Jan's Toothy Smile medical thread

[daisymay]

Jan has started to drink water. Something she never did. She gets hand fed 6 times a day and will drink 4 by 1ml syringes of water at each feed. I thought maybe the kidneys but on looking in GL's index I could find nothing on kidneys. Does someone know where I can find any info so I can look for symptoms and pass info onto my clueless vet? Thanks for the reply Lynx. Can always count on you!

[bpatters]

Is there some reason you think this is a problem? Mine go for days without drinking much water, and then will sit and slurp seemingly forever. I just put it down to being a guinea pig.

[daisymay]

Is there some reason you think this is a problem? Mine go for days without drinking much water, and then will sit and slurp seemingly forever. I just put it down to being a guinea pig.

Jan is nearly four and a half and she and her sister Joy have never drank water and now all of a sudden Jan is drinking? I thought to drink more water was a symptom of kidney problems and maybe weight lost too? Thanks for the reply bpatters.

I am clutching at straws trying to find a cause that the late sister's Jemma and Jasmine and now Jan would lose weight in the Warmer months. Jemma and Jasmine started around 8 months of age but Jan started around 3 years old age.

[daisymay]

Okay been several months since my last post. Jan was put under and her teeth looked at and I was told all teeth were find. BUT now Jan is losing weight again, 60grams in 3 weeks. When I spoke to Carol about it she said guinea pig's weight varies from week to week do not be alarmed. From 764grams at vet she is now 702grams at home.

Now Jan is only eating 5% of her food, I am trying to get her booked in for a dental X-ray but Carol seems reluctant. She feels weight lost maybe due to weather(hasn't changed in last 2 months still wet, cold and windy), hormones which Carol could NOT feel any lumps, cysts when she felt Jan.

For last month or more Jan's fur has been coarse, fluffy and curly, which her fur did exactly the same thing January 2016. I tried to stress this meant she is in pain. But Carol didn't believe this as a month ago when we took her to the vet Jan had put on weight. One thing we noticed with Jan which she has NEVER done before was at the vet Jan just shook/trembled. She looked like a battery operated toothbrush she was shaking so much.

We are now scared of taking her to the vet incase it stresses her out again. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions would love to hear it! How do I boot Carol up the butt and get her to listen to me? At least with Kirsten she would listen and act on any of my suggestions but Carol just ignores them. Diet has NOT changed for any of the girls.

[Lynx]

I am sorry she is not eating as much. I think of hair changes being caused by dietary changes (the weight loss means not as much food, perhaps not the right nutrients).

You are very knowledgeable and determined! I hope you can help her.

[Lynx]

Here is one of the two images you sent me (they are pretty similar).
You might also look into flickr as a photo host.

I am not sure that the coloration you are seeing is significant. What I encourage you to do is primarily test for blood. Put your guinea pig into a plastic bin and try to collect some pee for testing. This is more likely normal urine coloration.

[daisymay]

What I encourage you to do is primarily test for blood.

How does one go about this? Carol said to spin the pee would cost $40.00AUD. She also wants to take a blood test as she is worried about kidneys and liver which I refused as I remember What Jasmine went through 12 months ago when they tried to get blood and I still hear Zoe squeaking when Kirsty got blood from her Throat area. Still haunts me and Zoe was awake through Kirsty's bumbling attempts to get blood.

Jan is eating grass, cucumber and rockmelon but that's about it, wish she'd eat more! Will keep you posted and Thanks Lynx.

[Lynx]

You wanted to know what the stains were, no?
I believe there are also urine test strips that will tell you if there is blood in the urine. Perhaps a pharmacist could advise you and you could test at home.

[daisymay]

Jan has lost 30grams in 2 days and is now for the first time below 700grams. She is still only eating 5-20% of her food, and mainly eats the grass, which is in short supply as a lot has been damaged by frost or has slime on it from slugs and snails. She has lost 130grams since January this year.

I am trying to find some-one to ultra-sound her but this is proving difficult as most vets don't even have some-one qualified to do ultrasounds let alone on a guinea pig.

If anyone has any suggestions would love to hear it, Carol will not listen to me she still wants to take bloods which I am against! thanks for reading and for any replies.

