Conditions Eri’s thread: diarrhea

[Mamabug]

I discovered just about thirty minutes ago that Eri has diarrhea. She had poop all over her behind and on her stomach. I gave her a bath, which she was not happy about. She would not stop biting me. I’m surprised she didn’t draw blood. I recently started giving her and the other two red leaf lettuce. I don’t remember if they’ve ever had it before. She and another piggie are almost 11 months old and we have a third piggie that is about three months. Our regular vet can’t see her as they are booked and there aren’t many vets around that treat exotics. I’m wondering if maybe she has a sensitive stomach or maybe I need to back off on the veggies. Should I try a probiotic on her? I have some Bene bac that I gave to my senior piggie that we lost a couple of months ago. She’s still eating, drinking, the whole 9 yards. I give them all a vitamin C tablet every morning, which they think is a treat. I don’t know what to do. To tell the truth I’m not overly impressed with the vet that they see.

 

[bpatters]

Diarrhea is a very serious problem in a guinea pig. Their guts are so sensitive anyway, and a major disturbance can turn life-threatening very quickly.

The first thing I'd do is stop all veggies until her poop clears up and for a couple of days afterwards. I'd also give BeneBac a couple of times a day for a couple of days, then back off to once a day until things are normal.

But if stopping the veggies doesn't stop the diarrhea quickly, then she needs to see a vet. She may have a parasite, and that means meds, probably metranidazole (flagyl). If she stops eating, then force feed her Critical Care or a pellet slurry. She MUST continue eating to keep her from developing bloat.

 

[Mamabug]

I got her in to see the vet this morning for my own peace of mind if nothing else. The vet found some blood in her stool. What may be happening is Eri’s gut got imbalanced when she was being treated for an URI back in December. I had noticed soft stools but couldn’t pinpoint who it was. She gave me an antibiotic to give her to take care of any bad germs. I give her that twice a day for five days, continue giving her the probiotic, and she said no veggies for now. If she isn’t better by Monday then I need to call them. This is a different vet practice. I’m hoping I’ve found a new vet. I liked one of them at the practice I’ve been using but am not happy with the other. Eri has shown some improvement. I think the probiotic is helping her. I’ll have to take her out of the cage so the other two can have their veggies. I feel so bad not letting her eat any but I know it’s for her own good. It doesn’t make it any easier because she won’t understand and she’ll squeak at me. I need to clean her behind and maybe I’ll snuggle her and give her an extra treat to make up for it.

They trimmed all three of the guinea pigs’ claws for me while we were there. And apparently the guinea pigs are spoiled.

 

[Mamabug]

I’m back. Her diarrhea is long gone but now her anal area is swollen and she isn’t eating like she should. The vet has her now and doesn’t know why she’s having these symptoms. She’s sending her home with some pain medicine, I have some silver sulfadiazine cream to put on the area and I’ll have to clean her every day. Her weight loss is concerning. I’m going to ask if I should get her some Critical Care. Should I continue the probiotic? Any ideas of what is going on with her? She’s not crying when she poops or pees and the vet said there was no impaction. I cannot lose another piggie. We lost two last year but it was a bit more understandable as they were elderly. Eri is less than a year old. I’m not done spoiling her.

 

[Mamabug]

Re: Eri’s thread: not eating is it stasis?

I’m starting to suspect possibly stasis or ileus. I did buy Critical Care today. The vet actually had some. I’m worried. She ate some lettuce and maybe a few pieces of hay. She WANTS to eat. I asked her if she was ready to eat and she started squeaking like she always does. How can I get her gut moving again? Will Critical care help with that? Water? Probiotic? She also came home with an antibiotic for the irritation on her private area. She’s my little buddy. This hurts. I’m terrified of losing her too. We just buried our 6yo piggie in December and the 7yo back in April. Do I really have to go through this a third time in less than a year? I can’t seem to find a vet that knows anything. They claim to treat exotics but it seems like if it’s not a dog or cat you’re just out of luck.