sellah
New Born Pup
Hello everyone,
I would first off like to say hi, I'm new here and I'm really glad I found this forum. My name is Aly and I have 2 male guinea pigs, one of them is named "S'mores" he is going to be 3 years old in April. My other guinea pig, Shaggy, is 2 years old.
I noticed about 2 weeks ago that Shaggy had been acting different, he stopped eating his hay, didn't wheek anymore when I fed them dinner, had crust around his eyes, and became very thin. After I noticed this, we set up a vet appointment for him on September 23. The vet told me he had an overgrown back tooth, and would need a teeth trimming but would have to be put under anesthesia. He mentioned how it is a big risk to put him under, as he might not make it because he is so weak and thin. They prescribed him with 2 different antibiotics for the pain (He prescribed us with TMS/SMZ and meloxicam) so, I've been giving it to him at the stated time.
I ordered him some Critical Care from Oxbow and syringes to feed him it. At first, he did enjoy it and ate it from the syringe. I would give him 10-15 ML of CC every 2 hours and he still continued to eat both his veggies and pellets like normal, just not the hay. 3-4 days later I noticed he was feeling a little better from his antibiotics. The crust was gone around his eyes and he actually did wheek when I gave them dinner but it came out as raspy. I kept giving him his CC every 2 hours so he can gain some weight for his teeth trimming, but now it seems like he's getting worse. I don't know if the antibiotics aren't helping with his pain anymore because he doesn't try to wheek at all and the eye crusts are back. Even worse, he is squinting his eyes and has these liquid white stuff in his eyes. On top of that, he will randomly stay in one place for a while, not moving and he stopped drinking out of his water bottle.
So, I've been giving him both his CC and water through a syringe now. I give him around 15-20 ML of water every 2 hours as well. I don't know if this is happening because of his overgrown back tooth or if there's more causing him to be like this. Could it be his antibiotic is doing more harm than good? I saw somewhere on here that antibiotics could cause guinea pigs to not want to eat if it's harming them. I don't know if that's true or not.
I need some advice though, should I go through with his teeth trimming procedure? I'm scared he won't make it because he's still so weak but it also really upsets me to see him in this state. I don't know if I should keep trying to get him to gain more weight, as he's still thin or if I should take the risk before his teeth become even more overgrown and his situation becomes a lot more worse. I'm trying my best to get him to be healthier but it just seems like he's getting more ill. He is still pooping and urinating which is good, he also still comes up to me whenever I greet him.
Any advice will help, thank you all in advance.
I would first off like to say hi, I'm new here and I'm really glad I found this forum. My name is Aly and I have 2 male guinea pigs, one of them is named "S'mores" he is going to be 3 years old in April. My other guinea pig, Shaggy, is 2 years old.
I noticed about 2 weeks ago that Shaggy had been acting different, he stopped eating his hay, didn't wheek anymore when I fed them dinner, had crust around his eyes, and became very thin. After I noticed this, we set up a vet appointment for him on September 23. The vet told me he had an overgrown back tooth, and would need a teeth trimming but would have to be put under anesthesia. He mentioned how it is a big risk to put him under, as he might not make it because he is so weak and thin. They prescribed him with 2 different antibiotics for the pain (He prescribed us with TMS/SMZ and meloxicam) so, I've been giving it to him at the stated time.
I ordered him some Critical Care from Oxbow and syringes to feed him it. At first, he did enjoy it and ate it from the syringe. I would give him 10-15 ML of CC every 2 hours and he still continued to eat both his veggies and pellets like normal, just not the hay. 3-4 days later I noticed he was feeling a little better from his antibiotics. The crust was gone around his eyes and he actually did wheek when I gave them dinner but it came out as raspy. I kept giving him his CC every 2 hours so he can gain some weight for his teeth trimming, but now it seems like he's getting worse. I don't know if the antibiotics aren't helping with his pain anymore because he doesn't try to wheek at all and the eye crusts are back. Even worse, he is squinting his eyes and has these liquid white stuff in his eyes. On top of that, he will randomly stay in one place for a while, not moving and he stopped drinking out of his water bottle.
So, I've been giving him both his CC and water through a syringe now. I give him around 15-20 ML of water every 2 hours as well. I don't know if this is happening because of his overgrown back tooth or if there's more causing him to be like this. Could it be his antibiotic is doing more harm than good? I saw somewhere on here that antibiotics could cause guinea pigs to not want to eat if it's harming them. I don't know if that's true or not.
I need some advice though, should I go through with his teeth trimming procedure? I'm scared he won't make it because he's still so weak but it also really upsets me to see him in this state. I don't know if I should keep trying to get him to gain more weight, as he's still thin or if I should take the risk before his teeth become even more overgrown and his situation becomes a lot more worse. I'm trying my best to get him to be healthier but it just seems like he's getting more ill. He is still pooping and urinating which is good, he also still comes up to me whenever I greet him.
Any advice will help, thank you all in advance.
I feel bad for S'mores too since they spent a lot of time together. I'm going to find a guinea pig rescue I can go to this weekend to get a new buddy for S'mores, I feel guilty to say that too because it feels like I'm replacing Shaggy. I'm also kinda nervous to introduce S'mores to a new guinea pig because he's pretty dominant and I wouldn't want them to fight.
It does sound like Shaggy had something more going on but he’s free from pain now and there’s nothing more you could have done (((Hugs))) I am thinking of you and S’mores at this sad time. Sleep tight Shaggy x
