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My guinea pig won't eat or drink

VBGank

VBGank

New Born Pup
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All of a sudden my guinea pig, Gunther, won't eat or drink. He had become "lazy" sleeping a lot more but still ate. When he stopped eating I took him to the vet and they didn't know what was wrong. They said his teeth were good, his coat good, his belly good. Wasted trip. He has always been an active, healthy guinea pig eating like a "pig". I had read online to feed them Oxbow Critical Care so I ordered some and feed him with a medicine dropper. I also give him Gatorade which was in one of the posts. That is the only thing keeping him alive. He acts like he wants food but turns his nose up when I offer him some. I keep a fresh supply of hay and water plus veggies in his cage but they go untouched. What else can I do? How long will he live like this?
 
It souds like your piggy urgently needs to see an experienced guinea pig vet.
Sadly many general vets rarely see guinea pigs and really have no idea how to treat them.
But piggies don't stop eating and drinking without good reason, and they can't live long without a continual supply of food.

Could you please give us a rough idea of your location so we can try to help direct you to a good vet.

In the meantime you need to step in with syringe feeding as outlined here:

Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
 
I live in Aurora, West Virginia. I don't know of any exotic vets nearby.

I have been feeding Gunther Critical Care for 5 days now.
 
He really does need to see a vet who knows about exotics.
I believe the Guinea Lynx website has useful links to vets in the USA
 
I think he needs to be seen by a decent vet, hope the vet Wiebke has suggested is not to far away. It could be anything wrong but I would suspect the teeth.
I know piggy slaves who have syringed their pigs 8 months & above.
Good luck, let us know what the vet says.
 
Did they check his back molars, or just the teeth at the front? Some vets without a lot of guinea pig experience really don't know how to check the back teeth, and as problems start in the molars, they can be quite overgrown before any changes are visible in the front incisors. Definitely phone around and ask vets if any have guinea pig experience- and experienced vet can make a huge difference. In the meantime, keep up syringe feeding, as it's very important to keep some food going in. There is a sticky at the top of the page that discusses how much to syringe and how often. Wishing him all the best, I hope you are able to sort it out!
 
Wiebke said:
Please see a vet ASAP.

Here is a link to recommended vets in your state: Veterinarians: West Virginia - Guinea Lynx Records
Click to expand...

Thanks to everyone for the replies. The 2 vets in Guinea Lynx are at least 3 or 4 hours away. I took Gunther to another vet in Morgantown who treats guinea pigs. They gave him antibiotics but he is not getting any better. He will not eat any solid food at all. It's been 12 days on only the Critical Care I syringe feed him, and it is becoming a struggle to give him that. I can't believe he is still living with only syringe feeding. I have a call in to the vet and am awaiting a return call now.
 
VBGank said:
Thanks to everyone for the replies. The 2 vets in Guinea Lynx are at least 3 or 4 hours away. I took Gunther to another vet in Morgantown who treats guinea pigs. They gave him antibiotics but he is not getting any better. He will not eat any solid food at all. It's been 12 days on only the Critical Care I syringe feed him, and it is becoming a struggle to give him that. I can't believe he is still living with only syringe feeding. I have a call in to the vet and am awaiting a return call now.
Click to expand...

HUGS and fingers very firmly crossed!
 
It's with heavy heart I say Gunther had to be put to sleep. He lived 15 days without any food except critical care. On the 2nd vet visit he lost a bottom tooth. She thought maybe infection caused that. She gave him pain meds and said continue the antibiotics. He still didn't get better. On a follow up visit the vet did x-rays and found he had cancer of the throat and stones in his urinary tract. He started jerking and grinding his teeth while there. She said he was in pain and probably wouldn't make the trip home so we decided not to let him suffer any more. It was a hard decision but I think the best for him. I miss him terribly.
 

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Sad whenever a piggy passes away. You did your best for him and made the right decision to ease his passing.
RIP little fella. xx
 
Swissgreys said:
It souds like your piggy urgently needs to see an experienced guinea pig vet.
Sadly many general vets rarely see guinea pigs and really have no idea how to treat them.
But piggies don't stop eating and drinking without good reason, and they can't live long without a continual supply of food.

Could you please give us a rough idea of your location so we can try to help direct you to a good vet.

In the meantime you need to step in with syringe feeding as outlined here:

Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Click to expand...
I have exactly the same problem at the moment, I'm unsure what to do and our vet was pretty useless that we saw tonight. He has pretty much written her off
 
Bristol Gurl said:
I have exactly the same problem at the moment, I'm unsure what to do and our vet was pretty useless that we saw tonight. He has pretty much written her off
Click to expand...
This thread is several years old, it is best to start your own thread to avoid confusion.
If your usual vet is unable to help, could you get another opinion from one of the vets this forum recommends? Recommended Guinea Pig Vets

I believe Highcroft (?) Vets are near Bristol, they take exotic referrals etc so are presumably knowledgeable
 
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