This is my first time posting anything on here so I’m sorry if it is confusing to read.
Two days ago I noticed my guinea pig Muffin (3 years old) wasn’t coming out of her hide for a treat which made me very concerned. She also didn’t seem to be moving much, seemed a bit fluffed out, and would only eat treats if I put them right in front of her. I convinced my parents to let me take her to the vet that day (I thought it might be urgent and the vet we usually go to wasn’t available that day so we went with a different one) but the vet didn’t notice anything wrong but didn’t do any tests. She just said to keep an eye out for blood in her urine in case she has bladder stones or some sort of crystal thing. To be honest I don’t really think she has much experience at all with guinea pigs:/, at least compared to our usual vet. That night I did a lot of research about bladder stones and found out that the guinea pig pellets I had contained a considerable amount of calcium carbonate, so I immediately switched it with another bag I had that contained a different form of calcium. I also looked into the vegetables that have high levels of calcium but I wasn’t feeding them any of those lately so if she has bladder stones it would probably be from the pellets. Yesterday I also noticed that when she peed not much would actually come out, and she never squeaked that day either. Then I realized she wasn’t drinking any water at all so I made sure to give her more watery vegetables like cucumber and bell pepper. I also bought 2 1 ml eye droppers to use to get her to drink but she hates it when I take her out of the cage to try and get her to drink out of it. I tried using the other eye dropper to feed her mushed pellets but it didn’t work. I did notice that she was out of her hide more often that day which was good. She ate quite a bit of hay, but still wouldn’t touch the water bottle. I found really good reviews for Sherwood urinary support with some people claiming it got rid of their guinea pigs bladder stones. Unfortunately I live in Canada and I could only order it online so I did and it should arrive in around 3 days I think.
last night I couldn’t sleep. A few months ago one of my guinea pigs died within 24 ours of me noticing the slightest thing was wrong. I didn’t think she needed to see an emergency vet since they are usually inexperienced with guinea pigs so I booked an appointment at a better vet for the next day. She ended up getting so much worse and didn’t even make it to the vet which was why I am so scared for this guinea pig now. (I really hope I am just paranoid but I know how well they hide their illnesses.) I kept having the same nightmare about me not being able to save her and then all of my other guinea pigs die too. Luckily today she is looking a bit better. She still seems lethargic but will eat more often. She still doesn’t eat as much as she used to but she hasn’t lost any significant amount of weight yet. I did notice her pee was a bit more normal but her behaviour still isn’t and she isn’t squeaking unless rumblestrutting counts. I have a vet appointment booked with the same vet we saw two days ago for tomorrow afternoon just in case things get worse but I have a few questions:
1. Is there any other health problem she could have that isn’t bladder stones/sludge?
2. how much water should I feed her per day in ml and how often?
3. Should I take her to the vet tomorrow and ask for an x-ray or cancel the appointment because she isn’t losing weight and nothing is obviously wrong?
4. Would the Sherwood urinary support help her?
5. Will whatever problem she has go away on its own without a vet visit?
6. At what point should I buy her critical care?
7. What are the best vegetables to be feeding them?
Two days ago I noticed my guinea pig Muffin (3 years old) wasn’t coming out of her hide for a treat which made me very concerned. She also didn’t seem to be moving much, seemed a bit fluffed out, and would only eat treats if I put them right in front of her. I convinced my parents to let me take her to the vet that day (I thought it might be urgent and the vet we usually go to wasn’t available that day so we went with a different one) but the vet didn’t notice anything wrong but didn’t do any tests. She just said to keep an eye out for blood in her urine in case she has bladder stones or some sort of crystal thing. To be honest I don’t really think she has much experience at all with guinea pigs:/, at least compared to our usual vet. That night I did a lot of research about bladder stones and found out that the guinea pig pellets I had contained a considerable amount of calcium carbonate, so I immediately switched it with another bag I had that contained a different form of calcium. I also looked into the vegetables that have high levels of calcium but I wasn’t feeding them any of those lately so if she has bladder stones it would probably be from the pellets. Yesterday I also noticed that when she peed not much would actually come out, and she never squeaked that day either. Then I realized she wasn’t drinking any water at all so I made sure to give her more watery vegetables like cucumber and bell pepper. I also bought 2 1 ml eye droppers to use to get her to drink but she hates it when I take her out of the cage to try and get her to drink out of it. I tried using the other eye dropper to feed her mushed pellets but it didn’t work. I did notice that she was out of her hide more often that day which was good. She ate quite a bit of hay, but still wouldn’t touch the water bottle. I found really good reviews for Sherwood urinary support with some people claiming it got rid of their guinea pigs bladder stones. Unfortunately I live in Canada and I could only order it online so I did and it should arrive in around 3 days I think.
last night I couldn’t sleep. A few months ago one of my guinea pigs died within 24 ours of me noticing the slightest thing was wrong. I didn’t think she needed to see an emergency vet since they are usually inexperienced with guinea pigs so I booked an appointment at a better vet for the next day. She ended up getting so much worse and didn’t even make it to the vet which was why I am so scared for this guinea pig now. (I really hope I am just paranoid but I know how well they hide their illnesses.) I kept having the same nightmare about me not being able to save her and then all of my other guinea pigs die too. Luckily today she is looking a bit better. She still seems lethargic but will eat more often. She still doesn’t eat as much as she used to but she hasn’t lost any significant amount of weight yet. I did notice her pee was a bit more normal but her behaviour still isn’t and she isn’t squeaking unless rumblestrutting counts. I have a vet appointment booked with the same vet we saw two days ago for tomorrow afternoon just in case things get worse but I have a few questions:
1. Is there any other health problem she could have that isn’t bladder stones/sludge?
2. how much water should I feed her per day in ml and how often?
3. Should I take her to the vet tomorrow and ask for an x-ray or cancel the appointment because she isn’t losing weight and nothing is obviously wrong?
4. Would the Sherwood urinary support help her?
5. Will whatever problem she has go away on its own without a vet visit?
6. At what point should I buy her critical care?
7. What are the best vegetables to be feeding them?