Meg may have bloat

[CinnandMegsMom]

Gosh Darn!

The past two days Meg has been laying down alot and not doing zoomies around her house. Her belly "seems" to be getting larger. The only diet changes I've made in the past month is KMS 3rd cut hay, KMS alfalfa pellets, and a cherry once a week or less. I held her and tapped her tummy. It does not sound hollow.


Called Vet and she is in surgery and can see Meg at 4:15. I love my vet!


This is the second time in a couple of months that this poor girl is going to the vet. Last time was for an abcess. She just pee'd in my lap, made a couple of noises like; "sorry mom" and she has no interest in going anywhere. Poor thing.


She is maybe 6 months old. Wondering how many vet visits she will need in her lifetime. My other two are the same age and so far have had no problems.

[Zuidy]

Good luck at the vet.

Poor thing, another vet visit! Oh well. At least you are able to take her again. :)

[mommmyof2]

Awww poor little thing.

Hope she's ok. Good luck at the vet.
Get better and feel better Meg!!!

[CinnandMegsMom]

Put Meg in the carrier with towel and fleece. Fresh water bottle. Fed her some red leaf while in my lap. Want to see what the poo situation is. C&C seems to be less soiled for two days worth.

Shaking my head. Of course my favorite girl is the sickest.

[mufasa]

Sending good thoughts your way that it will all turn out fine. I know how you feel because my Borat has been to the vet several times, and he's still not eating and we still don't know exactly what the problem in. I hope your vet will be able to figure it out for Meg so she'll be back to doing zoomies very soon.

[spy9doc]

Was going to make a recommendation, but I'm sure you have already seen the vet by now? I'm very lucky to have a vet who is willing to teach me anything I'm interested in learning. She also has been quite generous in prescribing extra meds so that I have them on hand for emergencies. I'm a healthcare professional, and although confident in my knowledge, cavies are certainly not my area of expertise.

An OTC product that you absolutely MUST keep on hand is something marketed for children as "gas drops". It is simethecone, tastes good, and is what my vet recommends for cavies. I have a boar who has this delicate little digestive system and it prompted more than one vet visit within a month when he was young. He probably hasn't been to the vet in a year because Dr. Mom has been able to treat everything from her cavy med chest. I also have on hand g.i. motility drops, antibiotics and NSAIDs for emergencies. My vet office is more than happy to just do a phone consult without the need to go to the office.

In contrast, baby girl who is just four months has been to the vet for what I thought might be an URI. She needed to go for a well-piggy visit anyway, so we took her in. Absolutely no problems. What I had interpreted as wheezing and whimpering? She was just finding her voice! It was all new to us and perfectly normal.......for her.

Of course anything can happen, but I suspect that just like children need more physician visits when they are young, so do cavies. Of course, this is strictly a guess, but it has proven that way for my kids.

[CinnandMegsMom]

Update on Meg. Sorry for the delay been sewing fleece liners.
Vet did all the checks. Eyes, nose, lungs, heart, belly, bum.
She is not bloated. She is a 2 lb. 6 month fatty. LOL
She asked about diet changes and I gave her the run down. She didn't think KMS was a problem.
She thought maybe her gut was an issue. Suggested a 1/4cc of plain yogurt. I asked about the dairy factor. Also told her about dissolving Cinn's poo and feeding Meg while she was on Bayitril for the abcess. She smiled and told me I'm a good parent.
Anyway...Gave Meg a 1/4cc of plain yogurt last night. So for the next couple of day's we are keeping measurments of Meg's belly. If it get bigger X-rays are in order.

[mommmyof2]

So glad that Meg is ok. Keep us updated on her

[spy9doc]

I personally wouldn't give her yoghurt. When humans or cavies are on antibiotics, they benefit from being given a probiotic to restore the "good" bacteria in their g.i. tract. Fortunately, Benebac is readily available at most pet stores, even Petco.

[CinnandMegsMom]

I personally wouldn't give her yoghurt.

TY spy9doc. Meg has not been on meds for a couple of weeks now. I didn't like the yogurt thing either but the vet assured me that a 1/4cc would not hurt her. Vet just called to check up on Meg. I could only report that her belly measures the same as yesterday. She is eating, drinking and seems happy. I isolated her most of the morning for a poo check. Everything seems fine. Told vet that I must just be a worry wart. She laughed and told me to call if anything changes.

[spy9doc]

I didn't like the yogurt thing either but the vet assured me that a 1/4cc would not hurt her

I wasn't concerned about it "hurting her".....I'm not one of those people who thinks everything not on the "approved list" should be banned. My concern is that there are precious few yogurts that have ANY live bacillus in them, and that it is a waste of time thinking it will help.

If you want to dose her with yogurt, then go to a good natural foods store where they keep their probiotics in a cooler and select something for her. Anything sitting out on a shelf in a capsule is likely be be less effective. Giving her a good probiotic will help to repopulate her g.i. tract with beneficial bacteria.

Just as an FYI.......if she has gas or g.i. stasis, she will probably not be very interested in eating, her abdomen will swell, and she will cry when you pick her up and put any pressure on her belly. If she's acting her normal self, I wouldn't worry about her.

[foggycreekcavy]

I would ditch the yogurt. Waste of time and money, and I am one who believes that milk products can mess with a pig's digestion. Instead of yogurt you can use acidophilus.

[CinnandMegsMom]

spy9doc An OTC product that you absolutely MUST keep on hand is something marketed for children as "gas drops". It is simethecone, tastes good, and is what my vet recommends for cavies.

Got WalMarts infants gas relief. 20mg simethicone. How do you decide on the dose? The lowest measure on the syringe is .3 ml


foggycreekcavy Instead of yogurt you can use acidophilus.


Bought Garden Acidophilus at the organic market. Each capsule is 500mg. How do you decide on the dose?

Update: Meg is fine. Eating, romping, etc. I got the meds for my piggie medicine box.
I suppose Meg is just going to be the fatty of the bunch. Must be why she gets the rest going at wheeking for food and of course is the first to the vegie plate every day.