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Sick piggy

A

aliceab214

New Born Pup
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Hey there. I'm a relatively new guinea pig mama. I rescued him about 3 and a half years ago and have loved him since. He has always been very active and loves to eat. About 2 month ago we lost our apartment and we have been between our car and hotel rooms so he has been in a small tote. I let him out as much as possible. He's a little cramped but no change in behavior or appetite. We have been in a hotel for about 3 weeks and I let him out a good part of the day to roam around. Yesterday he abruptly stopped eating and drinking and doesn't squeak and isn't moving much at all. He is salivating alot. I don't have much money for a vet, but I'll give what I have. Has anyone seen this with thier pigs or know what it might be? He has always been alone and quite content. He is also intermittently shivering so I have him wrapped in a blanket in my lap. I'm scared for him. He's my baby.
 
I’m so sorry to hear of your situation.

He sadly does sound to be very poorly.
I can appreciate you are in a very difficult situation but legally our advice does have to be that he needs to see a vet.

Severe and sudden salivating is a very concerning sign. I can mean that there is sadly a blockage somewhere in the system preventing saliva (and that also means food) from going down. That is an emergency situation.

Please can you try to mash some of his normal pellets with warm water and see if you are able to syringe some food to him.
If he isn’t able to swallow anything then I’m afraid he is seriously ill and his body may be shutting down.

If he is able to swallow it then please syringe feed him as much as he will take every two hours. You will need to switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him daily each morning. You need to feed him as much as is necessary to keep his weight stable each day - aiming for an absolute minimum of 40ml per day (minimum amount to keep a sick piggy alive) but ideally at least 60ml per day.
While syringe feeding keeps his gut functioning while a pig isn’t eating hay for themselves, it doesn’t address the root of the issue. So you will still need to see a vet for treatment.

I have added guides in below which explain how to syringe feed (if he will take it)

Wiebke

Thread 'List Of Life And Death Out-of-hours Emergencies'

You need to contact and ideally see a vet at any time of the day or night as a potentially life or death emergency if your guinea pig has got these symptoms:

- Heavy or heaving breathing, this can include a visible effort with your piggy’s breathing (usually the abdomen sucking in and out showing they are using their abdominal muscles to breath) and any kind of open mouth breathing, these are signs of respiratory distress

- Seizures or loss of consciousness. For any fit which lasts more than around 2 minutes the vet should be called...
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Wiebke

Thread 'Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)'

1 Not eating (anorexia) and the importance of syringe feeding fibre
2 Soft poos and runny diarrhea
3 Acute bloat (severe dysbiosis) - blockage - twisted gut - persistent milder bloating
4 GI stasis (no gut movement)


Severe runny diarrhea, bloat, blockage or a twisted gut, GI stasis and excessive salivating in guinea pigs that are not eating are absolute life and death emergencies that need to be seen ASAP by an out-of-hours vet at any time of the day or night or that should be seen by a vet as soon as you can get an appointment outside the UK...
Wiebke

Thread 'Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment'

1 Statement
2 Emergency assessment and accessing vets
- How urgent is my guinea pig's problem?
- Finding an emergency vet
- Seeing a vet not familiar with guinea pigs (including lists of safe and dangerous medications)
3 First Aid care and easily available products
- General 'always have at home' stuff and comfort measures for very ill guinea pigs
- Improvising support feed; recovery formulas...
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Wiebke

Thread 'How to Improvise Feeding Support in an Emergency'

1 Feed
- Important crisis management resources
- When is improvising necessary?
- Which food group am I replacing with my feeding support?
- How much and how often should I feed and water?
- What can I use that I have already got at home?
- Other possible easily available foods with their pros and cons
- How do I prep a syringe for rougher pellet fibre?
- What can I do without a syringe?
- The role of lukewarm water
2 Probiotics
- Probiotic products...
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Wiebke

Thread 'Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support'

1 Weight and Weight Loss
- Why regular weight monitoring matters
- How weight changes over a lifetime
- How to weigh on your kitchen scales (with video)
- The weight loss rules
- How critical is the weight loss for my piggy?
- Possible causes for weight loss
2 Body Mass Index (BMI) or 'Heft'
- Why is understanding your piggy's weight so important?
- 'Average' weight vs. individual weight - the big trip up
- How to check for the BMI...
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Wiebke

