Guinea pigs have
always been common prey for other large animals. For that reason, they have
evolved to hide their pain and weaknesses. If they make any noise, limp or show
distress, they will be an easy catch and sign for predators. They work hard to
make sure that they hide their pain well. For that reason, it can be very
important that you keep an eye on your guinea pig.
There are two ways
in which you can recognise ill health in your guinea pig. It will either
display clinical signs,or behavioural signs.
Clinical signs: Discharge of liquid from the eyes or nostrils; dull, cloudy
looking eyes; any form of swellings, sores, or abrasions; diarrhoea,
constipation, blood-streaked urine; dry looking hair and skin; flaking of the
skin; bald areas; visual signs of parasites or their presence (eggs, scurf,
black specks); sneezing; coughing; laboured and noisy breathing; vomiting;
slobbering; and any form of limping or the inability to move as normal. Behavioural signs: Lack of interest in food or water; excessive drinking; huddling
in a corner when normally active; general lethargy; loss of weight; twitching;
reluctance to being handled coupled with obvious pain when lifted; and
excessive scratching. Indeed, any pattern of behaviour that you should be
viewed with suspicion. Sometimes behavioural signs will be the only visual indicators
of a problem. For this reason, it is important that you spend time observing
your guinea pig when it is eating. You can establish whether it is a greedy or
dainty eater, what foods are its favourites, and how often and how much it
drinks.
Anorexia is
extremely serious and requires immediate vet treatment. A guinea pig that
you have just brought home that is not peeing, pooing, and eating, may have a
respiratory or other bacterial infection. A guinea pig that is losing weight,
or a pup that is failing to gain weight, is also at great risk. Guinea pigs are
especially vulnerable because of their need for vitamin C, and tendency to
develop ketosis.
Symptoms:
Not eating or drinking
Not pooing
Weight loss
Causes:
Changes in diet
Extreme temperature changes
Poisoning
Not being able to locate water
Loss of a cage mate
An aggressive cate mate
preventing another's eating
Mechanical problems with feeders
or sipper tubes
Food changes (too hard or
unpalatable food, or a poorly designed diet)
Malocclusion (overgrowth of the
teeth)
Pain
Loss of smell
Obesity
Oral lacerations
Infectious diseases (such as
pneumonia)
Metabolic disorders such as
Vitamin C deficiency, or renal failure
Treatment: If an aggresive cate
mate is preventing another's eating, then separate them immediately. If they
have an infectious disease, or dental problem, they will need immediate vet
treatment. Make sure their food is not to hard for them to chew, if so, try
giving them softer foods. If they are still not eating, then make sure you hand
feed them by
crushing up their pellets and mixing them with water, then put them
into a syringe and syringe feed your guinea pig. Also do the same with
their fruits and vegetables, except put them in a blender instead of
crushing them.
One of the most serious
mistakes an inexperienced vet can make is to prescribe a deadly antibiotic such
as amoxicillin to treat a bacterial infection in a guinea pig. This will lead
to severe diarrhoea, which can cause death.
Symptoms:
Watery diarrhoea
Puffed up coat
Treatment: Make sure you stop using the antibiotic causing the diarrhoea immediately.
If the guinea
pig is still eating and acting normally:
Provide them with
unlimited grass hay, remove all of their grain based foods, and limit their
pellets. Try supplementing their diet with vitamin C tablets or liquid, and
when their poo is firm, stop the vitamin C supplement, and provide them
with fresh dark leafy green vegetables high in vitamin C such as:
Spinach
Parsley
Lettuce
If they are not eating, then make sure you hand
feed them by
crushing up their pellets and mixing them with water, then put them
into a syringe and syringe feed your guinea pig. Also do the same with
their fruits and vegetables, except put them in a blender instead of
crushing them.
Diarrhoea (too many
fresh fruits or vegetables, or a change in diet) is serious, and requires
immediate vet treatment. See a vet immediately if your guinea pig has severe
diarrhoea, especially if your guinea pig looks ill and is sitting with its coat
puffed up. A black, foul-smelling watery mess indicates a very serious
intestinal problem.
Symptoms:
Watery diarrhoea
Puffed up coat
Treatment: Replace their fruits
and vegetables with lots of hay. Try using a probiotic to re-establish a
good balance of gut flora, and avoid dairy products. If they are not eating, then make sure you hand
feed them by
crushing up their pellets and mixing them with water, then put them
into a syringe and syringe feed your guinea pig. Also do the same with
their fruits and vegetables, except put them in a blender instead of
crushing them. Make sure they get lots of
water, because diarrhoea is very dehydrating.
Guinea pigs cannot
produce their own vitamin C, so it must be supplied to them through the food
they eat. If it is not supplied to them, they may start getting bone and blood
vessel abnormalities, enlarged adrenal glands, and bleeding in the limb joints.
Young guinea pigs are more likely to get bone deformities than older ones. The
average guinea pig needs between 10 and 30 mg/kg of vitamin C daily for good
health. Actual requirements can vary from one guinea pig to another. Young,
pregnant, and ill guinea pigs need more vitamin C than the average guinea pig.
They should get a minimum of 5 to 10 mg/kg of vitamin C daily to maintain good
health, and 10 to 30 mg/kg of vitamin C daily for mantainence. They should get
50 mg/kg of vitamin C daily if they are being treated for a vitamin C
deficiency.
