Hard lump under chin, soft poop as well?

[Gracemackenz]

I'll let you know how it goes. I counted the times she sneezed for the vet, from 1:12pm-3:42pm, and it was 19 times.. I know that's definitely not normal, so I think it will help the vet out to tell her that.

[Gracemackenz]

Rosie will be taking baytril and reglan for a few weeks, and we won't treat Jj unless she shows URI symptoms. They also put fluids under her skin to help with hydration.

[bpatters]

Sounds like a plan.

Be sure to weigh her daily and hand-feed if she stops eating. Also give a probiotic or poop soup 90-120 minutes after each dose of antibiotic.

[Gracemackenz]

Does the poop soup give extra nutrients? I've looked up what it is but I don't know how it helps.

[bpatters]

They normally eat their cecal poops, which helps with nutrition and to keep their digestive tract bacteria in balance. Antibiotics destroy that balance, so poop from a healthy pig is a big help in restablishing it.

Cecal poops from another pig are best, but those are very hard to come by, as the "donor" pig eats all of them him/herself. However, fresh fecal poops will do.

[Gracemackenz]

And how much water should I add in? Is it just one piece of poop? And is there a specific amount of poop soup, or just fill the syringe with all the mixture?

[bpatters]

I'd use 3-4 pieces of poop, mash it up with a fork in some water, and add something as flavoring -- fruit, critical care, veggie juice, whatever.

It's not an exact science. so whatever you can get in will be good.

[Gracemackenz]

Thank you! I'll be giving it to her in about 30 minutes

[Lynx]

This might help too:

gl/probiotics.html

[Talishan]

Ditto to all. Please keep us posted. Best to her.

[Gracemackenz]

She's already acting so much better! Her appetite is up, she isn't sneezing as much, and she's not lethargic anymore. I'm so happy she's feeling better :)

[Lynx]

That is great news!

[Talishan]

Excellent. Carry on, and please keep us posted.

[Gracemackenz]

Nothing much has really been going on lately with the piggies... I've made them a new cage liner and they love it, and they tried cabbage for the first time and now it's one of their favorite things! Other than that, Rosie seems to be getting better, everyone's happy. Just wanted to give y'all an update!

[Talishan]

Excellent update. Carry on.

Easy on the cabbage, though. It's a serious gas producer. Don't feed a lot of it at one time, or very frequently.

[Gracemackenz]

Yeah, I read something about cabbage like that and decided on lettuce (not iceberg) instead.. They love it just as much!

is spinach a gassy veggie too?

[bpatters]

Spinach is not gassy, but it's too high in calcium and oxalic acid to be fed except very sparingly. Stick with lettuces for leafy green veggies.

[Gracemackenz]

I feel bad that I keep posting on this so often with new problems, but this one is kind of weird.. Rosie likes to chew on people's hair, and she was chewing on mine without me realizing it. She bit off a good six or seven inches of my hair, is that bad? I don't know if will cause any harm or not because she probably chewed it up before swallowing...

I'm assuming that it's fine since they chew up hay with their teeth and molers pretty well, but I'm just making sure it'll be alright

[Lynx]

On very rare occasions guinea pigs can actually develop hairballs. A really big clump might cause some issues.

[Talishan]

Ditto Lynx, but unless it's a really big clump, it'll probably be fine. We had one hair chewer and he never had a problem.

If it was six or seven inches of a couple of hairs, that shouldn't be a problem. If it was six or seven inches of a chunk of hair, that might pose a problem.