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

Introduction
1 Choosing the right place to medicate/feed your piggy
2 Guinea pig whispering and asserting your authority
3 Recovery products and emergency improvisation
4 Syringe recommendations
5 Weight monitoring: your biggest ally
6 Weight loss guidelines and when to step in with feeding
7 Syringe feeding amounts/frequency advice
8 Practical medication and syringing tips
9 Medicating and feeding cooperative guinea pigs (videos)
10 Medicating and feeding uncooperative guinea pigs (hold pictures and tips)
11 The line between life and...
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I don’t like to link in this guide but in case the situation is at worst case scenario, the guide may help you

Wiebke

Thread 'A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs'

1 Your mental health, sensitivities and work commitments
- Mental health and support resources
- Sensitivity aspects
- When work and other commitments clash
2 Life or death emergency – Can my piggy be saved?
- Contacting a vet clinic at all times and link to life and death emergencies list
- What to do if I cannot access vet care instantly?
- The need to save up for emergency vet access
3 Is my...
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Hi there I am so sorry to hear that your precious guinea pig isn't well. I can't really offer much advice but please know that are thoughts and prayers are with you both just keep him close to you talk calmly to him and let him know how much he has loved. 💙
 
aliceab214 said:
Hey there. I'm a relatively new guinea pig mama. I rescued him about 3 and a half years ago and have loved him since. He has always been very active and loves to eat. About 2 month ago we lost our apartment and we have been between our car and hotel rooms so he has been in a small tote. I let him out as much as possible. He's a little cramped but no change in behavior or appetite. We have been in a hotel for about 3 weeks and I let him out a good part of the day to roam around. Yesterday he abruptly stopped eating and drinking and doesn't squeak and isn't moving much at all. He is salivating alot. I don't have much money for a vet, but I'll give what I have. Has anyone seen this with thier pigs or know what it might be? He has always been alone and quite content. He is also intermittently shivering so I have him wrapped in a blanket in my lap. I'm scared for him. He's my baby.
Click to expand...
I found my boyfriends sleep mask in his tote. It looks as if he chewed the elastic band off of it. Could this possibly be the problem?
 
I'll try the pellets and water but I'll need a bigger syringe. I am using one of my I sulin syringes with the needle broken off for the water right now
 
You need a 1ml syringe to feed him a pellet mush.
The tapered end needs to be cut off the syringe as pellet mush is coarse so won’t go through a syringe with its normal tapered end (with the tapered end all it will do is squeeze the water out and leave the mush stuck inside the syringe so he isn’t getting any of the bit he actually needs).

They can only take around 0.3ml in their mouth at a time so if you use too big of a syringe then it risks too much going in and causing aspiration.

As their main food intake is hay and grass, it is essential he is fed a replacement fibre (ie the pellet mush or a proper recovery feed). You absolutely can offer him some veg between syringe feeds but the syringe feeds are the vital fibre replacement to keep his gut functioning/attempt to overcome gut stasis (it is a support but gut stimulating medication is also needed).

Please do read all the guides I linked in as they fully explain syringe feeding and the essential daily weight checks.

Piggies do chew things they aren’t supposed to. As piggies can’t be sick, whatever they eat has to go all the way through the system. If a piggy has eaten something they shouldn’t, and then if they show signs such as the ones you are seeing then they need a vet urgently.
 
I hope it turns out OK, poor piggy and poor piggy mom. It might be the rubber band. If you can see a vet he could prescribe meds that might help. Sending healing vibes ❤️
 
I'm sorry for your predicament, and that your poor piggy isn't eating etc.

If it isn't due to eating the rubber band, something else that causes drooling is oral thrush. I had a piggy who got that last year. Only a vet would be able to diagnose it though as it's hard to look inside a piggy's mouth and to know what it looks like. And only a vet would be able to prescribe the medicine (Itrafungol, and metacam for the pain) that is needed to treat it.

Sending your boy healing vibes 💓💓
 
Sorry that your piggy is sick, but the advice is still that he needs to see a vet for proper diagnosis and treatment
Holding you in my thoughts.
 
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