long teeth? stomach problems?

[ellioant]

My guinea pig is about 5 years old…he’s only gotten sick one time, so this was a shock. My first guinea pig didn’t survive a long time, so I never had any experience in caring for sick guinea pigs.

He’s been sick for about a week and a half, and I’ve brought him to the vet because he’s been having diarrhea. They gave him the same medicine from when he was sick last time, “trimethoprim sulfa(?)”.

Starting yesterday, He’s been hiding his head and every time I pet him, he starts shaking.

I have no clue if this is because he got worse, or he’s just scared that I might give him medication. He’s been avoiding eating ever since he got sick, and he only bites on stuff before spitting it out. I’ve also never seen him eat any hay, which caused his teeth to grow quite long. He’s gotten more and more less active, and is usually sleeping or hiding when I check up on him.

I guess the vet never checked his teeth during his last visit a couple days ago..is there a way to fix this without going to the vet? It was quite costy the last time I went, and my brother’s idea was to just buy him more chew toys and let my guinea pig sort it out himself, but I don’t know if that’ll help.

 

[Popcorns & Wheeks]

Hi, I'm afraid the only advice I can give you is to see a vet, as a piggie not eating can turn into a serious issue very quickly and can be fatal. Simply buying gnaw/chew toys will not solve the problem if his teeth are the issue. Your piggie really does need to be examined by a vet for a diagnosis.

If your piggie has stopped eating please step in with syringe feeding. Hay makes up 80% of a guinea pigs diet, so if your little one is off hay it is essential to begin feeding critical care or even mushed up pellets (pellets mixed with warm water and allowed to cool down). I would feed him at least 40 - 50ml within a 24hr period, spacing this out throughout the day.

I would also add probiotics to the food as he is on antibiotics which can cause the gut to slow down, mix a little in with the critical care/mushed pellets. Please be careful and only feed him a little amount at first, maybe 0.3mls just to see if he is able to swallow food first, to avoid choking. I would also make sure he is hydrated and syringe water also in small amounts at a time.

Can I ask how long he had not been eating hay and if he is eating anything else such as veggies or pellets? And is he still pooping at all?

Hopefully someone else on the forum will see your post soon and offer you more advice. I hope he is OK.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I can only agree with the above.

A piggy having diarrhoea needs to have all veg removed from their diet until the situation improves. This helps redress the fibre balance but he must eat hay or have a fibre replacement syringe feed if he is not eating hay.

Antibiotics (which is the medicine you have been given) can upset their tummies so you can give a probiotic 1-2 hours either before or after an antibiotic dose. This can help repopulate the gut with good bacteria to help combat the effects of the antibiotics.

Piggy teeth grow constantly throughout their life and the only way dental growth is kept in check is by eating a lot of hay and fresh grass, the abrasive action wears the teeth appropriately. The molars overgrow if they don’t chew hay. Chew toys do not wear their teeth down at all, they certainly will not correct a dental problem.

If a piggy already has a dental issue then the only thing that will resolve it is to have a dental carried out by an experienced vet. A dental issue will not resolve itself and will get worse If not dealt with. The teeth can overgrow and trap their tongue, causing them to not be able to eat. A piggy will eventually starve if this is not resolved.
After a dental, eating plenty of hay is the only thing that will help keep teeth wearing. Repeat dentals may be needed in some cases.

Hay is their main food source and they must eat a lot of it each day to remain healthy.
You need to weigh your guinea pigs every week as part of routine care but when one is unwell, you then need to switch to daily weight checks and step in with syringe feeding a fibre rich recovery feed (critical care) or mushed pellets. The syringe feeding replaces the hay intake and keeps the gut functioning until a piggy is eating enough hay for themselves again. The daily weight checks are your guide to know you are getting enough syringe feeding in each day - if a piggy loses weight day to day, then you must syringe feed more. It’s a minimum of 40-60ml but could be as much as 100ml of syringe feed per day. A poorly piggy will need feeding every two hours or so.

So, at home you need to :

- weigh daily
- syringe feed regularly
- remove veg from the diet while piggy is suffering from diarrhoea
- give the antibiotics but also give a probiotic for the duration of the antibiotic course.

You also need to see a knowledgeable vet if you suspect dental issues. You cannot resolve anything like this yourself.

The guides below explain everything further

Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[ellioant]

Hi, I'm afraid the only advice I can give you is to see a vet, as a piggie not eating can turn into a serious issue very quickly and can be fatal. Simply buying gnaw/chew toys will not solve the problem if his teeth are the issue. Your piggie really does need to be examined by a vet for a diagnosis.

