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Stress?

Eventrocker33

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Feb 4, 2005
Messages
555
The other day i took my pig to the vet. She had a runny nose and diarrhea. The vet gave her antibiotics for her runny nose and she gave her fluids. She said that the diarrhea was probably from moving her to a new cage (which i had just done a few days before). Has anyone else had a problem with diarrhea from changing their pig to a new cage? Thanks
 
Nope. But everypig is different. I hope she gets better soon.
 
I think the vet is just guessing. They shouldn't get sick from a new cage unless you did not disinfect the cage and it housed a sick piggie before. He may have a parasite, eaten something bad or something.
 
Moving a pig from one cage to another may cause stress, which may lower their immune system or cause mites.
 
The vet said that changing her old enviroment to a new one can cause stress. Could it also have been me changing her bedding to fleece from pine? She is eating the same as usual, but I'm not sure that she is running around as much. The vet also told me to call her at the end of the week if she has not improved. Thanks for the info.
 
The cage is also brand new. I made it from cubes and coroplast.
 
Eventrocker33 said:
The cage is also brand new. I made it from cubes and coroplast.
Good job!!
 
Changing bedding will not induce diarrhea in piggies. Neither will putting them in a new cage. It's probably from something she ate or is part of the illness she has.
 
I can't see why moving to a new cage will give them diarrhea, it's probably related to the runny nose, I don't know. Are you feeding her lots of fruit, maybe?? Pigs are very susceptible to stress and change and can get sick easily. Anytime you have a sick pig, it's a good idea to weigh them several times a day with a digital postal scale and start handfeeding if she's losing weight or eating less than usual.
 
I wouldn't wait a whole week. Guinea pigs are fragile. They can crash in less than 24 hours. They are prey animals and hide symptons.

Eventrocker33 said:
The vet said that changing her old enviroment to a new one can cause stress. Could it also have been me changing her bedding to fleece from pine? She is eating the same as usual, but I'm not sure that she is running around as much. The vet also told me to call her at the end of the week if she has not improved. Thanks for the info.
 
Do you think she could be like this because she is lonely? Her cage mate died in November and she was in the cage ever since it happened. Then i changed her cage and she started to have diarrhea. Do you think maybe she is lonely which is causing stress? She is still eating and drinking fine. I only feed apples and oranges a couple times a week. Thanks for everything! My mom also told me no more guinea pigs, which is getting on my nerves because Peanut is lonely.
 
What veggies are you feeding her. I still don't think it's related to moving her into a different cage.
 
Do you think she could be like this because she is lonely?... She is still eating and drinking fine.
Pigs get sick all the time, for almost any reason. I'm sorry about your mom's attitude, I bet she wouldn't like to sit in a box by herself for the rest of her life. Pigs can be eating and drinking fine one day and be totally off their food the next day. They can be eating fine, but still losing weight. Sometimes they pretend to eat fine when you're there and during the night they won't eat and are losing weight. They hide their symptoms very well that's why weighing a sick pig several times a day cannot be overemphasized. I sure hope your vet is treating your pig properly, it's hard to find a good vet. Did your vet give you a diagnosis?
 
No she didnt give me a diagnosis, she just told me it was probably from stress because that can happen. Her diarrhea is only a little bit soft and longer than usual. How much are scales and where can i get them?
 
I bought a digital postal scale from Office Depot or you can probably get one from an office supply store. They're actually made for weighing envelopes. It was about $30. I taped a tupperware container to it to put my pig in. My vet uses velcro. It displays weight in either pounds and ounces or grams such as 2 lb, 5.7 ounces. I've found it to be invaluable, it's a great investment. My pig lost 1 ounce in 24 hours just before he got really sick and it was great because I knew to put him on antibiotics right away.

Is your pig still on antibiotics then? If so, you can sprinkle a little bit of accidopholus powder on her food, it helps to restock the good intestinal bacteria. You can buy acidopholus capsules from a drugstore. So the diarreah's improved, that's good news. I don't know if your vet told you, but giving a sick pig extra vitamin C really helps. I gave my 1 kg pig 25 mg of vitamin C from a chewable twice a day when he was really sick and it seemed to help. I'm not sure whether the dose is correct, though.
 
My vet was actually going to give Peanut a shot of vitamin C, but she didnt. I dont think she did because Peanut hated getting her fluids(we were waiting 2 rooms over and could her her squealing). I felt so bad for her. Peanut's diet is pellets, hay, romain lettuce, celery, apples, carrots, oranges, and unfortunately she doesnt like any kinds of peppers. Could Peanut have Vitamin C deficiency?...a runny nose and diarrhea. Thanks for all your help.
 
I would really suggest you get a 2nd opinion from a different vet today. 24 hours later is too late. Your vet needs to tell you what's wrong with your pig!! Why is important, yes, but what you really need to focus on is what does your pig have, is your pig getting treated properly and is your pig getting better.

My vet is great, when my pig was sick, she phoned me every day. Waiting until the end of the week is too late! It's very hard to find a good guinea pig vet, sometimes the vets at animal hospitals are better. The runny nose really worries me as it can be a sign of a URI which will need about 2 weeks of antibiotics, not just one shot. I haven't had a pig with scurvy so I couldnt' tell you but here's some information about scurvy:
https://guinealynx.info/hairloss.html#scurvy

There's also a very useful guide here that tells you about other illnesses:
https://guinealynx.info/emergency.html
Also, you can post your question on the Guinea Lynx Forum, they know a lot about sick pigs.

If your pig really needed that vitamin C shot, I don't see why a competent vet would just give up and not give it. Also, vitamin C is water soluble and leaves the body quickly. A competent vet would advise you about how to give your pig a vitamin C supplement *every day*, not just give one shot.

I would really suggest you get a 2nd opinion today. Sick pigs can't wait.
 
I guess her poop isnt really diarrhea, because that is what guinealynx forum said. her poop is soft and longer than usual. How many mL of Bactrim should a pig get a day? a week? Thanks
 
The experts at gl can answer the question about how much Bactrim she should be getting per day better than we can here.
 
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