Symptoms:
Lethargy, hunched posture,
weakness, unwillingness to move
Hopping, enlarged or stiff limb
joints
Weight loss
Not eating or drinking
Watery diarrhoea
Eye and/or nose discharge
Rough coat
Tenderness to touch (may cry out in
pain if restrained), poor flesh condition
Remember that some of
these signs such as eye and nose discharge may indicate other serious
conditions like an upper respiratory infection. If your guinea pig is showing
some of these signs, do not assume that it is a vitamin C deficiency, and fail
to provide critical vet care for a serious illness. Remember that you are
familiar with your guinea pig's diet, and if you are providing adequate amounts
of vitamin C, be sure to tell your vet.
Treatment:Fresh pellets, fruits,
vegetables, and grasses high in vitamin C will be your best source of vitamin
C, so make sure you feed plenty of them. Recovery from a vitamin
C deficiency usually requires a week of treatment.
Give 50mg/kg of vitamin C once a
day or
25mg/kg of vitamin C twice a day
Fresh pellets, fruits,
vegetables, and grasses high in vitamin C will be your best source of vitamin
C, so make sure you feed plenty of them. Vitamin C content is affected by temperature, humidity, exposure to light, and method of storage. In six weeks
about half the amount of vitamin C provided by pellets can be lost. Standard
pellets should be stored at less than 22 degrees C and used within 90 days of
being bought, and make sure you pick a cool, dark, dry place to store them.
Vitamin C supplements can be given to your guinea pig if you wish to make sure
that they are getting adequate amounts if vitamin C.
Reasons for not adding
vitamin C to their drinking water:
Water is vital to their good
health. Vitamin C will change the flavour of the water, and they may not
like the taste, and will not drink their water, which is very bad.
It is usless, because when vitamin
C is added to water, it rapidly loses its vitamin C content.
Some don't drink a lot of water, and
some drink very little, so it is impossible to know how much vitamin C
your guinea pig is getting.
Note:
Please make sure you
never give your guinea pig multivitamins.
URI’s are deadly
bacterial infections that can result in death if untreated.Bacterial respiratory infections are a common
problem among pet store guinea pigs (a good reason to adopt
your guinea pig instead of purchasing one from a pet store). New guinea pig owners are often
unaware of how quickly guinea pigs can go downhill and how vital prompt vet
care is to the health of your new
guinea pig. Untreated URI’s are almost
always fatal. Guinea pigs do not get cold viruses, and allergies/asthma is
very rare. Although, they may show similar symptoms.
Symptoms:
Not eating or drinking
Not pooing
Laboured breathing, wheezing
Sneezing, coughing
Crusty eyes, eyes that are almost
sealed shut
Discharge from eyes and/or nose
Dull and/or receding eyes
Rough and/or puffed up coat
Lethargy, hunched posture,
weakness, unwillingness to move
See a vet immediately
if you see any of these signs, because URI’s are so deadly and fast moving,
that it is important that the vet rules out a URI before considering the
possibility of an allergy.
Treatment: A vet will prescribe a
safe antibiotic like Bactrim or Doxycycline to treat these bacterial
infections. If your guinea pig is not eating, make sure you hand feed them to keep them alive. Ask your
vet how long it will take for the antibiotics to work, and call them if you see
no improvement in a day or two.
Try giving them a nice
warm bath. Make sure their cage is nice and clean,
and separate them from their cage mate, because URI's are contagious. Once they
have been washed, and put back in their clean cage, put a warm water bottle
with a towel over it, in the place they usually sleep. If they are not eating, then make sure you hand feed them by crushing up their pellets and mixing them with water, then put them
into a syringe and syringe feed your guinea pig. Also do the same with their fruits and vegetables, except put them in a blender instead of crushing them. Make sure they get lots
of fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C such as:
Urinary tract
infections are common in guinea pigs. Their short legs put them low to the
ground where they are more likely to pick up bacteria from wet bedding and
droppings. Urine sometimes changes to an orange colour on standing. When your
guinea pig has blood in its urine, it will appear red or pinkish (if diluted).
Blood dries a brownish colour.
Symptoms:
Blood in urine
Squeaking while peeing
Bleeding from rectal area
Treatment: UTI’s are generally
treated with a safe and effective antibiotic like bactrim for two or more
weeks. Many guinea pigs require longer treatment to clear up the infection, and
allow the bladder walls time to heal. Call your vet immediately if they are
still bleeding after the antibiotics are stopped. If your vet did not take an
x-ray and the original signs you observed are still there while on antibiotics,
make sure they get an x-ray taken immediately.
Try giving them
unsweetened, natural cranberry juice. Syringe feed it to them or place it in
their water bottle. Make sure you change the bottle containing the cranberry
juice daily. Plain, unsweetened cranberry juice is quite strong and bitter in
taste, so add some water to it. Antibiotics are required to cure a UTI, but
cranberry juice can interfere with its development, and can cut the incidence
of them in half.
Your goal is to keep
your guinea pig as dry as possible to prevent infection:
Keeping the butt hairs of a long
haired guinea pig trimmed may help.
Change bedding more frequently,
especially areas that are wet.
Try looking into using polyester
fabrics, which reportedly allow the urine to drain through but stay dry on
top.
Some people use a safe plastic
grid flooring like Envirotiles (different from wire flooring) to keep the
guinea pig from direct contact with urine.