Bite Wound, Hole in Face

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Oct 04, 2018 9:54 am


Would you like me to crop and add your pic permanently to the topic for future readers?

You can also soak hay in water and put on a plate to increase fluids. Remove uneaten hay in an hour or so. You can also syringe water.

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Thu Oct 04, 2018 7:47 pm


That would be great Lynx!

I wouldn't have even thought to soak hay in water! We tried it this morning, she actually seemed to enjoy it, and by this afternoon she was already having bigger and mushy poos. The vet said he didn't think any fluids would be necessary, and he thinks she'll make it just fine until we can see the more specialized vet on Saturday!

I had completely forgotten to mention this earlier, but since she stopped drinking, I have attempted to syringe water at different times, and so did the vet. She fought it so hard that the vet was worried she would accidentally aspirate it, even if we only syringed tiny amounts. That's the main reason he did SQ fluids, so it would hopefully hydrate her until she would drink again. I've been able to syringe a few cc's at a time, but not nearly enough to hydrate her. After just a couple ccs, she starts aggressively trying to fight it. What makes that even more odd is I can syringe an entire cc of simethicone without her fighting it at all (it's more than recommended on the GuineaLynx med page, but the vet said it was ok as long as it didn't have sugar alcohols, so I got a brand that didn't). I don't know what her issue is with syringed water, but I've never had any of the other girls react that way when I've had to give them water. Either way, soaked hay is working wonderfully, and she's also using her water bottle a little more!

Another super weird thing she's doing, she will not leave any droppings on in her cage. If I put her on my lap or on the bed with a towel, she will leave them and not touch them at all, but there hasn't been a single poo in her cage. The vet offered a theory to try: put one of the droppings she left on my lap in her cage and see what she does. Sure enough, I put it in her cage and she ate it immediately. I have no clue what that is about, but as long as her stomach is moving, the vet didn't seem concerned.

Again, thank you for the advice! She's showing a great deal of improvement already.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Oct 04, 2018 8:07 pm


There are lots of guinea pigs that enjoy soaked hay. (the only caution is to remove it soon so it doesn't get moldy) I encourage you to give her some daily if you think she will enjoy it.

And verrry interesting about the poop eating!

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Mon Oct 08, 2018 12:37 am


I thought I'd give an update after seeing an exotics vet. After I updated last, Maggie started pooping less and less again. We saw the vet on the 6th. She did x-rays and saw some gas build up; I imagine there was less than there would have been a few days ago, but it was still enough to cause concern. She diagnosed her with GI stasis and bloat...she said although Maggie's GI tract was moving now, it is still slower than it should be. She gave her metoclopramide, metacam, 20cc SQ fluids (and more to give at home if I can), and told me to continue the simethicone. She said the simethicone, fluids, and continuous belly massages were probably the only thing that got her through the week...so hallelujah for that. Here's hoping this takes care of it.

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Mon Oct 08, 2018 12:42 am


Diet wise...does anyone know what is best for them when they have GI stasis/bloat? The previous vet said absolutely no veggies, and I've read some others have been told the same. This vet, however, said veggies should be included, but to give her very little lettuce...but this vet also said iceberg lettuce was fine for them, so I'm not 100% confident in her diet advice. Maggie is eating plenty of hay, and she is now finally eating her pellets again. I've also been giving her an oxbow vitamin C tablet every day, and she hasn't had any hesitation to eat that.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Oct 08, 2018 8:39 am


Thanks for the update. I hope she does not have a serious recurrence!

What you can do is log what you are feeding and see if there is a trigger. Feed one vegetable at a time for several days. Add another one in, keep monitoring. For some guinea pigs, green peppers are not well tolerated (unfortunate because they are so nutritious).

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:18 am


Thanks, Lynx, that's a good idea (that I probably should have been doing since I got her...I'm learning the hard way). One thing I've thought about...the only thing that changed in her diet at all was I ran out of Oxbow Simple Harvest pellets. A guinea pig lover of mine uses Mazuri timothy hay pellets and recommended them to me until I could get my Oxbow. I mixed their pellets half Mazuri/half Oxbow until I ran out of Oxbow. They transitioned over just fine, and I was planning on switching back to Oxbow as soon as my local store got back in stock (it was estimated a week, but they've been out of stock since September 15th or so, and they're still out. Grr.).

After she started getting sick, the Mazuri pellets were the first thing she stopped eating, but I didn't think too much about it. As a last-ditch effort to increase her food intake, I got online and ordered the Oxbow pellets. I didn't even think about the Mazuri pellets being the cause of GI issues; I just thought she might have a preference for Oxbow, just as humans prefer certain things when we're sick. They came in a few days ago, and she's been eating them just fine.

