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My Guinea Pig had a stroke please help me with questions :(

Hey I have a quick question! Both of my female guinea pigs are baby’s and one suffered from a stroke Tuesday (Stella) but she’s walking good enough now to be in her cage again,( had her laying in my bed 3 to 4 days and fed her and gave her supplical every 2 hours until she got strong enough to walk again) it seemed Stella was the more dominant one before the stroke but now that she’s not as strong and she was and she’s back in her cage my other piggie (twist) is chewing and pulling her bum hair and pushes her over because stellas still pretty wobbly and every time Stella tries to drink water twist intervenes and pushes her away and starts drinking. Why is this? Any tips? What should I do? Should I separate them since Stella had a stroke..? I just don’t want my piggies hurting each other or getting hurt especially Stella since she’s still trying to be better.. Thank you so much!
 
Thank you! She is walking better still really wobbly.. not sure what caused the stroke, I’m thinking the heat but I’m not sure.. & I took her to a vet and they said she was suffering from pneumonia wich I don’t believe because they barley looked at her & she wasn’t able to move for 3 days or eat and her right side was especially bad so I fed her and gave her supplcal every two hours, she’s wobbly now and her right side is still a little weird.. called vet today to touch up and the receptionist said she’d call me back and she never did so I called again and she said she’d call me back and never did so I need to find a new one.. one that cares. Yes she has a companion but I had Stella (my sick one) out of the cage since Tuesday because of her stroke and she stayed in the bed with me until today is when I put her back in her cage and now my other guinea pig is picking on her and likes to push her over and bite and pull her bum hair and when Stella drinks twist intervenes and I’m not sure what to do I don’t want her picking on her.. any tips would be appreciated (:
unfortunately if you’ve separated you can’t just put her back in the cage. They’d need to be introduced on neutral ground. Separate them and introduce on neutral ground and thoroughly clean out the cage. If it doesn’t work then you’ll have to have them live as neighbours. Have a read of the bonding links below and see where they may be at. It’s also advisable to have two of everything in the cage, including bottles.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
 
I’ve replied to your other thread. They shouldn’t really have been separated. Have a read of my response on the other thread. It’s also better if you can keep to one thread. There are a lot of threads and it makes it difficult to keep up.
 
Threads merged.
@Stella&Twist please can you keep all posts about this piggy with the stroke to this thread as it helps the staff and advisors to help you if all the info is in one place. Thank you
 
unfortunately if you’ve separated you can’t just put her back in the cage. They’d need to be introduced on neutral ground. Separate them and introduce on neutral ground and thoroughly clean out the cage. If it doesn’t work then you’ll have to have them live as neighbours. Have a read of the bonding links below and see where they may be at. It’s also advisable to have two of everything in the cage, including bottles.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

I agree completely.
And until Stella is fully fit and able to hold her own (which it doesn’t sound like she is) I would keep her separate. If and when she is fully fit then a supervised bonding in a neutral space is the way it needs to be done as @Siikibam has explained. Please read the guides.
 
Thank you so much! This helped me be a lot more positive about the whole thing! It’s been so heartbreaking and stressful but she’s doing a lot better since then she can finally walk although she’s very wobbly and her right sides a little harder for her to move around but I’m so thankful she made it honestly thought she wouldn’t have I was crying for 3 days :( it just hurts to see them like that. Very glad your lad isn’t doing too bad after it, they’re amazing pets and don’t deserve this stuff. Thanks for helping me stay as calm as I can. Huge from me and my girls to you and your piggies as well :) x we are doing a lot better than we were :)
I don’t have my little lad anymore, he passed away over 7 years ago now (from his other issues) but he was an absolute star during all his treatment, I’m glad his story you helped a bit. C881B513-2064-4BF2-848F-ED92FB703CE6.jpeg
Stay strong for your piggy, you’re doing amazingly caring for her, especially after not having them very long and it being such a shocking thing to happen to her. Sure she loves you lots and is thankful for everything you’re doing for her. Hope she’s doing even better today xx
F331B816-BEA5-4148-AF01-6790B18F825A.jpeg
They said thank you very much for the hug, Luigi on the left, my little one-eyed OAP Jess and Aliona on the right :) x
 
