Guinea pig sitting in corner of cage, not moving

[Paula]

In my opinion Abys are hard to tell if they are loosing weight or even seeing wounds.

It's not hard to tell if an aby or a peruvian is losing weight if you're weighing him/her weekly.

I, too, would comment on the rude posts, but I'm sure I would be jumped on as well. Oh well... I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

Comment on anything you'd like, but let me remind folks that the concern here is for guinea pigs and making sure that they can live the best lives and receive the best care possible. They are fragile creatures that depend entirely on us for their care - medical and otherwise. This forum is a great tool but no substitute for the advice and treatment a qualified veterinarian can provide. When a person presents a situation like this, it's important to stress that the most appropriate course of action is to seek medical attention quickly and not wait.

I am also glad that the original poster opted to seek veterinary attention sooner rather than later.

He didn't talk to me about if it would be ongoing. Assuming things improve, I plan to ask him the about the cleaning and all that at the followup appointment in one week. He is not neutered.

I would ask him when you go in again if he thinks it will be ongoing. If there's no underlying cause, it likely will be. Cleaning bums is no pretty task, but it doesn't take long and as much as your pig may protest, it doesn't hurt, and they actually are quite relieved afterwards.

[JessicaS]

Whoops! I could have sworn it said Aby! :)

[evilnumberlady]

Oh, please. Your first post said "I'm going to continue to feed him outside the cage for awhile and take him in to the vet for tests." That could mean you're planning to separate him, try for a week or two to fatten him up, THEN take him to the vet. You did not sound like you considered him having lost so much weight that he's bony, and that he has been picked on to a point where he's got multiple scabby wounds you hadn't noticed, an emergency. I'm glad that at least now, you apparently do. Paula told you the right thing for your pig, whether or not you appreciate it. You did ask.

I did consider it an emergency. That's why I came here for advice since it was the weekend and I couldn't get him to the vet right away. I never post here anymore but didn't know where else to turn, and I was freaking out and scared. I didn't say how I felt, because I didn't think it relevant to the medical issue I wanted to discuss and I could have never imagined that someone would assume I didn't care. I have NO idea why you chose to interpret my statements in the worst way possible. I didn't say anything even remotely like that.

I can understand you wanting to make sure I did the right thing by taking him to the vet right away, but you and Paula could have done so without jumping to false conclusions about me and then yelling at me about it.

I also realize that Paula has given me some good advice, especially since you posted this. I also realize that you both likely have very good intentions and just want my guinea pig to be better. For that I am very grateful. However, it's very difficult for me to be calm about the way I was talked to here. I certainly did not do everything right by my guinea pig, but overall I am a good owner and some very bad conclusions and false conclusions were drawn about me. It's very upsetting.

[Ly&Pigs]

I, too, would comment on the rude posts, but I'm sure I would be jumped on as well. Oh well... I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

I have found nothing in this thread that was rude. If you feel something is not said as tactfully as you believe it should be, there is a voting system in place on threads where you can vote it down. Instead of taking this thread in a direction it does not need to go, maybe the concern should be for David the guinea pig instead of pointing fingers.

I am glad David is getting the care he needs. Please keep us updated on his condition.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

The impaction could have been a secondary issue caused by him not eating due to another medical issue. Regardless you will need to check him regularly to make sure he is not impacted. You should check any other male guinea pigs you have too. This should be done from when they are young.

[Paula]

It's very upsetting.

It's upsetting to me that you seem to want to carry on an internet battle rather than focus on getting your pig better.

You claim that I have jumped to false or bad conclusions about you and yet the things I've said are to take the pig to the vet rather than hoping to find a cure over the internet and to invest more time in your pig and his illness than in arguing with me. And yet you're still here looking for an argument. I fail to understand how that's of benefit to your pig.

You are the one who seems to be looking to make this into an issue and it simply doesn't have to be.


As I said before, I strongly suggest you start weighing your pigs weekly and record those weighs so you might be alerted to an issue before the pig has lost so much weight he's bony. I would also get into a regular habit of checking over your pigs so that you might notice things like impactions before they are a medical emergency.

Between now and David's checkup, I would weigh him daily so you can see how he's responding to the medication and keep an eye on his back end so you can clear out any more impactions that develop.

[PiggieMamaKelly]

Glad David is doing ok! Poor guy, doesn't sound like a comfortable thing to go through.

[evilnumberlady]

You claim that I have jumped to false or bad conclusions about you and yet the things I've said are to take the pig to the vet rather than hoping to find a cure over the internet

This is one of the conclusions I'm talking about. I can understand how you might think this is the case from my first post only, but after I tried to clarify with you in my second post...

Does anyone have any advice to give me about caring for him as best as possible tonight before I can get him to the vet?

...you continued to treat me like I was trying to dodge the vet for some reason.

No, I certainly don't want you to grovel, I want you to get your pig the veterinary attention he needs. As I suggested in my first post, he could have a URI, malocclusion, or any number of other problems that would cause weight loss and possibly immobility...the best thing to do at this point to "make him understand" that is to take him to the vet quickly.

Also...

It's upsetting to me that you seem to want to carry on an internet battle rather than focus on getting your pig better.