It just crossed my mind tonight as I was starting a food log that all of her GI issues (even the gas I mentioned back in late September) did not start until about a week after I started transitioning to the Mazuri pellets. Has anyone heard about the brand or heard of anyone have any problems with it? I don't want to blame the pellets without good reason to, but I definitely interested in knowing if it's a common problem and I need to just toss the rest of the bag (I might anyway just in case, and I can start fresh with Oxbow since I trust it). I've tried to look it up myself, but I can't find many conversations about the brand at all, other than people's personal preference. Just wondering if maybe someone remembers hearing something about it.

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Tue Oct 09, 2018 10:01 am


I've been feeding my girls Mazuri mixed with some KMS. They really seem to prefer the Mazuri. Once I started to run low on both of those, I tried mixing some Small Pet Select stuff. They definitely don't like those! I'll have to go back to KMS when they run low on this mix. Fuzz's poops aren't messy any longer, but I don't know if I can give credit to the pellets or the Bio-Sponge I've been giving to her again. I just know the messy poops have disappeared. Again. Once more, I'm getting by with using the hideys for more than one night.

My vet recommended Mazuri last summer, but admitted she didn't know anything about them (she's not an exotic vet) she's just most familiar with the brand.

I guess my pigs would give a thumbs up to KMS. I'm pretty sure they are healthier than stuff off a shelf, so I'm going to go back to them.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Tue Oct 09, 2018 11:53 am


The only two brands I'd even consider using are KMS and Oxbow. If I couldn't get those, they'd just have to do without.

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:25 am


Oh wow, thanks! It doesn't sound like they've been bothering yours too much, Grannyju, so it may have just been either changing them upset her stomach or something else entirely, like her veggies or some kind of bacteria. I'm glad to hear yours are doing well on them though!

Bpatters, thank you for the recommendation! I have looked at the KMS for their hay, but I hadn't even thought to look at their pellets. I'll probably end up giving the Mazouri pellets to my friend that uses them, just in case. The others have been fine on it, but I don't want to unnecessarily increase the risk them going through this too. I haven't had any problems with the Oxbow pellets, which I have fed all the guinea pigs since I got them, so it looks like I'm going to have to stick to the tried and true. If I ever have to go to a different brand, it sounds like KMS is the way to go! It's good to know that there's at least one other high-quality pellet that is trusted.

As for other updates: I think I finally figured out why she hasn't wanted to drink. Last night I finally was able to get her to drink a little from her bottle, and every time she swallowed you could hear her stomach "gurgle". It looked like it was very uncomfortable for her, even with Metacam to help with some of the pain. I'd say until the gas is completely gone, getting her to drink her daily recommended water is going to be difficult. That said, last night she decided she will drink some from her bottle now if I will hold it for her while she's on my lap. She will barely touch it if it's on her cage. She might be getting just a little bit spoiled. ;)

I've still been giving her soaked hay when I'm home to be able to remove it, along with occasional slices of cucumber and whatever water I can get her to take from a syringe. So far, I have gone just over 24 hours without giving her SQ fluids, which she's been getting at least twice a day, sometimes three, since October 6 (only 20 ccs per round). Her poop is still smaller than I'd like, and it almost has the consistency of play-doh (shiny on the outside, but grainy and dry inside). Some are slightly tapered at one end, but not teardrop shaped and rock hard anymore. With that being the case, the stress and panic she goes through while getting SQ fluids doesn't seem to be worth the risk, so long as her poos are getting better and she's attempting to drink some on her own. Now that she knows what's coming, the squealing, freaking out, and fighting like her life depends on it begins as soon as I start to gently pull up her skin into a tent above her shoulders, and then she goes absolutely crazy if/when she hears the needle uncap. Cuddle cups and wrapping her in a towel helped some with her moving, but they didn't seem to help with calming her at all. Her breathing and heart rate haven't been gong back down until almost 30 minutes after it's over. I'm afraid she'll drive herself into a heart attack with that level of stress, so I'm hoping I can keep her hydrated enough to be able to significantly reduce the frequency of the injections or even discontinue them altogether.

Other than that, her stomach has gone down a lot, although she is still a little bloated and passing gas. She's been on simethicone 1 mL every 8 hours for 8 days now, as well as Reglan twice daily for the past 4 days. While the gas is not going away as fast as I'd like or expected, I'll gladly take any improvement right now.

This morning she's extremely hyper and is wanting to run around on the couch and explore. This is the first time she's not been severely lethargic since October 2nd, so hopefully she's getting a little of her spunk back!

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Oct 10, 2018 10:54 am


Sounds very encouraging!

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Wed Oct 10, 2018 10:59 am


I may have to throw out the Small Pet Select pellets. Fuzz's poops are very messy again, almost, but not quite diarrhea. I ended up cleaning the cage with a lot of paper towels. :o(

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