Sick Breathing Heavy/Less Active

[ZipBonBoo]

I've noticed Zipper is breathing pretty heavily. She's not being loud in her breathing, nor do I hear any wheezing/raspy/etc when I listen to her breathe. But her breathing is causing her whole body to sort of "pulse" out (her sides move in and out quite a lot while she breathes- it's moving her whole body). She's also way less active. Zip didn't come running and squealing for veggies when I called her and she didn't eat any pellets (she only ate a bit of carrot and a piece of lettuce). I don't think she has been drinking water or eating hay either since she's staying in the same corner of the cage. I've offered her strands of hay and she's eaten maybe 2 strands, but then she stops.

We're making an appointment for the vet. Right now, should I syringe feed pellets/water and what should I do about hay? Also, should I quarantine her from her two daughters? Any idea on what could be wrong? All 3 of them were at the vet a couple weeks ago for a check up, and everyone was fine...

 

[ZipBonBoo]

Well, we just made an appointment with the vet. I'm going to syringe feed water right now and get some pellets in her later...

 

[Rywen]

Is Zipper pooping and peeing normally?

 

[Princess_Piggie]

I'd avoid syringing water for now, it's a difficult process, it's not like syringing food. Syringing water can cause them to aspirate fairly easily. I'd get her favourite veg, and soak it in water, then give it to her, if you're concerned about her water intake.

 

[ZipBonBoo]

I don't know about poop or pee. I haven't seen her go to bathroom, eat hay, or eat pellets.
I ended up giving her a piece of lettuce soaked in water. I also did syringe feed a little bit of water (before I saw these posts), maybe 2.5mL before she started fighting me on it.
Should I syringe feed pellets? All she's had for today and late last night (that I've seen) is a couple strands of hay, the lettuce, a few bites of carrot (one of her favorite veggies and she didn't finish it...), and the water I fed her...

 

[Rywen]

If you're certain she's pooping then you should syringe feed her pellets ground up with a bit of water. But if she's not pooping she needs an emergency exotics vet tonight. Does it look like she has bloat (swollen belly with a hollow sound when you tap it)? Or does she have symptoms of an upper respiratory infection (runny nose, sneezing, crusty eye)? https://www.guinealynx.info/anorexia.html

 

[ZipBonBoo]

I found a small piece of poop sort of hanging out of her butt, so I'm assuming she pooped at least a little throughout the day? Should I quarantine her so I can tell if she's pooping and it's not just her daughters?
Doesn't look like she has bloat. She has always been a heavier pig, and when she gave birth a couple years ago she kept a sort of kept the pregnant look to her, but her stomach isn't swollen and doesn't make a sound when I tapped it. I don't think it's an URI either because her eyes and nose are clear and she hasn't been sneezing/coughing or anything. Plus I put my ear up to her and listened to her breathe and didn't hear any noises.

 

[Rywen]

Yes, separate her for a bit to see her pee and poop. Are there any signs she has a stone or urinary tract infection? Does she cry when she tries to pee? Does her pee look to have any blood or pink in it (while it's still wet)? Like I said, if she's pooping then go ahead and force feed her a ground up pellet mash.

 

[ZipBonBoo]

I haven't seen her poop OR pee yet. She could've easily gone when I was at school, however.
A few days ago I find the tiniest, TINIEST spot of red/pink on their fleece, but I assumed it was juices from the veggies/fruit I was feeding them (I thought it was either from tomato or red pepper.) Since then there's been no red/pink spots (and I also haven't fed any red foods since then either...)

 

[Rywen]

Okay, so watch to see if she poops and please keep us posted. Again, if she isn't pooping she needs to see an exotics vet right away, it's an emergency at that point.

 

[MrWhistles]

I feel like this is a URI. I saw a pig showing these symptoms at a PetsMart today. It broke my heart to see him like that. I immediately notified staff about him. He was pretty active 2 days ago :,(

 

[ZipBonBoo]

I just got home and went to check on her. She pooped a little, so I'm going to feed her some pellet mash along with water.
We have a vet appointment for tomorrow at 3. It's the earliest we could get.

 

[Rywen]

In glad to hear she's popping and seeing the vet tomorrow! Hopefully she won't fight the syringe feeding.

 

[ZipBonBoo]

Zip has always been such a sweet, calm piggy. She's barely resisting the water or the pellet mash. How much should I be feeding her? So far I got 2 tsp of water and maybe .75 tsp of pellet/water mixture. I'm definitely going to try for more water later.

 

[MrWhistles]

Give her as much as you can. Their digestive systems are constantly on the move, so they constantly need food flowing through them.

 

[bpatters]

If she's not eating anything else, she needs 50-60 cc of Critical Care or pellet slurry every day, split into 5-6 feedings. So she needs at least 10 cc at a time.

And it's not a voluntary thing. If she's not eating, you have to feed her. Guinea pigs are in danger of dying if they don't eat all the time. It's called force feeding for a reason -- she'll hate it, at least initially, and you'll have to force her to eat. See https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html on how to do it.

 

[ZipBonBoo]

Thanks for everyone's help. I'm giving her more water and pellet/water mixture now.