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Post by Niki on Feb 7, 2007 22:41:25 GMT
Oh my now it's Lottie.  Same thing as Wallace, no outward symptoms, eating her dry food, hay & veg & drinking & running around as normal but tonight i weighed her & she's a tiny 1lb 5oz!!! On 14th Jan she was 1lb 15oz - i am out of my mind with worry. I've brought her into the house to keep her warm & monitor her, i did think she may have diarrhoea as i'd seen soft poops on their food bowl but she hasn't. However, her poops are tiny, like a baby piggies size. I'm at the hosp tomorrow afternoon, Dylan's at the vets (for his epilepsy) 3 hours after my app. I'm going to try to get her into one for tomorrow evening. I'm now wondering if they've caught something from Floyd as he's been sneezing & is also in the house quarantining & is on Baytril, 1ml daily after the vet said he had a viral infection. His symptoms started whilst i was in hospital but i have no idea how long he'd been sneezing before i said he'd to come into the house away from the guineas. I'll keep you posted Niki x |
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Post by gpmum2 on Feb 8, 2007 8:50:39 GMT
Niki you are not having much luck. I think you have done the best thing to bring her in and keep monitoring her until you can get her to the vets.
Let us know how she goes. Fingers crossed all will be OK.
Karen
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Post by Dawn - Admin on Feb 8, 2007 9:04:50 GMT
Oh no poor Lottie and poor you. Have you tried syringe feeding her? I really hope she pulls through for you.
Let us know how it goes at the vets wont you? I have ALL my fingers crossed
Dawn
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Post by rayfay on Feb 8, 2007 16:47:01 GMT
Oh no Niki! Maybe there is a virus floating around between the small critters? Is Lottie still eating?? Drinking?? I have all my fingers (let me tell you how hard it is to type...) and toes and even my legs crossed for you and Lottie. Sending GIANT hugs! ;D
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Post by Niki on Feb 8, 2007 17:50:18 GMT
I'm outta my mind with worry now.
Bordetella Bronchiseptica is carried by rabbits in their resp. sytems & causes no problems to the rabbit but if transferred to a guinea pig it can be fatal.
Symptoms include: sneezing, depression, lack of appetite & weightloss.
I so am hoping that this isn't the case.
Lottie's eating, drinking & being her normal feisty little self it's just the weight loss - exactly the same as Wallace, today she has some crusting round her eyes which rang major alarm bells for me
I've syringe fed her mushed Wagg Pellets which she ate with no probs & gave her a small amount of veg last night, again she's eaten it.
She's at the vets in the morning at 9.30, let's hope they have some clue this time (not the same practice as i took Wallace to)
Thanks everyone for your kind wishes, i'll keep you posted
Niki x
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Post by jane on Feb 8, 2007 18:28:01 GMT
Aww, I hope poor Lottie will be okay. Hopefully the vet will be able to find out what's wrong with her  Just out of curiousity, what vet do you use?  |
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Post by Niki on Feb 8, 2007 20:25:58 GMT
Aww, I hope poor Lottie will be okay. Hopefully the vet will be able to find out what's wrong with her Just out of curiousity, what vet do you use? Hi Jane she's going to Durtnell's vets in Armley (near my mums) tomorrow. I looked on the RCVS website & they're approved as small animal vets. I couldn't look before because my old computer was broken. I'm happy to say at tonights weigh-in she'd put on 2oz, now i'm hoping she keeps it on  Niki x |
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Post by lovelypiggies on Feb 8, 2007 20:28:08 GMT
I hope she gets well soon honey
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Post by kallyuk on Feb 8, 2007 20:30:56 GMT
I'm glad shes put on the 2oz Nikki
hope all goes well for Lotte at the vet
fingers crossed this end for a speedy recovery
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Post by Niki on Feb 8, 2007 23:34:43 GMT
Thank you lovelypiggies & Kally I've spoken to Vedra (CCT) tonight, she seemed to think, because the piggies are outside in a shed, wild mice have contaminated their hay/food but when i explained their food, hay straw etc was stored in the house she said their water must be contaminated but how can that be? We did have problems with rats in the summer, which is when i started to keep all their food etc in the house & because the rat(s) couldn't get into their hutches it/they ate their water bottles but not one of the piggies became ill. When i had their hutches built i used the smallest mesh i could find, the grids measures 13mm x 13mm & if wild mice are getting into their hutches how small does the mesh have to be to stop them? It's a huge worry as Vedra said there is a big risk that all the piggies could succumb to whatever it is. Niki x |
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Post by rayfay on Feb 9, 2007 1:50:40 GMT
I wouldn't know if it could be mice as we don't have any mice here. I'm glad she's gained 2oz!!
Let us know how it goes at the vets!
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Post by lovelypiggies on Feb 9, 2007 8:33:36 GMT
Strangely enough Vedra said the same thing about Mice to me when i called about Sammy theres no way mice could get in so doubt its anything to do with that
I hope she's ok today
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Dawn - Admin
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Post by Dawn - Admin on Feb 9, 2007 11:16:09 GMT
Oh I do hope she and the others will be ok Niki I have everything corssed for you. I hope hte vet can be more positive when you go.
