I think I need some encouragement

[fiveminutes]

So, I knew my pig Hedwig was having what I thought was some mite problems, so I had an appointment set up for him this Friday. I noticed on Monday that he just seemed really lethargic, so I kept an eye on him. Today, I got extremely worried, because he had stopped taking his vitamin drop on Tuesday, lost a lot of weight, really quickly. When I rescued him from the pet store (poor guy was basically being used as a breeding practice pig with the other males, had semen all over him. The pet store employees didn't even know what was on him, so I took him home and cleaned him up), he was a nice, good weight, beautiful fur. Very vocal and a spry little guy. I thought he would be great for Darwin as Darwin seemed very depressed by himself. Apparently Darwin could not get along well with Hedwig and had been biting him (unknown to me). I honestly thought the open wounds were from Hedwig biting himself from the mites, as the bite wounds did not start until about a week and a half ago. With the open wound, I tried my best to keep it clean, checking it everyday making sure it wasn't looking infected. That's apparently what happened with his wound. When I took him to the vet, he weighed 882 grams, was extremely skinny (from not eating or drinking the last couple of days), had a bald patch on his left hip and you could feel his bones. I didn't think that he would make it to his appointment on Friday, so went to the vet and found out about the infection. The vet believes that he is vitamin C deficient because he hasn't been eating, so he got an injection of 50mg of Vitamin C, has been given Bactrim and Reglan to fight the infection and promote digestion tract movement and also been given Oxbow Critical Care to syringe feed. I am having no problem giving him his medicine so far, but the Oxbow makes me want to cry. I am mixing it how the package intends. I can only feed him 4 times a day, as I am at school. So for his weight, he gets 3/4 of a Tablespoon per feeding. If I mix according to the package, it's the consistency of maybe toothpaste, but with that consistency, it won't go in the syringe. If I water it down a bit more, it will go in the syringe, but chunks get stuck in the syringe. I have tried cutting the tip off of the syringe and even upping the syringe from 3mL to 10mL. I know it's only been one day, but I am so worried that I'm killing him and not helping him because I can't get him the nutrition that he needs. Does anyone have any tips or different ideas to help me feed him? I feel like such a bad mom right now

[Kayleigh]

Dont be so harsh on yourself, It can be very difficult to syringe feed. Some local pet stores sell wide nibbed syringes, either that or you could ask the vet for a bigger syringe. When i was hand feeding my unwell pup i began with a syringe and then the food ect was getting stuck so i decided to put it on the end of a spoon and tempt the pig to eat. Eventually this worked and he began to eat it himself.

I find it very weird that the vet would say he has vitamin C defiency by not eating for 2 days. It takes weeks of the pig not getting vitamin c for this to occur. I wouldnt worry to much about him not taking drops from yourself as if the pig is not unwell they shouldnt be used.

The vet giving him a boost should let you know if this is indeed the problem. He should perk up and begin to get back to his normal self. If not then i would phone another vet and ask wha to do. Ensure you keep feeding him as if his digestive tract stops things can go down hill very quickly.

Is he eating hay or veggies at all? Has he been treated for mite, ringworm ect (just to be on the safe side)

Best of luck

Kayleigh

[fiveminutes]

He has not been treated for mites. The vet said that he was not presenting the symptoms of mites. Vet said that normally they present with dry skin, dandruff, skin painful to touch, etc. He thinks Hedwig has a vitamin deficiency because his hair is falling out very easily. I did try to spoon feed, but Hedwig is showing absolutely no interest in food. His teeth are a bit overgrown, but neither the vet nor I felt it was safe to put him under to trim his teeth down. After the shot he didn't really perk up, but he did move a bit more than he was earlier that morning. I'm not quite sure how much I get in him each feeding. Maybe 3 - 4 mL out of 3/4 of a tablespoon. Around that mark he just seems so tired and doesn't even want to try to eat. I've put a divider in the cage to separate Darwin ad Hedwig, this way I can keep track of how much Hedwig is putting out in feces, and he has only put out one dropping in a 7 hour period, and this morning during his feeding I tried to stimulate him to use the bathroom, and was only able to get one dropping out of him. Could he be impacted? He is making some noise now, and takes his medicine easily, I'm just not sure if I'm doing more harm than good when I feed him. The vet also said to give him 3mL of orange juice with the feedings to give him his vitamin C. He does have access to fresh water, hay and food, and I put in a veggie in case he wants to eat that, but he doesn't touch anything. Could something in his mouth be bothering him? I know if their teeth hurt, they stop eating, and I don't want to be overlooking the actual root of his problem.