And yet you're still here looking for an argument. I fail to understand how that's of benefit to your pig.

What can I say other than this is pure venom. Of course taking care of my guinea pig doesn't lead to the exclusion of all things. I think you know this is ridiculous, though and you just want to hurt me.

Still though, I do appreciate the advice you give. I will make a renewed commitment to weighing weekly. I admit it was bad of me not to. There's a reason I started slacking but I won't get into it because it's an admittedly stupid one and I should have known better. I'll also learn more about impaction. I guess I didn't realize that cleaning that area is something I should do on a regular basis, but I was reading about it on guinea lynx and I realized I was wrong.

[evilnumberlady]

Oh, by the way I'll continue to post updates on his condition and try to ignore the parts of posts that irritate me from now on. :-)

[PiggieMom]

Oh, by the way I'll continue to post updates on his condition and try to ignore the parts of posts that irritate me from now on. :-)

That's usually what's best to do. On large forums like these there will always be people who don't mesh well together. Add that to the fact that it's hard to see get the feel for the 'tone' of a post and there's always going to be things that bother you. Just keep in mind that we're all here to try and help our pigs and others.

Hope David continues to improve.

[blackarrow]

I have NO idea why you chose to interpret my statements in the worst way possible. I didn't say anything even remotely like that.

I can understand you wanting to make sure I did the right thing by taking him to the vet right away, but you and Paula could have done so without jumping to false conclusions about me and then yelling at me about it.

. . . some very bad conclusions and false conclusions were drawn about me. It's very upsetting.

I didn't make a "false conclusion" about you or interpret your statements. In fact I didn't make ANY conclusion about you, let alone "yell" at you about it. I didn't say anything about you as a guinea pig owner.

I'm glad your piggie sounds like he will be fine.

[Paula]

I think you know this is ridiculous, though and you just want to hurt me.

It has definitely reached the level of ridiculous. I certainly don't want to hurt you. I do however want you to get your pig the care he needs, as I've said over and over. How you felt I treated you is nothing more than your interpretation. Yes, I stressed that you needed to get him to the vet quickly. I'm glad you did so.

You say it's "pure venom," and yet you're still attempting to prove something by carrying this on, although I'm not certain exactly what.

Please continue to post updates on your pig's medical condition rather than arguing here. This is a medical forum, meant to address medical issues, and should be used as such.

[mamazul]

Evilnumberlady, I hope your piggie gets better soon. It makes no sense to claim that because you are responding to posts, you are not focused or your piggie's health. You obviously don't need me to speak up on your behalf, and maybe my lack of focus on my piggies this very moment will have catastrophic consequences, but I'll risk it...

[evilnumberlady]

I wanted to give you guys an update, but there's not too much to report. He seems to be gaining weight slowly and has been taking the critical care and his medicine OK. I'd like to see him eat more on his own still.

Here's the weights I've gotten so far (in grams)

[CavyLuver516]

You know what I don't get here?? That when someone tries to stick up for evilnumberlady / dis-agrees with the majority, they get voted down. Grrr!

His weight seems pretty good, evilnumberlady! Puttin' on a few grams, I see! Yay! (it's been a while since I've searched guinealynx, so I can't quite remember what healthy weights are...oops = D)

[evilnumberlady]

I was just at guinea lynx, and they never really give a good range. They show the ranges most commonly used, and according to that he is on the low end of the normal range. But guinea lynx then goes on to say that the ranges they just provided are "too low".

http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html

Still, he could clearly stand to gain quite a bit more.

[Ilovemypiggies1]

Losing weight is a sign of illness, another sign of illness is him sitting in the corner of the cage, not moving. He may have mites which could be the cause of the scabs on his skin. I would separate your two guinea pigs because if one has mites, the other can get them too. Best is to put them in separate rooms. Your guinea pig could also have a URI, is he sneezing a lot or looks like he is having trouble breathing? Best is to take him to a vet right away. Good Luck

[Paula]

That's actually pretty good weight gain for a sick piggy. Are you weighing him at the same time of day? That's key to getting a good baseline for weight variation.

As for guinealynx and the number listed there, I wouldn't sweat it. The key is knowing what's normal for your particular pig so that you can notice trends of weight loss.

You mentioned you had once been weighing them weekly, did you keep any of that info? It's not a big deal but it might be nice to get an idea of what his "good" weight was so you can know what to shoot for.

ETA, I also wanted to ask how his impaction issue seems to be going? Is it clearing up or kind of staying the same?

[PiggieMom]

As for guinealynx and the number listed there, I wouldn't sweat it. The key is knowing what's normal for your particular pig so that you can notice trends of weight loss.

Exactly. The reason Guinea Lynx's numbers are vague and so ranged is because it varies so greatly with each pig. This is partly why it's so important to keep a record of a pig's weight, so an average for that pig can be established.

I'm glad to see he seems to be gaining weight. I hope he continues to improve. I'm also curious about how his sac and poops look.

[wheekers01]

I have not had experience with males, but I hope things are looking brighter! I found your first post to be fine. I took it as you were taking him to the vet asap! (when it opened) I think you did a great job! Good Luck!