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Snickerdoodle seems very sick

Princess_Harriet

Princess_Harriet

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all,
I went to feed the pigs hay earlier and was concerned when Snickerdoodle didn’t even move from the hatbox or flinch when my hand went near her (she’s usually very wary of hands). She’s definitely still eating, but I picked her up and she’s lost weight. She had some poop stuck to/in her privates and she seems very weak. She also had a little bit of discharge by her eye and is breathing rather loudly. I called the vet and the soonest appointment they have is August 2. I booked it and also got her on the cancellation list so hopefully I can get her in sooner. Unfortunately there aren’t any other piggy savvy vets in my area.

I’m attaching a picture of the part that’s most concerning to me - I’m not sure if I’m imagining it but her private parts look rather inflamed/swollen/red?

If I can get her in sooner I’m definitely going to but they don’t have any other appointments as of right now.

I’m feeding her critical care to hopefully help get her weight and strength back up but I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do for her until I can get her in? Thanks.IMG_2703.webp
 
I'm sorry to hear Snickerdoodle is not doing the best.
Fingers tightly crossed its nothing too serious and she will be feeling better very soon, let us know how you get on x
 
Sorry your girl is out of sorts. Good idea to start with syringe feeding. Also start weighing her daily.

All the best for the appointment. Hopefully it’s nothing major.
 
Just got out of the vet with Snick and I’m afraid it’s bad news. She apparently has Pneumonia and her teeth are overgrown. I had to go on a trip for two weeks and my mother was taking care of the pigs, so it must have happened sometime then, because she was healthy when I left. She lost 200 grams since the last time I weighed her (2 weeks ago) so we’re going to start syringe feeding 4-5 times a day (what the vet recommended). She’s also going to start antibiotics. If she’s gained enough weight and strength in at least a week, the vet recommended scheduling an appointment to sedate her and trim her teeth.

I’m at such a loss right now. Snickerdoodle is only 8 months old and we just got her in March. I don’t know what I’m going to do if she passes away.

Any advice/experiences would be so helpful. Thank you all.
 
One of my boys has had pneumonia when he was only a few weeks old, he recovered well. That same pig had dental issues in later life which eventually took him but he had a dental or two and they also went well, sounds like you have a great vet so hopefully things will run smoothly.

My fingers are crossed she can fight off this infection and then go from there. Weigh your girl every morning to decide how much critical care she should have in a day, if she seems to be eating on her own I would personally strive for 40-60ml in a day and around 60-80ml if she is not eating anything at all. This will change due to what you see on the scale of course.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
 
Princess_Harriet said:
Just got out of the vet with Snick and I’m afraid it’s bad news. She apparently has Pneumonia and her teeth are overgrown. I had to go on a trip for two weeks and my mother was taking care of the pigs, so it must have happened sometime then, because she was healthy when I left. She lost 200 grams since the last time I weighed her (2 weeks ago) so we’re going to start syringe feeding 4-5 times a day (what the vet recommended). She’s also going to start antibiotics. If she’s gained enough weight and strength in at least a week, the vet recommended scheduling an appointment to sedate her and trim her teeth.

I’m at such a loss right now. Snickerdoodle is only 8 months old and we just got her in March. I don’t know what I’m going to do if she passes away.

Any advice/experiences would be so helpful. Thank you all.
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Hi


I am very sorry.

Please take the time to read our syringe feeding and any other guide links in this thread. You will find them very helpful because they contain all the practical tips and advice on how to manage crisis care.
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. Any serious respiratory infection is therefore an appetite and thirst killer; make sure that you get as close to 60 ml in 24 hours of formula into her as you can; as close to 40 ml in a piggy that struggles to accept food and to swallow. Additionally offer water but never squirt it just in; it could go down the wrong way - which is the last thing you want with a piggy with respiratory issues. Control the food intake by weighing first thing in the morning on your kitchen scales for best day-to-day comparison. During the crisis stage your first aim is to slow down the weight loss and then to stabilise it once medication kicks in.
Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

See whether a bowl of steaming water next to the cage will ease her breathing a bit more. If yes, then you may want to consider whether nebulising may additionally help, if necessary in consultation with your vet. Be aware that nebulising on spec can make things worse as it doesn't work for all respiratory conditions.
Also brace yourself that antbiotics need to build up over the course of several days before they reach full efficiency. If your piggy is responding well, you may be seeing first signs by tomorrow but it can take longer. If she continues to go downhill, please contact your vet promptly.

Any dental problems can only be addressed once the pneumonia is sorted. At her young age, it is most likely caused by a misalignment of her teeth rather than dietary concerns.

