# Guinea pig - health issues and vet report - further advice needed



## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

I'll start off, I spend most of my time dealing with reptiles so guinea pigs, although i kept them as a kid, I dont know as much about them. My partner has a guiniea pig so i have re-learnt what I forgot as a kid. 

Anyway background:

Jackson is a 14 month old abasynathan (sp) guinea who is normally absolutely lovely. He is very active, and squeaks you a whole conversation and welcome when you come in the room. he is an amazing cavey. 

Anyway two days ago we noticed that he wasn't quite himself there was no squeaky welcome, no face at the bars no scoffing his food and water down like normal and going mental when we open the cage. Instead he was lethargic, no squeeks, water was untouched and all food went uneaten. 

This isn't completely unheard off, i had been away for xmas and new year, leaving my partner looking after him. As he had noticed I was missing we had the usual sulk off him and he moaps and doesn't eat as much as normal. This is usual if one of us is away for any length of time. But never normally to this extent and he always drinks as well. 

So three days ago I got back, day one was normal he was eating a little and drinking, day two the water bottle went untouched and food went untouched. This was obviously worrying and we took note to look at further hydration if things didnt improve. But thought this was an extension of his usual sulk. However day three (today) he still hadn't drunk anything and was looking very dehydrated still having not drunk anything. So getting back from work we went straight to the vets. 

I had started to think of ideas that it could be, and was thinking along the lines of ingrown molers, anorexia, and scurvy. So off to the vets to get a professional opinion but i could discount all of them really and the symptoms could be many other things as well. The vet did a very intensive check over and could find nothing wrong aside from the dehydration. We had a short discussion with the vet worried about liver damage etc. The only treatments we could come up with was a hydration injection, Baytril and a painkiller as a just in case which broke down to this. 


Baytril 2.5% 0.82 ml
metacam 0.5% 0.12 ml
Emeprid 10ml 0.20 ml

This had the immediate hydration benefit but we also noticed the after the injection the back legs and hips started to fail. 

As Jackson had consumed no food for a few days I got down to hand feeding critical care formula and vit c. This was also based on discussion with the vet. Jackson has just had 10ml of a watery mixture of cc at the moment, as i didn't think he could take a thicker liquid at the moment. 

I am thinkig about feeding 10 ml of the liquid every 3 hours at the moment though i wont be doing so through the night (unless people think we should). Will probably break down to about 7-8 feeds over the next days.

Since getting him home we have noticed that his back legs are hardly working which is a new symptom. He is now struggling to walk.. I'm not sure if this is following the injections or related to whatever is wrong. 

Im hoping some of the guinea pig keepers here can offer some further advice. 

many thanks
Jay


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

Just to update this for anyone reading, Jackson passed away early this morning.

Jay


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Sorry to read this 


RIP Jackson


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

Shell195 said:


> Sorry to read this
> 
> 
> RIP Jackson



Thanks, it's just so quick, its shocked us a bit. 

Jay


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

So sorry to hear that. I read your post last night, but guinea pigs are one of the few animals I know nothing about so couldn't do anything. I was hoping one of the guinea pig keepers would come in and offer some advice.

So sad to read that you'd lost him! :sad:


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

feorag said:


> So sorry to hear that. I read your post last night, but guinea pigs are one of the few animals I know nothing about so couldn't do anything. I was hoping one of the guinea pig keepers would come in and offer some advice.
> 
> So sad to read that you'd lost him! :sad:


I'm hoping to get some info from some more experienced g pig keepers. Whilst i know a reasonable amount about them care and simple illness wise. I dont know enough to try and work out what is going wrong. I've have couple of interesting ideas but my experience is limited to only a few quinnies. 

The more medical/vet info i read the more the symptoms seem to be related to almost any health problem i can find. 

Would just like more info really. 

jay


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

I would be exactly the same - I like to know as much as I can about the animals that I keep too. You can never have enough information! :2thumb:


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

I wonder if Guinea pigs can suffer from an Embolism as this would account for the back legs going weak.


