guinea-pig sick.

eireannBEAR

hi i noticed my guinea pig lost hair on his back,as i had just moved him and his brother to the shed and switch his bedding from chippings to straw i assumed it was ticks,so i gave him a bath and treated him with tick spray but as i was doing this i noticed he had a lump on his back.

so i moved him and his brother back inside the house but now he wont come out for his food although he will eat if i hand it to him, i have seen him fall over twice now and he has an empty expression on his face compared to his brother who is 100% any way im very worried as i have him five years and never seen him like this.

he is booked in to the vet for 9am in the morning.has anyone ever had a guinea-pig with these symptoms and if so...what was wrong? did they survive? and how much did the vet cost you?

loveisdivine

Hairloss could be a case of mites. Severe cases do result in patches of hair loss. Is he itching much? Not sure about the lump. You did the best thing getting him booked into the vets.
If he stops pooping and eating then it becomes an emergency as they can go into gut stasis and can deteriorate quickly so keep an eye on that.

Also just as a side note, straw isnt really suitable for piggies. It's too sharp and can easily poke them in the eye because they are so low to the ground. Hay should be used as bedding instead, it's an essential food for them and should make up the majority of their diet.
I would also lose the chippings as depending on the wood they can be very bad for a piggies respiratory system.

eireannBEAR

loveisdivine wrote: »

Hairloss could be a case of mites. Severe cases do result in patches of hair loss. Is he itching much? Not sure about the lump. You did the best thing getting him booked into the vets.
If he stops pooping and eating then it becomes an emergency as they can go into gut stasis and can deteriorate quickly so keep an eye on that.

Also just as a side note, straw isnt really suitable for piggies. It's too sharp and can easily poke them in the eye because they are so low to the ground. Hay should be used as bedding instead, it's an essential food for them and should make up the majority of their diet.
I would also lose the chippings as depending on the wood they can be very bad for a piggies respiratory system.

its a dark purple pea-sized lump,im terrified now i just got off the phone with another vets and she believes it could be cancer,i will be devastated i had these guys through thick and thin.

i will have to wait and see tomorrow.

loveisdivine

I know its still early but let us know how you got on at the vets.
I've got my fingers crossed for you.

Sigma Force

Could it of been from a bite and it's turns into like an abcess or blood blister? Tumours can be common but it might be treatable. Let us know how you get on.

eireannBEAR

hi im in shock they did not know what the lump was but gave me (xeno 450)

heres my receipt PAIDI:CONSULT (EXOTIC PET) E26.43 + VAT E3.57 = E30

SKIN SCRAP IN-HOUSE-(NEGATIVE) E17.62 + VAT E2.38 = E20

6x XENO 450 SPOT ON (1) E31.71 VAT E7.39 = E39


TOTAL E89.00

paidi and his brother only cost 10e for the two of them dont get me wrong they are priceless to me now but this bill is a joke they dont even know whats wrong with him yet they charged me this. i think they seen me and paidi coming,the good news is since i woke up and checked him this morning he appears to have got a 2nd wind he is still poorly but hes moving a lot more etc...

Vojera

eireannBEAR wrote: »

hi im in shock they did not know what the lump was but gave me (xeno 450)

heres my receipt PAIDI:CONSULT (EXOTIC PET) E26.43 + VAT E3.57 = E30

SKIN SCRAP IN-HOUSE-(NEGATIVE) E17.62 + VAT E2.38 = E20

6x XENO 450 SPOT ON (1) E31.71 VAT E7.39 = E39


TOTAL E89.00

paidi and his brother only cost 10e for the two of them dont get me wrong they are priceless to me now but this bill is a joke they dont even know whats wrong with him yet they charged me this. i think they seen me and paidi coming,the good news is since i woke up and checked him this morning he appears to have got a 2nd wind he is still poorly but hes moving a lot more etc...

The €30 consultation is a little high but not totally out if bounds.

It's the xeno that gets me. The active ingredient is ivermectin, and my vet gives me a few mls of a different brand (same ingredient) into a plastic bottle rather than the pipettes and it's MUCH cheaper (as in about €15 to dose my 14 piggies twice and still have a good bit to spare), so if you go back I would query that.

