time-wise and you may suddenly need them during our forum down time. We are trying our best to make all our guides as practical, precise and complete so they can be used anywhere in the world, at any time and level of experience.

I am very sorry for your anxious wait. Emergencies have a bad habit to happen over a weekend or a holiday. My thoughts are with you. :(
 
Wiebke said:
Hi and welcome

I am very sorry but glad that you can be seen tomorrow for your old lady.

The heart and the eye do both need proper veterinary attention and assessment; there is nothing you can do about that today.

Self-barbering a defined spot usually indicates pain/discomfort located in or under the skin. Barbering around the legs in the elderly is very often a sign of arthritic pain. It is not uncommon at all. A high maintaince dose of dog-strength metacam and glucosamine-based joint care should deal with that.

Please switch to weighing on your normal kitchen scales daily first thing in the morning for best day-to-day comparison; this is when the daily weight swing of ca. 30g is at its lowest.. Hay makes over three quarters of what a piggy eats in a day; you cannot control the hay intake by eye and the poo output is always running a crucial day or two behind the actual food intake. With an already frail you want to be able to step in with feeding and watering support as promptly as needed. Veg, forage, pellets and treats all together only replace the supplementary role that wild forage used to have. Both our syringe feeding guide and the emergency care guide links contain advice on how you can improvise in a pinch if needed and guide lines on when to step in with the appropriate level of support.
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos)

Both care guide links in the first post also contain a chapter with further links if your girl is suddenly taking a turn for the worst with detailed information on how to spot it and what you can do during that process.
I am keeping my fingers very firmly crossed that you won't need all this but our information and practical advice are there for you in the case you do; especially as you are behind the UK time-wise and you may suddenly need them during our forum down time. We are trying our best to make all our guides as practical, precise and complete so they can be used anywhere in the world, at any time and level of experience.

I am very sorry for your anxious wait. Emergencies have a bad habit to happen over a weekend or a holiday. My thoughts are with you. :(
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Thank you very much for the reply. It looks like she has a defect in her eye. They want to stain it to see if it is an ulcer or something. On top of this, she has a very mild URI - they said that the redness could be due to the URI. Her eye looks as though it is slowly getting better though which is good. They gave her eye drops and then an antibiotic.
As for the barbering - I could not believe the news on this, but they found bilateral mammary tumors. It could be because of that. I am so upset. They are surprised to see this especially because she is spayed. They would like to biopsy this but unfortunately I just cannot afford it as of now. I have big decisions to make, and then to possibly open up a credit card to pay for this. I swear it is one thing after another regarding my poor baby. Good news though, her temp was great, active bowel sounds, and no decrease in weight (I have been monitoring). As of now, they are not too worried about her. I will take any good news I can take at this point.
 
misfitpetunia said:
Thank you very much for the reply. It looks like she has a defect in her eye. They want to stain it to see if it is an ulcer or something. On top of this, she has a very mild URI - they said that the redness could be due to the URI. Her eye looks as though it is slowly getting better though which is good. They gave her eye drops and then an antibiotic.
As for the barbering - I could not believe the news on this, but they found bilateral mammary tumors. It could be because of that. I am so upset. They are surprised to see this especially because she is spayed. They would like to biopsy this but unfortunately I just cannot afford it as of now. I have big decisions to make, and then to possibly open up a credit card to pay for this. I swear it is one thing after another regarding my poor baby. Good news though, her temp was great, active bowel sounds, and no decrease in weight (I have been monitoring). As of now, they are not too worried about her. I will take any good news I can take at this point.
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HUGS

I am glad that it is a mild eye infection/injury (vets use a special dye in order to assess any damage from a hay poke under UV light since it is usually more extensive than visible to the naked eye). The antibiotic eye drops should take care of that.

And glad that the breathing is down to a mild respiratory infection and not the heart. We can only ever pick up on what you report and the emotion behind it but we cannot assess how serious things are sight unseen.

