Fred Pig needs your help and advice!
Alrighty, so I have a 3 year old Guinea pig who has stopped eating on his own. He's kind of eating soft things like the insides of cucumbers or tomatoes, but nothing else. He has since popped alot less and his urine looks a little yellower than usual.
I brought him in to a vet on the weekend that wasnt our usual, and they gave him Albon suspension, 0.5 ml once a day. They were thinking it had something to do with GI upset, so we also started hand feeding him Critical Care to keep his gut going. They also found he has a mass under his right nipple, and after a sample was taken from it, it couldn't be determined whether it was cancerous. All they could tell was that it had no bacteria and whatnot, so they believe it's a tumor.
We also had x-rays done to find out if his teeth were misaligned, but our vet believes they don't look bad. This vet sees alot of exotics and most Guinea pigs she sees have bad teeth, Fred's looked pretty normal though. I'll have to post the x-rays here.
Everything has come back negative as far as tests go. He had a blood panel however and it stated there were some levels of inflammation, but I forgot to ask my vet exactly what that could mean.
I just don't know what to do. I hate forcing food down his gullet because he gets frustrated and all I want is for him to eat again. I'm trying to do anything I can to help him, I would literally fight someone if it would mean he would get better again. Any advice would definitely be appreciated.
I brought him in to a vet on the weekend that wasnt our usual, and they gave him Albon suspension, 0.5 ml once a day. They were thinking it had something to do with GI upset, so we also started hand feeding him Critical Care to keep his gut going. They also found he has a mass under his right nipple, and after a sample was taken from it, it couldn't be determined whether it was cancerous. All they could tell was that it had no bacteria and whatnot, so they believe it's a tumor.
We also had x-rays done to find out if his teeth were misaligned, but our vet believes they don't look bad. This vet sees alot of exotics and most Guinea pigs she sees have bad teeth, Fred's looked pretty normal though. I'll have to post the x-rays here.
Everything has come back negative as far as tests go. He had a blood panel however and it stated there were some levels of inflammation, but I forgot to ask my vet exactly what that could mean.
I just don't know what to do. I hate forcing food down his gullet because he gets frustrated and all I want is for him to eat again. I'm trying to do anything I can to help him, I would literally fight someone if it would mean he would get better again. Any advice would definitely be appreciated.
- Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
I do not have a medical background so I can't comment on your xrays (would you like them permanently added to your topic and displayed for other readers?) except to say nothing stands out.
Mammary tumors are often not cancerous and generally can be removed. I don't know why he would stop eating unless something else was going on. Your hand feeding is extremely important!
www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
www.guinealynx.info/tumor_mammary.html
www.guinealynx.info/malocclusion.html
Mammary tumors are often not cancerous and generally can be removed. I don't know why he would stop eating unless something else was going on. Your hand feeding is extremely important!
www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
www.guinealynx.info/tumor_mammary.html
www.guinealynx.info/malocclusion.html
- Sef
- I dissent.
Only wanting to eat soft foods screams dental issues to me. Any chance this vet could forward the radiographs to an exotics vet who specializes in dental issues for a second opinion?
Otherwise, I do see a fairly large air pocket in the stomach. Have you noticed any signs of bloat with Fred? Signs of mild bloat would include a distended abdomen that sounds hollow when you lightly tap on it, and inappetence. Is he getting (and eating) unlimited hay? What other foods does he have in his diet? Any fruit or gassy vegetables like broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower? Again, though, gas or slow motility can be a by-product of not enough food moving though the gut.
Did the vet do a fecal float? Wondering why she decided to prescribe Albon. Did the vet suggest anything in the way of probiotics?
Ditto the importance of handfeeding until the underlying issue gets resolved and Fred is eating adequately on his own. As some of us here are fond of saying, "It's called force-feeding for a reason." It can literally mean the difference between life or death in a guinea pig who isn't eating enough on his or her own.
It's a very good idea to weigh him regularly if you are not already doing so:
https://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html
Otherwise, I do see a fairly large air pocket in the stomach. Have you noticed any signs of bloat with Fred? Signs of mild bloat would include a distended abdomen that sounds hollow when you lightly tap on it, and inappetence. Is he getting (and eating) unlimited hay? What other foods does he have in his diet? Any fruit or gassy vegetables like broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower? Again, though, gas or slow motility can be a by-product of not enough food moving though the gut.
Did the vet do a fecal float? Wondering why she decided to prescribe Albon. Did the vet suggest anything in the way of probiotics?
Ditto the importance of handfeeding until the underlying issue gets resolved and Fred is eating adequately on his own. As some of us here are fond of saying, "It's called force-feeding for a reason." It can literally mean the difference between life or death in a guinea pig who isn't eating enough on his or her own.
