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Stones Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys..

C_Elise

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

I took someone elses advice and just took the igloo out completely to hopefully encourage her to move around the cage. Usually when Vanek is bullying her around Wednesday is pretty submissive, but she holds her own and gets V to stop pretty quickly, it's just because she's sick that she's become very timid and is just allowing it.

With no igloo, she just lies underneath the hammock in the cage. She only gets up when I am putting red bell peppers in the food dish (she probably thinks its celery) but she's never had them before so she refuses to eat them. It's weird though because she refuses to eat that, pellets, and hay, but she'll eat celery just find (cut up into tiny tiny squares) and she even tries to eat the puppy pads that I put her on when I try to get her away from Vanek for 10 or so minutes.. She's VERY persistent too.. I wish puppy pads had nutritional value to them :p
But I am going to give her more celery since she eats that just fine, then hand feed her, then probably hit the grocery store for some carrots and lettuce since I know she eats those things.
 

C_Elise

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

I have not! Thanks for that tip.. I know on the bag it says "store in a dry place" so I was thinking they went bad if I let them soak for an extended period and I wasn't wanting to give her another illness. Thank you!
 

lissie

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

Are you weighing her? With her sick, weighing daily is recommended. Not eating any hay and pellets on her own is a bad sign. Chewing on puppy pads is not good. I've read that chewing on non edible object is a sign of pain. Can you get her back to the vet?
 

bpatters

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

This sounds like a sick pig who needs to go back to the vet. Antibiotics can cause them to lose their appetites, and in some cases, can make them even sicker than they were originally.

If you're not force feeding her, you need to do that, starting now. She needs 50-60 cc of either Critical Care, or Critter Be Better, or pellet mash every day. Make it as thin as necessary to get it into the syringes and then into her mouth.

A guinea pig can die in less than a day without food. She needs to eat, and she may need to come off that antibiotic. You need to take her to see a good exotics vet as soon as you can get her in -- taking a very sick pig to a dog-and-cat vet often just results in a sicker pig and you spending more money than you would have if you'd gone to an exotic vet in the first place.
 

C_Elise

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

[MENTION=11509]lissie[/MENTION], I am not weighing her unfortunately, I don't own anything to weigh her with (not even a scale for me to stand on with her and maybe subtract my weight to get hers). I've also been unemployed since October so my money has been long gone. I'm currently borrowing money from my ever so kind & sweet boyfriend to get through this..

But I am taking her to a good exotics vet and not just some cat and dog vet. The Veteranarian she is seeing is the founder of Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians (AEMV if you'd like to google it) and he's worked with exotic animals for more than 20 years. Believe me I knew when this all first happened to search for a vet because I live about an hour 1/2 north of Boston and I imagined there aren't many people around me who own small rodents, let alone take them to a vet when tragedy strikes.. But I live in a tiny tiny town (no side walks or street lights, 100 kids per grade) so he's only available Monday - Thursday because he volunteers at Wings of Dawn Wildlife Rehabilitation, Silk Farm Audubon, Massabesic Audubon, and a few other smaller wildlife rehabilitators.
Today is the day I've been waiting for since I started this thread seeking you guys' knowledge and advice, I started it Friday I believe? because Monday was her appointment all along, he wanted to see how she did after a weekend on antibiotics.. In an hour is her appointment so we'll get a weight from her, which hopefully is about the same since Thursday, and hopefully some answers and an x-ray possibly..
Keep you fingers crossed for her...
 

ChristieB

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

let us know how it goes. Hope your baby is feeling better soon
 

lissie

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

Good luck! Hope all goes well. Don't forget to ask for pain meds!
 

C_Elise

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

Alright, back from the vet with a little more bad news :(

Wednesday's lost a bit of weight, when we went in on Thursday she was 2.13 pounds and today she was 2 pounds flat. Also I didn't mention this today yet, but she didn't eat at all today prior to the appointment. First thing when I woke up I gave her her antibiotics and a syringe of water, put her back down and went to go prepare her food.. When I came back an hour later I noticed she was breathing differently, It's kind of the sound where when humans are sick with a lot of mucus in their throats, we make that wheezing moist sounding noise when we breath from our mouths. You know? It sounded like maybe she had something go down the wrong tube, so I hoped that by feeding her it would get things working properly again.
Wrong.
Everything I injected into her mouth (water or mashed pellets) she didn't eat or swallow, she just held it there, and no matter how much water I flushed into her mouth she didn't spit it out or swallow it, it just sort of dribbled out down the front of her.. I grew super concerned and scooped out what I could because I was afraid she would choke and I called the vet right away. They said to definitely hold off on feeding her and to wait for the appointment (by this time it was only an hour away and I am a 5 minute drive from the Vets..)
So we went, I told him how she isn't improving, she's refusing to eat even veggies now and how she isn't leaving much blood in the cage anymore, but I was assuming it was because she's not having as much going through her system to really get her to pee or poop. The blood, which is super scarce now, is more of a light light pink color...

But, he checked her out, told me her bladder is significantly smaller so the antibiotics are decreasing the inflammation. He feels what she may have is in fact a bladder infection but it's still very possible it's a uterus infection or stones.. But, he listened to her heart and lungs, and he said it's very possible something may have gone down the wrong tube, but also it's possible she has pneumonia now :-/
He said if it is actually Pneumonia, it's in the very early developing stages and it's very mild but did of course assure me if it progresses it can be fatal.. The antibiotics she is on right now, "Sulfatrim Pediatric Suspension", are to continue to be used for the bladder infection and to fight against the possible pneumonia..
But while there the nurses took her and hand fed her and gave me Critical Care (yay!) which she did hold in her mouth for them too but they eventually got her eating it.

