Emergency(?) medical help

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maldwyn

Post   » Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:59 pm


To give a backstory, I've had my two boars (brothers) for two years. On the 30th of July, I noticed that one of them, Itachi, was acting funny, so I made an emergency appointment and took him to the vet half an hour later. The vet diagnosed him with scurvy, and he ended up passing away 2 days later. My surviving guinea pig, Sasuke, was and still is grieving, but now he's showing some health issues of his own. I thought it might be scurvy so I've upped the amount of vitamin C veggies, but now he's stopped eating and drinking all together.

He still has mobility in his legs, but he's wobbling a bit when he moves and it's wanting to lift his head at all. I ordered a bag of Critical Care Fine Grind last night and it shipped this morning but I'm worried that it isn't going to get here in time. For now, though, I'm syringe feeding him water and Pedialyte (surprisingly, he tries to eat the nub) and attempting to feed him spinach leaves (he doesn't really eat them, though, just nibbles at them and tries to pull them out of my hand :/). I'm also holding him and cuddling him more just in case he doesn't make it, so he knows that I'm trying the best I can to help him. Making another vet appointment has been a back and forth in my mind since I only have $91 in my bank account and don't get my next paycheck until the 10th.

I really just want to know if someone has any other advice or tips that I should be following?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon Aug 06, 2018 10:45 pm


Yes. Supplement him with some plain vitamin C. Give him 100 mg. per day for a week, then cut back to about 35 mg. per day. If the problem is truly scurvy, that should reverse it.

You can get Vita Drops liquid vitamin C, which you can syringe to him in his Pedialyte. Just DON'T follow their instructions and put the drops in the water bottle. Liquid vitamin C degrades very quickly in the presence of light, and pretty soon all you've got is funny tasting water.

Or, you can give him plain vitamin C tablets. You'll have to crush them and estimate how much you're giving. The powder can be dissolved in water and syringed to him, or sprinkled on his veggies.

Just don't continue giving the high doses of C for longer than a week. Staying on a high dose can cause pseudo-scurvy when you taper them off of it.

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Mon Aug 06, 2018 10:49 pm


I think every pet owner has been in that situation - vet emergency and empty bank account. I remember making payments to a kind vet when our dog had parvovirus before there was a vaccine. She pulled through and lived to 17 1/2. Maybe check into Care Credit. It’s a credit card that’s for family and pet medical bills. My friend opened an account when her cat was ill and it was a lifesaver. Credit was interest free for 6 months so she had time to pay it off. It sounds like you will need a vet visit regardless and If your piggy isn’t eating he’ll get weaker. Can you mash up green pepper with the Pedialyte?

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Tue Aug 07, 2018 10:01 am


While you're waiting for the CC, you can crush pellets and syringe feed him those.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Aug 07, 2018 9:03 pm


I am so sorry for your loss and sad your other guinea pig is ill.

How did the vet diagnose him with scurvy? What signs of illness did he show? If you have been feeding a fresh bag of good quality guinea pig pellets along with some fresh vegetables, it is unlikely either of your guinea pigs had scurvy. I suspect something else is wrong but more vitamin C may help some. Can you describe the signs of illness before he stopped eating? This could be a URI (requires antibiotics) or a dental issue. Tell us more.
www.guinealynx.info/emergency.html

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