Sudden thirst increase, urine scald, high calcium, diet

daj

Post   » Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:54 pm


Henry seems to have something going on with his digestion. He seems to have gas. I don't know if his poops are unusually smelly, or if it's the gas he emits along with his poops, but recently he seems to fart and it's horrible. He's been on antibiotics a few times over the years. He's about 4 now. In the past his poops would get soft and messy when he go too much fruit. Now I don't give him any fruit except tomato, but even that he doesn't get regularly. He eats hay like crazy, more than my other pigs. He drinks a bottle a day. He's on KMS pellets, and the rest of his diet is just carrot, pepper and green leaf lettuce. I don't notice anything else going on with him now. I haven't checked his pouch in some time, but the gassiness had made me think his digestion is off for some reason. I am wondering what might be going on, given that his diet doesn't seem to be an obvious cause...

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Lynx
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Post   » Thu Jul 08, 2021 10:16 pm


Hold off on the pepper for a few days. I think it's a wonderful, nutritious vegetable but we've had a few guinea pigs that it did not agree with. And go light on the carrots.

You can also do an elimination diet where you remove all vegs and add a single veg in only for several days to see how it is tolerated and if no problems, add the next veg.

Read also lower in the page, a description of how the intestinal bacteria can get out of whack. That he is eating lots of hay is a good thing.
https://www.guinealynx.info/diarrhea.html

daj

Post   » Sat Nov 13, 2021 2:19 am


Today I didn't see much of Henry, and when he came out of his house I see why. He's bloated like a balloon. I am super worried about him. He is eating and drinking. I am hoping I can get an appointment early tomorrow. How urgent is the need to see a vet for bloat, like ASAP? Is an antibiotic typically prescribed? I suppose I am lucky tomorrow is Saturday rather than Sunday, but I'm not sure if the exotics vet will be in.

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Lynx
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Post   » Sat Nov 13, 2021 7:45 pm


Bloat can be an emergency. More here:
https://www.guinealynx.info/bloat.html

daj

Post   » Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:46 pm


The vet wasn't too concerned. He was really inflated looking Fri. night, but he kept his appetite and activity. His gut was soft and he was pooping fine. I gave him Metacam for a couple days, but didn't today. Today he looks better, but his appetite is way down. He's mostly eating only hay. I wonder if this is cause for concern? Are vegetables usually an ongoing problem after a bout of bloat? Can they be reintroduced?

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ItsaZoo
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Post   » Wed Nov 17, 2021 1:23 am


I would avoid vegetables until the bloat is down and he is back to normal. Then very small amounts of just one vegetable at a time, since there may be one thing that triggers bloat. When Lacey had bloat, the exotics vet recommended gas drops for babies - simethicone. It helped and after a couple of days the gas bubble went down. However, some people on the forum have had bad experiences with simethicone, so I'd follow what the vet recommends.

daj

Post   » Wed Nov 17, 2021 8:50 am


She said simethicone wouldn't hurt so I did try it, but didn't find it to help, so I stopped. I am pretty sure this happened because I fed orange, then carrot. I think he ate the carrot fisrt and the had a piece of orange that he went back to. I will never assume they will eat things in the correct order again. That was stupid of me.

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Lynx
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Post   » Wed Nov 17, 2021 10:14 am


Oranges are kind of sugary. If you are looking to increase vitamin C, lots of greens will do that. Sort on this page, note that the comparisons are for 10 calorie amounts.
https://www.guinealynx.info/chart.html

daj

Post   » Thu Nov 18, 2021 8:58 pm


Henry took a turn for the worse. The bloat went down since friday, but by Wed. he was having trouble breathing, had lost his appetite, and his poops dwindled. I took him in, and the x-ray showed a lot of fluid in his lungs and he's impacted. The vet did a shot of subcutaneous fluid with a first dose of Baytril for lung infection. She mentioned another antibiotic, not Bactrim, but another broad spectrum that I don't recall. I would have gone to get a prescript. filled v. her starting the Baytril right away, so I opted to get the antibiotic into him asap. He was taking little quick breaths that made a slight whistle. He's been refusing water from a syringe and any food but the lettuce and cilantro I gave him. Now he seems a bit bloated again. He's also refusing the poop soup I'm trying to syringe. I don't know how much to fight him over getting the fluids/soup into him. He's been nibbling a bit a hay. The vet said if the AB is going to work he should show improvement in about 48 hrs. I thought I was going to loose him today. He was listless and barely breathing. Any suggestions on getting his gut moving and getting fluid into him much appreciated. I guess I am holding off on the lettuce now too, so he's on an AB that tends to constipate, not drinking or eating much and refusing the poop soup... all bad trends for his recovery.

daj

Post   » Thu Nov 18, 2021 11:21 pm


And now, late at night, when he is due for his Baytril, the prescribed dose seems off the charts. I don't have his accurate weight now, but can get it tomorrow. But the dose prescribed is 100 mg/ml and 1/2 ml every 12 hours. So this is 50 mg every 12 hrs? I have another pig on Baytril now too from another vet, and his dose is 50 mg/ml and .12 ml every 12 hours. These seem insanely different to me. One seems too low, and one seems way too high. The pigs are the same weight.

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Lynx
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Post   » Thu Nov 18, 2021 11:41 pm


I am so sorry he has taken a turn for the worse. I don't know what to say about the Baytril - but wonder if the concentration was written properly? I totally agree it seems like a very large dose. The guide here has 2.5-10.0 mg/kg q12h. I think sometimes it is more than that but unlikely to be 5 times more (was he around a kilo last time you weighed him?).

You mention bloat but also fluid in his lungs. Bloat would be air. Was he given any lasix?

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Thu Nov 18, 2021 11:52 pm


I was thinking the same thing. If there is fluid in the lungs a diuretic would seem appropriate. And I thought the high end of Baytril dosages was 10mg / kg every 12 hours. Is there an emergency vet you can consult with?

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