I hope your little man is okay. The lump might be a bite or scratch or straw poke, not necessarily something sinister. But even if it's a tumour there's always the possibility of surgery.

The main thing is to make sure he keeps eating, drinking and pooping. Once he's doing those he has a really good chance.

eireannBEAR

Vojera wrote: »

The €30 consultation is a little high but not totally out if bounds.

It's the xeno that gets me. The active ingredient is ivermectin, and my vet gives me a few mls of a different brand (same ingredient) into a plastic bottle rather than the pipettes and it's MUCH cheaper (as in about €15 to dose my 14 piggies twice and still have a good bit to spare), so if you go back I would query that.

I hope your little man is okay. The lump might be a bite or scratch or straw poke, not necessarily something sinister. But even if it's a tumour there's always the possibility of surgery.

The main thing is to make sure he keeps eating, drinking and pooping. Once he's doing those he has a really good chance.

whats the different brand name?? i have to go back in 4 weeks they are going to measure his lump again and sell me more xeno,the xeno is a joke i used it on both piggies and as they are monsters that both weigh just over 1.2kg. i had to use two dosses each at a cost of around 24e!!! i have two left to be applied in two weeks.

hopefully hes ok hes in a open kids tent in the spare room with guinea friendly chippings with fresh italian hay, carrots and some gurtys guinea food hes eating well thank god!

they warned me to keep him away from his brother due to the possible risk of barbarism. but i will keep a close eye on them instead they have always been together for the last 5 years i dont want to keep them apart and they have never attacked each other yet either.....

Vojera

The brand is Ivomec. It comes in a big bottle and it's marked as "for injection", but my vet puts about 5ml in a bottle for me and gives me some 1ml syringes. Then I measure out 0.1ml in the syringe and drop it onto the back of the neck, and then repeat a week later. There's a chance they don't have the big bottle in stock, but I would have thought it was a fairly standard thing to have in.

I wouldn't separate pigs just for barbering, to be honest. It's my personal opinion that separating a pig from his friend is stressful for the pigs and only to be done when strictly necessary. I've found that my pigs get very upset when I've had to separate them (e.g. when one had infectious conjunctivitis), so if you don't mind Paidi's fur getting chewed (and you don't know for sure that's happening), I would leave them together.

However, I think you should watch them very closely to see if there's any nipping or biting going on. If that's the cause of the lump then you will have to separate them. You can't leave them together if they're fighting. But watch them for a few days and see how they are, don't just separate them without reason.

eireannBEAR

Vojera wrote: »

The brand is Ivomec. It comes in a big bottle and it's marked as "for injection", but my vet puts about 5ml in a bottle for me and gives me some 1ml syringes. Then I measure out 0.1ml in the syringe and drop it onto the back of the neck, and then repeat a week later. There's a chance they don't have the big bottle in stock, but I would have thought it was a fairly standard thing to have in.

I wouldn't separate pigs just for barbering, to be honest. It's my personal opinion that separating a pig from his friend is stressful for the pigs and only to be done when strictly necessary. I've found that my pigs get very upset when I've had to separate them (e.g. when one had infectious conjunctivitis), so if you don't mind Paidi's fur getting chewed (and you don't know for sure that's happening), I would leave them together.

However, I think you should watch them very closely to see if there's any nipping or biting going on. If that's the cause of the lump then you will have to separate them. You can't leave them together if they're fighting. But watch them for a few days and see how they are, don't just separate them without reason.

thanks,yeah im on guard duty tonight lol but i dont think they are biting. and like you i would of thought with paidi so sick and depressed that separating them could really send paidi on a downward spiral thanks for the advice and for the product tip to!!! i will give daily updates on the lads.

i am just happy that its unlikely to be cancer and that at least he is eating etc. because if he was to die id imaging that would be the end of his ginger fat brother seamus to,you know what guineas are like they look for any excuse to die. lol

eireannBEAR

hes falling all over the place this morning i had to ring the vet and tell them that i actually have no money left and that i will pay them next week. i have to go in to them at 11.30

this is it,iv have never seen a dog act like this and live let alone a guinea pig

Vojera

Poor little man. Let us know how you get on. Fingers crossed for him!

eireannBEAR

he got an antibiotic shot,but they found a new lump on his belly under the skin,they waved the consultation fee and only charged me 10e for the shot. but if he does not show signs of improvement he has to go for a scan tomorrow,im trying to do everything not to get him put down.

he looked like he had mad cow disease this morning so thats what it could come to but it will be a last resort.
poor paidi.

