Help with piggy with cow pat diarrhea - am I doing the right things?

[Charlottibiscot]

My 4.5 year old sow, Mabel, has had diarrhea on and off for the last two weeks and is also limping a bit on her back legs (possibly from having poop stuck to them?).

Scroll down to the bottom for my plan of action and let me know if you think I'm doing the right things or if there's anything else you'd like to add, if you don't want the full deets.

Background:
I first took her to the emergency guinea pig vet two or three weeks ago because she was screaming and limping + with diarrhea (at the time I and the vet assumed the diarrhea was from the stress of the vet visit), who said she was fine and healthy, but gave her some metacam.

I administered the metacam with food which only resulted in further diarrhea so I gave up on that front. Her limp then went away and she seemed to get better on her own.
---
Two weeks later, every time I feed her fresh veg (romaine lettuce, with small amounts of kale, parsley, bell pepper and sometimes carrot or tomato, one cereal bowl of veg between 3 sows) she has diarrhea the next day and is reluctant to move around but still eats and drinks okay. I can hear her tummy gurgling but it is still nice and soft, not bloated.
She gets very thirsty after these episodes so I've been syringing her water as she hates softened pellets.

She's also started a high pitched scream at the other guinea pigs when they get too close to her, especially when they're too close to her rear half - I think they can either tell something is wrong and are trying to clean her bum and her eyes (she gets crusty eyes which I clean every day) or they're antagonising her, can't quite tell but their behaviour definitely isn't hostile at least. Mabel's tummy must feel so upset

Apart from the diarrhea and screaming at the others, she seems in bright spirits and is still squeaking for food, walking around (not running like she used to, mind) and thankfully eating nuggets/hay/veg just like normal, but at 750g she has definitely lost some weight over the last 3 months, where she used to be around 900g, but this might be because she's starting to become a senior.

My current plan of action:
- No more veggies for Mabel until she is better for at least 2 days, then slow introduction of veggies
- Make sure she's eating hay and pellets
- Wiping her bum and her feet when they get soiled (I think she's limping because the poop is stuck to the soles of her feet? Would it be burning her feet? Insight would be mega appreciated on this front)
- Ordered probiotic from Amazon plus a proper feeding syringe, arriving on Tuesday (mine is too small for anything except water).
- When that arrives I will feed the piggy probiotic plus poo soup from one of her very chonky, healthy younger cagemates.
- If she is still getting diarrhea after a few days of this and/or screaming I will take her back to the vet.
- I don't want to risk antibiotics for a gut infection unless the above methods haven't worked, if they have the potential of doing more harm than good.

 

[Piggies&buns]

First, i would suggest it is generally more likely the diarrhoea is from whatever is wrong with her rather than the metacam. It is possible it’s the metacam but it is generally very well tolerated.
The ‘to be administered with food’ applies to cats/dogs rather than guineas because they need to be eating hay at all times anyway.

Its also worth considering that the discomfort when moving as a side effect of discomfort from digestive issues, rather than it necessarily being anything to do with poop on her feet - it’s something to get checked out.

As she is losing weight you do need to step in and syringe feed her a recovery feed or mushed pellets. Her hay intake must have dropped for her weight to have dropped.
You need to weigh her every morning and make sure she is stabilised with syringe feeds.

Definitely remove veg. She cannot have any while she is having any digestive issues.
Probiotic is also a good idea. I would also suggest you start using poop soup also - direct microbiome transfer - from the healthy poops if your other sows. Your poorly sow sounds to have very compromised gut bacteria and the poop soup will help. The recipe is in the guide below.

Definitely take her back to the vet asap. Severe diarrhoea is not normal and is always of concern.