I am however really sorry about the mammary tumors. Boars can get them as well - actually perhaps even a bit more often; they are not hormone-based and more likely down to a genetic disposition. Although yours is the first case I have heard of them happening in a spayed sow and having two is also not all that common, either.
The bad news is that while mammary tumours are by far not always malign, they just keep on growing when left and never stop; they however not come back once removed as far as I have seen. Because the operation doesn't usually require major invasive surgery into the body cavity, recovery rates are actually fairly good. It depends on how long a piggy is under GA.
But it can well be that the barbering is as close as your girl can get to them to express her discomfort. I am very sorry that you have the stark choice between a very expensive surgery or having to eventually let her go. :(
Guinea Lynx :: Mammary Tumor
Tips For Post-operative Care
 
I’m so sorry you’ve had this diagnosis. I hope she has lots more happy days with you. ❤️
 
Wiebke said:
HUGS

I am glad that it is a mild eye infection/injury (vets use a special dye in order to assess any damage from a hay poke under UV light since it is usually more extensive than visible to the naked eye). The antibiotic eye drops should take care of that.

And glad that the breathing is down to a mild respiratory infection and not the heart. We can only ever pick up on what you report and the emotion behind it but we cannot assess how serious things are sight unseen.

I am however really sorry about the mammary tumors. Boars can get them as well - actually perhaps even a bit more often; they are not hormone-based and more likely down to a genetic disposition. Although yours is the first case I have heard of them happening in a spayed sow and having two is also not all that common, either.
The bad news is that while mammary tumours are by far not always malign, they just keep on growing when left and never stop; they however not come back once removed as far as I have seen. Because the operation doesn't usually require major invasive surgery into the body cavity, recovery rates are actually fairly good. It depends on how long a piggy is under GA.
But it can well be that the barbering is as close as your girl can get to them to express her discomfort. I am very sorry that you have the stark choice between a very expensive surgery or having to eventually let her go. :(
Guinea Lynx :: Mammary Tumor
Tips For Post-operative Care
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Thank you very much for the support. This forum has truly opened my eyes to so much and it is nice to be able to talk to everyone about this. I am just going to hopefully follow through soon with the biopsy and go from there.. My poor baby. Overall though, she is still very active, eating and drinking and wheeking away for her food. :) Thank you again for your kind words
 
misfitpetunia said:
Thank you very much for the support. This forum has truly opened my eyes to so much and it is nice to be able to talk to everyone about this. I am just going to hopefully follow through soon with the biopsy and go from there.. My poor baby. Overall though, she is still very active, eating and drinking and wheeking away for her food. :) Thank you again for your kind words
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Thank you. Your feedback mens a lot to us, too.

Cherish the good times, bless every morning she is still there wheeking and enjoy your shared quality time with her. That way there is nothing left unsaid or undone at any point and you know that you haven't failed her in anything that matters to her. Incidntally, you also end up with loads more precious happy memories, better mental health and you can avoid the big guilt trap after the loss. The rest is not in your control and you have to ride that tiger wherever it takes you.

Love transcends time, a moment of time can be filled with a lifetime's worth of love. Try to live as much as you can in that moment of love and make the most of it. It is a bitter-sweet, fragile time but you can get so much out of it in terms of sweetness, fun and giggles that will give you strength, not just now but also in the form of resilience later in life. Just fill ever day with a little special activity; it doesn't have to cost money because it is the sharing that counts. Enrichment can be so much more than just a cuddle and a treat. Take a picture and create a little diary. You will be amazed how much there is going to be there by the end of it to which you can cling to whenever the going is hard.
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs

We are here for any questions, moral support or if you want to dip into our Chat side as a community and as a place where you can have a giggle or a piggy related smile whenever you need one.
 
there is always someone around to offer support :hug: Hope you have loads of time left with your little lady
 
Wiebke said:
Thank you. Your feedback mens a lot to us, too.

