Alice- female discharge

Talishan
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Post   » Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:06 am


Without looking back, have her droppings ever been looked at under a microscope?

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linshad02
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Post   » Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:11 am


No. They haven't. And up until last weekend, there was not a cause for concern. I'm definitely monitoring her very closely.

Debs4Pigs

Post   » Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:12 am


Oh no. Poor baby. I hope she feels better soon.

Talishan
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Post   » Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:17 am


If you're not too far from the vet, run a few by them and see if they'll take a look at them. (No refrigeration necessary unless it's overnight, and no particular timeframe -- unlike urine, which has to be delivered within a couple of hours. Just take them a ziploc with some turds in it. :-) Pig need not be present.

Guinea pigs (as well as most other mammals, including us) have a host of microorganisms in the gut. If these get out of balance and one or more overgrows (same idea as a yeast infection in a human female), you can get intermittently soft droppings, bad smelling droppings, etc.

If it's bad enough to worry with, Flagyl (metronidazole) usually clears it up and is well tolerated by most pigs.

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linshad02
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Post   » Fri Aug 19, 2011 10:07 pm


I hesitate posting, but always better safe than sorry.

Tonight, after her nightly salad, Alice got unusually green. It was nasty, so I took her to the sink. I hold her on her back with her back feet against my stomach and run a little water on the side of her face.
It is away from eyes, mouth, nose and ears.
I then take a paper towel and try to soak up the green.
She doesn't like it so I try to be quick.
Tonight, she opened her mouth to yell and turned it at the same time. She sucked in a tiny bit of water. Not enough to stop breathing but enough that it made her cough. It has eased up and she only coughs once in a while. She sneezed once too.
I am watching and everything else is as it should be.
Should I be worried about infection or pneumonia?

Talishan
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Post   » Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:47 am


Watch (and listen) to her carefully for the next several days.

With just plain water, and a tiny bit of it, she should probably be okay. Stuff like runny Critical Care, mineral oil, other liquidy substances will set up an aspiration pneumonia very quickly as I understand it. A tiny bit of plain water may not, and hopefully won't, but watch her like a hawk.

If you have a good relationship with your vet, you might want to call and just ask them if you could have some Baytril or Bactrim to keep on hand. That way you could start it **immediately** if you saw signs that it was necessary.

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linshad02
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Post   » Sat Aug 20, 2011 9:35 am


It was just a little tap water.
I watched her very closely and continue to do so.
She coughed a couple more times last night.
Nothing today, so far.
There is still a little congestion that I need to keep an eye on.

Talishan
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Post   » Mon Aug 22, 2011 11:04 pm


You're doing the right things. Keep watching.

A little tap water is nothing to us (I'm a swimmer and have inhaled more water and chemicals than I care to think about ;-), but for them it can be a problem. Their respiratory systems are extremely delicate and can go into a URI/pneumonia in a heartbeat.

That's not to scare you ... just keep watching the slight congestion and be ready to act quickly if you feel it's a problem or a problem developing.

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linshad02
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Post   » Tue Aug 23, 2011 12:01 am


She sounds normal again.
I am still watching.
Thank you for the advice. I'm sure I say that a lot. :)

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linshad02
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Post   » Sat Jan 14, 2012 5:27 pm


I have a question about bloat and veggies.
Alice came down with a mild case of bloat/constipation last night. She was absolutely acting normal and eating normal.
She just didn't poop. Belly was soft but a bit distended. I was up half the night checking on her. She finally had a few poops this morning around 6:00.
Then nothing until after her morning veggies. She left a nice pile so I thought she was normal again.
She stopped pooping but kept eating hay and pellets this afternoon.
She isn't a water drinker (READ: she doesn't drink unless I syringe or I leave water on the veggies.) so I started stringing water this afternoon. I have gotten about 7 CC's into her.
She is poop snacking as usual and eating hay. She has given me about a dozen poops since I started the water.
Should I give her the nightly veggies (green leaf lettuce, cilantro and green pepper) or should I skip them? She has a vet appointment tomorrow either way.

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Lynx
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Post   » Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:47 pm


I don't remember if it was in this thread or another that Talishan mentioned talking to a vet about having a supply of motility drugs if there are serious issues getting poops to pass. Maybe you can talk to your vet about this when you next see him/her.

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linshad02
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Post   » Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:02 pm


I was thinking of that, Lynx. Hopefully there is something I can keep around. It appears that I may end up with a pig prone to periodic bloat. This came out of the blue.
I decided against her nightly veggies. She is pooping a little more frequently so I just made her a pellet mash. She seems to love the different texture.

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