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Small pets

Guinea pig lethargic and not eating -- advice?

13 replies

Tingalingle · 15/04/2013 09:24

One of our year-old piggies just isn't herself at the moment. Yes we've been to the vet (at out-of-hours rates yesterday, sigh) and she agreed that pig is dehydrated with raised temp, but no obvious reason except maybe the warm weather.

I've been spooning/squirting in Critical Care mush hourly with a few hours off overnight, hoping she'd be greeting us all bright and chirpy this morning, but she's still just ... sitting. Which is an improvement on yesterday's 'just lying there', but not fantastic. She hasn't bothered with hay or water as far as I can tell, won't come over for veg, nibbled a bit of cucumber and gave up.

Teeth checked. Guts still gurgling. No known changes, stresses, or contact with disease (but I'm not sure if i should separate her from her sister just in case, or whether that would stress them both).

Please come and tell me your tales of lethargic guineas who miraculously perked up, or suggest something else I can try?

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 15/04/2013 19:55

Warm weather are you outside the UK? Our boars still have their thermals on.

Sitting there sounds better than lieing there so that's an improvement.
I think I'd put the veg right beside her so she didn't have to strain herself. Cucumber, watermelon, strawberries, bananas, celery (leaves are nice) red peppers.- keep her hydrated especially if she's not drinking.

Ribena? I've never given it to my pigs but I'd give it a try.

Has your vet ruled out infection?
Scurvy (Vit C ) can lead to muscle weakness

Has your pig got loose bowels? Or is she passing any droppings?

If they are ok together , probably best leave them (make sure your other pig doesn't bully her).

One of my sows from waaaaay back used to get bunged up, we couldn't touch her. We put her in deep hay out of desperation. (I think she wanted a break from her piglet). She passed her own bodyweight in droppings, ate the hay and had her quiet time.
Then was fine.

Have you got to take piggle back to the vet?

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guineapiglet · 15/04/2013 20:10

Hi there, good advice from 7o - give her lots of attention. A couple of my girls went through episodes of what you have described, it could be lots of things, but if she is dehydrated you must get water into her via a syringe if you can, also try a bit of grass, or dandelion, just to get her appetite going. She might get too stressed if separated from her companion, maybe keep them where they can see each other - it really is a question of finding something to encourage her to eat, banana, or all the suff mentioned above, spinach is especially good for guineas. YOu can get VIt C drops to put in the water as well to give her some energy. Hope she rallies - all this cold and damp doesnt really suit guineas lets hope it cheers up and she can go outside and get some sun.

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Tingalingle · 15/04/2013 22:32

I've just come back to this thanks for the advice. Guinea pig is staying overnight at the vet as she was looking very miserable and dull-eyed. Will see how she is in the morning hope she makes it, as the other one is very puzzled by her absence.

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Tingalingle · 16/04/2013 12:03

Not looking good, I'm afraid. The vet 's just rung to say although she seemed briefly better after fluids etc. she's gone right back downhill again; no poos and no interest in food.

I have reasonable faith in these vets but I think they're saying her chances are pretty poor .

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guineapiglet · 16/04/2013 12:24

Oh Im really sorry to hear she is so unwell. If she were mine, I would bring her home and make a quiet fuss of her, lots of tlc, somewhere dark and full of sweetsmelling hay, and maybe think about a rescue singleton for your remaining girl, who will be very sad and lonely. Good luck.

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Tingalingle · 16/04/2013 12:33

Thanks, GP. I'll leave her there till the evening (their advice as they want to see if the painkillers they've tried are making her dopey).

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Tingalingle · 16/04/2013 12:37

Vet has just rung to say she's died. They were very apologetic and sounded quite upset.

Yes, we'll go looking for a rescue piggy at the weekend as long as the other one looks fit and well still.

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FernieB · 16/04/2013 14:39

So sorry to hear about your poor piggy. You and your vet clearly did everything you could for her and I'm sure she was comfortable.

Hope the other pig is fit and well. You could get her checked out to make sure she's fighting fit and then good luck with finding her a new best friend to share her parsley with.

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 16/04/2013 19:28

That's really , you did everything you possibly could have done for her.

Does the vet have any idea what happened?
Maybe just one of those "Pig Things".They do go downhill quickly unfortunately.

Extra hugs for your lone pig and YY to getting her a new cagemate.

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Tingalingle · 17/04/2013 13:22

Hmm, looks like getting a single rescue pig might be harder than I'd thought.

Tried our two nearest rescues to be told that all of theirs are bonded pairs that can't be split up, and we can't have both of a pair because they say our cage is too small for three (it's 2 x 4 feet and occupies nearly a whole worktop). It would be nice to have three pigs so we don't have this exact problem next time round, but I can't see how to extend or where else to put the cage.

Our remaining pig is not happy. She's getting plenty of cuddles and is eating OK, just clearly missing her sister.

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KRITIQ · 18/04/2013 00:30

So sorry to hear about this. When pigs are ill, often they go down hill very fast but show few signs before it gets to a critical point.

When I've had a pig die, I've often waited a couple of weeks before getting a new companion, giving them lots of cuddles and treats and taking them to work, assigning them light desk duties to keep them occupied.

For example, as soon as Boar 6 of 8 went to the Rainbow Bridge, I started contacting all the rescues in the local area to see if they had any young boars and left my details, should they get one. I finally found one that had a litter born only a couple days before. All turned out to be little men, so they rehomed two brothers as a pair and I got the spare when he turned 3 weeks.

Good luck in your quest!

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Tingalingle · 18/04/2013 14:13

Thanks, Kritiq. It's good to know that we needn't rush to get a friend for her. One of our previous ones was alone for months before we managed to pair her up, though, and was a grumpy little antisocial sod to her new toyboy when he first arrived, so I'd like this one not to go the same way!

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Tingalingle · 25/04/2013 12:40

Happier update: we now have a new young friend (thought to be around 4-5 mths) for lonely survivor pig.

New Sow is a bossy little thing who has put Old Pig firmly in her place with a spot of rumbling and cabbage-stealing. You could almost hear the sigh of relief from Old Pig, always the more timid of our original two: 'Someone's bossing me again! All's right with the world!'