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

Jun 20, 2024

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...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 5
• Forum: Health & Illness Support Corner

• 
• 

Thread 'Probiotics & Live Gut Microbiome Transfer ('Poo Soup'); Recovery Formula Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links and Transfer Recipe'

Jun 12, 2014

1 Overview of recovery formula foods
- Recommended brands
- Emergency alternatives
2 Probiotics
- Standard brands
- Enhanced probiotics
- Live gut microbiome transfer (poo soup)
3 Vitamin C
- Recommended brand
- Alternatives
- Booster vs. long term supplementation


These chapters have been copied from the complete...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 1
• Forum: Emergency Information and Care

• 

 

[Charlottibiscot]

First, i would suggest it is generally more likely the diarrhoea is from whatever is wrong with her rather than the metacam. It is possible it’s the metacam but it is generally very well tolerated.
The ‘to be administered with food’ applies to cats/dogs rather than guineas because they need to be eating hay at all times anyway.

Its also worth considering that the discomfort when moving as a side effect of discomfort from digestive issues, rather than it necessarily being anything to do with poop on her feet - it’s something to get checked out.

As she is losing weight you do need to step in and syringe feed her a recovery feed or mushed pellets. Her hay intake must have dropped for her weight to have dropped.
You need to weigh her every morning and make sure she is stabilised with syringe feeds.

Definitely remove veg. She cannot have any while she is having any digestive issues.
Probiotic is also a good idea. I would also suggest you start using poop soup also - direct microbiome transfer - from the healthy poops if your other sows. Your poorly sow sounds to have very compromised gut bacteria and the poop soup will help. The recipe is in the guide below.

Definitely take her back to the vet asap. Severe diarrhoea is not normal and is always of concern.

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

Jun 20, 2024

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...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 5
• Forum: Health & Illness Support Corner

• 
• 

Thread 'Probiotics & Live Gut Microbiome Transfer ('Poo Soup'); Recovery Formula Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links and Transfer Recipe'

Jun 12, 2014

1 Overview of recovery formula foods
- Recommended brands
- Emergency alternatives
2 Probiotics
- Standard brands
- Enhanced probiotics
- Live gut microbiome transfer (poo soup)
3 Vitamin C
- Recommended brand
- Alternatives
- Booster vs. long term supplementation


These chapters have been copied from the complete...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 1
• Forum: Emergency Information and Care

• 

Thank you, this is very helpful.

Yes, I thought the diarrhea would not be directly related to metacam but opted to stop just in case - I'll give her some more this evening and see if the diarrhea comes back - if it doesn't, I'll give her some once a day.

When I took poop of her foot this morning she immediately started putting weight back on her foot and stopped limping as much, but definitely an idea that she's just generally in discomfort so that could be the more likely cause, or contributing at least.

Cool, sounds like it'll be poop soup, mushed pellets and probiotic for the next few days then! I just have to wait for the stuff to arrive on Tuesday as I don't think anywhere near me sells probiotic or the appropriate size syringe... Any idea what I can do whilst I wait?

Thanks again.

 

[Piggies&buns]

You can get 1ml syringes from a pharmacy but just don’t tell them it’s for animal use!

Or you can get her to eat the mushed pellets from a bowl or spoon.

Probiotic - Fibreplex would be your best bet here but pro-c is also ok. The poop soup will most likely need to be syringed to her though as they are generally not likely to just drink it.

 

[Charlottibiscot]

You can get 1ml syringes from a pharmacy but just don’t tell them it’s for animal use!

Or you can get her to eat the mushed pellets from a bowl or spoon.

Probiotic - Fibreplex would be your best bet here but pro-c is also ok. The poop soup will most likely need to be syringed to her though as they are generally not likely to just drink it.

thank you I have a 1ml syringe, I was just having trouble getting anything into it but I suppose if i make a runnier mixture i might have some luck!

 

[Charlottibiscot]

 

[Piggies&buns]

thank you I have a 1ml syringe, I was just having trouble getting anything into it but I suppose if i make a runnier mixture i might have some luck!

When using mushed pellets you have to cut the tapered end off of the syringe. Pellets are much more coarse than proper recovery feed so doesn’t go through as easily

 

[Charlottibiscot]

When using mushed pellets you have to cut the tapered end off of the syringe. Pellets are much more coarse than proper recovery feed so doesn’t go through as easily

ohhh that makes sense, thank you!

