My peeg is not pooping regularly

[Talishan]

How's he doing, Vesperia? Any news?

[Vesperia]

Thank you for asking and for helping, his urine cleared up and he stopped choking on food. I didn't give him the Baytril and yesterday, on Satruday, he had his worst diarrhea yet, which further cemented my conviction on not giving him anymore antibiotics.

The one who wanted me to give him the Baytril is the third doctor we visited, and she's actually supposed to be specialized in exotic animals, maybe even the only one in the whole country. I think that she didn't believe me about the diarrhea just because the stool I gave her looked normal. I tried to say that it goes away and then it comes back, and she just said nothing to that.

So since the choking went away I decided I should bring him to my grandparents in the countryside where I would have more help with taking care of him.

I gave him some watermelon rind yesterday, he really liked it and I hope it won't hurt his tummy. Today I plan on gathering some fresh grass and then drying it a little before feeding it to him.

[bpatters]

You don't need to dry the grass -- you'd have to dry it a very long time for it to make any difference. Just start him very very slowly on fresh grass, because it can definitely cause digestive upsets.

[GrannyJu1]

If you cut the grass from an area where other animals can roam, be sure to wash it thoroughly before you give it to him.

[Vesperia]

So last week, after we got here his diarrhea stopped and he was gaining weight and everything seemed normal and okay. I stopped giving him the meds a few days ago and for the past three days I noticed his diarrhea came back and when I weighted him today he was 720 grams. I'll start with the meds again and also syringe feeding.

[Talishan]

Sounds like the best thing to do. Keep us posted. My continued best to him.

[Vesperia]

a week and a half/two weeks ago
Noticed:
-he wasn't drinking water
-wasn't eating his hay
-only eating vegetables and pellets
-had mild diarrhea
-he seemed to be in pain

first doctor visit
-did an x-ray to check his teeth, found them to be perfectly fine
-not bloated
-doctor not sure what's going on, but she gave him an injection with an anti-inflammatory medicine + probiotic + something to help with intestinal motility so he won't get bloated

-as soon as we got home he started eating
-he is also drinking a lot of water, as long as I give it to him with a syringe

a few days later, second doctor visit
-he is eating 90% of his poops; they still look soft, they have a normal color and smell pretty nice
-he is not eating his hay again so we went to the vet again
-he sleeps a lot
-vet checked his teeth again;
-vet speculated the motility medicine might be why he still has soft poops
-vet gave me more probiotic + motility drug to give him
-vet said she'll put him on antibiotics if he doesn't improve, but I don't think he has an infection

now
-finished the motility medicine
-noticed his poops improved a lot; they're still soft if touched but not runny or sticky
-his weight seems to have stabilized (I weigh him twice a day)
-he is much more active than he was at the beginning of the week
-still not really wanting to eat hay
-i reduced his veggies and pellets hoping to make him eat hay instead
-he is drinking around 150ml of water, but still with the syringe

[Lynx]

Thanks for moving your information from this topic to your original one. You did a good job of reorganizing the new information. These replies from that topic:
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewt ... =2&t=77653

Me:

I am unfamiliar with these drugs.

He sounds very ill.
www.guinealynx.info/diarrhea.html
www.guinealynx.info/malocclusion.html

sef1268

Agree that he sounds very ill. How experienced is your veterinarian when it comes to exotic animals like rabbits and guinea pigs? It looks like Rodicare is just a handfeeding formula of some sort, and I assume you mean "Meloxicam" and "Metoclopramide" on the two drugs given. ?

It is possible continuing the motility medication may help. I am glad you are weighing a couple times a day. This is a great way to keep track of things.

Is there anything different about the hay? Is it stalky? Any mold? You could try soaking a handful in water for a while and offering it to him on a plate. Remove in an hour or so. Watch for any signs of pain.
www.guinealynx.info/pain.html

[Sef]

Reading back through some of your earlier posts on him, it seems like he has a history of digestive problems. Has the vet ever done a fecal test to rule out intestinal parasites?

[Vesperia]

Thanks, I am trying to be as clear as possible.

I went and bought another bag of hay when he first stopped eating it, and when he didn't want to eat that either I bought another kind of hay.
I just tried to give him hay soaked in water, I also mixed in very little grated apple and he was very interested in it, but he only had a little.
He does not appear to be in pain. He was in pain back when he first stopped eating, but after the first visit to the vet he didn't show any signs of pain anymore. However, he is not behaving like himself either.

He does have a history of digestive problems. He was never 100% okay with his digestion. Back when he was little his feces were tested and there was nothing wrong with them, no parasites.
Besides that, a couple months ago my cat had worms and I took Noty to the vet for de-worming too, just to be sure he was safe from parasites.

The vet isn't specialized in exotic animals. but no one here is. It's not the vet we've been to 3 years ago because we moved away.

[Vesperia]

Thought I would update this thread with what I just discovered.

Things didn't get any better or worse since last time I posted here in terms of weight loss and how he's eating. He is 90% himself, except he doesn't ask for any treats anymore, but he does ask for water instead.

But then today as I was syringing him water I noticed something weird with how his mouth was moving. So I forced him to open his mouth and noticed his front teeth are slanted and misaligned. So it was a mouth issue all along.

Now I don't know if I should go to my usual vet and tell her to look (for the third time!) at his teeth, do another X-ray or go to a new vet altogether. I'm scared.

I'll try to take a picture later of his teeth.

[bpatters]

I'd see if I couldn't find a vet with experience in rodent dentistry. You've been dealing with this for a while, and your current vet hasn't diagnosed it yet.