My lovely little blonde pig is off colour this morning

[silver73]

I love my pigs with abandon. Last night was up late and just thought something not quite right with blondie pig - she is 5. Hard to put a finger on really DH said she was just relaxing but she is a really mad little pig and full of energy usually. The other pigs are making sure one of them is with her all the time and keep kissing her. She is not puffing out but in the corner very quiet.

This morning she had a little bit of hay that I hand fed her. Phoned up a GP savy vets that is 1.5 hours away and they said bring her in. They are open Saturdays and Sundays anyway and they are experts. I gave her some Critical Care after talking to the vets - she loved it . Have cuddled her loads while waiting for DH to get ready to drive her to the vets.

I am with the children but beyond upset as I know how quickly they can go down hill and know I will have to wait a while yet to see if she is ok. I know it is a long way to go but we lost a piggie from wrong choice of vets years ago.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

No help I'm afrid silver but virtual GP Owner Hand Holding on offer.

You are doing everything you can at the moment with the Critical Care and the comforting her.

It remains to be seen what your vet says.Hopefully they can give her something (possible antibiotics if she's got an infection.Is she snuffly or raspy at all?)

The journey will be worth it to get your GP seen at the vet you want.
The rest,as they say, is in the lap of the Gods.

(And speaking as a fellow GP owner who has had Guinea-Pig Sudden Death- like you have experienced; I'm not going to insult your intellegence by saying "Oh she'll be fine, blah blah blah" because I know how quickly they go.

But I'm hoping she'll be strong.
for GP

[silver73]

Hi 70 thanks so much for your kind words. I am in pieces here as I love her so much. She was still feisty when being cuddled this morning. If you kiss her she insists on kissing back and gets cross if you try to sneak in a couple of kisses before she gives you one back. She was squeaking at me as normal to tell me off. I am just hoping it is a good sign but the other side of me knows that being off hay is a very bad sign. No sign of anything just more quiet than normal and not eating hay. I also think the other pigs know she is not well as they were so lovely and attentive with her. They seemed to take it in turns to cuddle up with her.

She loved the Critical Care. I got a new pack a few weeks ago as it only lasts for a year. I also got a special syringe and that really helped with feeding her.

I have just phoned the vets and DH has not got there yet. As they set off in the car she looked very comfortable in her travel box snuggled up in fleece with lots of hay.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Does the Critical Care really fill them up ( a bit like Guinea-Pig Complan?)
She might be too full of CC to eat alot of hay?

It is a worry when they are ill, they just go all pathetic and withdrawn. But I'm told that's their survival mode, being prey animals.


(My DDs GP aka GP1 gives her pooh kisses after he's sneaked one is his soft eating droppings.) Mmmmm nice.

[silver73]

I offered her hay first and then when we decided she should go to the vets I gave her Critical Care as GPs need something in their stomachs virtually all the time.

I get the fine grain Critical Care so it is like a very watery soup. It can be the difference between keeping them alive or not. I have a GP vet book and I think it is something like 7 hours is the maximum they can go without food. Actually, I would recommend it. I got the recommendation from Guinea Pig Lynx.

It is called Diseases of Domestic Guinea Pigs by V C G Richardson.

DH has texted to say he is at vets but no news as yet...

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

I've got some fine grind on order from Amazon to keep in my FAK for GPs.

So it's like Food+ Fluid in one.
I've read they need 24 hour access to food.They graze,then eat their first pooh so it's going through them constantly.

<br />
Will your vet keep her in, as it's such a long trip, to keep an eye on her?

[silver73]

Hi she has a slight temperature and no pooing because she has not eaten enough. They have given her antibiotics and she has eaten a littled bit at the vets. We have to carry on feeding her Critical Care until she starts eating on her own. I will put probiotics in her water as well. Poor little girl she loves her food so much.

I am so glad that I went with my gut instinct and just hope that we have caught it early enough. Vet seems up beat about it. I trust this vet he was recommended by Vedra at Cambridge Cavy Trust and it is obvious he adores GPs.