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## TalulaTarantula (Jan 21, 2011)

I used to breed and show abysinnians (forget the spelling) and one of my pet guineas not show animals, had this problem, Frazzle, unfortunatly his health deterioated rapidly and he died the day after i spotted these symptoms, i never new what it was as he died the day i was going to take him to the vets, the only thing i can put it down to is maybe a congenital problem that wasnt visible in the early stages of his life, he shared a hutch with one of my show guineas, they both had the same diet, excercise but different parents so it couldnt of been enviromental or dieatry factors.

Im also very sorry for your loss


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

Shell195 said:


> I wonder if Guinea pigs can suffer from an Embolism as this would account for the back legs going weak.


Thats interesting, and a possible, i suppose if it occurred it could explain the lack of appitate etc will have to do some further reading. 



TalulaTarantula said:


> I used to breed and show abysinnians (forget the spelling) and one of my pet guineas not show animals, had this problem, Frazzle, unfortunatly his health deteriorated rapidly and he died the day after i spotted these symptoms, i never new what it was as he died the day i was going to take him to the vets, the only thing i can put it down to is maybe a congenital problem that wasnt visible in the early stages of his life, he shared a hutch with one of my show guineas, they both had the same diet, exercise but different parents so it couldn't of been environmental or dietary factors.
> 
> Im also very sorry for your loss


Now that is interesting at least we know its not a one off. It just surprised me it occurred so quickly. it could well be explained by a congenital problem, have you ever heard of anything occuring in the absynthanian lines? 

Jay


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## TalulaTarantula (Jan 21, 2011)

Spikebrit said:


> Now that is interesting at least we know its not a one off. It just surprised me it occurred so quickly. it could well be explained by a congenital problem, have you ever heard of anything occuring in the absynthanian lines?
> 
> Jay


I havent heard anything, but i havent owned guinea pigs for a few years now and i never had any problems with the guinea pigs i bred, but i always made sure i bred from my guinea pigs when they were in tip top health and condition, maybe email a cavvy club or something, they may be able to shed some light on the matter.
We also need to remember that alot of the guinea pigs we buy from pet shops are probably from an accident between a male and female or a guinea pig breeding farm, with no thought going into the breeding, so who knows that problems the mother and father had. The amount of rabbits ive bought from pet shops that have had terrible problems.


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

TalulaTarantula said:


> I havent heard anything, but i havent owned guinea pigs for a few years now and i never had any problems with the guinea pigs i bred, but i always made sure i bred from my guinea pigs when they were in tip top health and condition, maybe email a cavvy club or something, they may be able to shed some light on the matter.
> We also need to remember that alot of the guinea pigs we buy from pet shops are probably from an accident between a male and female or a guinea pig breeding farm, with no thought going into the breeding, so who knows that problems the mother and father had. The amount of rabbits ive bought from pet shops that have had terrible problems.


Jackson was from show lines and from a private breeder, so not shop or farm brought. 

I might drop the cavvy club an email and ask, what are their details website?

Jay


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## TalulaTarantula (Jan 21, 2011)

Spikebrit said:


> Jackson was from show lines and from a private breeder, so not shop or farm brought.
> 
> I might drop the cavvy club an email and ask, what are their details website?
> 
> Jay


Theres loads you will mostly likely have a local one, mine is the wiltshire cavy club, so try for your county if not theres a club for abyssinians

Abyssinian Cavy Club ~ Home Page, the club for breeders and exhibitors of Abyssinian CAvies


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## Mei190 (Apr 11, 2011)

Just wanted to say sorry for your loss.

I don't really know anything about guinea pigs but will say one thing that is probably completely irrelevant. I had nearly a complete similar experience with a chinchilla a couple of months back. Apart from she had added diarrhea, all other symptoms where the same. She died from a disease I don't recall the name of but it was actually more common in other animals such as guinea pigs. Cannot remember the name of it for the life of me though!


