Sick GP not eating - lethargic

[lisanjake]

Heya all
sorry ive not posted it a long time! ive not really had any issues to ask about!

So anyway, i noticed one of my girls has been a bit off her food recently, staying in her house quite alot and not really been herself..
this morning she squeaked once for food, jumped off her house and kinda sat there for a second and looked quite unsteady then walked back to her house - had a slice of lettuce and i cut up some cucumber into small pieces and she had a slight nibble but left most of it.
my other girl Bella has been bullying her alot recently, rumble strutting, constantly steals food from her, and sits right in front of her hidey so she cant get out! ugh im starting to get to he point i want them in diff cages...
So i gave Luna some critical care before i left for work, i noticed a bit of sludgy poop around the house that i thinks her
she just sat in the corner half closing her eyes so im wondering is she in pain? could it be her teeth?
she was eager to take the critical care.
one last thing is shes been chewing EVERYTHING recently :/ she just looked so sad when i left her this morning.

Oh and yes i have a vets app for tonight

 

[LittleSqueakers]

It's good that you have a vet appointment for tonight; it definitely sounds like your piggy is sick. The vet will do an exam and hopefully will be able to help determine exactly what's wrong with her, but in the meantime make sure that she's eating. If she'll take the critical care willingly that's perfect; she needs to be fed multiple (4-6) times every 24 hours if she's not eating anything else. The water you mix it up with should help some with hydrating her as well.

Bella may have started picking on her recently because she knows that Luna is sick. If she's preventing Luna from eating or leaving her hidey then you might want to separate them temporarily to protect Luna from having her food stolen and give her some peace while she recovers. The fact that she's chewing everything could indicate that she's in pain. I had a boar who would get bladder stones and I always knew when he was hurting because he would destroy the toilet paper rolls that I put into the cage.

Good luck, and I hope she gets better soon!

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

I'll second @LittleSqueakers. It sounds like your little girl definitely isn't feeling well, and could use a visit to the vet. The bullying would also be indicative of an ill pig being picked on.

It's great that she took the critical care, if she's not eating much else definitely continue to offer it to her as often as she'll take it.

 

[lisanjake]

Dropped Luna off at the vets last night as they wanted to keep her in for tests.
They rang this morning they did an xray and said she has quite a big bladder stone far down in her urethra bless her heart, so they have given her diazepan to help relax her muscles so she hopefully will pass it by herself! otherwise they will have to flush it out.
shes bloated too and has diarrhoea

 

[lisanjake]

so more bad news this morning.
Still not eating by herself and they think she might have ecoli she?s gone downhill a lot since yesterday I?m so worried my poor girl
does anyone know much about ecoli? I?ve tried and tried to search on the forum but nothing?s coming up and it?s hard to navigate on my phone

 

[bpatters]

Try searching on just coli and you might have more luck. The correct term is e. coli, so having it all run together may affect your searches.

It's not a common problem with guinea pigs. I don't think I remember any pig on this board or at Guinea Lynx having e. coli in the last nine or ten years.

I'm sorry she's so ill. I hope they can get it sorted it out. I do think they could probably work the stone out of her urethra -- it's usually not too difficult to do with sows if the stone is actually in the urethra where they can get hold of it.

 

[lisanjake]

Try searching on just coli and you might have more luck. The correct term is e. coli, so having it all run together may affect your searches.

It's not a common problem with guinea pigs. I don't think I remember any pig on this board or at Guinea Lynx having e. coli in the last nine or ten years.

I'm sorry she's so ill. I hope they can get it sorted it out. I do think they could probably work the stone out of her urethra -- it's usually not too difficult to do with sows if the stone is actually in the urethra where they can get hold of it.

Argh just typed a long reply and it didn?t post!
I thought it was odd when they mentioned Ecoli... my normal exotic vet wasn?t there
she went downhill from yesterday, refused syringe food and couldn?t even stand when I went to see her so they thought It would be kinder to put her to sleep bless her
now I?m torn between wether or not to get another friend for Bella in the future as she?s quite a bossy independent girl I?m wondering if she would be happier alone?

 

[bpatters]

I'm sorry you lost her.

Bella would no doubt prefer a friend, but if you can find a rescue near you and take her in to choose her own new roommate, she might be happier. Or if you can find a young sow pup, that might work.

 

[Snugglybutt]

Oh no, I'm so sorry to you lost her! I think Bella would be much happier with a friend than to live the rest of her life as a solo pig.

 

[LittleSqueakers]

I'm so sorry to hear that you lost your girl. Pigs nearly always do better with a friend; I second looking for either a young sow or finding a rescue who can help you pair her with a new cagemate. Keep an eye on her weight and eating habits while she is solo. Sometimes pigs can get depressed when they lose their cagemate and are left alone and will start losing appetite/weight.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

I'm so, so sorry you lost Luna. I was really hoping for a better outcome.
Rest in peace, sweet girl.

 

[stray hares]

I'm so sorry Luna didn't make it. It sounded like she had a few medical issues going on. There are different strains of Escherichia coli (the full species name, if that helps) and some of them are benign but some much less so and are quite nasty.
I would wait a short period to make sure Bella is okay healthwise herself before introducing a new friend, any potential bacterial infection in pigs would make me quite nervous for a while.

 

[SSLee]

I've been hoping to read about Luna's improvement and very sorry to read about her passing.

 

[lisanjake]

Thanks guys, missing her lots
Bellas however has a new friend whom i got from a nearby rescue
Shes still a bossy so and so! lol x

 

[lisanjake]

Bella squashed in the corner on the left and Winnie on the right however they have never slept like this since being home, Bella prefers to be on her own whilst sleeping and poor Winnie just wants a snuggle partner! lol x

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Very, very cute. The fact that Bella is willing to tolerate this is a good indication!


Winnie looks SO much like my boy Sly, that it hurts my heart. Congratulations on your new addition.