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Winnie cant walk and won't eat, has already seen vet.

kitsvnesyndrome

kitsvnesyndrome

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Hi there, I am in desperate need of advice.

My 5 year old piggie Winnie had an operation 8 days ago to remove a cyst, she did really well and recovered perfectly.

Suddenly this morning when I checked her she was completely off, she was wobbly and collapsing, her eyes were sunken and she wouldnt even take syringe feed she was spitting it out.

We rushed her to the vets but they couldnt shed any insight about what happened to her, they gave her a water injection and some other things. They also managed to get some food down her. She perked up for a bit and no longer looked like she was dying.

Ive been syringe feeding her since, and keeping her warm, she ate some hay and romaine lettuce on her own about 6 hours ago. Now we have reached a bit of a plateu, shes not eating hay or anything independently now. I can still get syringe feed down her. She can walk properly again but quickly collapses from exhaustion. Her eyes are bright when she opens them, but shes obviously tired and wont move at all. I am so stumped on whats wrong or what I can do to help. The vet saved her earlier but didnt explain anything.
 

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Really so sorry to hear this and sorry that the vet had no further advice. I'm afraid I don’t have any health expertise to offer but I hope someone comes along soon with some ideas, or is there another vet you could try tomorrow in case they have any thoughts?

Keeping her fed and warm seems like you are doing what you can at home and I hope she perks up soon.

Is she on any medication that could be affecting her?

It is so hard as they are delicate creatures and it’s not always easy to know what’s happening. I feel for you going through this.

All the best
 
How is she doing? I would speak to the vet again
 
I'm very sorry that Winnie has taken a turn for the worse.
Here you will find the emergency Information:
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...
  • Like

But if she refuses everything completely, I'm afraid that's often a sign that her body is shutting down.
Can you take her back to the vet?
She was probably dehydrated last time. If she refuses everything, this will be the case again.

Unfortunately there is only so much you can do in a situation like this.
Does she take any water out of the syringe?
Does she get any pain medication?

Keeping her warm and comfortable is very important.
Holding you in my heart!
 
Viennese Furbabies said:
I'm very sorry that Winnie has taken a turn for the worse.
Here you will find the emergency Information:
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...
  • Like

But if she refuses everything completely, I'm afraid that's often a sign that her body is shutting down.
Can you take her back to the vet?
She was probably dehydrated last time. If she refuses everything, this will be the case again.

Unfortunately there is only so much you can do in a situation like this.
Does she take any water out of the syringe?
Does she get any pain medication?

Keeping her warm and comfortable is very important.
Holding you in my heart!
Click to expand...
Thank you for your advice. I got up to feed her 3 times in the night, final syringe feed this morning she ate some cucumber and salad on her own and nibbled some hay. Her walking seems bad again, very wonky and unbalanced. I've given her some of the metacam that was left, and yes she will drink water.

I can't afford a further £200 for another out of hours vet visit today :( I will try and take her back tomorrow though for a regular consultation. This morning things definitely seem more promising as shes eating on her own a bit.
 
I’m so sorry to hear this.

Make sure you weigh her each morning so you can be sure you are syringe feeding her enough to keep her stable and keep gut function.

Let us know how you get on at the vet
 
Just as an update Winnie has basically spent all afternoon/evening eating! She's started producing little poos again too. I can only guess her near-death state was caused by gut stasis but no idea why she actually stopped eating.

Rushing her to the vet for water injection and emergency treatment really helped stablize her and with syringe feeding every 2 hours & water she's gradually improved. I hope it will continue to be an upwards trajectory!
 
That sounds promising, well done for all your care
 
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