Silverfish

eireannBEAR wrote: »

hes falling all over the place this morning i had to ring the vet and tell them that i actually have no money left and that i will pay them next week. i have to go in to them at 11.30

this is it,iv have never seen a dog act like this and live let alone a guinea pig

This sounds like ataxia. I had a mouse that was given the wrong dosage of anti-mite meds and started flopping and jerking around, with no control over her limbs. She pulled out of it but it was quite difficult.

I would get a second opinion, if it was my piggy

eireannBEAR

Silverfish wrote: »

This sounds like ataxia. I had a mouse that was given the wrong dosage of anti-mite meds and started flopping and jerking around, with no control over her limbs. She pulled out of it but it was quite difficult.

I would get a second opinion, if it was my piggy

thanks i will look in to this, but he had these symptoms on a lesser scale before he was treated. im going to have to pay for his scan tomorrow to once and for all get an answer on the cancer issue.

if its bad im going to have to find neutered 4/5 year old female for his brother seamus because he is healthy now but with out paidi id imaging he would die withing a month!!

Vojera

Any updates on Paidi?

eireannBEAR

hes hobbling but eating still,he showed no improvement except when i came in with grass he jumped around fairly fast. so im clinging on to that as something.

i will bring him in for his scan at 3pm today,i got a good private message off a poster, so im going all in. if they scan him and find something that they say cant be fixed im going to take him to an exotic vets in wicklow or dublin. i should of bought pet insurance.

Vojera

That's good that he's still showing interest in his food.

I know the feeling with pet insurance - one of my pigs had to get his eye removed a few months ago! - but there is no pet insurance for guinea pigs in Ireland so don't be too upset that you've missed out on it.

I'll pm you my vet's details too. He's not an exotic, but he's really good with piggies :-)

eireannBEAR

Vojera wrote: »

That's good that he's still showing interest in his food.

I know the feeling with pet insurance - one of my pigs had to get his eye removed a few months ago! - but there is no pet insurance for guinea pigs in Ireland so don't be too upset that you've missed out on it.

I'll pm you my vet's details too. He's not an exotic, but he's really good with piggies :-)

thanks vojera.

my vets have amazing facilities its like a human hospital,but as i said to another poster when i put paidi down with his chin on the table and half dead face wobbling around with one leg shorter than the other,they looked at me and said should he not be like this???!!!

i am going to use them for the scan though as i want to know whats up with him today.

eireannBEAR

vojera you said you have/had a lot of guineas have you ever heard of a guinea sounding this bad but still eating???
have any of yours ever ate and still died?? he has half size poo and is still peeing too.

Vojera

eireannBEAR wrote: »

vojera you said you have/had a lot of guineas have you ever heard of a guinea sounding this bad but still eating???
have any of yours ever ate and still died?? he has half size poo and is still peeing too.

Normally when my pigs are sick they go off their food. I've never had one be really bad and still have a good appetite. It's no guarantee, but it's a good sign!

The worst one I ever had stopped eating completely so I had to syringe food into her mouth for weeks, and at the beginning she went almost a full week without pooping a single time! But she came around. They can be pretty resilient, it just depends on what the underlying problem is.

eireannBEAR

Vojera wrote: »

Normally when my pigs are sick they go off their food. I've never had one be really bad and still have a good appetite. It's no guarantee, but it's a good sign!