 

[Charlottibiscot]

Hi all, hoping for a little bit more advice. I have taken Mabel to the vets twice now and her poop is a little better, but her gut is making gurgly noises every now and again and her poops are nice and frequent but always teardrop shaped and tiny or really long and thin.

She's eating well, and she's on a meadow hay/Timothy mix and Burgess excel as always and veg I've reduced to just a slice of spring greens a day because that's all she can tolerate it seems...

I've been advised by the vet to switch from fibreplex to the probiotic bio lapis, which she takes like it's mixed with an addictive substance, lol. I noticed an improvement as soon as she started having it - she has started doing her little stretch-and-yawns in the mornings when I first stroke her, which I hadn't seen her do ever since this started - but it's been a week now and she's still not "fixed".

as I said though, her poops are still not really improving. I'm not really sure what to do. Advice would be appreciated. She really misses her vegetables and part of me wants to try her back out on them in case it makes her poop go back to normal but i guess that would probably have the opposite effect and take us back to square one.

I unfortunately categorically cannot afford an x-ray - as much as I hate to have to say that - but have sent off for parasite testing and have spoken to the vet about infection testing, but she said it's unlikely since her cage mates are nice and healthy.
What else could be going on? Could it be an internal tumour or something?

I just really want my baby to get better, honestly. She's only 4 and she's the biggest sweetheart :/

When the vet feels her belly, there's often a lumpy bit in the middle, which she said was likely poop? What could be causing that?

oh, and she's not screaming at the other pigs any more! which is a huge relief.

p.s I was thinking to wait another week or two and then take her back to the vet again if no improvement - she is currently stable in her weight and condition, it's just that she's not back to normal and very probably in discomfort

 

[Eriathwen]

At 4.5 it isnt completely unreasonable to assume she may be experiencing the start of arthritic changes. It may well be that while she's still eating well, its reduced just enough not to be massively noticeable visually, but enough to cause gut upset. Pain is a very good appetite suppressant. A good vet should be able to feel these changes in the joints without an xray if costs are an issue, it often causes joint swelling and stiffening, the range of motion in the limbs will be different and piggy will show discomfort while having the limbs manipulated.

It may also explain why she became sensitive to the other pigs approaching her, if their knees hurt (one of the first areas to become sore) then being mounted or jostled in normal dominance behaviours become painful and something they get defensive over.

It may well be worth trying the metacam again, but ensure that it is at a decent dose, it is still chronically under dosed due to the difference in cats/dogs and guinea pig metabolisms, especially since the weaker cat version became licensed for guinea pigs.

Alongside the probiotics, syringe feeding and recheck with the vet, try offering a source of warmth, a snugglesafe heat pad or similar to see if she uses it, warmth really helps ease arthritic pain so if she enjoys using it, that might offer some insight into whats going on as well.

 

[Charlottibiscot]

At 4.5 it isnt completely unreasonable to assume she may be experiencing the start of arthritic changes. It may well be that while she's still eating well, its reduced just enough not to be massively noticeable visually, but enough to cause gut upset. Pain is a very good appetite suppressant. A good vet should be able to feel these changes in the joints without an xray if costs are an issue, it often causes joint swelling and stiffening, the range of motion in the limbs will be different and piggy will show discomfort while having the limbs manipulated.

It may also explain why she became sensitive to the other pigs approaching her, if their knees hurt (one of the first areas to become sore) then being mounted or jostled in normal dominance behaviours become painful and something they get defensive over.

It may well be worth trying the metacam again, but ensure that it is at a decent dose, it is still chronically under dosed due to the difference in cats/dogs and guinea pig metabolisms, especially since the weaker cat version became licensed for guinea pigs.