I'm incredibly worried about the Pneumonia and how contagious it is, especially since she's got a cage mate, Vanek.. But they told me she's incredibly stressed and they feel she'll turn for the worse if I were to separate them so to keep the two put. I'm hoping all it is is some food or water went down the wrong pipe, because she did sneeze and the noise seemed to have stopped for a few minutes.. But thats the latest :-/
 

lissie

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

Did they do an x-ray to rule out stones? Did you get any pain meds?
 

foggycreekcavy

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

Usually the sulfatrim (which is Bactrim, or trimeth sulfa) isn't enough on it's own to combat pneumonia, especially if she's not eating anything. Are you confident you can handfeed her enough? Is she eating anything at all one her own? Have you tried fresh grass?
 

C_Elise

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

Fresh grass isn't really an option.. I live in New Hampshire and we have about a foot of snow on the ground which will remain til about April.. and no pet stores around here sell anything other than hay which I have been overly generous with and she doesn't bother to touch it. And like I said I can't order anything online because I have been unemployed since October..
Today marks the official first day of Wednesday not eating a single thing on her own. I even tried giving her carrots (which I know she loves) and she was interested about what was in the bowl and what her cage mate was eating, but today was the first day she didn't even eat a single one or take a single bite..
Yesterday when I offered celery (because Friday and Saturday that was the only thing she was eating on her own, thats why I made a point to run out yesterday to buy carrots since there is far more nutrition in those) she ate several slices but not much, so I think it's a steady decline and I should have known today she'd officially refuse every goody I had to offer..
I am more confident about hand feeding her now that I have critical care though, it's much finer with no pieces to it which will be much easier to push through the syringe so she'll get MUCH more frequent feedings now..
And no pain meds were given :-/ Although she hasn't make any noises when I do see her go to the bathroom.. and no x-rays either, he was not very clear about it but he did mention having an x-ray done is a possibility but I think now he is more focused on the pneumonia? Especially since he said her bladder is about it's right size again so I think he is confident it's an infection since the meds actually did something..
Truthfully todays visit was very quick, I spent more of my time with the nurses than with him which bothered me this time around.. But looking back at the situation and our conversation I think his main concern is her having lost weight and the fact that she isn't eating at ALL on her own. I am going to assume he's pleased to see that the medication is actually working which is a good sign that it's only a bladder infection, but he of course isn't going to rule out the other two illness possibilities but for the rest of tonight I think he wanted me to just stock her up with food in her belly, he and the nurses just kept commenting on how stressed out she was so I think he's backing off for just the night. I am going to call tomorrow however to get my assumptions turned into straight answers.
 

C_Elise

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

Nevermind.... Scratch all of that.

Wednesday has died. Unsure of how or when exactly, but we got back from the vets at around 4, 4:30 and I went upstairs at 5:30 with a bowl of mixed critical care and found her dead.. I assume it's got to do with her refusal to eat at all today...


thank you all for your help though.
 

bpatters

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

I'm sorry you lost your pig. But if you have another one, or get another, and it refuses to eat, then you MUST handfeed it unless you want it to die also. Wednesday may have died of something else, but she could also have died of insufficient food.

Offering a guinea food isn't enough if the pig is sick. You have force feed it, and it's called "force" feeding for a reason. It's hard work, the pig doesn't like it, it takes a long time, and it's absolutely essential if the pig is going to have any chance of survival.
 

ellisa

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

Very sorry she passed.
 

C_Elise

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

I do have another one, two actually.

And I get what the word force feeding means, thanks. I tried and I succeeded but you weren't by my side watching so you don't know how it went. Today was different, she didn't fight me like she did the other days, and she didn't spit it out like she did the other days, no, instead she just took it all into her mouth until it was filled and overflowing out the sounds. She would NOT swallow, even massaging her throat wouldn't get her to. Injecting water did not work washing it down either. The vets managed, but only the tiniest bit. It may just have been the day, and maybe she decided that, who really knows.
Nobody knows exactly, but I don't need you lecturing me an hour after I find her dead on 'how to force feed', because I know, and I did it, and yeah I wrote a few times in this thread about how frustrated I was and about how hard of a time I was having, but I did it. and who knows, maybe I'll have to do it to her cage mate Vanek if she grieves so much that she refuses to eat too, I hope that isn't the case, but it's a possibility, so I don't need you thinking I'm just not doing it.
 

C_Elise

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

24357_416487050902_747660902_5580204_3915473_n.jpg
For those of you who cared and offered great advice, this is Wednesday and Vanek, Vanek is on the left, and Wednesday is the all black one on the right. She was the first Pig I ever had and Unfortunately was only able to enjoy her for a little less than 2 1/2 years.. But again to most of you, thank you for you being concerned and giving me great advice..
 

lissie

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

I am very sorry for your loss. Wednesday was a beautiful girl.
 

Frapplove

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

I wasn't able to offer any advice, but I have been following this thread and was hoping the best for you and Wednesday :'( I too, am sorry for your loss.
My thoughts go out to you and little Vanek.
 

bpatters

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Re: Pooping/Peeing blood, 3 possible illnesses, & a few other questions for you guys.

C_Elise, I'm sorry if I misunderstood you, but I read back through your thread, and I don't see where you said that you force fed her. I see where you said you tried, and you offered her food, but not that you fed her.

That's the point I was trying to get across -- that it's not an option for the pig to refuse. You have to insist, before she gets so sick she can't eat, that she is going to eat what you're syringe feeding her. Most people are way too timid when doing that, and it's the pig that ultimately suffers.
 
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