Worried about my piggy

[slipperandpjsmum]

I am concerned about my male guinea. He has started sitting in the middle of the cage as if in a trance. He has never done this before. Sometimes he even closes his eyes, which again he has never done. I am worried can anyone offer and suggestions. I think I am going to take him to the vets when they re-open but in thr mean time . . . . .

[LovestheChaos]

Hi,

Really sorry to hear this. We just lost our 4 year old piggie last week. Ruined my little DD's christmas as she loved that little thing.

I didn't want to leave this unanswered. It sounds like he is ill....how old is he?

Piggies usually hide the signs and symptoms of illness. It is a natural tendency that helps protect them from predators looking for sick and injured prey in the wild.

Therefore they are usually pretty darn ill by the time they are showing symptoms.

I don't think that there is really anything you can do but wait for the vets to open. Just try and keep him comfy and warm.

[goodmanners]

Is he warm enough can yu bring him in for a bit of stimulation/ attenion? Hope he gets well soon, yesterday i went out to mine and they were making no noise and were v still looking asleep huddled in there igloo box , for a moment i thought they were deeed as didnt feel overly warm, anyhow they sprung to life when i appeared with the carrots. I think i over worry about mine. Keep us updated

[slipperandpjsmum]

I have brought them all in for the winter. So can keep a really good eye on him. When I go up to him or go to open the cage he springs into action. Do you think the warmth could be making him sleepy or an I being over optimistic??

[silver73]

Never heard of this before but they do hide illness very well as they are prey animals.

Is there any sign that he may have diarrhoea? We lost a beautiful little pig to it.

There is a wonderful website call Guinea Pig Lynx with lots of info and a medical forum and there are a lot of gp savy owners on the forum..

www.guinealynx.info/forums/

There is also the Cambridge Cavy Trust but may need to be a member....

In addition, owners of GP rescues know a lot so you could try to give them a call

Hope he is ok.

[slipperandpjsmum]

Thanks for your replies. No his pooh as is normal and he is eating. I was in the room where he is currently living today and he had quite a few of these episodes. At one point I thought he was dead. His breathing seems to slow and his eyes seemed to go glassy.

[hellymelly]

I would take him to the out of hours vet.I had GPs a long time ago but I remember the vet saying that they tend to go downhill really fast when they are ill so better to do something soon rather than regret that you didn't get hep sooner.Hope he is back to normal soon.

[silver73]

I agree with hellymelly about going to the vets you need to do something fast as he sounds very ill.

Did you post something on Guinea Pig Lynx?