Thank you.. I am very sorry too it’s hard not to feel like it’s my fault :( How can you tell if they’re blind in that eye..? Because if she is I would be more than willing to use tear gel if it helps her! Are they more prone to having strokes after they’ve already had one..? How can I help her not have another if there’s any ways..? I’m so very sorry for you and your friends loss.. they’re such a delight and make your life happy while they have the chance to.. she was very thankful for you guys doing everything you could to help her.. I just got my piggies from a pet store a couple weeks ago so they’re babies but after hearing about petstores I’ll forever rescue them now..! I know she’s doing better now but the long term is what I’m scared of for her.. the vet looked at her for 5 minutes maybe and diagnosed her and because of the corona I couldn’t be inside with her.. she told me to feed her every 2 hrs and give her supplical every 2 hours and call her next day if she makes it.. well I’ve called a couple times and they say she will call me back and she never has.. so I want to find a new vet that actually cares..! My vet said nothing about her having a stroke but with how she was and how everything turned out I’m almost positive it was a stroke and vet just didn’t really care to find out what it was because she looked like she was gonna die right then and there.. if she has more strokes I will be sooooo heartbroken 💔💔 I will for sure be reading them, thank u so much this helped me a lot..

Hi!

All vets are currently extremely busy, trying to fit in as many cases as they can with the social distancing measures, which slow them down massively. It is not like they don't care; they are working themselves ragged unfortunately. By the time they come up breath it is usually well past closing time. :(
This link here will hopefully explain the situation to you a bit better: COVID-19 - Video of the changes to a UK vet practice during Covid-19 lockdown

What has happened is not at all your fault; you have unfortunately bought a piggy who has a genetic fault somewhere that has caused the stroke. Just cosmic bad luck. :(
You are doing all you can. Hang on in there for as long as your little one keeps improving and as the weight remains stable. Keep on weighing daily at the same time in order to monitor the food intake.

Check whether the eyes look the same, whether your piggy is still able to clean the eye with fluid and whether your piggy and the eye react to you putting a little dab of tear gel or drops into the eye. Most people are not aware that a larger stroke can affect the eye and chewing on the bad side. Also check the front teeth; if they become slanted, it means that the back teeth one side are starting to overgrow.
 
May I ask what supplical is?
My vet gave me it, it’s for dogs and cats but my vet said it can be used for guinea pigs to it’s basically calories protein vitamin n minerals it can help sick piggies get better or if they’re not getting everything they need out of there food you can give them some of supplical
 
My vet gave me it, it’s for dogs and cats but my vet said it can be used for guinea pigs to it’s basically calories protein vitamin n minerals it can help sick piggies get better or if they’re not getting everything they need out of there food you can give them some of supplical

Piggies don’t have a diet high in protein though, they have a diet high in fibre. The dietary needs of dogs and cats are incredibly different to piggies.
 
I would syringe feed softened pellets for now rather than what you were given. Also have a read of the syringe feeding thread which I’m sure has been linked to in your other thread. It mentions the supplements you can syringe feed when needed. Can you also please add your location to your profile.
 
Please use mushed up pellets for the time being. Keep in mind that they are enriched with vitamins (especially vitamin C), and contain protein, calcium etc. in amounts that are more suited to guinea pigs as a species.

We would very much appreciate it if you kept all your questions to the same case to a single support thread and did not start a new thread all the time. this means that it gets confusing for everybody as we cannot control what has been said already and you will have a higher risk of getting contradictory, confusing or repetitive advice.

We have the ability on this forum to give you ongoing personalised support but only if we can keep all pertinent information together. Please keep in mind that we are a lively place and that our regular members and monitors are jumping between lots of different threads in a day, not to mention over a longer time.