If your piggie has stopped eating please step in with syringe feeding. Hay makes up 80% of a guinea pigs diet, so if your little one is off hay it is essential to begin feeding critical care or even mushed up pellets (pellets mixed with warm water and allowed to cool down). I would feed him at least 40 - 50ml within a 24hr period, spacing this out throughout the day.

I would also add probiotics to the food as he is on antibiotics which can cause the gut to slow down, mix a little in with the critical care/mushed pellets. Please be careful and only feed him a little amount at first, maybe 0.3mls just to see if he is able to swallow food first, to avoid choking. I would also make sure he is hydrated and syringe water also in small amounts at a time.

Can I ask how long he had not been eating hay and if he is eating anything else such as veggies or pellets? And is he still pooping at all?

Hopefully someone else on the forum will see your post soon and offer you more advice. I hope he is OK.

I think it’s been a week since he stopped eating hay. He just nibbles at it occasionally but I can’t tell if he’s actually eating it or not.

His poops were just starting to get better, but after I came home today, I noticed that there was a large puddle of diarrhea on his fleece blanket.

I cleaned and changed the blanket, but I also saw that he was shaking from standing up when I lifted him off the blanket. He walked with his butt slightly in the air, and wobbled each step. He even sometimes fell while walking.

The vet that I go to is closed, but I’ll see if I have enough time before or after work to make an appointment. I’ll try to bring him to the vet ASAP, but due to time, I might only be able to make the appointment and have to go the next day.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I think it’s been a week since he stopped eating hay. He just nibbles at it occasionally but I can’t tell if he’s actually eating it or not.

His poops were just starting to get better, but after I came home today, I noticed that there was a large puddle of diarrhea on his fleece blanket.

I cleaned and changed the blanket, but I also saw that he was shaking from standing up when I lifted him off the blanket. He walked with his butt slightly in the air, and wobbled each step. He even sometimes fell while walking.

The vet that I go to is closed, but I’ll see if I have enough time before or after work to make an appointment. I’ll try to bring him to the vet ASAP, but due to time, I might only be able to make the appointment and have to go the next day.

Please urgently step in with syringe feeding. Even 24 hours without hay is far too long.

You cannot gauge hay intake by eye anyway hence the importance of daily weight checks (weekly weight checks when piggies are healthy) when piggies are unwell. This is the only way you know what they are eating and to know how much syringe feed is needed.

 

[Popcorns & Wheeks]

I think it’s been a week since he stopped eating hay. He just nibbles at it occasionally but I can’t tell if he’s actually eating it or not.

His poops were just starting to get better, but after I came home today, I noticed that there was a large puddle of diarrhea on his fleece blanket.

I cleaned and changed the blanket, but I also saw that he was shaking from standing up when I lifted him off the blanket. He walked with his butt slightly in the air, and wobbled each step. He even sometimes fell while walking.

The vet that I go to is closed, but I’ll see if I have enough time before or after work to make an appointment. I’ll try to bring him to the vet ASAP, but due to time, I might only be able to make the appointment and have to go the next day.

Please get him seen by an exotics vet as quickly as possible, this really is an emergency.

 

[ellioant]

Please urgently step in with syringe feeding. Even 24 hours without hay is far too long.

You cannot gauge hay intake by eye anyway hence the importance of daily weight checks (weekly weight checks when piggies are healthy) when piggies are unwell. This is the only way you know what they are eating and to know how much syringe feed is needed.

Unfortunately, today I woke up to him thrashing around in his bed. I brought him to the vet as soon as possible but they said that he may not be able to wake up from a surgery with his condition. The best they could do was put him down.

I’ll miss him so much.

 

[ellioant]

Please get him seen by an exotics vet as quickly as possible, this really is an emergency.

I got him to a vet as early as 8 A.M. PST time today. He had a seizure this morning and I tried the best that I could to make him calm.

He was still breathing when I got to the vet, but they said his back teeth needed a trim. He would not wake up from anesthesia if they tried.

I chose to put him down and sent him to his cagemate Sundae in guinea pig heaven.

 

[Popcorns & Wheeks]

I got him to a vet as early as 8 A.M. PST time today. He had a seizure this morning and I tried the best that I could to make him calm.

He was still breathing when I got to the vet, but they said his back teeth needed a trim. He would not wake up from anesthesia if they tried.

I chose to put him down and sent him to his cagemate Sundae in guinea pig heaven.

Or I'm so sorry. I think you did the best thing for him, he is now at peace. Sleep tight little one

 

[Wheekallweek]

RIP piggy

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m so sorry for your loss