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Hey, I’m extremely worried about my son, and my mom is brushing it off.

Cottondisaster

Cottondisaster

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He’s been squeaking and arching his body for a little while now, maybe 8-9 days (a long time I know I feel terrible) yet every time I bring it up to my mother, she just brushes it off. It’s been making me extremely upset, just got done crying for maybe 15 minutes over it.

Today was the first time I’ve ever seen him arch myself, usually he’s hiding in his hut and I just hear his odd squeak. My mom said it was simply because we got back from vacation today and he might be overwhelmed, but he had started this behavior before we left, and when I brought it up then she said it may have been nightmares. :(

He stopped eating his pellets maybe a week or so prior to his squeaking archs, but he still ate all of the fruits and veggies we gave him. However my aunt, who was taking care of him while we were gone, noted that he’s started eating less within the last 5 days, most notably ignoring his strawberries, one of his favorites.

I actually looked on this forum for an answer, and many strongly encouraged getting the piggy to a vet ASAP, yet with my mother brushing off this potentially critical situation, and no means (money wise) to even consider taking him myself, I don’t know what to do for my baby boy. Is there anything I can do to maybe make him more comfortable and get him eating again until my mom decides it’s worth it/finally time to take him to be checked?
 
I’m sorry to hear your piggy is unwell.

Arching and squeaking is a sign of pain and he needs to be seen by a vet urgently and particularly if he is not eating properly. Pain will make them stop eating. He is not having nightmares, he sounds as if he is unwell.

Hay and grass is the largest part of the diet and it needs to make up 80% of what they eat in a day (not veggies, fruit or pellets which are purely supplementary and never make more than 20% of the daily food intake).

You must switch from the routine lifelong weekly weight checks and instead weigh him at the same time every day so you can monitor hay intake. If he is losing weight and not eating enough hay, then you must urgently step in and syringe feed him a fibre rich recovery feed such as Oxbow critical care or mush his normal pellets with water and syringe the slurry to him. This is essential. If his gut shuts down from lack of fibre and hay intake, then it is an emergency situation.

Is he pooping?

Please have him seen by a vet today and step in with syringe feeding urgently particularly as these symptoms have already been going on for quite some time.

The guides below explain how to syringe feed

Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

i hope he is ok
 
Good luck convincing your mum to take him to the vets. He really does need to go. He’s in pain and there is nothing you can do to stop it. He needs help from a vet. Good luck. Keep us posted.
 
Sorry that your little guy is unwell. All i can do is agree with everyone's advice that he really does need to see a vet.

Maybe you could show your mom this thread so that she has a better understanding of how sick he could be and the importance of getting him the veterinary care he needs.

Good luck. Fingers and paws crossed here for him.
 
He really does need to see a vet. Could you get a part time job to help pay the vets bills? Could you contact the vets and ask if they could offer you a payment plan?
 
Just to lend another voice in the hopes to convince your mum - please see a vet. Neither arching the back nor screaming can be considered normal, dismissable behaviour in guinea pigs; they could indicate a health issue requiring vetinary care.
 
I'm sorry, but he really needs a vet assessment. The arching and squeaking is literally the equivalent of a human hunching over and screaming. I really hope your mom reads this and realizes that he needs assessment. It's unfair to leave an animal in pain that way.
 
I know this sounds mean, and I'm sure your mom is lovely in many respects, but if she's thinking along the lines of "he's probably on his way out... he could maybe hurry it up and save some money here" there is no reason that this will happen any time soon. Your boy might have something as simple as a urinary infection which would be pretty cheap for a vet to sort out but every pee will be agony. Piggies are not a cheap pet but they are no more expensive than dogs or cats - and at least they don't need shots every year - but seeing a vet when you have an ill pet is the same as seeing a doc when you have an ill child. It's the right thing to do. I really feel for you. Show your parents this thread by all means... many of us on here have families ourselves so we're all budgeting.

Piggies are prey animals and the very very last thing they are wired to do is attract attention by making noise when they are unwell - and he is unwell. It's not some figment of his imagination... he's in a lot of pain. There might even be blood in his pee that you can see on the bedding. Vets can give painkillers and antibiotics. They can advise on further tests if they are considered necessary, which of course you always have the option to decline - they can advise on putting him to sleep if you can't afford to treat him so at least he's not living in misery and you aren't faced with watching him waste away. But this could be something very simple and very easily treated. Usually the earlier you can get in at something the cheaper it is to treat, before secondary complications set in.

Good luck - we'll be thinking and praying for you both x
 
Here’s an update for everyone:

Thank you so much for your support and advice, by the way. I did not show my mom this thread, but I did tell her I turned here for help and expressed the urgency of his situation.

