Floppy guinea pig - is he dying?

[libbyssister]

Just got home to find thst one of our GPs is very floppy. He was quiet and still yesterday and spent the night in the kitchen in a box last night. This morning he had eaten a bit and I put him back in the hutch but when We came back from school the children said he was "rolling" and he was lying in his back in the hutch sad

He's on my lap in a blanket and 5 mins ago he flipped out a bit, and got all jumpy but he's back to being quiet now.

He's lying perfectly still when this is normally an GP that you just can't catch...

I don't think you can ever make too much of how an animal feels as they need you to care for them and look after them. If you don't do as much as you can for them who will? They rely on us.

Hi - if your guineas had been together a long time, it is certain one will pine/miss the other one, their lifelong companion. Some get on OK on their own but it is bound to be a shock after they have been together so long.
We have had lots of discussions on these threads about what to do - either decide that this will be your last guinea, and make sure it gets lots of attention and cuddles over the rest of its life time, or try and introduce a new pair to integrate, which is very time consuming and as you will see, doesnt always work out, and then you are in a perpetual circle about always having to have two.

Alot depends on the age of your family, your commitments, and how you feel about 'four more years or more' < sorry, Im back to the wonderful President Obama again!>. Your children may be the best guides about what you should /want to do next. Good luck !

Hi Libbysister Sorry to hear of your little guinea. You did the right thing by letting his brother see him dead. We did this when OB's brother died. They are a herd animal and need to know that one hasn't just disappeared. IME they do grieve .

I'm so sorry to hear about what happened. When my last two pigs "went to the bridge," I let their companions see and smell them. It certainly didn't do any harm and hopefully helped a bit.

Give remaining pig lots of cuddles, attention and wee treats in the days to come. If you feel he's going to have to be a "solo pig" (as you don't want to continue having them,) the special attention will have to stay ramped right up for the rest of his life.

If you do think it's worth getting him another companion, there are some rescues that do "boar dating," of adults, so it might be able to find a companion who's of a similar age, or start the succession planning with a baby boar and go from there again - Obama style! Good luck whatever happens.

I need some advise I have a guinea pig he's about 2 years old he's starting to shake a lot and he want eat or drink anything what do y'all thinks wrong with him

hi tina
2 is young for a gpig
will he eat anything?
if you mush up pellets you can syringe feed him. buy a small syringe from the chemists and cut the end off it so it is quite wide. be v careful, slow and gentle when handfeeding
then take him to the vets. it might be a problem with teeth for example

hi, if he's not eating and gone floppy would suggest an urgent trip to vets to get him checked out guineas need to eat constantly and the shaking suggests he might be seriously ill. good luck!

Tina start a new thread with your title "Shaking guinea pig won't eat/drink" or similar.
Old posts sometimes slip back down the list.

Eating/Drinking - you really need to get him to otherwise his guts will go into statis (and they get liver failure)

Try his favourites - parsley, grass
Mashed up pellets in a sloppy paste with a Calpol syringe.

This will do short term but if he's not eating he'll need Critical Care (I used the Fine Grind - vets or Amazon)

The shaking ? Could be many things

He might be cold/have a Respiratory infections. What are his eyes like? Are they dull, weepy, closing up?
His nose? If he snotty?
His breathing ? Rough and raspy?

He might have been poisoned? Has he been out grazing, eaten buttercups or bulbs, daisys, foxgloves, got weedkiller on grass (

One of ours has had a 'funny do' this week, for want of a more medical term -- suddenly seeming terrified, not eating, scuttling madly away and hiding, whereas she's normally the pushy, bolshy one.

Interesting idea about the wasp or bee sting, 70 -- I'd thought of possible poisoning from weeds but not that, and it could well fit with sudden terror ('Aargh! I bit the grass and it bit back!').

I'd strongly second the idea of handfeeding with mush. I've been syringing in that Critical Care for two days as she still wasn't coming out to eat, and she now seems fine.

Tina have you found your guinea pig on its back like the OP?

If so, read up on heat stroke. First aid is to wrap piggy in a wet towel.

However, the shaking response could be the recovery phase and the animal should be helped to its feet. Us humans shake to cool down so could be same for guinea pigs. Guinea pigs are really bad at regulating their temperature.

Argh, we'll have heatwave weather upon us before we know it.
In Darkest Essex it was 18c IRL but in the Pighoiuse (the boys were in their run) it was 25c, so it does keep the heat (which is nice at night time) but I remember last year trying to keep two little fur-babies cool,

Unfortunately , if I try to leave them without a cover over them, they feel vunerable and hide in hay. So they need a shade on the run, boxes and in the Pighouse they like the haybox lid shut.
I have a fan and those silicone pads that I'll freeze.

How's your pig now Tina did you need to get him to the vet?