Alongside the probiotics, syringe feeding and recheck with the vet, try offering a source of warmth, a snugglesafe heat pad or similar to see if she uses it, warmth really helps ease arthritic pain so if she enjoys using it, that might offer some insight into whats going on as well.

Ooh, thank you, I hadn't thought of arthritic pain as a possibility, that's definitely an avenue to explore! When I first took mabel to the vet because she was limping, the lady manipulated the affected leg a lot and said it sounded really healthy, but I guess how her joints sound would totally depend on the progression of things like arthritis. Mabel is also just too polite to show pain which makes life more difficult.

I've owned so many sows over my lifetime but I've just never had any chronic issues come up so I feel like I'm in the deep end

Now you mention it, I'm pretty sure she was prescribed the cat metacam

Any ideas about dosage? I was told 0.1ml/day, she's 830g... is there a page on this forum about dosage?

She can smell when I've fed my other two girls their veg and runs around sniffing the floor, so her appetite is definitely still there, but yes she could definitely not be eating enough hay, I see her in the hay trays regularly and munching nuggets even more regularly (I give them 3 small handfuls a day as I have 3 piggies) but admittedly her younger cagemates clearly eat more hay than her.

I shall invest in a heat pad and keep up with syringe feeding as well as contact the vet after Christmas day if there's been no further improvement. I can't bear the thought of her being in pain

Thank you for your help, it's so appreciated!

 

[Eriathwen]

You're welcome! They're such stoic little things, it's so frustrating when you're trying to work out what's wrong

0.1ml is definitely a very low dose, especially of the cat version. That would really not be doing anything. Only vets can offer dosing, so there's nothing on the forum really that you'd be able to work out the dose by, especially as there's a decent sized range that vets use their own judgement on depending on the symptoms in front of them when giving a hands on exam, sometimes the minimum-maximum difference in dose can be quite large. But just for comparison, I have piggies that are a similar weight who are on 0.6ml of the dog metacam which is 3xs stronger than the cat version. Now that is quite a high dose for the weight, so it might not be in your piggies best interest to ask for that high of an amount, but I'd definitely ask them to consider a higher dose or swapping to the dog version.

 

[Charlottibiscot]

You're welcome! They're such stoic little things, it's so frustrating when you're trying to work out what's wrong

0.1ml is definitely a very low dose, especially of the cat version. That would really not be doing anything. Only vets can offer dosing, so there's nothing on the forum really that you'd be able to work out the dose by, especially as there's a decent sized range that vets use their own judgement on depending on the symptoms in front of them when giving a hands on exam, sometimes the minimum-maximum difference in dose can be quite large. But just for comparison, I have piggies that are a similar weight who are on 0.6ml of the dog metacam which is 3xs stronger than the cat version. Now that is quite a high dose for the weight, so it might not be in your piggies best interest to ask for that high of an amount, but I'd definitely ask them to consider a higher dose or swapping to the dog version.

Thanks! I'll have a chat with my vet about it Yes I thought it was a low dose, I remember I used to give that much to my old hamster when he got sick! And he weighed about 80g!

 

[Charlottibiscot]

You're welcome! They're such stoic little things, it's so frustrating when you're trying to work out what's wrong

0.1ml is definitely a very low dose, especially of the cat version. That would really not be doing anything. Only vets can offer dosing, so there's nothing on the forum really that you'd be able to work out the dose by, especially as there's a decent sized range that vets use their own judgement on depending on the symptoms in front of them when giving a hands on exam, sometimes the minimum-maximum difference in dose can be quite large. But just for comparison, I have piggies that are a similar weight who are on 0.6ml of the dog metacam which is 3xs stronger than the cat version. Now that is quite a high dose for the weight, so it might not be in your piggies best interest to ask for that high of an amount, but I'd definitely ask them to consider a higher dose or swapping to the dog version.

thanks for recommending a heat pad, I bought one from the shop today and have offered it to Mabel, it's her new favourite thing!

 

[Wheekallweek]

Best of luck to you and Mabel - it's sounds like you're doing everything you can!