Dawn
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Post by Niki on Feb 9, 2007 12:14:03 GMT
Well here we go again, the vet found nothing wrong!! Checked her teeth, no malocclusion, listened to her heart & lungs - normal.
Felt all her body, no lumps but did say if it was a cyst they can't always be felt.
I mentioned bordatella which is apparantly kennel cough & can be passed to humans but only if they have a suppressed immune system (ie on chemotherapy) I told her i'd had a suppressed immune system because of my drugs, her eyes widened then she said if Lottie had bordatella she would be extremely ill, on the verge of death & not as perky as she is.
She did admit she didn't know what it was. There is no sign of crusting round her eyes this morning, infact they're lovely, clear & bright & she's full of herself.
She's on 0.1ml Baytril for 6 days, i've to take her back next Thursday & i was advised to give her 30mg vitamin C daily & to carry on syringe feeding at the rate i am.
She was weighed again; on their scales she was 1lb 4oz On mine this morning she was 1lb 6.8oz (down .2oz fm last night)
There is another RCVS approved small animal practice near me, i think i'll take her there for a second opinion, surely someone has to have an answer.
My wonderful OH Snoopy had the same idea as me, to build something in our bedroom for them all to come inside but would this make matters worse because they're in the warm?
All advice welcomed - i'm at a total loss here
Niki
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Post by Dawn - Admin on Feb 9, 2007 12:21:54 GMT
Well I have always thought piggies do better indoors that way they can have a constant warm temperature with no subzero temps.
0.1ml of baytril is not very much mind you if they don't know what is wrong them maybe they are just giving it just in case. I know I have been given 0.4ml in the past which sounds more like it, I would mention this too when you go for your second opinion which I think is a good idea. I hope you can manage to get her back up to full health very soon it would be terrible to loose another piggy to the same mystery illness.
Keep us posted wont you Niki and lets hope you get a diagnosis soon
Dawn
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Post by gpmum2 on Feb 9, 2007 15:06:46 GMT
Hi Niki
When I had my problem with a mouse in the cage!! I asked the vet what harm either could do to each other and she said the mouse could give my piggies fleas but unlikely the only other problem would be if the mouse bite them and then they could get an abscess.
My cage wire was very small but apparently they can crush their rib cage and get in a hole the size of a pen!
I hope you get some answers if you get a second opinion.
Karen
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Post by Niki on Feb 9, 2007 15:39:11 GMT
Hi Niki When I had my problem with a mouse in the cage!! I asked the vet what harm either could do to each other and she said the mouse could give my piggies fleas but unlikely the only other problem would be if the mouse bite them and then they could get an abscess. My cage wire was very small but apparently they can crush their rib cage and get in a hole the size of a pen! I hope you get some answers if you get a second opinion. Karen Hi Karen You're right. I forgot to say i asked the vet about possible contamination from mice & she said there's nothing anyone can do to prevent them getting in as they can squash their bodies to the size of a pencil & the only thing i could do was to send a sample of hay to the lab but it's very expensive I rang the same surgery back & got a different girl answering the phone, i was told that although they are a RCBVS approved small animal practice they don't have an "expert" all they could do was give Lottie an MOT, which is exactly what they did this morning! I've rang the other vets on the RCVS website & was told they do have a guinea vet but she's on holiday til 19th Feb, then said "oh no, she's here this afternoon" HURRAH - i have an app for 4.40 & am sooo hoping she'll be able to shed some light on what's wrong. Will keep you posted Niki x PS Dawn you're right the vet did prescribe it as a general thing because she just didn't know  The good news is her appetite is fantastic! She bites the syringe expecting it to flow bless, mindst ya she's having to wear baby wipe bibs as between us we get in a right mess  |
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Post by kallyuk on Feb 9, 2007 16:16:59 GMT
hope all goes well with the second opinion.....
I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful hubby who agreed to letting me use the bedroom to house my piggys....