She still thinks it’s because he’s getting older, so we’ve rearranged his living space so he could be more comfortable. However! He has a scheduled vet appointment for Tuesday at 4:00pm (my time, it is currently 10:37 pm) so hopefully we’ll figure out what’s bothering him.

He’s been eating less, though, and hiding a lot more. I’ve been able to hand feed him some hay and a few carrot pieces, and he ate some lettuce and hay from his hay wagon on his own.

At this current moment he’s in his hut napping, but I’ll be sure to come back here whenever I can with updates. And for those who may be curious, his name is Mr. Scribbles.
 
Cottondisaster said:
Here’s an update for everyone:

Thank you so much for your support and advice, by the way. I did not show my mom this thread, but I did tell her I turned here for help and expressed the urgency of his situation.

She still thinks it’s because he’s getting older, so we’ve rearranged his living space so he could be more comfortable. However! He has a scheduled vet appointment for Tuesday at 4:00pm (my time, it is currently 10:37 pm) so hopefully we’ll figure out what’s bothering him.

He’s been eating less, though, and hiding a lot more. I’ve been able to hand feed him some hay and a few carrot pieces, and he ate some lettuce and hay from his hay wagon on his own.

At this current moment he’s in his hut napping, but I’ll be sure to come back here whenever I can with updates. And for those who may be curious, his name is Mr. Scribbles.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you’ve been able to get him an appointment.

Please step in and syringe feed him.
You must make sure you weigh him every day so you can know he is getting enough food, and you need to step in and syringe feed him a pellet mush regularly throughout the day to ensure he is getting enough fibre to keep his gut functioning properly and keep his weight stable.

This guide explains what you need to do, please do read it and step in
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
 
Stay strong Mr Scribbles - try and keep chewing hay or grass (dog pee free!) or syringe mush to keep your teeth in good condition until the vet can treat you x

If you can't get hold of packet syringe food you can mush up his normal food pellets - he might just eat them out of a bowl without needing the syringe. Keep your eye on his poops because these run a day or two behind the input so if the poops start to look less, or smaller, or a funny shape it'll be that the intake reduced a few days before. He needs to keep eating and pooping to avoid his gut slowing or stopping completely... but just veg won't be enough for this and risks upsetting his digestion if it's all veg. Weigh him once a day on kitchen scales and keep a record of the weights to show the vet. If he's losing day on day he'll be feeling weaker and less able to battle his illness. So try and keep his energy up!
 
Welcome to the forum! notice this is your first posting. Sorry your first visit is with panic. that is often the case around here. i found a piggy abandon in the park and i turned to this forum for advice and it is a TREASURE TROVE of information. be sure to come back and visit this page for information and ideas. (we accept guinea pig pictures as payment 😁)

as for your vet problem and relying on your mom. i noticed one of the vets on the list this site advertises at the top, also operates in the usa called firstvet. they do video calls and in some cases can prescribe medicine. i would 100% keep your current vet appointment as in person will ALWAYS be better, but in a pinch next time you're worried you can try going there. it might be easier to convince her next time your mom doesn't wanna pay for another vet bill as it can be cheaper. if its a serious problem tho you'll end up with 2 vet bills as you will need to go see a vet in person.....

Also I'm going to assume you're younger still going to school and living at home. Hopefully today is just a scare for you. but remember this time. Next time you get some birthday money or money in a Christmas card or work some odd jobs you put some of that money away for mr. scribbles. maybe let people know instead of getting gift cards they can donate to mr scribbles health care fund. $175-$200 should be a good safe number. that should pay for the in person vet visit and basic medications. but you can keep the receipt from your upcoming visit as the best guild for your savings. it should mark out individually what the vet visit cost what medications cost ect. you can also ask them while you're there if they have a pricing guide they could print out for you. this way if you wanna save up in case mr scribbles needs a blood test done or an xray one day you can have that covered as well. i understand none of this helps you today but know this wont be the only time your pet gets sick and has to go to the vet. it happens and you gotta prepare for that so you dont end up worried sick and crying like you were.

Best of luck mr. scribbles! Caramilk and Cookie are Rooting for you! I hope you get great news from the vets office!
 
We’re back from the vet! We’ve gotten all good news, they said he’s looking all good and there’s no more pain honks coming from this little guy. They said that they don’t think it’s a bladder stone because his pee has not been bloody, his tummy feels soft and normal, and he’s had no trouble peeing so that’s good!

They said it could’ve just been arthritis from jumping too much (he refuses to use a ramp, we’ve changed to a one level living space) or him protesting the kibbles we’ve been giving him (they may’ve changed something in the bag) as he’s been eating more since we changed it. He’s been pooping since that change as well, and at this time has no issues.

He’s still a very vocal very sweet boy, and they said he’s looking just fine, and to just make sure there’s no tensing honks after this visit. If there are, we’ll take him back and they’ll give him an x-ray to see what’s up.

