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General Can't stand up and not eating

Adam Glay

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My 2 and a half year old pig can't seem to stand up and hasn't eaten or drank at all in the past few hours. She tried to stand up and one point and almost flipped over. She also purred in a very strange way when petted. What's going on?
 

Fay

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Get her to an exotic vet ASAP or she will die! Make sure it's an exotic vet not a normal small animal cat & dog vet because they aren't trained to treat guinea pigs. Also start handfeeding her RIGHT AWAY if the vet can't see her right this second. Honestly though this is an emergency and you need to get her to a vet NOW. Not eating or being able to stand are very VERY serious signs of a lethal illness.

https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
https://www.guinealynx.info/medical_guide.html

Good luck and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she will pull through!
 

bpatters

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Ditto @Fay. You need an exotic vet now.
 

kinderoreo2016

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I had the same issue years ago! Sadly my boy wasn't taken in time and passed :( does anyone know what the piggie could have?

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Adam Glay

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It'll have to wait until tomorrow morning. Perhaps she'll get better overnight. All I can do is hope for the best.
 

kinderoreo2016

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It only took my boy to go from bad to worse over night :(

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Omgitspink

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.. She's not going to get better overnight. Why can't you get her to a vet?
 

Adam Glay

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I don't have a choice. The vet opens at 10:00 tomorrow. I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight.
 

kinderoreo2016

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Emergency vet ?!

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Fay

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You need to take her to a vet now, there should be emergency vets near you. If you leave it over night she will probably die. I can't stress enough how serious whatever is wrong with her is. Why can't you take her? There must be some way?

Also, kinderoreo2016 - The only way to find out what happened would be to get an autopsy done but it would be far too late now obviously.
 

Omgitspink

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Get on google and find an exotic emergency vet. They are open 24/7.
 

Adam Glay

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I'll bring her first thing in the morning.
 

kinderoreo2016

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That's only if she/he passes but hopefully this in not the out come

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kinderoreo2016

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Take her to a after hour vet!!! You can not leave it over night !!

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Adam Glay

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I certainly hope not. I've already lost two pigs in the past couple of years (inoperable tumour and abdominal mass).
 

kinderoreo2016

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You really need to take your Piggy into emergency

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Fay

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If you looked on Google for emergency vets near you (even if it's a 2 hour drive away you should go there rather than wait until the morning) then start handfeeding her right away. Read the Guinea Lynx page I linked about hand feeding and the medical guide. It's very important you get food and fluids in her so she stands a remote chance to survive over night but it's a very slim possibility unfortunately.
 

Adam Glay

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I visited that site. Either it's ketosis, which is almost always untreatable, or something less severe like an ear infection or stomach pains. I know she hasn't been injured or poisoned in any way and she was eating and drinking perfectly well a couple of hours ago, so she won't starve. I've had pigs that have displayed similar symptoms and recovered within a day. As much as rushing her to a vet would seem like a good idea, they wouldn't be able to do much more than make a diagnosis. If's it's ketosis, nothing can be done. If it's something else, it will either go away or it can be treated. I appreciate the input, but the best thing would be to allow her to rest and get up and eat/drink if she feels like it. She'll be taken to a great vet first thing tomorrow morning.
 

Fay

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Oh also, if there IS an emergency vet near you but it's not an exotic vet. You should still take her in rather than wait for an exotic vet, some normal vets have taught themselves about guinea pigs or know enough to handle an emergency. Just make sure to take the Guinea Lynx guide with you so you can double check they're not giving her anything harmful and that procedures used are safe, also read the rural emergency guide for tips. Good luck and I really hope she pulls through. I'm sorry this is happening to you!
 

Fay

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I visited that site. Either it's ketosis, which is almost always untreatable, or something less severe like an ear infection or stomach pains. I know she hasn't been injured or poisoned in any way and she was eating and drinking perfectly well a couple of hours ago, so she won't starve. I've had pigs that have displayed similar symptoms and recovered within a day. As much as rushing her to a vet would seem like a good idea, they wouldn't be able to do much more than make a diagnosis. If's it's ketosis, nothing can be done. If it's something else, it will either go away or it can be treated. I appreciate the input, but the best thing would be to allow her to rest and get up and eat/drink if she feels like it. She'll be taken to a great vet first thing tomorrow morning.

No offense but when a guinea pig becomes this seriously ill 'letting them rest' rarely works, just because it worked for you before once or twice doesn't mean it's recommended. Hand feeding her is extremely important to keep up her strength and prevent her from getting worse, don't rely on her eating on her own if it's already been a few hours. I know you don't know us and we're just internet strangers but some of us have been on this forum a long time and have seen enough of these cases to know that not eating or struggling to stand is almost always lethal without intervention. Making sure she's fed is the best and only thing you can do for her right now if there's no vet available. If you read Guinea Lynx you will see the same thing is recommended there also. I'm not just saying this stuff to scare you or anything I'm just letting you know hand feeding your pig would be the best thing for her and I hope you will take our recommendation to do so.
 
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