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Possible diarrhoea (vets booked!)

Queenjellybeany

Queenjellybeany

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jun 17, 2020
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Location
Lincoln
Hi everyone!
All my time having piggies I’ve only ever had one pig be poorly, and it seems like as I’ve put all my attention on her, Ciri has fallen sick over night.
Shes doing extremely small, wet poos that’s very very sloppy. Last night I noticed she had no interest in her hay, and was very preferring to just laze around which isn’t like her at all! She’s normally very excited, chewing on bars and running around when they get literally anything food related at all so I was very worried.

I’ve booked her in at a vets round the corner from me, I usually use small pet vet in Lincoln but she’s too busy to come at short notice so I’m going with The Veterinary hospital. I’ve been there a handful of times but I always worry as I know these vets are much more trained in dogs and cats than pigs.

I’m wondering what I can expect and what I can do to make things better for ciri. Is there anything I should ask for? She otherwise feels fine, she’s a bit on the fat side and I’ve not noticed any loss, her fur looks great she’s just lethargic and doing really horrible poops. Atm I have other problems going on in life so this has set me off a lot more than it would and I’m feeling extremely anxious.
Any advice would mean a lot, I’ve attached what her blanket looked like when I got her out this morning (I’ve fully cleaned out the cage since)
Thank you
Ellie
 

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Queenjellybeany said:
Hi everyone!
All my time having piggies I’ve only ever had one pig be poorly, and it seems like as I’ve put all my attention on her, Ciri has fallen sick over night.
Shes doing extremely small, wet poos that’s very very sloppy. Last night I noticed she had no interest in her hay, and was very preferring to just laze around which isn’t like her at all! She’s normally very excited, chewing on bars and running around when they get literally anything food related at all so I was very worried.

I’ve booked her in at a vets round the corner from me, I usually use small pet vet in Lincoln but she’s too busy to come at short notice so I’m going with The Veterinary hospital. I’ve been there a handful of times but I always worry as I know these vets are much more trained in dogs and cats than pigs.

I’m wondering what I can expect and what I can do to make things better for ciri. Is there anything I should ask for? She otherwise feels fine, she’s a bit on the fat side and I’ve not noticed any loss, her fur looks great she’s just lethargic and doing really horrible poops. Atm I have other problems going on in life so this has set me off a lot more than it would and I’m feeling extremely anxious.
Any advice would mean a lot, I’ve attached what her blanket looked like when I got her out this morning (I’ve fully cleaned out the cage since)
Thank you
Ellie
Click to expand...

Hi

Please take her off any fresh food until at least 24 (ideally 48 hours) after the poos have normalised again. Then introduce it onle gradually, starting with a little fresh herb like coriander/cilantro or parsley, adding one more veg in a small quantity with every passing meal for 3-4 servings to allow the gut microbiome to settle down again.

Switch from weighing once weekly to weighing first thing in the morning in order to monitor the hay intake for best day to day comparison. Step in with some additional feeding top up only if necessary.

Because it is still a minor tummy upset and the poos still have texture and structure, you need not worry about dehydration as long as he is still eating or - if not enough - getting top up feed from you and as long as temperatures are moderate. Runny diarrhea is a different kettle of fish.

But if you have a companion not on antibiotics, some 'poo soup' (i.e. live healthy microbiome transfer) may help with steadying the gut microbiome. When done correctly, it can be more efficient than probiotics which you can also give; if wished mixed with a little water from a syringe. That usually goes down well, too. Only offer her as much fluid as she is willing to drink on her own from the bottle or your syringe. As long as she still has some appetite she won't have lost her need drink which is more immediate than the need to eat.

Here is some more practical helpful information with the necessary how-to tips:
- Wiebke's Guide to Poops
- Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support
- Probiotics & Live Gut Microbiome Transfer ('Poo Soup'); Recovery Formula Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links and Transfer Recipe

All the best.
 
Hello vets was all fine, she’s been put on Co-Trimoxazole twice a day! Got crit care and they checked her and said she feels okay, just the wet poos. Her teeth are a little teeny bit of centre than usual, but she doesn’t think it’s anything to worry about, just worth keeping an eye on.

Not sure whether to cut down veggies but she’s also not eating hay really so wonder if I should stop veggies as I’m scared she’ll be hungry? I guess that’s what crit care is for tho!

Crazy right now I have both my pigs on antibiotics for seperate things 🫠 staying positive tho! Thank you everyone for being kind
 
Queenjellybeany said:
Hello vets was all fine, she’s been put on Co-Trimoxazole twice a day! Got crit care and they checked her and said she feels okay, just the wet poos. Her teeth are a little teeny bit of centre than usual, but she doesn’t think it’s anything to worry about, just worth keeping an eye on.

Not sure whether to cut down veggies but she’s also not eating hay really so wonder if I should stop veggies as I’m scared she’ll be hungry? I guess that’s what crit care is for tho!

Crazy right now I have both my pigs on antibiotics for seperate things 🫠 staying positive tho! Thank you everyone for being kind
Click to expand...

Please remove veg from her diet until her poops settle down. She will not be hungry - your critical care syringe feeds are replacing the hay intake.
Make sure you are weighing her daily to monitor that you are giving enough critical care

I hope she is ok
 
Yeah she has no interest in any food now, I’ve never done critical care any idea how often to give her some? They didn’t give me a syringe so I’ll go pick that up before I can give her it!
 
Queenjellybeany said:
Yeah she has no interest in any food now, I’ve never done critical care any idea how often to give her some? They didn’t give me a syringe so I’ll go pick that up before I can give her it!
Click to expand...

