Injury Not eating after traumatic event

[Beachluvr]

Hi, my 4 year old daughter accidentally stepped on our guinea pig Monday night. Since she hasn?t wanted to eat much of anything. And she usually eats everything you put in her cage. I was not in the room so I don?t know how much weight was put on her. I?ve felt for broken bones and she doesn?t act sick or injured she still runs around her cage when u open it, but she won?t eat and hides the rest of the time. I can?t find a vet that takes exotics so I?m hoping she is just stressed or traumatized but I?m worried how long she can go without eating?

 

[bpatters]

Where are you? We may be able to help you find a vet?

She MUST eat. If she won't eat on her own, you'll have to hand feed her.

 

[dawnmb57]

She needs a checkup for internal injuries. You won't be able to feel those. If you can't find an exotic that I would take her to any vet willing to see her. That would be better than nothing.

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[Beachluvr]

Thank for replying, I finally found a vet with openings and took her a few hours ago. He said she looked good and gave her pain medication and baby food for me to hand feed her. So I?m hoping she?ll bounce back soon.

 

[bpatters]

Baby food? What kind of baby food?

 

[Beachluvr]

He gave me sweet peas but said any vegetable would be fine.

 

[bpatters]

Your pig really needs Critical Care, or even a pellet slurry. Peas are not a complete food for guinea pigs, and contain quite a bit of sugar. There's no way I'd be feed peas to a guinea pig as a major food.

Was this an exotic vet? Because small animal vets are trained to treat dogs and cats, not exotic pets, and some of them are downright dangerous.

 

[dawnmb57]

Any vet is better than no vet. They all have manuals they can use and in veterinary school they learn about the systems of all animals and then they specialize. If you have an animal that has been stepped on and you can't find an exotic vet, better to take it to any vet then not take it to a vet at all. At least this vet was able to check for internal injuries and give pain medication even if he didn't give good advice about food. It's easy enough to find information about food online.

That would be great if you found an exotic vet for next time though. Before there is another emergency.


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[bpatters]

Any vet is not necessarily better than no vet. In the time I've been on this board and Guinea Lynx, I've seen several pigs killed by vets by being given antibiotics that they can't tolerate, and more than one male pig neuter screwed up by a vet that didn't know guinea pigs have open inguinal rings.

Vets do all have manuals, but they don't necessarily use them, and a number of their text books are out of date regarding exotic pets. And they get a very short time in vet school on exotics, and it covers everything from gerbils to giraffes.

About the only way small animal vets are competent to treat guinea pigs, unless they've done additional study on their own or in an internship, is with eyes. Eyes are pretty much the same, regardless of species.

So my advice to the original poster stands -- please find an exotic vet for your pig if at all possible.

 

[Beachluvr]

Yes he is a exotic vet, he said to o the baby food for 2-3 days and if she wasn’t eating on her own to switch to pellets ground up or critical care. I’ve been doing half baby food and half pellets in the food processor. She still seems like she’s in pain even after the pain medication and a little groggy which worries me.

 

[dawnmb57]

Yes he is a exotic vet, he said to o the baby food for 2-3 days and if she wasn?t eating on her own to switch to pellets ground up or critical care. I?ve been doing half baby food and half pellets in the food processor. She still seems like she?s in pain even after the pain medication and a little groggy which worries me.

With rats, I found there are still bad exotic vets and the range of advice can vary. I'm new to guinea pigs and still would feel very nervous giving them baby food. It's hard though when you are being given advice online versus by someone who has a license on their wall. Sounds like you really care for your animals and will make a good decision.

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[dawnmb57]

Yes he is a exotic vet, he said to o the baby food for 2-3 days and if she wasn?t eating on her own to switch to pellets ground up or critical care. I?ve been doing half baby food and half pellets in the food processor. She still seems like she?s in pain even after the pain medication and a little groggy which worries me.

I keep thinking about your poor baby being in pain. I hesitate to offer any advice on forums because if you haven't owned the animals for long people get upset when you offer advice. So let me start by saying I am making suggestions based on taking care of rats for 10 years. I cared for over a hundred and fifty and they are also Exotics.

I live in Idaho where there are not many good exotic vets so if I had a rat that had been stepped on, looked at by a vet and was still in pain I would: see if someone could do an x-ray and Cat Scan, contact chiropractors to see if there was one around who perhaps had a rat that he had success with, try massage and assisted physical therapy. You can always ask around and find someone else familiar with these modalities. Think about people who have the same issues and doctors can't help.

All of these things have been tried by people who have rats with some success. Like I said, I haven't developed the same experience with guinea pigs so don't know if there are the same experiences. Have you tried looking for other guinea pig forums to ask around? I know there are people in England who have a lot more experience with them for many decades that may be able to offer more information.

It's hard to think of any animal being in pain and much less being in the same room and knowing you can't do anything about it.

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