guinea-pig sick.

eireannBEAR

diarrhea,back head tilting and looks as bad as he was two days ago,hes going back in to the vet at 2

Vojera

Oh no! Fingers crossed for you both. I hope he pulls through.

Papillon!

Really hope they can sort the poor little guy out. Guinea pigs have so much character when they're in good form. Hope he's back to himself soon

eireannBEAR

anti-inflammatory injection and an extra week of baytril antibiotics,they wouldnt give painkillers,this is getting unfair on paidi.

Vojera

Poor little guy. Have they any better idea what's wrong with him?

zoeybelle

you really need to bring him a different vet and fast. i have been bringing my piggies and rabbits to bairbre o'malley in bray and i would never trust my little ones with anyone else. You wouldn't believe the level of care her and her staff gave to my piggies and to me when a streptoccal infection tried to kill all of my little group (unfortunetly it managed to take 3 no thanks to no exotic out of hours care:mad:) but it would have been all 5 if it wasn't for her. she even had them on little drips in their tiny paws in little heated and oxygenated incubation cases!!! Now obviously it wasn't cheap but to me my little pals are priceless so i managed to get a loan (yes everyone thinks i'm looney:D). All vets say they treat rodents (which are classed as exotics) but only a tiny few actually know anything about them and i can't believe they said they couldn't see into his ears i'm just speechless. Really hope paidi feels better soon:)

eireannBEAR

i only have e1.40c left and bairbre wants e100 deposit i have brought paidi to the vet four times this week.the people in her office are no saints either i rang them today and they were very rude and refused to give FREE advice the other main exotic vet down in cork is a lot more helpfull he was in surgery and only had a tiny window to talk to me but the only problem was when he wanted me to ring back was when i was due to attend a funeral so i will ring him back tomorrow.

when i checked him an hour ago he was eating his dry food and he has not had diarrhea since.

dear god lads im having a bad month we had a misscarrige in our family,paidi got sick,my friends dad died and im up since 3am with a tooth ache and stone broke!!!! im only 26 i feel like a 90 year old man.

these pigs mean a lot i got them after my own dad died,and i feel so bad paidi was the runt of his group hes so friendly and loving unlike seamus who does not want any thing to do with humans,i cant do nothing more than hope he gets better,my vets are useless though

Fitzg

sending good health wishes to Paidi and yourself. Sounds like you're doing your best in a difficult situation and its just not fair the way life can throw so much at us sometimes. It's also crap when your local vet is not up to scratch and there are few alternatives in this country unless you have your own transport and bags of cash.
Talking about bringing him to Bray, the deposit paying is tough - I had to get a loan too when I was bringing my little guy. The deposit was only the first visit though...and they use different anti-biotics than the baytril and bactril which other the other vets seem to be limited to. I do trust Bairbre and her team in Bray although sometimes for me the journey is a bit of an off-put - it takes me at least an hour by public transport - lucky for me my little guy is happy to travel but for my other piggie it would just add to her stress.
Peter Gurney has great information on his website - a few years ago his emergency information on treating diarrhea in guinea pigs saved my guys life. and that was after I'd taken him to the vets and the emergency vets in ucd.
Keep hoping and fighting for your little guy. This time will pass and hopefully you'll have him back on his feet again.

zoeybelle

Ah thats terrible about bairbre's but to be honest your not the first person i've heard say that! I think i must've just got lucky with my timing and now i'm such a frequent customer their extra nice to keep me paying their mortgage lol. Its so hard find a good piggy vet i've been around the country looking myself as 2 of mine were rescued in a poor state (from popular pet shops!!!!). I really know how terrible you feel its so heartbreaking and i'm gutted for all 3 of you :-( If its any help i was told before to try syringe them a tiny few drops of flat 7up and my friend swears by it when her rabbits are sick and increase his vitamin c intake to help fight infection and while he's on antibiotics. Also a handy heat pack is an sock filled with any rice and tied at the top = ta dah instant microwaveable heat pack:) just put it under his bed and make sure nosy rabbits don't find it (that was another vet trip)! i doubt it does anything medicinal but its a little bit of comfort. if i think of any other tips i'll post them in case any are a tiny bit of help. Come on paidi we're all rooting for you!!!!