 

[Charlottibiscot]

Hi all! Just a little update on Mabel and a little bit of advice-seeking once again as I have learned so much from this forum already!

TLDR - she's much better but got bloated from veg this evening and poops still not "normal" despite probiotics and taking her off veg, and poops haven't changed since she's been back on small amounts of veg (as of a couple weeks ago). I can't afford an x-ray but am investing in new scales to weigh her more accurately but she seems to be eating well and my current scales say her weight is stable. I'm thinking of trying her on critical care to see if more food makes her poops go back to normal (to see if she's slightly anorexic and that's causing her digestive issues)

Mabel is stable and doing much better - she's active and happy and her personality is back, in fact, she's now obsessed with being picked up and cuddled because she associates me with her beloved probiotic (bio lapis prescribed for 20 days, which immediately started to improve her poops, but they never returned fully to normal (they're dry and small and teardrop shaped) and she's been off the bio lapis for a couple of weeks now.

I might buy some critical care, if everyone thinks that's a shout, and syringe fed her lots of it to work out if her small dry poops are caused by her not eating enough. In theory, lots of critical care would cause her poops to return to normal if she's just not eating enough.

Although, she's always very happy to eat her pellets, less happy to eat her hay - I do see her eating it regularly but not as much as her cagemates - but she's 4yrs old, and I've only got her 2 year old, spritely cagemates to compare her to.

She doesn't seem to have dropped in weight but I've also realised that the scales I've been using are dodgy so will buy a new digital one although the vet did say that her weight hasn't changed, but she did get weighed on dog scales, so...

I've been slowly reintroducing veg. Today, I fed her 2 shreds of spring green, half a leaf romaine lettuce, 2 slices of pepper, a couple of leaves of parsley, and a few tiny slices of celery because I had some going. She bloated up 10 minutes after, her belly felt soft but full of gas, and she puffed up and looked like she was straining to poop for about 15 minutes. I massaged her belly gently for 5 minutes and she seemed to get better and the bloat went.

I'm going to remove brassica and parsley from her diet in response to this bloating and see if it makes a difference for her, but I'm just a bit stumped as to what the problem going on is here. Something must have gone wrong somewhere to make her digestive system so sensitive and not making the right shaped poop!

Any advice hugely appreciated as always! PS she still loves her heated snuggle pad

 

[Charlottibiscot]

I just had an extra thought - what if there's something wrong with her urinary tract that makes it painful to pee and is meaning she's drinking less in order to not pee so much? are guinea pigs clever enough to do that? if they are, then maybe she's not drinking as much and not peeing as much and is dehydrated and that's reflecting in her poops (they're always dry)... I fed her lots of kale in the past... just a thought to throw into the ether, not anything conclusive. I still see her drinking, often in order to soften her nuggets when she eats them (vet checked her teeth, btw, they're perfect)

also... sorry to ramble... I'm at war with all my guinea pigs because they've collectively decided their favourite food is puppy pad (just the cottony part, not the plastic) are there any alternatives I can use if I don't have access to newspaper? I put their hay in a cat litter tray.

 

[fluffysal]

I'm afraid I have no advice re digestive issues but personally I would support feed.
I used wood litter pellets in the hay trays, they get a bit nibbled but don't concern me like plastic does.

 

[Charlottibiscot]

I'm afraid I have no advice re digestive issues but personally I would support feed.
I used wood litter pellets in the hay trays, they get a bit nibbled but don't concern me like plastic does.

thank you, yes I think you're right. She's about 800g right now so ideally I'd like her to put on a little bit more weight so that if her condition were to deteriorate (like another bout of diarrhea) she would have some extra chunk on her to cope with it! Thank you, I'll look into wood litter pellets

 

[piggieminder]

If she were mine I'd definitely give her some recovery food. My go to probiotic in the harder to sort out cases is Fibreplex for at least 2 weeks.
In the hay trays I've used wood pellets or shavings in the past, mine just get a pile of hay on the cage floor these days. They never kept the hay in the tray anyway!

