Jill, Jaffa and Jupiter

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Thu Sep 10, 2020 7:40 am


It sounds like a good plan. Glad to hear she has gained a bit of weight.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Thu Sep 10, 2020 7:55 am


Jill ate her breakfast all of it. My husband and I had much hope of what was ailing her was now gone. But come lunch and tea time she again ate very little and is being hard to syringe feed. Will update tomorrow when we have been to vet. Thanks Sef for reply! Not sure if Jersey is to small for X-rays(1 year old next month) so am taking Jay who will be 2 in January! She is a little bigger than Jersey!

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Sat Sep 12, 2020 2:40 am


Vet is of opinion and ultrasound like an X-ray wouldn't show anything but that didn't stop her from doing an X-ray! Jay got her X-ray and vet said everything of Jill's looks like Jay's so normal. Jay is eating once a day and has put on 60grams in a week. How? There is NO fluid in abdomen or in lungs or around heart.
Funny thing is I feed Jill before going to bed-bowl NOT syringe and this bowl she will eat BUT if we bowl feed her when we are awake even if we are in another room she will not eat it.
So if there is something wrong with Jill why eat the one bowl and not others? We have tried closing door, turning light off making it as dark as we can and she still will not eat any bowl during the day. All she wants to do is sleep. Any suggestions? Why squeak for Thursday's breakfast(Sept 2nd) then not care after that?
If she is scared of us or of daylight why did it happen out of the blue? Is she scared we will take her to the vet again? Is she scared of getting another hay seed in her eye? I am not understanding anything and am totally confused!

Is she lonely? She lives alone but can see Jay and Jersey through barrier. When bonded Jill would snap at other two or when on heat the other two would gang up on Jill. So put barrier back. Any suggestions and for my sanity much appreciated.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Sat Sep 12, 2020 5:09 am


Are these safe for guinea pigs? Our piggies haven't any toys not even sure if they'll play with any but we thought worth a shot.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4pk-toys-ra ... SwzH1eT1it

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Natural-Han ... SwQYZWuQ2Q

Any other suggestions? Must be Australia only as customs because of the virus have become even stricter! Thanking anyone who replies.

Have gotten Jill eating cat grass not sure how long it will last. Keep you posted!

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Sep 12, 2020 9:38 am


I wouldn't buy anything like that first toy, which looks more like a cat toy. The grass thing looks okay, but none of our guys have been particularly interested in toys. They do, however, like playing with a small paper bag filled with soft hay.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Sat Sep 12, 2020 1:19 pm


Thanks for the reply Sef? But we have found when ever we give the girls paper bags or cardboard boxes we usually lose them 1-5 weeks later. Maybe a coincidence but we don't want to chance it.

Any ideas on the other stuff? Why does Jill only eat when we are in bed? Why has this started so suddenly? It has us puzzled!

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Mon Sep 14, 2020 12:01 am


https://www.chewy.com/petsafe-funkitty- ... gKc9fD_BwE

I bought one of these a few years ago and Lacey loves it. There are adjustable openings for food or treats to drop out as she rolls it around. I put her pellets in it. It’s plastic so if yours are chewers it’s probably not a good idea.

I agree with Sef on the toys. They probably wouldn’t be interested in the Timothy heart since the hay is pretty old.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Mon Sep 14, 2020 5:28 am


Okay an update on Jill, she is still only eating when we are asleep. Other times will only eat grass and nibbles at hay, sometimes cucumbers.

This all started I think a few days after we tried the girls on Mint. It might have nothing to do with it but it came to me yesterday. It said guinea pigs love Mint yet all mine hated it!

The lettuces here have open roots with potting mix on them. We DON'T give the roots but the potting mix gets on the leaves. We do wash the leaves but some times we do miss a bit. Would this have caused a problem? Thanks for the reply ItsaZoo.

Lisa12

Post   » Mon Sep 14, 2020 1:21 pm


Why does Jill only eat when we are in bed? Why has this started so suddenly? It has us puzzled

Well in my humble oppinion most of animals are very smart and with thoose who have close connection with humans..it could be possible she doesnt wanna eat cause you are so alterted on her if she iseating.
For example when Ringo was limping(we later found out he has problem with his finger. anyway)-i was always alerted if he is doing it or not..so when i watchedhim he stopped like what is wrong with you..if you know what i mean..and he was hyper very..but my behaviour wasnt normal to him.. and maybe Jill doesnt wanna eat cause you constantly(of course!)are checking out if she is eating)..maybe do it from the very far distance..

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Mon Sep 14, 2020 2:33 pm


I was going to suggest something similar, since it seems like every other obvious thing has been ruled out. That is to say, she could be picking up on your anxiety, which is in turn creating anxiety for her around eating.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Tue Sep 15, 2020 1:05 am


Thanks for replies Lisa12 and Sef. Canceled vet appointment for today to have bloods taken from Jill as didn't like the options that were open to us on how and how much the blood would be taken.

Twelve months ago Jill's sister Jaffa had blood taken from throat area and she never recovered and early December we lost her. So we did ask vet whether a poop float would help and less intrusive for Jill but that idea was shot down.

Jill is still only eating once a day but some how she is putting on weight. In 2 weeks she has gone from 960grams to 1042grams and we can't understand how. X-rays showed no fluid anywhere. We had noticed after syringe fed her tummy is very large but then wind doesn't weigh nothing. Do you think Jill has wind problem?

When Jan and Jill had wind problem Dr Vella put them on Zantac syrup but a lot of people said that was wrong as guinea pigs don't get heart burn. Yet I suffered from bloating and indigestion and acid, my doctor put me on Zantac tablets and that fixed me up. Would it be worth getting some Zantac syrup or babies gripe water? Will keep you posted.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:18 am


Gas would have shown up in the x-ray. Might be worth discussing with your vet, though. Ranitidine (Zantac) is sometimes used to prevent stomach ulcer in small animals that are on long-term NSAIDs. I don't have any experience with it for the treatment of gas. It and other drugs used for GI are listed on the motility page:
www.guinealynx.info/motility.html

If you're going that route, I'd think simethicone might be a better choice but again I'd discuss it with your vet first. If the issue is slow motility, use of a motility drug like Metoclopramide to get the gut moving would be preferable to just treating the symptom (gas and bloating).

We generally don't use or advocate gripe water here in the US (for pets).

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