It's a very good idea to weigh him regularly if you are not already doing so:
https://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html
sef1268- Yes, she offered to send them off to a colleague of hers that sees more exotics and would be able to give a 2nd opinion. She has told me that she bases her measurements mostly off of a vet in Europe who primarily sees exotics, although I can't recall the name. I was thinking of sending off those x-rays to Dr. Legendre, who I've seen mentioned on here as being an expert. Fred had a small point to one of his molars and while under anesthetic, she planed it down slightly. She also saw his incisors were slightly uneven, so she took a very small part of the tips off both the bottom and top. I was present throughout the entire procedure and was able to see what they were doing for the most part.
We were given Albon by an ER vet nearby because they thought he might have a GI tract disturbance. I have since not gone back to that vet as they don't do any kind of dental and wouldn't be willing to do any. This vet that we found recently that trimmed his teeth very slightly has quite a few Guinea pigs coming in for regular dental maintenance, and that's why I went to go see them. They want him to stay on the Albon for a couple more days, however I have been seeing Fred sneezing and sounding slightly congested so I will let them know I want the meds changed.
Right now he's still not eating anything on his own, but he ate hay pretty regularly before all of this started happening. We were giving him too many veggies like cucumbers and carrots, but he's never had broccoli, cauliflower, or cabbage.
Lynx- Yes, I would like them posted. Took forever for me to find out how to get them on a public server, but I'd be glad if you did that. And yes, I will most certainly handfeed him for as long as he needs it.
We were given Albon by an ER vet nearby because they thought he might have a GI tract disturbance. I have since not gone back to that vet as they don't do any kind of dental and wouldn't be willing to do any. This vet that we found recently that trimmed his teeth very slightly has quite a few Guinea pigs coming in for regular dental maintenance, and that's why I went to go see them. They want him to stay on the Albon for a couple more days, however I have been seeing Fred sneezing and sounding slightly congested so I will let them know I want the meds changed.
Right now he's still not eating anything on his own, but he ate hay pretty regularly before all of this started happening. We were giving him too many veggies like cucumbers and carrots, but he's never had broccoli, cauliflower, or cabbage.
Lynx- Yes, I would like them posted. Took forever for me to find out how to get them on a public server, but I'd be glad if you did that. And yes, I will most certainly handfeed him for as long as he needs it.
Would he eat the critical care or pellets soaked in water out of a bowl? I have a guinea pig with teeth issues and I was unable to keep up with handfeeding so I started spoon feeding, then putting a bit on a plate, and now I can fill up a bowl for him and he eats it without needing to be hand fed.
Hedra2- He really must not like the taste because he tries to spit it back out. I'm beginning to think that his teeth might not be the issue, because I've heard him sneezing and he does sound a little congested, and his nose looks a little crusty. Could his lack of appetite be due to a URI?
- Sef
- I dissent.
It's entirely possible that he has a URI, with the symptoms you describe. I would ask, though, if you're sure he didn't aspirate some of the Critical Care when you were handfeeding him. What size syringe are you using, and how much are you pushing at a time?
Do read:
https://www.guinealynx.info/uri.html
I think, given that your vet seems quite experienced with guinea pigs, I'd take him back in for re-evaluation rather than trying to guess what's going on. If the decision is made to switch to Baytril, I'd highly recommend adding a probiotic 1 hour before or after each dose. Baytril tends to be hard on the gut and not always well-tolerated. If there's already a gut disturbance, Baytril could make it worse.
See also:
https://www.guinealynx.info/antibiotic_advice.html
Do read:
https://www.guinealynx.info/uri.html
I think, given that your vet seems quite experienced with guinea pigs, I'd take him back in for re-evaluation rather than trying to guess what's going on. If the decision is made to switch to Baytril, I'd highly recommend adding a probiotic 1 hour before or after each dose. Baytril tends to be hard on the gut and not always well-tolerated. If there's already a gut disturbance, Baytril could make it worse.
See also:
https://www.guinealynx.info/antibiotic_advice.html
sef1268- Oh yes, I know that I'm no vet and that I want to seek out her opinion before I try something. And I'm trying to feed him at least 12 ml a feeding, however I try to only push in a small amount at a time so that he isn't overwhelmed. I let him take a run after he has taken 6 ml so that we have a little break. I haven't heard him coughing at all when feeding him, or any other noises, so I'm hoping none of it got into his lungs. But he had a crusty nose and all that when we first handfed him, before we went to the ER vet.
My two boys have had Baytril before for URI's, and Fred was the only one of the two to not have much of an appetite while taking it. Is there any other antibiotic that might not cause such a disturbance?
My two boys have had Baytril before for URI's, and Fred was the only one of the two to not have much of an appetite while taking it. Is there any other antibiotic that might not cause such a disturbance?
- Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
Sounds like you are doing it right. Pinta describes putting how she does it here:
www.guinealynx.info/tips.html
www.guinealynx.info/tips.html
Brought Fred back into the vet just now, the vet wants to operate on his mammary tumor soon because she believes it's what is causing him not to eat. Can mammary tumors cause enough pain to make them not eat?