It is more likely that the gradual dental overgrowth has increasingly reduced the food intake (especially that of hay which makes over three quarters of what a piggy should eat in a day and that you cannot control just by eye) and has in turn contributed to weaken the immune system. A change in surroundings can act as an additional stress factor. Your syringe feeding support is there is to mainly replace the hay intake. You need to feed the more often the less you can get in in each session.

My fingers are firmly crossed for your little girl.
 
Aw poor Snickerdoodle 😢 Hopefully the abs will kick in soon and she'll start feeling better. At least she won't be hungry if you're syringe feeding her ❤️
 
Update on Snickerdoodle;

We took her in for a follow up appointment this morning and it turns out she has a genetic deformity in her mouth. I believe the vet said one of her molars was jutting out and entrapping her tongue. She lost 60 grams in the past week, so there’s a chance that she may not make it through sedation, but we left her with the vet and they’re going to give me a call this afternoon to let me know how the teeth trimming went. If this first time is successful, the vet told me that I would need to bring her in every 2-3 months to get her teeth trimmed again. I’m willing to do that, but I was wondering if it was healthy for her to be sedated every few months? Cost isn’t an issue I just want to make sure that she isn’t suffering from being sedated to often or something. Thanks for all your help and support.
 
I’m sorry to hear this.
Unfortunately repeated anesthesia does come with risks. For my boy who was 1kg, he needed the same amount of sedation as a 15kg dog as their metabolisms are just so fast, so you can see how that may take a toll on such a tiny body.

I do believe there are a couple people on here who perhaps have done this but what we normally recommend to people in England is conscious dentals (as there are a couple well known vets who do such, they have fantastic results), which are just like the name suggests, dentals done on piggy’s without sedation. Perhaps you could look into something like that near you?

I would recommend you see how your girl gets on today and go from there.
As someone who quite recently had to put a piggy down because the toll GA would take on his body (he would have needed around one dental a month, he was also 5 years old and showing signs of struggling), it is so so tough and my thoughts are with you.
You can always speak to your vet about risks and arguments for both/all sides.

My thoughts are with you at this time, let us know how she gets on x
 
So sorry for Snickerdoodle, a conscious dental using tiny Files to fine down the molar spur using cheek separators and a very experienced vet is often undertaken in the UK. Finding a vet skilled enough with the right equipment might be your best bet. GA dentals do take their toll, especially when some piggies need dentals every 3-4 weeks

Good luck, I hope her op is a success x
 
I hope that the vet can help Snickerdoodle.
I had a piggy with teeth problems many years ago (when I wasn't seeing the vet yet, I go to now) and she was sedated about once a month ( sonetimes the Interval was a but longer) to do her teeth. It was a big strain on her but she was a happy piggy in the times between the treatments.
I don't know if she would have lived longer if she would have been able to get conscious dentals. She was only about 10 months old when the problems started and she lived to be nearly 4 years.
 
Sorry it took me so long to update, I've been very busy.
The teeth trimming went well, Snickerdoodle is back home and seems to be able to eat ok. She's still pretty slow to getting back onto food so I'm still syringe feeding her, hopefully her weight gets back up! Thanks everyone for the advice and healing vibes, fingers crossed she keeps getting better! ❤️
 
Princess_Harriet said:
The teeth trimming went well, Snickerdoodle is back home and seems to be able to eat ok. She's still pretty slow to getting back onto food
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It'll take her a while to get her confidence back and to realise doesn't hurt any more when she eats and it's easy now. When my RB Piggy Shy Little Meg had a molar spur that had lacerated her inner cheek filed off, it took about 3-4 months for her to be confident enough to eat hay again. She ate grass instead. Luckily, once I had run out of grass in my garden, I took a 5 minute walk over the Heath and found lots of grass for her and when that area had been cleared, I had to find another one. Luckily, she started to eat hay again before I had to find a 3rd area.
 
I have some terrible news about Snickerdoodle:

Everything seemed to be going well, I was syringe feeding her and giving her grass and she seemed to be regaining her strength. But last night, I went to syringe feed her and she could barely move. She spat out the critical care and water I tried to give her, so I immediately called the emergency vet. I brought her in, and they tested her and said her blood sugar was practically zero, which indicates either cancer or sepsis. She was already on her way out so they recommended I put her to sleep to make it go quicker. She passed in my arms, wrapped in her favorite blanket. The last thing she did was try to crawl towards me and onto my lap. I'm so broken right now, she was so young. I can't believe this happened so quickly, especially after her tooth trimming went well.
Thank you everyone for your advice and kind words, your advice helped me get her through the pneumonia and tooth trimming, even though she couldn't be saved in the end. 💔
 
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