[Lynx]

Is this grass that you pick from your yard?

[daisymay]

Is this grass that you pick from your yard?

Yes it is. From our back yard.

[daisymay]

Jan went to see Carol yesterday (Friday) she is still losing weight. She's hardly eating anything and is hard to syringe feed. Carol couldn't find anything wrong with her so for the next few days she'll be on Metacam to see if she's in pain.

Carol And I can find no-one who will ultrasound a piggy, Carol feels the next step is X-rays or blood-works. What do you think? Zoe had an ultrasound and nothing showed up yet she had a tumour on her uterus. Jessie had X-rays and bloods and nothing showed up. What would be the best informative test to do next? Thanking you in advance.

[Clint The Cuy]

If you could successfully free catch a urine sample and have the vet perform a urinalysis I think that would be the least invasive and inexpensive route in your case. If the vet won't, then maybe you could try the pharmacy urinalysis test strips like Lynx suggested.

Unfortunately, only blood work is the most definitive way to tell you if she is in fact in renal failure at this point. I can't imagine trying to collect blood in these guys without anesthesia. You can always perform the radiographs and/or ultrasound, but as you mentioned there is always the chance that they can come back inconclusive, which is also informative in a round about way because it can rule out certain things too. Diagnostic imaging can miss things in any animal and short of exploratory surgery or a full body MRI, pathology has the potential to be missed.

I would start with a urinalysis and then pursue the imaging, but if someone could successfully collect blood then that would be my second choice after the urinalysis.

[daisymay]

If you could successfully free catch a urine sample and have the vet perform a urinalysis I think that would be the least invasive and inexpensive route in your case

Managed to get urine that didn't fall on me and the sample was spun. All was normal. I am thinking go for X-ray, if all clear do a dental X-ray, if all clear do blood works. If this too proves all clear you in the USA and UK will hear me scream and pull hair out in frustration! Thanks for the replies Lynx and Clint The Cuy.

[GrannyJu1]

Best of luck, daisymay. I hope you figure out what's wrong with Jan.

[Clint The Cuy]

I think the imaging is a good next step. If you do suspect soft tissue pathology, such as organ failure or even a stone, the ultrasound may be more informative, but not all vets are great at ultrasound. Many vets don't usually ultrasound healthy animals, let alone guinea pigs, on the regular. So having a "normal" to compare to is difficult. And having another vet, such as a radiologist, read an ultrasound performed by someone else can be quite entertaining because ultrasound imaging is so obtuse. However radiographs can also show a stone and of course poor dentition etc. It's tough. A one dimensional image of a 3-D object has limitations, no matter how much you oblique that view.

Good job on the free catch urine sample BTW.

[daisymay]

Well it seems after two weeks what ever was ailing Jan stopping her from eating has returned, and it would on a week-end too. Does anyone have any idea what might be causing this? I mean if it were kidney's the Metacam she was on would only make matters worse wouldn't it? She is NO longer pooping but she is peeing.
If she doesn't eat her tea in a few hours I will have to put her back onto the Metacam to see if that helps. I have 3 dosages left. Joy has an appointment for Monday to see Carol, I may have to cancel it for Joy and bring Jan in instead.
Any ideas much appreciated, keep you posted! Please someone answer!

[daisymay]

Thanks ever so much for the replies I got over the weekend. Means a lot! Jan went back to the vet today and Carol could find nothing wrong again. She has one more dose of Metacam left then that's it! Have to see how she goes without it.

Joy went to the vet also as over last 2 years she has slowly been losing fur on her tummy and now it is progressing to her back and neck. Last time Carol saw her she said it was due to Joy's tummy rubbing on the floor. Now she thinks it is ovarian cysts as on Joy's left side she felt lumps the size of grapes. For now she just wants to keep an eye on it and see if they grow anymore.

Thanks for the replies in advance which I know I won't get any but hey worth a shot. Thanks for reading anyways.

[GrannyJu1]

If it's really ovarian cysts, I wouldn't wait too long for the surgery, daisymay, especially if they're fast growing. Let us know how she's doing. Just because we don't reply, doesn't mean we don't care. It's more likely that we don't have anything to tell you in support.

[Lynx]

Ditto GrannyJu1. We all care.