 

[Charlottibiscot]

If she were mine I'd definitely give her some recovery food. My go to probiotic in the harder to sort out cases is Fibreplex for at least 2 weeks.
In the hay trays I've used wood pellets or shavings in the past, mine just get a pile of hay on the cage floor these days. They never kept the hay in the tray anyway!

Thanks! I looked into wood pellets and I'm still concerned that my pigs will eat them so for now I've switched to wads of kitchen paper towel that I change every day, I wish I could do a pile of hay but I think it would be a lot of work to keep clean especially since I don't have a hoover I used fibreplex for about a month and it did help but not completely, definitely helped solidify her poops when she had diarrhea though!

I think this issue is something physical and I'm just going to need to help her out with her digestion from now on.

Today she's got a sneeze, is puffed up and is being extra cuddly and constantly cleaning her face. She also was bowing her head last night when swallowing and grinding her teeth, it seemed to settle once I gave her her heat pad though.

The temperature never drops below 16°c but we've just moved house which obviously is a big stressor and I've been struggling to keep the humidity low in that room for the last couple of days!

Luckily we've got a dehumidifier now.

It seems to me like her health is slowly deteriorating, but I'm going to make sure she's as comfortable as she can be if these are her last few months.

I'm going to take her to the vet again, I'll make sure to keep updating. I think we need to try out some antibiotics.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Definitely do get her seen by the vet - the sneezing, being puffed up are signs to take very seriously.

 

[Charlottibiscot]

Definitely do get her seen by the vet - the sneezing, being puffed up are signs to take very seriously.

booked for 3.30 today x

 

[Charlottibiscot]

Hi all, thought I'd give another update now I've calmed down a little from the vet visit.

The actual vet was okay, she checked her teeth again and said that she couldn't see Mabel's back teeth because they're covered in food lol but that there are no ulcers or anything that might indicate overgrown teeth. Mabel has dropped 100g since December so I'm starting critical care now and also weighing daily.

She recommended painkillers and we agreed the sniffling would be due to some smells in the room that I've now sorted out (small room new house high humidity but sorted now). I asked for a bigger bottle of metacam that would last me a while because she's hunched up in a corner a lot of the time. She also got me some more bio lapis, half a sachet once a day.

Got to the pharmacy and they've given me 3ml of cat metacam. at 0.1ml a day. so I walked back in and asserted that they talk to the only guinea pig specialist about upping Mabel's medication from 0.1ml a day because sorry but that is ridiculously low from what I've learned.

Then I get home and it turns out the new bottle they're using doesn't fit with the syringe they've given me so I've just wasted my money on 3ml of medication that is congealed around the sides and bottom of the bottle and won't come out with my syringe.

Basically Mabel still does not have access to pain meds

I'm going back to the vet tomorrow to ask that they give me a prescription for the medication so I can access the bottle type that I need in order to give her it properly, but I have a bad feeling it's going to be difficult. I was so polite when I was talking to them about the initial dosage issue and they came across as patronising, "we know best you know nothing" so now I'm preparing myself for more of that. But I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I just wish petcare was actually geared towards guinea pigs! It's ridiculous! After feeding coriander and romaine lettuce (tiny amounts, and yes I'll be taking her off veg again because of this!) this evening, my baby is bloated again with gas, just in so much pain, ballooned up, I feel so bad for her and there's nothing I can do except massage her and give her her heatpad.

I just feel like maybe it's like chronic gut ileus, if that exists, where this will just get worse and worse

 

[Rinoa]

"Then I get home and it turns out the new bottle they're using doesn't fit with the syringe"

This happened with one of the bottles the vet gave me and i ended up cutting a bigger hole with scissors just so the syringe would fit. They cut the hole too small. Another time i poured out some of the medicine into another bottle. I've had to do various things cause waiting around isnt something i like to do anymore.



"limping a bit on her back legs (possibly from having poop stuck to them?)"