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

abbys dont have any issues like this in their lines as far as i`m aware.
the breed can suffer from inherited cataracts and ones with it shouldnt be bred from, they`re also prone to mouth sores if fed acid veg like apples.

only time i`ve come across them going off their back legs have had 2 causes.
1) numpties who feed bran/bran mashes and cod liver oil - it might be cheap but it dosnt give a shiny coat, instead it gives you a calcium deficient guinea pig with hind leg weakness.
2) cavies that are from satin bred lines. satin have a congenital problem which results in loss of bone mass, if you xray a satin you`d be horrified, in extreem cases you can barely see their bones, they also dont live a normal life span of a cavy. 18-24 month in my experience.

i know its unlikely but was he left without food/water at all?
and what was he fed on?

stale food and a lack of decent forage can lead to deficiency diseases which can show as hind leg weakness and eventual death.
Muscular dystrophy - lack of vit e
scurvey - lack of vit c
wasting disease

plus older boars can also get a problem with their back ends, they get impacted and dont pass their droppings properly and need to be `emptied`
was he pooping ok? this can make them lethargic and `off`

if they go off theri food they do go downhill quickly, and develop toxaemia, where they break down their muscle mass for energy, you can tell this though because their breath smells of ketones.

i`d have gone for rehydration fluids, abidec drops for vitamins, metatone tonic as a boost and spoon fed complan rather than baytril.

as he went so fast i doubt there was anything else you could have done, so sorry for your loss


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

pigglywiggly said:


> abbys dont have any issues like this in their lines as far as i`m aware.
> the breed can suffer from inherited cataracts and ones with it shouldnt be bred from, they`re also prone to mouth sores if fed acid veg like apples.
> 
> only time i`ve come across them going off their back legs have had 2 causes.
> ...


Thanks you for replying. 

I can cross of the first to options he had a good diet and as far as I am aware there is no satin in then line. Though I am in the process of just updating the breeder. 



> i know its unlikely but was he left without food/water at all?
> and what was he fed on?


he was never left without food. If he emptied his bowl before we noticed to top it up, he would put a ball with a bell in he played with in the bowl and spin it making noise untill it was topped up lol. He was lovley even if demanding. 

The food was a high quality food that came highly recommended i can check the name when i get home. 



> stale food and a lack of decent forage can lead to deficiency diseases which can show as hind leg weakness and eventual death.


Food was always fresh, along with regular bowls of veg/salad etc. 



> Muscular dystrophy - lack of vit e
> scurvey - lack of vit c
> wasting disease


The first two were my initial thoughts, however he had a good quality food that covered the vits in addition to the salad. Additional vit c was also present. Wasting disease is one i haven't heard of so will have a google. 

it was the speed at which he went that shocked me, two days ago he was completely full of life and his usual bouncy attention wanting piggy. 

Thanks for replying. 
Jay


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

when pigs decide to get ill they dont hang around.
suppose in one way its good they dont linger, but you sure dont get much chance to do a lot about it.

`diseases of domestic guinea pigs` is the book for health problems, have a look online and see if you can find a site to read it on.
or have a look at peter gurneys websites, he`s the guinea pig guru.

the cambridge cavy trust might be able to recommend a local pig-savvy vet incase you have need on one in the future.
finding a vet thats actually studied them isnt that easy in my experience.

i doubt there`d be satin in his line, think it`d affect the ridges on the rosettes for showing?


are you gonig to get another?


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

pigglywiggly said:


> when pigs decide to get ill they dont hang around.
> suppose in one way its good they dont linger, but you sure dont get much chance to do a lot about it.
> 
> `diseases of domestic guinea pigs` is the book for health problems, have a look online and see if you can find a site to read it on.
> ...


It was my partners guinea pig and in all honesty i think we will get another in the future, but it will be in the future and not for a while. Unless a rescue or something comes along soon that we fall for. Would like to get a pair females I think, as jackson was a grumpy pig and wouldn't tolerate others of his own. 

Jay


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