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Red / hot ears

mackenziejanetaylor

mackenziejanetaylor

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 25, 2023
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Location
Manchester, England
Hi all,

I've posted about Blue before (this is my third thread about him)...

1st thread:
Blue is sick!

2nd thread:
Two different vets are telling me two different things!?

His symptoms include a raspy, congested voice and occasional coughing. This is only noticeable on certain days - on others he will sound clear. This has been going on for a couple of months.

He’s been to the vet multiple times and had an X-ray, an ultrasound of his heart, and an endoscopy to check his larynx.
  • The first vet suggested antibiotics because of something in his lungs - this was following the X-ray and ultrasound.
  • The second vet (who did the larynx check) took him off antibiotics and described whatever was in his lungs as "minimal."
  • His heart and larynx were clear... after several vet trips the end result was to take him off arthrocam and antibiotics and to monitor him (since his behaviour is normal - still eating and running around).
However, today his ears are bright red and hot. The room is not warm at all and none of my other guinea pigs have this. His behaviour is still normal, but I don’t want to miss something serious.

Has anyone seen this before? Could this be a sign of infection? I've been a guinea pig owner for years but never encountered this symptom before.

I have emailed the vet and waiting for a response. Is this an emergency? I might phone them.

Thanks you in advance.
 
When Guinea pigs are warm, their ears are also warm. If the ears are hot then that might indicate that your piggy has a raised temperature. The weight loss is concerning. Please step in with support feeding to help maintain his weight. Has he had blood tests?
 
Yes, as soon as I saw his weight had dropped I had him on my lap and gave him a handful of pellets which he was keen for. I will continue the support feeding throughout the day.

No, he has not had blood tests. What do you think this could potentially find? I will ask the vet about this too.
 
His poops are soft too I've just noticed.

Just rang the same vet I've been going to for all his tests and explained his weight loss, soft poop, and red hot ears but won't see him today as it's 'not an emergency'.
 
The advice in this situation is to :

-remove all veg and fresh food from the diet
- give a probiotic
- daily weight checks
- syringe feeding. Aiming for at least 60ml of critical care/mushed pellets per day (his daily weight checks being your guide as to how much is necessary to keep his weight stable).

And of course get him an appointment to be seen by the vet.
 
Piggies&buns said:
The advice in this situation is to :

-remove all veg and fresh food from the diet
- give a probiotic
- daily weight checks
- syringe feeding. Aiming for at least 60ml of critical care/mushed pellets per day (his daily weight checks being your guide as to how much is necessary to keep his weight stable).

And of course get him an appointment to be seen by the vet.
Click to expand...
The vet didn't let him be seen today or tomorrow as it 'wasn't an emergency'! and they had no appointments. I persisted and they said that if I drop him off in the morning they will keep him as a hospital patient and when a vet is free they will check him over. Which is triple the price than a consultation but that's what I've gone with.

Thanks for the advice btw.
 
Sending Blue healing vibes. I hope the check up tomorrow shows up what the problem is and it’s easily treatable. ❤️
 
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