[Kayleigh]

If you check his bottom area, hold him up and apply pressure to his anal area. If he is impacted there will be a mass of faeces in this area. If nothing then its unlikely he is impacted.

If hes really not willing to eat you can try using baby food. The fruit or veg type only. I also used this with my unwell pup. When you say his teeth are overgrown are they very overgrown or do they just look long. The vet should have checked his mouth and throat for any cuts or wounds ect.

When my pigs got mites the only thing i noticed was a few of them were scratching a little more than usual and i could see tiny black flecks in my white pigs. I treated everyone and it all cleared up. No more scratching or black flecks.

You have to feed him otherwise his little digestive tract will shut down. Even if its a little bit of food but often it will keep things moving. What are you feeding him on just now? I fnid that warm mushed up pellet food will work good, but it takes a fair bit of crushing down to get it into a syringe.

Kayleigh

[fiveminutes]

When I came home for his noon feeding, I put him on his back and checked his anal area. He did have some feces in there and I removed them. They were not super hard like is described for impaction. He just felt so lifeless. Tge only squeak I got out of him was when I was stroking his belly while clearing out his poo. His lower intestines area is obviously very painful. I just barely stroked it. I prepare myself when ever I leave the house and come back, sleep and wake up that he might not be there anymore. I really think he is just eating because he wants to make me happy. If I don't hold his head up, he will just flop it back down. He is on the oxbow critical care food. I have read that syringe feeding is only supposed to help and not become a way of life for them, so now I'm starting to question if/when I should think about his quality of life. I feel so bad for him and it honestly just breaks my heart to see him like this. I want him to recover and be the happy healthy pig he used to be, but I don't want him to suffer because I'm being selfish

[Kayleigh]

If he is as limp as you say ie not holding his own head up then something more sinister is wrong. Thats him basically giving up. And as heartbreaking as it is, it may be in his best interest to get him PTS.

I found one of my sows like this and after 6 months fighting she just gave up, stopped eating, moving, didnt wheek and would just lay in the corner.

I would suggest before making any decisions take him back to the vets and ask them to have a feel of his stomach area and to check his anal area. If hes impacted it will kill him if not sorted. Im sorry to hear he isnt perking up as well. You are doing everything you can but sometimes guinea pigs just give up and we cant do anything but obey what they wish to do.

Kayleigh

[fiveminutes]

I plan on calling the vet tomorrow morning about Hedwig and see what he thinks about how soon I should or should have seen any type of improvement with him. I massaged more poo out of him this evening, and it was really mushy, so I'm not sure if it had come out too soon, or if that is a side effect of the medicine, but it is nice to see some fresh poo coming out of him. I just finished his midnight feeding, and he did the most movement I've seen him do, he scratched just under his ear very vigorously, it kind of surprised me. When he stopped, I noticed that he had scratched him self raw. This really makes me think that he has mites. Would mites make him this sick if left untreated? With Hedwig in the not so great state, would the medicine used to treat mites kill him, or is it kind of a trial by error thing with him already being so ill? I'm attaching some pictures, maybe you can give an educated guess on whether you think it's mites or not. I really think that is one of his problems.


It can't be a bite mark. I've put a divider in the boys' cage to keep Darwin away from Hedwig in case it was a bite that caused all of this.

He does still just lay in his pigloo. I put him next to it, and he will walk himself into his pigloo and sleep there until I wake him up for his next feeding.

I really appreciate all the advice you are giving me. I've never had to deal with a sick guinea pig or hamster, just cats and dogs. Hedwig's state really reminds me of my cat that we had to put to sleep last year from old age, but she was 16 and I wouldn't say Hedwig is more than a year old.

After I call the vet tomorrow, and get any advice/info he has, I'll talk to Hedwig's other mom and we will come to the decision together on what we think would be best for him. I'll be sure to keep you updated on whats going on

[Kayleigh]

The scratching you describe sounds like it could be mites. As guinea pigs wont scratch themselves raw for nothing. I honestly would have thought the vets would have treated for this just to rule it out. Have a wee look at this link, the page is great and will help you out alot

www.guinealynx.info/mites.html

Keep him warm and keep feeding him. If you have any sudocrem or savalon cream apply some to the raw area. It must be agonising and itchy, You can treat him if you want with a mite treatment. it shouldnt effect his condition any. If anything it should ease the itchyness.

I would get another vets advice if possible. It sounds like the first vet jumped down the vitamin c road and in this case it sounds like it could be a bad mite thing.