Cherish the good times, bless every morning she is still there wheeking and enjoy your shared quality time with her. That way there is nothing left unsaid or undone at any point and you know that you haven't failed her in anything that matters to her. Incidntally, you also end up with loads more precious happy memories, better mental health and you can avoid the big guilt trap after the loss. The rest is not in your control and you have to ride that tiger wherever it takes you.

Love transcends time, a moment of time can be filled with a lifetime's worth of love. Try to live as much as you can in that moment of love and make the most of it. It is a bitter-sweet, fragile time but you can get so much out of it in terms of sweetness, fun and giggles that will give you strength, not just now but also in the form of resilience later in life. Just fill ever day with a little special activity; it doesn't have to cost money because it is the sharing that counts. Enrichment can be so much more than just a cuddle and a treat. Take a picture and create a little diary. You will be amazed how much there is going to be there by the end of it to which you can cling to whenever the going is hard.
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs

We are here for any questions, moral support or if you want to dip into our Chat side as a community and as a place where you can have a giggle or a piggy related smile whenever you need one.
Click to expand...
She ended up passing away in my arms a few hours ago. As soon as I woke up in the morning, I picked her up, held her for 5 minutes, and then she began passing away fully. It’s like she waited for me. I’m absolutely devastated.
 
misfitpetunia said:
She ended up passing away in my arms a few hours ago. As soon as I woke up in the morning, I picked her up, held her for 5 minutes, and then she began passing away fully. It’s like she waited for me. I’m absolutely devastated.
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BIG HUGS

I am very sorry but grateful that she could make her journey to the Rainbow Bridge carried by the wings of your love and that her dying was quick, gentle as natural deaths go and not drawn out. Try to take consolation in that.

There was obviously something more serious going on there because of the speed it has all happened. I didn't think she would have months, not with two tumours coming up rather quickly and the funny heartbeat but you are never really braced for when it really happens, never mind just two days after her diagnosis. My gut feeling is that it is more likely sudden acute heart failure - which is not something a vet can diagnose before it actually happens. :(

Please be kind with yourself in the coming days and weeks. There is nothing you have done wrong and you haven't failed her in way. Masked by their big personalities we tend to forget that guinea pigs are small animals with a very fast metabolism and never more so when it turns against them.
Give yourself time to not be OK while you digest what all has happened in such quick succession, never giving you time to adjust. We have to grieve as much as we love but you have got two horrible shocks to work through on top of that, so that is a lot on your plate right now.

Death, Dying, Terminal Illness; Human Grieving and Bereaved Companions: Information and Support for Owners and Their Children
 
Wiebke said:
BIG HUGS

I am very sorry but grateful that she could make her journey to the Rainbow Bridge carried by the wings of your love and that her dying was quick, gentle as natural deaths go and not drawn out. Try to take consolation in that.

There was obviously something more serious going on there because of the speed it has all happened. I didn't think she would have months, not with two tumours coming up rather quickly and the funny heartbeat but you are never really braced for when it really happens, never mind just two days after her diagnosis. My gut feeling is that it is more likely sudden acute heart failure - which is not something a vet can diagnose before it actually happens. :(

Please be kind with yourself in the coming days and weeks. There is nothing you have done wrong and you haven't failed her in way. Masked by their big personalities we tend to forget that guinea pigs are small animals with a very fast metabolism and never more so when it turns against them.
Give yourself time to not be OK while you digest what all has happened in such quick succession, never giving you time to adjust. We have to grieve as much as we love but you have got two horrible shocks to work through on top of that, so that is a lot on your plate right now.

Death, Dying, Terminal Illness; Human Grieving and Bereaved Companions: Information and Support for Owners and Their Children
Click to expand...
That is exactly what I thought too... I just miss her so much already. She is with her sister now though. I'm happy I was at least with her when she did pass away. Thank you very much again for your support and kind words.
 
I'm so sorry you lost her, you did everything you could. She passed knowing happy todays and love ❤️🌈
 
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