Fitzg

I second the advice on the extra dose of vit c - but don't put the effervescent tablet into the water bottle because it never stops leaking!
I got liquid vit c from a health food shop and drop it on banana or some food they like - ie GRASS! and get it into them that way
My guys also adore cold echinacea tea! its good for their immune system, tea-bag in the water bottle and away you go!
You can get the pure echinacea tea bags in health food shops too - just check the ingredients list to make sure its 100% echinacea x

eireannBEAR

thanks guys iv been giving him oral dosses of water too,il get some vit c supplement,i will post back in the morning good night

eireannBEAR

just gave paidi his medication,his poo seems to be reverting back to normal,its misshaped and very soft but its by no means diarrhea.
hes eager for his grass but i gave him cucumber and he was muching in to that{il get him his grass in a minute im having a cuppa first}
he still looks as bad physically but the fact that hes still a live, eating,and his poo is improving is a good thing.

we will wait and see as i thought he was getting better a few times and then he seemed to get worse.

Fitzg

That's great - true sign of a pet lover is when we're all happy to see a good healthy looking poo!
pro-biotics mixed in with his food might be a good idea too as he's on the anti-biotics...

eireannBEAR

Fitzg wrote: »

That's great - true sign of a pet lover is when we're all happy to see a good healthy looking poo!

haha...true.

last time i checked he was down at his dry food eating and for the first time since this illness started he has done his nervous grumble,on account of noise outside,so for now its positive!

edit... just checked him and he was at the dry food again,hes obviously properly hungry today and sick of his grass and veg lol

Vojera

Glad he's still eating. If you feel his poops are getting very soft again you can temporarily reduce or cut out his veg, or at least not give him stuff that's too watery, but it's important that he eats something, so if veg is all he'll take, let him eat away at it.

boomerang

I wouldn't be too hard on Bairbre for requiring a deposit - that is standard if you're a first time client and the animal will be hospitalised. Even with asking for the deposit vets get left with bad debts all the time. Have seen it happen and happen again. So don't take it to heart. The rudeness is way out of order though.

eireannBEAR

boomerang wrote: »

I wouldn't be too hard on Bairbre for requiring a deposit - that is standard if you're a first time client and the animal will be hospitalised. Even with asking for the deposit vets get left with bad debts all the time. Have seen it happen and happen again. So don't take it to heart. The rudeness is way out of order though.

i wasnt annoyed about the deposit but i was annoyed with the FREE ADVICE remark i appreciate where you are coming from though.

update on paidi...he still looks the same but hes moving a lot more and wolfing down his food. so its still looking good.

baby and crumble

So glad to hear Paidi is doing better, my heart goes out to you I don't know what I'd be like if something were to happen Isabella!

eireannBEAR

hi guy,hes still moving the same,but hes gone mad on his dry food and his face is starting to look more alive,i dont think hes in pain at all this morning,i could be wrong though but im hoping hes not as even when some pigs survive ear infections they are left physically disabled but pain free. if you youtube 'guinea pig ear infection rehab' it shows what they can be like.

mymo

Hope he continues to improve, I haven't kept piggies since I was at school, but they are such big personalities and really win your heart.
Keep fighting Paidi!

eireannBEAR

just check him again he has a massive appetite and is starting to look like a guinea pig again,if he gets through this it will be amazing hes 5 years old, hes a guinea pig OAP!!!!

its really looking up this is the 2nd day OF improvements. hes more than just stable hes improving...good man paidi!!!

Fitzg

Im so glad to hear he's getting there :-) well done both of you :-)

eireannBEAR wrote: »

just check him again he has a massive appetite and is starting to look like a guinea pig again,if he gets through this it will be amazing hes 5 years old, hes a guinea pig OAP!!!!

its really looking up this is the 2nd day OF improvements. hes more than just stable he improving...good man paidi!!!

eireannBEAR

100% proper poo but this evening he rolled around for the first time with a massive head tilt....F%@#*# vets!!!! i did some more research on ear infections and found numerous threads dedicated to this,the reason he was fine the last two days was because of the anti inflammatory and low and behold its half life runs out today..he should be taking them every day and have a two week course of antibiotics so i need and extra 0.8mls of baytril and the anti inflamms this could go on for a month!!! the stress of it!!