Let us know how he gets on and best of luck

Kayleigh

[fiveminutes]

Talked to the vet this morning. He said that he didn't want to treat for mites initially, as when i brought him in he was literally knocking on deaths door and didn't want to overwhelm his system. I understand that statement, but it's still frustrating to have to sit back and wait. Vet thinks that the pooping is from his lack of mobility, since Hedwig does just lay in his pigloo. There were some small pop pellets this morning, so I know he is at least getting some movement. Vet said to wait for his recheck appointment which is on September 7th. He also thinks that the lower tummy pain is from gas that is being produced by the high fiber of the oxbow plus the Reglan syrup. Would there be a way to help massage gas bubbles out of his tummy? This morning he is a bit mire vocal, kind of like a low grumble, so I think that's a good sign for him. I trimmed his nails back a bit and he fought me when I did his front paws like he always does. Hopefully he will continue to show little improvements everyday

[fiveminutes]

Ok, I was going to schedule Darwin an appointment with the vet, just because Hedwig is sick, and when I picked him up because he was trying to pull the divider apart (poor guy doesn't understand why he can't get to Hedwig), I noticed he had a small circular patch of raw skin. So off to the vet he went. He had no other marks and a very very slight case of dry/dandruffy skin around the wound/raw patch. The vet was not 100% certain that it was mites, but neither of us are sure where the marks are coming from, so we are treating Darwin for mites, and also put him on Bactrim as well for the open wound to make sure it doesn't get infected. I'm currently washing all of their fleece bedding and towels in case it is mites and I have cleaned the cage.

With Hedwig, I spoke more with the vet and basically we will know if he will make it by Wednesday. Vet said that because of his lack of mobility, it might take a bit for the drugs to fully work in the system. if he has not gotten better by Wednesday, we will have to let him go to the big meadow in the sky. It's not fair to Hedwig to continue to let him suffer if this infection has already run it's course and have done way too much damage to turn around. If this infection has run it's course, I hope Hedwig dies naturally and peacefully, even though he has a due date, it still pains me to make that decision.

[Kayleigh]

Im glad you have got your other pig treated. It does sound like a bad infection of mites. As for waiting until the 7th i think that is far too long to wait to see if he will go peacefully or whether you should intervene. I am pretty confident in saying if you stopped feeding him and left him he would probably go in 3 - 5 days and it wouldnt be peaceful. By the sounds of things you are keeping him going.

If he wont eat himself then that is him telling you he has given up. I would keep trying for the next few days and see if he perks up. If not then have a think about his quality of life and if its worth force feeding him any longer.

Best of luck

Kayleigh

[fiveminutes]

Well, the vet said to make the decision about it by this coming Wednesday, but I'm going to see how this weekend goes. If he makes any sort of improvement, then we will take it on a day by day basis. If he makes no improvement by Monday, then I will have him PTS. I'm hoping against hope that he makes a recovery over the weekend, but I am preparing myself to let him go.

[Kayleigh]

Its such a difficult decision to make but we have to do whats best. I hope he improves over the weekend.

Kayleigh

[fiveminutes]

I ended up PTS on Saturday morning. I had my mom take him to the vet, I just couldn't do it. I felt so horrible. I took him to bed with me on Friday night kind of hoping that he would pass away on his own, but he just laid there all night starring at me and letting out a squeak every now and then. He was such a good boy, and I miss him a lot, and I feel so bad for not catching his illness sooner. Darwin doesn't really know what to do. He just kind of alternates from his pigloo to Hedwig's pigloo looking around for him. As soon as he gets the all clear from the vet, we will get Darwin neutered and see if he would like some female companionship. Darwin never did good by himself. Very much a social piggy. Thanks for all your words of encouragement, it really helped a lot. Hopefully I won't have to deal with this again any time soon.

[Kayleigh]

Sorry to hear about Hedwig. Hes in a happy place now. You done all you could.

Kayleigh

[Orlaith]

So sorry to hear about Hedwig. You did all you could and really did your best for him. You made the right decision to minimise his suffering and it's never easy to make that choice.

[fiveminutes]

Thanks for the words. Darwin made his first squeel for food this morning since Hedwig had gotten really sick, so that's a good sign. He has gotten the all clear from the vets health wise, even gained some weight, so he is scheduled for his neutering on Monday, and after he is done healing, he will get a friend so he can be his social piggy self again

[Kayleigh]

Thats great news. I hope the surgery goes well and he heals fine. im sure he would love a female friend or even two to live with

Kayleigh

[josiejo]

I've been reading this and I'm nearly in tears.. I'm so sorry to hear about Hegwig... those decision are never easy.
Sending you massive hugs xxxx