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Severe bloat, syringe feed?

Little Ones

Little Ones

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Hi all, woke up this morning to Sprout not quite looking right, popped him out of the cage and he’s very bloated. We gave him emeprid, cisapride, loxicom and ranitidine. We also began syringe feeding emeraid sustain.
We managed to get in at the vets, where he was seen at 11:30 and has been admitted for a few hours. He did thankfully start pooping again. However, the vets have said they won’t be syringe feeding him until the bloat passes, is this normal? Since he was in stasis, surely not syringe feeding him could be detrimental?
They’ve given him fluids and also wanted to give a buprenorphine injection however I asked them to give a tramadol one instead since we’ve had bad experiences with bupe injections in the past.
I guess I’m just wanting advice on if this all seems okay? We’re so worried. Thanks all :(
 
Also want to add that the vet didn’t even listen to his gut sounds. Also said that if he ends up with GDV then he’d need a surgery to fix it, which to my knowledge is not really possible. He also said Guinea pig meds are given every 24 hours, not 12. We just came out of it feeling like he didn’t know what he was doing with Guinea pigs :( I’m so scared he’s going to die just because the vet may not know what he’s doing :(
 
When Nugget had bloat I was instructed to give him as much syringe feed as he would take and to give meds twice a day.
 
Thanks all, we are honestly in such shock. It doesn’t feel real. Yesterday he was his normal self, popcorning and zooming, and then at 7:30am this morning, so unwell. It just came out of nowhere, we went back to the vet and saw some conscious X-rays which just showed his stomach full of bloat, at which point the vet suspected either a blockage or that GDV had already happened.
His cage mate, Sisu, has since seen his body and she seemed absolutely devastated. She’d go over to him and sniff him and then run away and then come back and do the same thing :( all I can think about is what we’re going to do with her :( we expected to have them both until they were seniors but now we’ve only had Sisu a year, and are at a point where we’re ready to end the cycle. The losses are just getting too much. They deserved to live a long and happy life together, they adored each other. It’s all just awful :(
 
Little Ones said:
Thank you for your response, it’s very much appreciated :)

Unfortunately Sprout has been PTS :( he was only 3 and a half :(
Click to expand...

BIG HUGS

Severe bloat can be unfortunately a killer, whatever name a vet gives it. It is like a tsunami and comes in waves, with the strongest not necessarily the first. I have had to pts several piggies of mine for it. Seeing how fast things have developed you may have rather been dealing with a twisted gut instead - and there is no way back from that. :( :( :(

Please try to take comfort that Sprout is no longer in pain and that you as his owner have done all the right things - that is all you can do in life and death emergencies like these. They can unfortunately hit at any time of the life and always hit ut of the blue. You have not failed him in any way. Poor Sprout has just pulled one the short straws in the cosmic lottery.

Please be kind with yourself in the coming days and try not to blame yourself or your vet for what is out of either's control. I had to pts my same age Tudur as soon as I could get an emergency appointment after the turn of the year when he developed a runaway tumour in the thyroid area on 1st January. It had multiplied several times in size by the time he was pts from when I had first noticed and was already pushing on his windpipe as well as his esophagus. Operating was not an option.

We can only ever give our piggies a happy life but we can never guarantee a long life; only feel blessed when it happens. Thankfully, piggies don't have a concept for an average life span (that is an entirely human concept). Instead, they measure their lives in happy todays - as long as you give your piggies those you will always be ahead of the game and not fail them, no matter what happens. I m sure that you have given Sprout plenty of those. ;)

Death, Dying, Terminal Illness; Human Grieving and Bereaved Companions: Information and Support for Owners and Their Children
 
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