If your hubby is in agreement I would go for it Nikki
like Dawn said its a nice constant temperature
and I find I can check on them more often
as i'm constantly up and down the stairs
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Post by Niki on Feb 9, 2007 18:52:21 GMT
No diagnosis Same procedure as the last vet, teeth, lungs & heart all normal. This vet has 25 piggies of her own free ranging in her garden, they have hutches but prefer the outdoors. If she wasn't an "expert" then she had a good knowledge of them. She mentioned malabsorbtion, Lottie's not digesting or absorbing her food as she should which is why her poops are small & the only way i'd possibly find out why is to have a post mortem done & then i'd not be guaranteed a result. I'm not going down that road. She said it takes a lot for a guinea not to eat & found one of her sows dead in the pen with it's face in the food bowl surrounded by her other sows - she said that's how close to death a piggy can be before it will stop eating. Not much of a comfort there I've to carry on with the Baytril. She gave me Science recovery to feed her & Lacto B9 Probiotic/prebiotic sachets to give her after the antibiotics. I've to carry on monitoring her weight & keep her indoors where it's warm as she has no fat on her to keep herself warm & needs all her energy for that. I feel better knowing it's not a virus but would've liked her to say "it's this" & "this is how we treat it & she'll be fine in x amount of days." Niki x |
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Post by Niki on Feb 9, 2007 18:56:02 GMT
hope all goes well with the second opinion..... I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful hubby who agreed to letting me use the bedroom to house my piggys.... If your hubby is in agreement I would go for it Nikki like Dawn said its a nice constant temperature and I find I can check on them more often as i'm constantly up and down the stairs Hi Kally, The only misgivings i have about having them in the bedroom is the dogs, they sleep in our bedroom & that's where the piggies would be going. We have 2 bedrooms & a cupboard room (can't call it a bedroom) which is where the computer which means we don't have a right lot of room but i've got my thinking head on big time & if there's a will there's definitely a way Niki x |
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Post by gpmum2 on Feb 9, 2007 20:01:00 GMT
uumm not much help then. Hopefully the Baytril will kill any undiagnosed illness off. I know you will do a good job of looking after her as you are a great piggy mum!
Karen
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Post by Dawn - Admin on Feb 9, 2007 22:01:57 GMT
Well I know what you mean about a proper diagnosis Niki but at least the vet seemed to know what she was on about hey. I hope Lottie gets better very soon.
Dawn
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Post by Niki on Feb 9, 2007 22:58:15 GMT
uumm not much help then. Hopefully the Baytril will kill any undiagnosed illness off. I know you will do a good job of looking after her as you are a great piggy mum! Karen Aww thank you Kally, i sure don't feel like one at the moment, i can tell ya Niki x |
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Post by Niki on Feb 9, 2007 23:01:10 GMT
Well I know what you mean about a proper diagnosis Niki but at least the vet seemed to know what she was on about hey. I hope Lottie gets better very soon. Dawn She did Dawn, which put my mind at ease. Lottie (apart from her weight) is great. She nipped the vet this afternoon, flew out of the scales at a great rate of knotts & tonight has been sticking her nose out of her "hospital room" making quiet chirruping noises for her veg, now that made me go aaah Niki x |
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Post by Dawn - Admin on Feb 9, 2007 23:03:19 GMT
Awww... the little sweet heart |
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Post by kallyuk on Feb 10, 2007 15:24:36 GMT
Niki, I have the same problem only mine is Cats who can and will open the door
I put an outside lock on the bedroom door to stop the cats getting in and disturbing the piggys
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Post by Niki on Feb 10, 2007 23:23:43 GMT
Niki, I have the same problem only mine is Cats who can and will open the door I put an outside lock on the bedroom door to stop the cats getting in and disturbing the piggys SNAP!! All the doors upstairs have locks on the outside of them to keep the dogs out but when we're not in a room but they sleep in our bedroom when we go to bed & i think "Guinea TV" would be the programme of the day! ;D ;D Niki x |
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Post by Niki on Feb 15, 2007 17:06:36 GMT
Today's update: We've been back to the vets, last Friday (on their scales) she weighed 645g, today she's 697g. Both myself & the vet are really pleased with her weight-gain but the vet was perplexed that she's showing no interest in her dry food at all. She's given me a large syringe with the whole end chopped off; i've to finely chop grass & see if she will take it from the syringe, her thinking is that she may have got used to the syringe & may not go back to eating dry food again  What i don't understand is why will she eat veg from a bowl but not dry food & are there piggies that don't eat dry food? What do you feed these piggies if this is true? I also asked when i should introduce her to Albie & Maddie, she said it was up to me & couldn't say for certain whether she was/is contagious or not - saying guinea pigs are such complex little creatures. Could it be she's not eating dry food because she's lonely? She was from a group of 6 sows & has always had company Niki x |
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Post by gpmum2 on Feb 15, 2007 19:46:22 GMT
When Scampi passed on Chips was on his own and he went down hill quite quickly becoming quiet and not eating. So it may have something to do with her problems if she is used to company. Can piggies have to much veggies and hay that they just don't need as much dried food? Chips doesn't eat much dried food compared to Ranger. Chips eats half a handful a day at the max. Karen |
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Post by Niki on Feb 15, 2007 20:27:03 GMT
When Scampi passed on Chips was on his own and he went down hill quite quickly becoming quiet and not eating. So it may have something to do with her problems if she is used to company. Can piggies have to much veggies and hay that they just don't need as much dried food? Chips doesn't eat much dried food compared to Ranger. Chips eats half a handful a day at the max. Karen I did think this Karen that she may be depressed because, as far as i know, she's always had company definitely since october when she came to me with Albie & Maddie. Hmm you've given me something to think about, i wonder if i'm syringe feeding her too much & that's why she doesn't feel the need to munch dry food. I have no idea how much i should be syringe feeding her to keep her weight stable do you? Niki x |
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