Thank you for everyone following his little journey and lending me an ear as well as support, here’s some pictures of my little potato as payment 💖ABB0C383-BFF8-486D-8705-215E578F88F3.webp2D9803D8-5F84-4E26-A5D5-9B2FD6862541.webp3C9F611F-783E-4C84-B138-6E2113E6B50E.webp
 
Cottondisaster said:
We’re back from the vet! We’ve gotten all good news, they said he’s looking all good and there’s no more pain honks coming from this little guy. They said that they don’t think it’s a bladder stone because his pee has not been bloody, his tummy feels soft and normal, and he’s had no trouble peeing so that’s good!

They said it could’ve just been arthritis from jumping too much (he refuses to use a ramp, we’ve changed to a one level living space) or him protesting the kibbles we’ve been giving him (they may’ve changed something in the bag) as he’s been eating more since we changed it. He’s been pooping since that change as well, and at this time has no issues.

He’s still a very vocal very sweet boy, and they said he’s looking just fine, and to just make sure there’s no tensing honks after this visit. If there are, we’ll take him back and they’ll give him an x-ray to see what’s up.

Thank you for everyone following his little journey and lending me an ear as well as support, here’s some pictures of my little potato as payment 💖View attachment 207142View attachment 207144View attachment 207145
Click to expand...
I'm so happy he's feeling better! 😍
 
That is excellent news!
Out of curiosity, what pellets was he eating/stopped eating? I wonder if his pain was from peeing out bladder sludge, a build up of calcium crystals, which can be from high calcium diets. And maybe him stopping eating his pellets resolved the issue for him, as it cut off the source of the sludge?
I hope he stays well and doesn't give you any more worries!
 
Great news. So happy to read this.
 
I’m glad he is feeling better.

I would echo Eriathwen’s comments about the pellets (kibble as you call it). Pellets are the least important part of the diet and contain a lot is calcium (even low calcium varieties). Piggies should only have one tablespoon of pellets per day. You say he is now eating more of them, so do ensure you aren’t over feeding them now - stick to one tablespoon only as you need to encourage him to have high hay intake (hay is 80% of the daily food intake)
 
It's great news for you both! And I bet you're feeling a whole lot better about his health too ☺️
I would just add one more thing seeing as you mentioned arthritis. I've been raving about these so much recently that people might think I'm advertising but honestly this is just my own experience... and I used to be a scientist so actually my nature is a bit cynical!

My boy George (on the left) is 5 1/2 and has arthritis. We saw great improvement after giving him oxbow joint support 'lozenges' (you might call them 'cookies' they have purple on the packet) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxbow-Natural-Science-Joint-Support/dp/B007PZEC52 which contain glucosamine. These are a food supplement, not a medicine, so they can just be bought. We started them in February this year - they take a few weeks to take effect. I inherited a packet from a friend who's elderly rabbit had died and I thought "might as well give them a try". I'm so glad we did! After 2 weeks we could see definite improvement in George and after 4 weeks he was a LOT more mobile. The other thing that was a clear indicator was that I used to find hair in his bottom teeth every night, where he'd been nibbling at his sore joints. The vet said they do this like we might rub a sore wrist and we'd seen it for quite a few months even though he is on daily metacam (anti-inflammation meds). But since the glucosamine there has been no more hair in his teeth! George really likes them - they are his daily 'treat'. And because he's more mobile it's really helped his impaction - yes, he has that too - but we love our old chap 🥰

Anyway, if you read round on the forum you will see that glucosamine is also recommended for battered bladders - it helps the lining to heal if there has been a problem with sludge, stones or infection. It's the same stuff for bladders and arthritis. My chunky sow who got gritty pee has half a George cookie daily and has not had problems since. She didn't have blood in the pee but she was very subdued for a few days and my other girl was snuggling her (this never happens normally) which is a classic sign that one is unwell - the others know before we do because we don't speak guinea pig. You might think about trying something like this for your boy? My third pig doesn't like them - she doesn't like anything sweet so I'm assuming they taste a bit sweet. Flora doesn't like red pepper or even a little slice of carrot... I mean she'll eat it but you can actually see she's pulling a face 😂 So if you can persuade mom to order a pack in give it a try for a month and see how you get on. It can help with his bladder and his joints - and he might love it!
 
Glad that it is good news!

Please keep on weighing him once weekly on your kitchen scales. Over three quarters of what a guinea pig eats in a day should be hay or grass, and you cannot control this by eye.
Pellets (or kibbles as you call them; we recommend just 1 tablespoon per piggy per day) and veg together only replace the supplementary role that wild forage used to have.

It is the hay intake that is crucial for weight, overall health and a longer healthy life span.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
 
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