It would also help us if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to location in your account details (accessed by clicking on your username on the top bar). This makes it appear with every post you make and allows us to tailor any advice to what is relevant and available where you are. We have members and enquiries from literally all over the world with very different climates, conditions, access to piggy savvy or general vets, not to mention very different brand names and products.

By the way, you can set your own notification alerts on your support thread via the 'watch' button at the start of it. I am going to merge your two threads so all information is together.

Thank you!
 
I would syringe feed softened pellets for now rather than what you were given. Also have a read of the syringe feeding thread which I’m sure has been linked to in your other thread. It mentions the supplements you can syringe feed when needed. Can you also please add your location to your profile.
Vet told me to give her that and crushed up pellets so I gave her both. And she’s doing a lot better now thank you tho
 
Please use mushed up pellets for the time being. Keep in mind that they are enriched with vitamins (especially vitamin C), and contain protein, calcium etc. in amounts that are more suited to guinea pigs as a species.

We would very much appreciate it if you kept all your questions to the same case to a single support thread and did not start a new thread all the time. this means that it gets confusing for everybody as we cannot control what has been said already and you will have a higher risk of getting contradictory, confusing or repetitive advice.

We have the ability on this forum to give you ongoing personalised support but only if we can keep all pertinent information together. Please keep in mind that we are a lively place and that our regular members and monitors are jumping between lots of different threads in a day, not to mention over a longer time.

It would also help us if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to location in your account details (accessed by clicking on your username on the top bar). This makes it appear with every post you make and allows us to tailor any advice to what is relevant and available where you are. We have members and enquiries from literally all over the world with very different climates, conditions, access to piggy savvy or general vets, not to mention very different brand names and products.

By the way, you can set your own notification alerts on your support thread via the 'watch' button at the start of it. I am going to merge your two threads so all information is together.

Thank you!
Ok sorry about that thank you!
 
I recently got her & I bought oxbow vitamin c tablet but she’s not interested she’s ate probably a half of one in 2 days, is there any other kind I can use or somthing I can do? Just wanna make sure she’s getting all of the vitamin c she needs daily, thanks!
 
You don’t need to supplement vitamin c to guinea pigs who have a good balanced diet. Their diet needs to be mostly hay/grass - both of which contain vit c and is the reason piggies don’t make their own vit c. Then a variety of veg including some which contain vit c (bell peppers, coriander etc) and then a limited amount (one tablespoon per day) of pellets. All of these things will ensure a piggy gets all the vit c they need. You don’t need to give extra vit c in supplementary form.
(In fact giving excess vit c is jut excreted in the urine so you could well just be wasting money at best and at worst, long term overdosing of vit c can also be harmful and cause health issues )

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading
 
You don’t need to supplement vitamin c to guinea pigs who have a good balanced diet. Their diet needs to be mostly hay/grass - both of which contain vit c and is the reason piggies don’t make their own vit c. Then a variety of veg including some which contain vit c (bell peppers, coriander etc) and then a limited amount (one tablespoon per day) of pellets. All of these things will ensure a piggy gets all the vit c they need. You don’t need to give extra vit c in supplementary form.
(In fact giving excess vit c is jut excreted in the urine so you could well just be wasting money at best and at worst, long term overdosing of vit c can also be harmful and cause health issues )

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading
She had a stroke a week ago tho, I need to make sure she’s getting enough vitamin c
 
Piggies should get their vitamin c from their fresh veggies daily. The links posted above give you an idea. My piggies get a strip of pepper (capsicum) daily
 
She had a stroke a week ago tho, I need to make sure she’s getting enough vitamin c

If she is eating / syringe fed, then i would think she would be getting all she needs.

It’s best to keep your questions related to this one piggy to the same thread as vital information can get missed if you start a new one each time. We won’t necessarily make the connection that you have made previous posts or make the connection that you are talking about the same piggy as we see many health posts from many members each day
 
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