Odysseus

That's terrible, I really hope you get him sorted soon. It is going on too long you must be drained.

eireannBEAR

Odysseus wrote: »

That's terrible, I really hope you get him sorted soon. It is going on too long you must be drained.

yeah dude and now,i just rang the vet and they have to ring me back about the anti-inflammatory as if it would be cruel to give him them,if you google it any infection URI or inner ear are accompanied by steroids or anti inflamms,the first sign of improvement came after the inflamms and quickly went away after they left his system,the women on the phone behaved as if i was killing him with drugs he only has under two weeks of baytril hes actually under treated for an infection.

eireannBEAR

exotic vet pat o doherty talked to me for about 10 minutes there he was brilliant i have to get my vet to ring him,if i was any where near cork he would be looking after paidi.

edit...i got the anti-inflammatory more batril and probiotic,its up too paidi now he has two weeks or i will have to do the right thing for him,i have read to many threads where people have treated their guineas for a month only for them to die,so i am not going to let him suffer that long.

edit..the painkiller/anti-inflammatory is great hes back at his dry food,i wonder if i could keep him alive as a drug addict,lol

eireannBEAR

no signs of improvement,but at least hes not in pain,hes not head tilting but hes very weak.

seamus is going to need a new pig if paidi goes i put him out in his hut for a while yesterday on his own,but he wouldnt come out and was very anxious,so he wont fair well if left alone.

Fitzg

keep him eating and he might start to pick up - my guy was on deaths door and turned around so they can do it! Loads of fresh green grass is the key I think, keep on truckin'! Em

Vojera

Ah poor Seamus. I had a guy like that pine away after his brother died. Perked right up when he got a friend. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Has the vet given any indication of when Paidi should show signs of improvement?

Is he eating and drinking? How is his appetite compared to normal?

How are his poops? Normal or soft? Smaller than usual? Fewer than usual or does it seem okay? (I find poop is a great indication of how my guys are, sorry! Haha!)

How is his behaviour generally? Is he sleeping a lot? As friendly as usual or very timid? Staying hidden or eager to play? (Depending on his usual temperament, of course).

Think about the answers to these questions so that if you have to ring your vet you'll be able to give them a good picture of how he is. Only you know your guinea pig and only you can tell when he's acting normally or not. Don't forget that. Don't let any vet tell you he's fine when you know he's not.

When my girlie Hilda was sick long-term I found it very useful to keep a daily diary. For one, she was being syringe fed so it helped me keep track of how much food and water she was getting, but I also made notes several times a day on how her behaviour was and how I thought she was in herself, as well as the answers to all the questions above. Day to day it was hard to see improvement, but looking back at the diary after a week or so it was far easier to see that she was getting better.

eireannBEAR

thanks fitz g,i hope this will be the case but its not looking likely.

vojera,hes eating a lot of grass and some dry food but he still cant walk properly the only way to describe it is,if you could imaging trying to walk straight on a spinning floor,hes showing signs that the infection has gone to his brain,the other night he was trying eat his poo as you know they do and he spun on to his back and kicked his legs in the air for 20 seconds. but at least he wasnt in pain afterwards he got back up he continued as if it never happened,if he was taken off his dose of metacam id imaging he would be in agony.
his poo are smaller and less frequent.and for over a week hes just been sitting in his box and only walks to his food about a foot away.

my vets are useless,but the exotic vet believes it not going to be a good out come,we will have to wait and see.
im only giving him two weeks though guys this isnt fair on him,if i was in his situation i wouldnt want to go on like this. i just hope he gets better.

edit...just improved his water intake i was syringing it slowly but just now i realized if you shoot the whole thing in fast it just vanishes down his mouth with ease he doesnt even move his jaw afterwards i just got 40ml in to him in seconds,thats great as he gets bored of it and refuses it when i was taking it slowly.