[silver73]

Sorry correction DH says vet fed her lots of Critical Care that she loved. Vet says she should stay with the other piggies because whatever she has they have already been exposed to and that she will get depressed being away from her sisters.

I'm going to get up regularly during the night to feed her and as a family we will make sure she has Critical Care every 3 hours until she starts eating on her own. She has lost 100g in one day from not eating hay. Vet said once antibiotics kick in she should start eating on her own.

Highly recommend Vets and Pets in Broxbourne - they are open all week including weekends and their vet is very GP savy. They also have a rodentologist clinic on Saturdays alongside their GP savy vet.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

I had a sneaky look at Vets and Pets (is it near to Harlow?)
Do you see the same vet or does it depend who's there (I see they have a GP clinic)

Good to know your GP is home, but you'll all be on a rota system now for GP feeding (bit like a new baby in the house).
Did the vet say what it could be? Is there anything going round at the moment?

[silver73]

Hi it sounds like the same place. Here is the website vetsandpetsltd.co.uk/guinea-pig-clinic. Our pigs have always seen Amir who is a brilliant GP vet.

She is back, had more Critical Care and has started to eat small amounts of hay. Vet said once the antibiotics started working she would probably want to eat again.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

How's Blondie today?

[silver73]

Hi 70 Blondie seems to be doing well. Luckily I am off for a few days so have been able to be up in the night with her. I have been feeding her every 4 hours. She has had three doses of antibiotic and probiotic and seems to be getting much more perky. She is eating a small amount of vegetables but I've not seen her eating hay but she is pooing again. I am hoping that within a few days she will start eating hay again. She is such a lovely little piggie and is still telling me what to do. When she has had enough Critical Care she grabs hold of the syringe and tries to pull it out of my hand.

[Rollersara]

I also know how quickly piggies can go downhill, BUT, we had a lovely blonde piggie who had an abscess in his back teeth. The vet said his chances of surviving an anaesthetic were very slim (he was quite old) and all we could do was syringe feed him Recovery food. We fed him twice a day every day for over a year, he came with us every where, including a weekend at Center Parcs! When he did eventually pass away (on holiday on the Isle of Mull!) the vet said we had done more than most for our piggie but we wouldn't have done it any other way. Sounds like yours is on the mend, hopefully you'll have many more happy months with her x

[silver73]

Rollersara what a lovely story. They are absolutely gorgeous little creatures. Blonde pig is doing well. She is telling us off when we are trying to give her Critical Care now and has started eating hay again. She was 1400g and is now 1300g but not lost anymore weight since Sunday. She is starting to enjoy her vegetables more now.

I've checked everything with Vedra at Cambridge Cavy Trust and she has given me a few more suggestions including giving our pigs bottled water with a lower that 10% calcium concentration as we live in a hard water area. We are taking our girlies up to see Vedra just to make sure they are all ok.

I cannot recommend Cambridge Cavy Trust enough. The level of support and expertise is second to none.

[silver73]

Blondie is doing really well and back to her old self. Going mad for vegetables and very lively. I am so thankful that we caught it in time as these lovely little creatures go downhill so quickly. Even going off food for a few hours can be very serious for them. She is still on antibiotics but it has taken 4 days for her to start eating normally. I always keep Critical Care and Avipro at home. Once a GP stops eating they need to be hand fed until they get better.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

There was a Rescue website I went on a couple of days back that warned there was a guinea-pig 'flu' going round.
Mind you they would probably encounter it more than the average GP owner because some of the pigs going to rescue centres would not be in the best of health .

Is the Avipro a probiotic?

Glad to hear Blondie Pig is doing well, and a Pat On The Back to your DH BTW for driving her 90 minutes there and 90 minutes home.
According to RAC routefinder, I'm 35 minutes from your vet, so I'm definately going to book my boars for a check up. Does the Rodentologist do this or the vet or do they both check them?