My guinea pig has this problem. This started when she was 6. Now shes 7 and 3 months. Anyway i noticed her feet were red due to leaky water bottle (not quite bumble foot yet), she limped once and i took her to vet, gave her meds and cream to put on foot. I would give her meds and after 7-10 days she stopped limping. Few months later she limped again, vet visit, more meds. repeat

Months later noticed she would get poop stuck to her feet and i feel this poop leads to infection which leads to the limping. I've tried different methods the past year and have only come up with 1 solution. In beginning i put cream on her foot then let her walk on floor. then it dawned on me everytime she lands she wipes it right off which makes no sense. Recently i figured i need to keep her feet covered at all times (with cream on)

I chose to use micropore tape. what i do is cut a small piece, then in the middle ill add a bandage, then on the bandage i put manuka honey+ silver sulfadiazine cream which vet gave me. The redness may never go away maybe but at least she wont get poop stuck to her feet which eliminates that as a cause of the limping.

After Bactrim and Metacam she stops limping. One is for infection and the other for pain. Now her feets just red.

 

[Charlottibiscot]

"Then I get home and it turns out the new bottle they're using doesn't fit with the syringe"

This happened with one of the bottles the vet gave me and i ended up cutting a bigger hole with scissors just so the syringe would fit. They cut the hole too small. Another time i poured out some of the medicine into another bottle. I've had to do various things cause waiting around isnt something i like to do anymore.



"limping a bit on her back legs (possibly from having poop stuck to them?)"

My guinea pig has this problem. This started when she was 6. Now shes 7 and 3 months. Anyway i noticed her feet were red due to leaky water bottle (not quite bumble foot yet), she limped once and i took her to vet, gave her meds and cream to put on foot. I would give her meds and after 7-10 days she stopped limping. Few months later she limped again, vet visit, more meds. repeat

Months later noticed she would get poop stuck to her feet and i feel this poop leads to infection which leads to the limping. I've tried different methods the past year and have only come up with 1 solution. In beginning i put cream on her foot then let her walk on floor. then it dawned on me everytime she lands she wipes it right off which makes no sense. Recently i figured i need to keep her feet covered at all times (with cream on)

I chose to use micropore tape. what i do is cut a small piece, then in the middle ill add a bandage, then on the bandage i put manuka honey+ silver sulfadiazine cream which vet gave me. The redness may never go away maybe but at least she wont get poop stuck to her feet which eliminates that as a cause of the limping.

After Bactrim and Metacam she stops limping. One is for infection and the other for pain. Now her feets just red.

Thank you, I'm glad you and your piggy found a solution! I checked her feet, every time she's limping it's because there's a bit of poop stuck to them, so I just take off the poop and she's back to normal. Her poops have gone soft which is why they keep getting stuck to her feet .

Luckily her feet aren't sore though! I'm a uni student so I helicopter parent my guinea pigs because I'm at home so often so poop never stays on their feet for long .

Mabel was looking too sorry for herself so I've given her the cat metacam now, I'm giving her 0.3ml twice a day which I know is technically avoiding vet orders and "overdosing" her, but 0.1ml once a day (as prescribed) wasn't doing anything for her pain and whilst I'm waiting for a reply (that I doubt I'll even get without chasing up) from the guinea pig vet about dosage I'm not going to settle for my baby being in pain. Unfortunately that means my Metacam will only last me 6 days, so. The way I got the metacam out was, like you said, removing the top nozzle bit. I'm still concerned that I'm not going to get the full 3ml out of the bottle this way but it is what it is I guess.

I'll have a look at other vets in the Gloucester/Cheltenham area who actually know a bit more about pain treatment in guinea pigs.

On the plus side, after 2 days of Metacam 0.3ml twice daily she's a lot more bouncy, running around and eating a good amount of hay and nuggets again I regret not going back to the vets sooner, I didn't realise the metacam would make such a massive difference for her. Lesson learned!