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herbal remedy for pain?

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kittyla

kittyla

Junior Guinea Pig
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Both the vet & CCT agree that Nibbles is stuck with his hip pain, probably inherited. The last time it flared up badly, he slowed down
eating, lost weight, his teeth overgrew & he developed a fungal prob from the stress, It all happened so quick I nearly lost him.
The vet wasnt much use, (need a new vet!) Vedra helped me over the phone, sorted his teeth & treated him inside & outside for the fungal infection, & after a few days syringe feeding he's ok now, & slowly gaining weight.
Now I want to keep the pain at bay. Metacam didnt help much, the nurofen definately did but I dont want to give it regularly.
I looked at the Potters Tabritis tabs but it said "dont give to children" so this cant be good long term on guineas, can anyone
suggest anything else I could use long term? He's less than 2 years old so it really is a long term thing I'm looking for (hopefully!)

PS If anyone knows a GP savvy vet in the Northampton area I'd love to know
 
PM maryh's vet as her vet helps vets all over the world with their piggies, as you only have 26 post i could pm her for you. maryh has said nurofen is NOT good for guinea pigs. please let me know if i can help you with PMing maryh. hoping your piggy gets better soon sending hugs and healing vibes :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
If you Google Holistic pain relief guinea pig info does come up but I won't put links up as not sure it is the right info. Kitty can PM Mary as Mary is a moderator and you can PM moderators and I assume Fundraisers as I Pmmed someone the other day with posts below 50 and had a reply. :o ;D
 
thank you for that louise, i never knew that O0 so glad to learn something new everyday :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: i don't think maryh is into home remedies, and have to say i do agree as a piggy can go down hill so fast :'( :'( :'( above health and illness is a thread recomended vets see if there is one near you O0 hugs :smitten: :smitten:
 
If you can find a vet you knows about holisitcs it may help. I would hate to say a pig could have something when they couldn't. I'm wondering if their is licienced meds that would help that don't cause problems. Many animals have to take medication long term. Hope someone with knowledge can help.
 
I can recommend an excellent vet in the Northampton area

Simon Maddock
The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic
1 Limehurst Square,
Duston,
Northampton
NN5 6LP

Telephone No. 01604 478888

Simon is very experienced with guinea pigs, I have been going to him since January 2007, and the treatment and care he has given to my piggies has been absolutelly fantastic. I live in Rugby, but its worth the half hour trip over to see Simon, as I know my animals will be getting the best care available.
 
Thanks
I'll give that vet a call today. I need somewhere local to get to I can trust as CCT is a bit far which can cause probs with school
times. Nibbles has suddenly gone downhill today, think his teeth need doing again. They get poorly so quickly! - & we're off to stay with Grandad this morning! I'll just have to take him with me & hand feed him till I can get him to vets or cct tomorrow hopefully.
 
kittyla said:
Thanks
I'll give that vet a call today. I need somewhere local to get to I can trust as CCT is a bit far which can cause probs with school
times. Nibbles has suddenly gone downhill today, think his teeth need doing again. They get poorly so quickly! - & we're off to stay with Grandad this morning! I'll just have to take him with me & hand feed him till I can get him to vets or cct tomorrow hopefully.
Click to expand...
Simon is on holiday until Monday. They have a locum in this week, so I would wait and get an appointment with Simon next week. If you plhone today you should be able to get him booked in for Monday. I am going too on Monday evening and only just made the appointment.

I really hope Nibbles is soon feeling better.

x
 
Potters Tabritis can be given to guineas daily for long term problems like arthritis/joint problems. It made the last few months of my guinea's life a lot more comfortable. Crush one down and add to water and syringe daily. My guinea loved them because they taste like dandelion apparently. I would always recommend them and I hope they help. As MaryH informed me Nurofen should not be given to guineas because of the side effects they can cause such as liver/kidney problems. I would say the Potters Tabritis are your best bet for long term relief.
 
SunshineAndTwinkle said:
If you Google Holistic pain relief guinea pig info does come up but I won't put links up as not sure it is the right info. Kitty can PM Mary as Mary is a moderator and you can PM moderators and I assume Fundraisers as I Pmmed someone the other day with posts below 50 and had a reply. :o ;D
Click to expand...

Members can PM you back if you have already PM'd them :)

I hope Nibbles is feeling good :) :smitten:
 
I think Mary h doesn't agree with the CCT giving out advice to use Nurofen as it's dangerous for pigs. So you might want to consider that
 
I give 1/2 a tablet of Potters Tabritis to my old sow for her arthritis everyday and it really helps. I think you can give up to a whole tablet each day.
 
Potters Tabritus tablets are safe for long term use.Peter Gurney used them even on really elderly pigs with no ill effect.
 
Thanks I'll get some online, Holland & Barratt dont stock them anymore.

Vedra trimmed his teeth today. but he still needs syring feeding for a while.

I know baby nurofen probably isnt good for him, but it is a tiny dose I give him (0.1ml) & frankly I think being in pain is more
harmful. He's such a tiny thing now (less than 1 1/2 lb). infact I'm going to give him some food & a cuddle right now!