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

I also read on a website that Vedra is going to move back to her bative New Zealand .
You'll need to hide her passport or your GPs will have to do their consultations by webcam

[silver73]

Hi 70 - Avipro is a probiotic and always good to have just in case they need antibiotics and the vet does not have probiotics or if your pigs are just under the weather - it can be put in their water.

I get all my pig stuff from The Hay Experts. I am so impressed with them. I ordered replacement Avipro and Fine Grind Critical Care as we have used our stock up with Blondie. However, also ordered Timothy Hay and this would delay order by one day but the lady at The Hay Experts phoned to ask if this is ok as Avipro and Critical Care are for sick animals...

Dreading Vedra leaving the UK. I am seriously thinking of doing her rodentologist training before she goes.

The vet practice have a Saturday GP clinic where a rodentologist checks your pigs and the GP savy vet is also there on Saturdays if anything is found that the rodentologist wants him to see. He is a lovely vet and so kind to GPs.

The pigs are off to see Vedra in a couple of days to have their annual MOT and for her to check to make sure Blondie pig is completely better.

When my beloved dog had to be put down at the age of 17 I thought my heart would break and could not face having another dog because of it. Children asked for GPs and I thought my heart would be safe how wrong was I...within a few days I was besotted with these gorgeous little creatures....

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

These pigs seem to have the most personality of all the pigs I had (from age 9 to 22). My DD loves to hear about all the previous ones and see the photos my parents sent her.She knows they get ill and eventually die, but ours had all been peaceful, so she accepts this.

I was a bit worried when we got the hogs because they were adults (I'd previously had baby piglets).I didn't know if they'd like us
They were 'surplus' from an accidental litter (2 sows who turned out to be male + female).
So there was no cruelty or neglect but they'd been in foster care then came to us (their Forever Home).Their behaviour was already established and they've been lovely.

<br />
If you do the Rodentologist training you could do work at a Rescue- to part fulfill your desire to have your own rescue <img loading="lazy" class="inline-flex mumsnet-emoji" alt="Grin" src="https://www.mumsnet.com/assets/images/mumsnet-emojis/base/grin.png">. <br />
My DD had her judgey pants on today .We were buying GP supplies and looking at hutches.They were <strong>tiny</strong> flimsy wood. Very inadequate fastening on the door. Sleeping quarters miniscule and most with a ramp that an adult GP couldn't climb in a month of Sundays.<br />
<br />
That's the kind of thing people need to be aware of. <strong>Before</strong> their GPs get abandonded by their DC and left in the garden.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

We put their Xeno 450 on yesterday.They've still got greasy little patches on their necks, but they've got over it.
I'm going to cut their nails again this weekend. They hate it. DH holds them but I might look up the GuineaPigWrapTechnique on YouTube.
The little boy gets bitey - that's my thanks for rehoming him

[silver73]

They may get used to it. My pigs are now used to nail clipping and just want it over with asap.

Would love to do some voluntary work at a GP rescue. It is the way I want to go but some of the stories are heart breaking. I just don't know how GPs got the reputation of being hardy as they are not and can get ill very easily. I would love to see a world where you need to go through the rigorous checks that Battersea Dogs Home and GP rescues put potential owners through and then backed up by inspections.

[Rollersara]

So glad to hear she's on the mend!

[silver73]

I think the lesson I have learnt from having a couple of pigs go downhill very very quickly is that even if a pig is still eating but not as much as normal that it is still a very serious sign and don't wait for it to get to the no eating stage as you may be too late.

The vet was wonderful she had antibiotics and probiotics and hand had to be hand fed every 4 hours and watered until the antibiotics had time to work and make her feel like eating again - around 4 days.

If you have GPs find a GP savy vet as soon as you can so you can contact them in emergencies. Also, if you can join Cambridge Cavy Trust. My pigs had an MOT with Vedra just to make sure they were ok. They have little (normal) cysts that she keeps an eye on and she also got rid of an ovarian cyst just by manipulation.