He doesn't want to move :'(

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Liz92

Post   » Tue Nov 28, 2017 11:32 am


Please help I'm fairly new to the guinea pig mom life so when one of my boys started to act weird I'm panicking.
All and all he seems okay he's eating and drinking a little water. The weird thing is he doesn't want to move from the corner of the cage with the water bottle...
He eats the hay around him and sometimes moves a little to get more hay but barely nothing. His nose does have very little "crust"(from left over mucus) and his eyes seem a little shiny. But his breathing is fine. I'm just worried that he won't move from that spot. My sister says that he's okay cause he's still eating. She says it might be a temperature change cause he still pretty fidgety around her. Just anyone please help...

JX4

Post   » Tue Nov 28, 2017 12:09 pm


If you think there is something wrong health-wise you need to take him to a guinea pig-savvy vet now. Guinea pigs are prey animals, so their instinct is to not show that they are ill until they just can't hide it anymore. By that time they are usually pretty advanced in the illness. I don't know enough to be able to tell you if your pig is actually sick or not, so I have some questions for you:

How long have you had your guinea pig? How old is your pig? Is he recovering from an illness (you say "left over mucus")? Did your sister own the pig before you took it in, or is your sister living with you now and also is new to the pig? How many other guinea pigs do you have? What is his normal behavior (or is he too new to you to know that)?

Even if your piggy is not sick now, you need to have a guinea pig-savvy vet lined up so you know who to call in the future. Most vets say they are "small animal" vets, but that usually means cats and dogs. You need an exotics vet or at least one who is very familiar with guinea pigs. Most vets are not. If you do not have such a vet in mind, go to the thread in this forum about vet recommendations and see if your area is in there. If it is not, then you can do what I did: call vets in the area and ask them, "Which vet in this area do you know that is the most experienced with guinea pigs?" If you ask for the "most experienced" rather than "can treat guinea pigs," that eliminates the "oh, we can treat guinea pigs" when they really shouldn't be. I asked for the "most experienced" vet with guinea pigs and kept hearing the same name over and over again. That's who I then called and I've been happy with them.

Phantomhorse

Post   » Tue Nov 28, 2017 1:28 pm


Ditto JX4. Was the guinea pig sneezing before? If you put him on your shoulder and put your ear near his nose, is he wheezing when he breathes? Is he drinking excessively? And move him. Is there blood underneath him? Can he walk ok? Can he bear his weight? Is he walking in a straight line or staggering? Is he pooping at all? Are you sure he is eating, or his he chewing food and then dropping it? Are you weighing him at all? What is his weight now?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Nov 28, 2017 7:41 pm


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