Please help, sick guinea pig

[nicolecorrine]

My poor girl, Bailey, has been struggling for about a month with a URI. She is taking .2 ml of Enrofloxacin and .24 ml of Meloxicam daily. I have been to the vet 3 times and I am scheduling one this morning when my vet opens, however, it will probably be a few days until she gets an appointment. Her breathing has improved greatly (she used to thump while breathing, and now she breathes clearly with no crusties around her nose).

A new problem has arisen- she is not eating or drinking with her back incredibly hunched. Her weight fluctuates throughout the day, but decreasing at about .01-.03 kg a day. She started at around .750 and is now down to .596 kg. This is over a span of 14 days, but she started decreasing badly within the last few days. I try to force-feed her Critical Care as much as I possibly can, but she is not even taking 1/4 of the daily amount. She is also not drinking a lot of water and hiding 90% of the time (which is extremely unlike her). I'm not even sure what the vet can do to because the biggest problem is her eating and that won't be solved with medicine.

Here are my main questions:

1. Why is she not eating enough if she is breathing better? Her illness went away and now something else is wrong?
2. Is there a method to get Critical Care in her mouth that I'm unaware of? (I've tried wrapping her in a towel and forcing it, but she thrashes her head back and forth and makes it literally impossible)
3. Will Benebac (a probiotic) make a difference with these symptoms? I have it but I'm not sure if it'll do anything.
4. Is there any way I can increase her appetite?

I wanted to lastly add that she eats her vegetables in the morning with no problem and she takes her medicine with no problem, but she eats no hay or Critical Care.

Thank you everyone in advance, I've never been through this bad of a sickness for the 3 years I've had her and I'm so grateful for online help. I am also aware that this is not a replacement for the vet, and I will be taking her no matter what responses I get.

 

[CTWC]

Hi there I'm no expert at all but sure someone will respond as soon as who can advise. It is a worry that she isn't eating her hay though as from what I've seen before it is vital to their digestive system. Have you tried mixing the critical care with something she loves all mashed up? Or mushing pellets/nuggets in a syringe? I've seen using Ribena juice can encourage them to take it sometimes too

 

[CTWC]

One of my guinea babies is always very reluctant with any syringing medications or food and he is recovering from surgery at the moment it upsets you because they don't understand why they have to have it. Do be careful though as they last thing you want is food any food to be inhaled. Basil leaves worked well at one point with Cookie but not for long if you put small amounts onto the leaves would she eat them without realising what's on there?

 

[CTWC]

Other things I've read are to move her away from her main habitat when you try to feed her, and gently push her chin up to attempt to tell her you're the boss before syringe feeding her. I'm assuming she won't eat the critical care from a bowl?

 

[CTWC]

Have you watched any videos on here? They didn't help too much for me but they might help you have you got someone to help you or is it just you? If she bite the syringe and you have a spare one I've sometimes been able to squeeze a little at a time at the side of Cookies mouth as he is distracted biting the other one, also weigh her every day to alert you to significant weight loss. Is she drinking well?

 

[piggieminder]

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

I have linked some threads for you until a health expert comes along. You are doing the right thing getting her to the vet again in case something else is going on. The antibiotics can affect the appetite and take a while to go out of the system. Benebac will help rebalance the damage done to the gut flora by the ABs. Sending your girl healing vibes.

 

[Piggies&buns]

First, please only weigh her once a day in the morning. Weighing throughout the day is producing too much fluctuation and making it inaccurate.

She needs a minimum of 60ml of critical care but could be as much as 100ml a day. This replaces the hay intake she is not eating for herself.
This is where the weight checks each morning are important - they are your guide as to how much critical care she needs each day.

Has the vet checked for any other medical issues? Now she hasn’t been eating hay, have her teeth been checked? Teeth overgrow if they don’t chew hay so while a URI may have been her initial problem, it may have had a knock on effect elsewhere.

A probiotic can help boost the gut bacteria. Bacteria can be lost through there course of antibiotics so it may help her to have benebac.

She may also need a prescribed gut stimulant from the vet.

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

 

[Wiebke]

My poor girl, Bailey, has been struggling for about a month with a URI. She is taking .2 ml of Enrofloxacin and .24 ml of Meloxicam daily. I have been to the vet 3 times and I am scheduling one this morning when my vet opens, however, it will probably be a few days until she gets an appointment. Her breathing has improved greatly (she used to thump while breathing, and now she breathes clearly with no crusties around her nose).

A new problem has arisen- she is not eating or drinking with her back incredibly hunched. Her weight fluctuates throughout the day, but decreasing at about .01-.03 kg a day. She started at around .750 and is now down to .596 kg. This is over a span of 14 days, but she started decreasing badly within the last few days. I try to force-feed her Critical Care as much as I possibly can, but she is not even taking 1/4 of the daily amount. She is also not drinking a lot of water and hiding 90% of the time (which is extremely unlike her). I'm not even sure what the vet can do to because the biggest problem is her eating and that won't be solved with medicine.

Here are my main questions:

1. Why is she not eating enough if she is breathing better? Her illness went away and now something else is wrong?
2. Is there a method to get Critical Care in her mouth that I'm unaware of? (I've tried wrapping her in a towel and forcing it, but she thrashes her head back and forth and makes it literally impossible)
3. Will Benebac (a probiotic) make a difference with these symptoms? I have it but I'm not sure if it'll do anything.
4. Is there any way I can increase her appetite?

I wanted to lastly add that she eats her vegetables in the morning with no problem and she takes her medicine with no problem, but she eats no hay or Critical Care.

Thank you everyone in advance, I've never been through this bad of a sickness for the 3 years I've had her and I'm so grateful for online help. I am also aware that this is not a replacement for the vet, and I will be taking her no matter what responses I get.

Hi

I am very sorry. Looking after ill piggies is very exhausting and can be very frustrating.
Please monitor her food intake on your normal kitchen scales by weighing daily first thing in the morning for best day-to-da comparison.
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Contact your vet again over your piggy being in major pain. A hunched back points in my own experience towards a pain issue in the general kidney/lower spinal area. Pain is also a real appetite killer. It could be that the URI is just an opportunistic bug hitting because the immune system is lowered because of another underlying health issue and no longer able to control a small reservoir in the body.
Signs of Pain in Guinea Pigs

 

[Posyrose]

I have no advice to add to the brilliant advice from @Wiebke and @Piggies&buns but just sending hugs to you and healing vibes to your piggy. It's so emotional and exhausting dealing with a sick guinea pig, especially syringe feeding when they're not hungry. You're obviously a very caring guinea pig parent