Furryfriends - has your vet Simon Maddock ever done your pigs teeth? if so did he do it without anesthetic? I spoke to the
nurse who suggested they sometimes need to use a little gas! I hope Simon says otherwise! anyway I'm taking him there next
week.
 
Boots the chemist stock the Potters Tabritis - that's where I got my supply from.
 
kittyla said:
Furryfriends - has your vet Simon Maddock ever done your pigs teeth? if so did he do it without anesthetic? I spoke to the
nurse who suggested they sometimes need to use a little gas! I hope Simon says otherwise! anyway I'm taking him there next
week.
Click to expand...

My rabbit has his teeth regulary burred by Simon without any anaesthetic, but he only needs his front teeth doing as the rest are fine. I've recently had a guinea pig with an infection in his mouth. He became very distressed at having his mouth examined and therefore needed a little gas for the examination to be carried out without distressing him even more.

Simon is extremely experienced in surgery on guinea pigs, as he is the vet who carries out all the neutering operations for Rabbit and Guinea Pig Welfare in Rugby. I trust Simon 100% with the care of my piggies. If you have any concerns I know he will be more than willing to talk through everything with you. :)
 
Thanks
I'm shopping today, I'll get the Potters. But I have another question please,
I'm syringe feeding Nibbles, sometimes he's hungry & takes several syringe fulls (once or twice a day)
other times he doesnt want it, I weighed him this morning & he's lost 3 oz over this latest episode,
he's so underwight already I know its vital he doesnt lose anymore. I'm feeding him his regular dried
food (Waggs Crunch) ground fine with warm water, & veg slightly boiled & mushed. I wonder if I should
try & get some Critical Care or something else to add, but the pet shop only does this to order & the
vets are closed over the weekend, can anyone suggest anything I could buy today that would make
the little food more nutritious until he's eating properly himself again.?
 
I would get some critical care or recovery food as in the last month or so of Ginger's life I syringed her critical care as she couldn't always get to her dried food. I kept her veg next to her so she could reach it but she often lay on top of her dry food as muscles and joiunts were weak. I think it also increased her appetitie as well so I don't see how it could do any harm. Hope it works for your guinea with the Potters Tabritis. You could try adding vegetable baby food to the dry food and syringe that. Try grating carrot rather than leaving it whole. Try softer foods like cucumber or cherry tomatoes, kiwi, etc. to tempt.
 
hoping nibbles starts to put on weight, i would be syringe feeding nibbles every 2-4 hours not twice a day, try adding baby food puree to the mix like sweet corn or apple 2-3 teaspoons. sending hugs and healing vibes to you and nibbles :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: you could try giving nibbles grass too. hoping all goes well O0
 
If a pig is not eating by itself,it needs to be syringed fed every 2 hours or so.Give at least 5 mls at each feed,more if the pig will take it.Giving a little water after each 2 or 3 mouthfuls will help with swallowing.Gps are grazers so need to be eating most of the time.

When I syringe feed I do the same as you and grind up some dry mix with water,add a couple of teaspoonfuls of veg.puree,and sometimes a couple of teaspoons of Critical Care.Some people make their own puree which is fine,but I buy the small jars of organic baby puree which you can get in chemists and supermarkets.Hippo and Organix are good brands.The carrot and sweetcorn one is good.

I also give a vitamin C supplement to pigs who are not eating properly.
 
Thanks Maryh.
Is that a special vit c suppliment for animals or just the tabs from the chemist crushed up? How much would you add?

Yesterday his appetite picked up & He managed 6 feeds & some nibbling in between. This morning he was famished & ate
10 syringes dried food mush. Hasn't put any weight on yet but being hungry must be a good sign. :)
I bought several chew sticks & balls to encourage him to get chewing, & he's had a little go at them. I dont understand why it
can take so long to get back to normal after teeth problems. Vedra said her vet once treated a piggy that took 13 weeks to start eating properly again! I hope that's exceptional! Nibbles took a week last time.
 
You can buy the normal chewable vitamin c. I used to break them in half and Ginger would eat them as they were without mixing with water.
 
Nibbles is alot better now, his fungal infection has cleared up, he's been eating & drinking loads -
trying to catch up I think, & has put on a few precious ounces. He gets quite annoyed when I try
& syringe feed him the Potters, so I'm leaving that for a little while as he's been poked & prodded
enough these last weeks. I'll try Metacam again short term, but apparently he needs .1ml not .05ml
that I'd been giving him (as per old vet) no wonder it didnt work!

The new vet was very nice with him, seemed to know his stuff, also respected Vedra's experience & advice but thought she's cut his teeth a little bit too short! he gave me loads of time & charged £12 (my last vet was £22) He may xray Nibbles hips if the pain keeps flaring up.
So thankyou Furryfriends for that recommendation, which I heartily pass on to anyone else in the
Northampton area O0
 
I'm pleased that Nibbles is so much better. :)

Glad you got on well with Simon. I think he's fantastic with the animals. So lovely and caring, and also so knowledgeable. He's easy to talk to and he doesn't make you feel as though you are being rushed. :)
 
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