I’m sorry to hear that.
You need to feed around every two hours aiming for 60ml per day - it might be more though. It all depends how much she takes her sitting - the less food she takes per sitting, the more sittings you need to do.
You need to weigh her first thing every morning so you can check that you are feeding enough to keep her weight stable.

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
 
I’ve started doing critical care and she’s had about 5ml so far from starting afternoon today, I’ve just been stopping when she really tries to squirm away and looks uncomfortable it feels horrible to keep ramming it down her throat.
Gonna keep going and see how she goes but I’m finding it really hard. I feel like she’s pooing less, the ones that she has passed are very wet and slimy is this okay. The fact she’s not pooing as much now is scaring me.
 
Queenjellybeany said:
I’ve started doing critical care and she’s had about 5ml so far from starting afternoon today, I’ve just been stopping when she really tries to squirm away and looks uncomfortable it feels horrible to keep ramming it down her throat.
Gonna keep going and see how she goes but I’m finding it really hard. I feel like she’s pooing less, the ones that she has passed are very wet and slimy is this okay. The fact she’s not pooing as much now is scaring me.
Click to expand...

Hi

Please keep on being tough and getting the feed into her. Your piggy can only poo as much as you get food into her, and the less solids (i.e. recovery feed) you get into her, the worse the poos are looking on the following day. What you see now reflects what she's eaten yesterday.

Try to get 5 ml or a little more into her every 2 hours throughout the day. Just keep badgering away. She's obviously now lost all appetite so it is going to be a battle. Be strong for your girl and try your best.

HUGS
Have you got somebody else who could take over the feeding or at least part of the feeding?
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Please keep on being tough and getting the feed into her. Your piggy can only poo as much as you get food into her, and the less solids (i.e. recovery feed) you get into her, the worse the poos are looking on the following day. What you see now reflects what she's eaten yesterday.

Try to get 5 ml or a little more into her every 2 hours throughout the day. Just keep badgering away. She's obviously now lost all appetite so it is going to be a battle. Be strong for your girl and try your best.

HUGS
Have you got somebody else who could take over the feeding or at least part of the feeding?
Click to expand...
Yes I have someone else unfortunately he’s even softer than me, but if you’re sure it’s right I’ll keep putting it in her! I’ve just started getting worried I’m doing the wrong thing, like she has a blockage or something? I don’t know I’m just so worried now and scared that I’m making everything worse but all I can do is try my best 😩

Thank you so much this forum is the only thing that keeps me sane sometimes
 
So sorry it's not going well 🙁 some pigs love it, some don't.
Have you tried finely chopping some herbs to see if she'll eat those? Sometimes they'll eat mushed up nuggets from a bowl or spoon too.
 
Managed to get another 5.0 ml in her, gonna stick to doing it every two hours, I can see she is hunching trying to pass toilet but it’ll just be a few drops of brown water.
The vet has also given me something called fibreplex today, gonna start that later as well hope this all sounds normal, I get extra worried since this vet isn’t my usual as it was emergency
Thank you
 
Queenjellybeany said:
Managed to get another 5.0 ml in her, gonna stick to doing it every two hours, I can see she is hunching trying to pass toilet but it’ll just be a few drops of brown water.
The vet has also given me something called fibreplex today, gonna start that later as well hope this all sounds normal, I get extra worried since this vet isn’t my usual as it was emergency
Thank you
Click to expand...

Please also offer some extra water to prevent dehydration. You can mix the fibreplex into the syringe feed (just a little that goes into 5 ml). Fibreplex is not to every piggy's taste but it is stronger than plain probiotics.

It sounds like a major pain issue that is behind it. It may or may not be located in the gut; pain radiating into the gut can also upset it.

My thoughts are with you.
 
Don’t suppose anyone knows how long I should go before I really start to worry? She started protexin literally last night so I know it’s not had time to work yet. She has 0 interest in food at all now and is just hiding in her bed. I’m so upset seeing her like this :,(
 
Queenjellybeany said:
Don’t suppose anyone knows how long I should go before I really start to worry? She started protexin literally last night so I know it’s not had time to work yet. She has 0 interest in food at all now and is just hiding in her bed. I’m so upset seeing her like this :,(
Click to expand...
She’s had 20g of the critical care yesterday but I’m stronger today so I’ll make sure she gets the full amount today and water. I’m just so so scared atm I’ve cried already
 
Sending you hugs. It's so scary when they are ill like this. You are doing all you can. The syringe feed and Fibreplex should start to help her soon. I can't remember how many days it took mine to turn the corner, just keep going.
 
I’ve given her just shy of 10ml so far, gonna keep doing 5ml every two hours her weight is about the same as yesterday which I guess is good but she looks absolutely shattered 😭 I put her in the cage and she struggled to walk back to bed very unsteady in her legs
 
Queenjellybeany said:
I’ve given her just shy of 10ml so far, gonna keep doing 5ml every two hours her weight is about the same as yesterday which I guess is good but she looks absolutely shattered 😭 I put her in the cage and she struggled to walk back to bed very unsteady in her legs
Click to expand...

HUGS

If you have concerns plese contact the vet clinic.
 
Not too sure what to do as all the vets are closed now, I’m keeping up with the meds I feel torn I wonder if I’ve just not given them enough time to work yet but she looks so knackered I’m so confused and scared! I’ve never seen her so ill
 
Queenjellybeany said:
Not too sure what to do as all the vets are closed now, I’m keeping up with the meds I feel torn I wonder if I’ve just not given them enough time to work yet but she looks so knackered I’m so confused and scared! I’ve never seen her so ill
Click to expand...
Emergency vets is coming out
 
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