Heat Stroke victim

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LennyJ

Post   » Fri Jun 04, 2010 1:29 pm


Hi,

I need some advice on the recovery from heat stroke by GPs. My 2 year old male got hit by heat stroke 24 hours ago. I placed him on a wet cloth for a few hours in the coolest part of the house and saw that he took water from his drinking bowl. When I checked on him 30 mins later his eyes were crusty. I read that this means dehydration so I pipetted water until he stopped taking it. I then continued every hald an hour. I also gave him wet lettuce, cucumber and pepper. He perked up a bit and overnight ate the wet food though not all of it. He ate no dry food and little hay. He is making small poops not the usual size but a fair few. The issue is that I do not know what to expect. He continues to be lethargic, lying on his side, only eats small amounts and tried to eat some dried food when I triggered it by rattling the food in the bowl but gave up after a bite. I have given him two 3ml pipettes of Critical care and continue to offer him pipettes of water which he only take a small sip from then rejects.

Is this lethargy normal as he was obviuosly in acute distress yesterday or is this something brought on by my treatment or the heat stroke itself?

I am keeping him in a cage in the coolest part of the house still.

There are no exotic vets anywhere near where I live so I will have to handle this myself with any help I can get.

Thank you in advance for any advice you may have.

Sarah.

User avatar
Sidera17

Post   » Fri Jun 04, 2010 1:47 pm


One of my piggies started to overheat on the ride to the vet yesterday. I noticed that he was very very warm to the touch, and that he was definitely more lethargic and turned down food at first. I assumed that was from the heat. It took him about 6 hours to recover.

I put a cool water bottle in with him to help cool him down. It was scary.

Do you know how severe/how long he was in the heat? I have heard scary stories about piggies getting brain damage and going blind from heatstroke.

Here's a few threads I found:

https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewt ... eat+stroke

https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewt ... eat+stroke

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will post. I would definitely try to keep him cool. I hope he's okay. It's really scary to see them like that. :(

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LennyJ

Post   » Fri Jun 04, 2010 2:00 pm


Thank you for the links. I realise that it may take him some time to recover fully. I will continue to give Critical care (though I will have to drive hours to get some more...on the last of it).

I did notice that his nose was a bit damp and crusty so I have a horrible feeling the water pipetting (you know they need water but they are not always very accomodating when you are giving it) may now lead to a URI.... really praying not as vet care is non existant where I am.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Jun 04, 2010 3:23 pm


Heat stroke can be very serious. I'm glad he is still with you. A vet could administer subcutaneous fluids and evaluate him.

Charybdis

Post   » Fri Jun 04, 2010 3:26 pm


Doofy overheated on the way to the vet (even though I was running the A/C) and when we got there his temp was 107. They put him on an ice pack then gave him fluids. They had me put an ice pack under his blankets on the way home. He is fine now.

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Kat

Post   » Fri Jun 04, 2010 9:55 pm


Also you can try syringing him some unflavoured pedialyte to get his fluids back up.

Regarding the critical care, you can also soak some pellets in warm water and create a mush that can be used instead of critical care.

The lying on the side sounds very serious. Are you sure that it's heatstroke? The symptoms do fit heatstroke, but they could be something else, too. Are there any vets at all around where you live? Even if it's not an exotics vet, it's probably worth getting a vet to check him out.

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LennyJ

Post   » Sat Jun 05, 2010 3:11 am


This morning not much seems to have changed. He has gained 5 grams, not lost any, which is good and seems to have eaten a bit of food. His nose seems no worse - it is dry and no more crusty than yesterday and he is not snuffly. I think the lethargy could be energy related as I was slow to rehydrate properly and also to give an energy boost via some honey or similar.

Tha plan today is to get lots of feeds in and keep giving a few ml of a homemade pedialyte every few hours. He does seem to want food but is not very impressed with what is presented. Interestingly, he eats more if I am there pretending to eat with him.. could he have suffered brain damage?

I really do not want to have to go to the vets as there ability to diagnose depends on my directing them. The last time I took a pig in who was not eating after taking antibiotics they clipped his teeth saying that could be the problem!

Thank you for the suggestions. This is a great site for support.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Sat Jun 05, 2010 8:04 am


Does piggy have a name? Here are some links that may help http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/heatstroke.htm and http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/Guineas/ailments.html right down the bottom. http://www.animalhospitals-usa.com/smal ... neral.html 4th from top.
Am hoping this helps and that your piggy feels better real soon. When ever our pets got hot we would put damp cloths on them and place them in the shade. Good luck and keep us posted.

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LennyJ

Post   » Sat Jun 05, 2010 8:30 am


The piggies name is Herbie. He is a beautiful black rosetta style pig with big ears!

Thank you so much for the links. I think we are dealing with one of two things now. Due to my inadequate aftercare. I should have force hydrated him (he was drinking on his own but obviously not enough) and then force-fed him (he was eating a bit but not anywhere near enough).

So now I think he either has the beginnings of a URI but I am not sure as his breathing is fine though his nose is a little crusty. His eyes where crusty from day one due to being dehydrated.

Or what seems more likely as he is lying on his side but keeps changing side, eats then stops and his gut is gurgling/popping is that due to lack of food/water his digestive system has been thrown off track and he is probably a bit bloated. He has also stopped pooing though he was doing so yesterday.

So, I am now force-feeding him (though he seems to take the food with no problems) a mixture of critical care, his pellets, carrot and other guinea poop. I am doing this every 2.5 hours today and will see how he goes.

He reacts well when I introduce him to his girls - makes all the right noises and he does walk around a very little bit.

So that is where we are. I am so hoping he will come right soon. I have to go away on Wednesday though I will cancel if I have to.

Thank you for for all the info and support. Fingers crossed my Herbie goes right again soon.

User avatar
LennyJ

Post   » Sat Jun 05, 2010 8:57 am


Hi,

I am now worried that he has a URI...it is only indicated by his nose being crusty but it seems to be getting crustier. I still here no breathing problems but his breathing is quite fast. As it is Sunday tomorrow I want to go to my local non Cavy Savvy vet to get a good anti-biotic in case I need it from tonight. Should I ask for Batryl stright of or get Bactim as a first step.

I know I should take him to the vet but she will honestly only look at him with less knowledge or the same as me. She has no X-ray machine and a blood test would probably take a week to be turned around.

As he is not eating well or pooping then would it be a good precaution to give an all prupose antibiotic?

Thank you for any help.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Sat Jun 05, 2010 9:18 am


Has Herbie been on antibiotics before? I ask because our Jessie when On Baytril stops eating peeing and pooping. Perhaps check these out https://www.guinealynx.info/uri.html and http://www.treenspigs.com/care/focus/uris/uri.html am really hoping he gets better, please keep us posted.

User avatar
LennyJ

Post   » Sat Jun 05, 2010 11:25 am


I have been to the vet and all she had was Baytril which I will keep for an emergency...if he really seems to be suffering from a URI. From experience with a previous pig I would expect him to stop eating and pooping but as I am having to feed him anyway and he has already stopped pooping it is not a showstopper.

Though the plan is to deal with suspected wind/mild bloat. As he did end up eating much less than usual and mainly veg...until I started giving him a bit of critical care. So today he is having just a mush of pellets, poops and a little veg but I have also bought some lactobacillus and some dimeticone which is apparently exactly the same as simeticone which I will start giving him.

Has anyone used Demticone before? I am in France so often product names are different but the pharmasist assured me they are the same thing.

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