The worst one I ever had stopped eating completely so I had to syringe food into her mouth for weeks, and at the beginning she went almost a full week without pooping a single time! But she came around. They can be pretty resilient, it just depends on what the underlying problem is.

i though he could have an ear infection hes showing all the signs but hes not head tilting!

i was reading online and apparently guineas behave as if they are about to die when suffering from this. i got the vet to check but she said she couldnt see inside his ear properly and that she didint believe this was the case.

ah i dont know hes lost hair and has two lumps so its hard to ignore that and blame it on his ears,i will update after his scan,thanks for the pm.

eireannBEAR

i checked him again i would say hes 95% as bad as yesterday but he turned around really fast for grass and is lifting his head up a bit more,today i have enough money for the injection and oral solution or the scan and im leaning towards the injection,hes shown a minute improvement
and surely he wouldnt eat if he had cancer etc.

this is a very annoying choice last friday i bought them a new outside run and the tick treatment i have e6.50 left after i pay the vet today.
if i had not of bought the guinea-run it would have been affordable.

if its an infection he would be more likely to eat than if it was cancer...and i dont think its a bladder stone as hes peeing fine,so im going to get the shot and see if they have a guinea-pig painkiller too just in case he is in pain.

Vojera

Ask your vet about a payment plan. You might be able to pay it off weekly.

eireannBEAR

Vojera wrote: »

Ask your vet about a payment plan. You might be able to pay it off weekly.

on the vets wall there is a sign saying 'payment on consultation or after you collected your animal' but i will give it a go. i will post back after 3pm

eireannBEAR

im very optimistic,i had a different vet and i explained that paidi seemed a bit better and that reading online his symptoms resembled an ear infection to which she replied 'but hes not suffering from head tilt' at the very second for the first time he started to tilt his head really obviously!!,so she checked his ears just as the other vet did yesterday only this time she found a build up and gave him ear drops,shots and take home antibiotics,if this morning he seemed 5% better now just when i put him down he looks 30% better!

they can still die from this, but at least we know whats wrong and he seems more lively,im delighted!!!

C'mon...paidi!!!!!!!

Vojera

Yay, I'm delighted he's perking up. Fingers crossed he continues to improve. You can do it, Paidi!

eireannBEAR

the ear drops seemed to work instantly,paidi diagnosed himself,what a time for the lil fecker to start the head tilt haha.

will post back tomorrow with hopefully another positive update. hes back in friday for another check up so wel know for sure then.

eireannBEAR

hes looking ok this morning,i just gave his antibiotics,but last night he seemed a bit rough,im after robbing the dark long wire grass from my neighbors garden{they must think im mad} but thats paidis fav,i googled ear infection and found out,its totally different than i thought its very bad for guineas and kill them most of the time or destroys their movement for ever im just hoping because he only started to head tilt that he will be ok!

Vojera

It's great that he's still eating. Yay! Have you to go back to the vet at any point or just see how he goes?

Sigma Force

Why did the vet give a medicine containing Ivomectin just curious because I know that Ivomectin on it's own is normally give ONE drop only onto the ear of the pig to get rid of parasites and it's really cheap so the vet really should of given you some to drop on the ear only once and then another drop a week later if it was to treat parasites and it should of cost no more than a fiver.

Ear infections can be common but the vet should of checked the ears in the first place (after all they do that with dogs and cats no matter what it wrong with them).

I wouldn't be happy at all at the amount of meds given to the pig, I'd put the pig straight on a pro biotic while on antibiotics, like those little capsules of acedopholis you burst one capsule and squeeze the contents into the pigs mouth a half hour or so before giving the meds.

So frustrating when vets don't to a proper initial health assessment time is so important when it comes to smallies and guinea pigs are so vunerable.

Don't worry yourself sick when googling stuff though, go on to Peter Gurneys pages before looking at anything else. Sometimes the more natural the solution the better. If you need to clean the ears use warmed olive oil and cotton balls..just place a little ramekin of olive oil into a saucer of warm water to warm it through make sure it's not hot. You can drip and rub some of the oil down into the ears as well.

Although if already given medicated stuff for the ears obviously follow the vets advice, if not then use the olive oil.

Hope he feels better soon.

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!