Hazel's medical thread

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bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sun Apr 24, 2016 7:15 pm


If it's liquid diarrhea, cut out all veggies immediately if you haven't already done so. I wouldn't feed anything other than hay/pellets and/or Critical Care.

Did you ever try Flagyl?

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Zaphy

Post   » Sun Apr 24, 2016 11:06 pm


Yeah, she's been off veggies since the 18th. I haven't tried Flagyl yet, when it was just soft stool I figured it could wait a week till my parents weren't in town visiting but if this change in consistency is more concerning maybe I should give the vet a call when they open tomorrow, yeah?

edit: Hmm. Also, upon closer inspection, it appears the stool isn't quite liquid, more like... looser soft-serve consistency than normal. I kinda freaked out. :/ I could upload a pic if it would be helpful.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sun Apr 24, 2016 11:29 pm


If the stool is very loose, I'd go ahead and get the Flagyl. It may not help, but a pig with a digestive problem can go downhill in a hurry, and you may not be able to get it turned around. Since you haven't tried Flagyl yet, I think it would be worth it.

Without reading back, are you giving probiotics and/or poop soup?

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Zaphy

Post   » Mon Apr 25, 2016 12:28 am


Yup, I'm alternating her on Bene-Bac powder that she was prescribed in December and poop soup from my other healthy pigs- she'll improve for a few days, then while still on the probiotic she'll decline again at which point I'll switch, and this most recent bout (started about a week ago) neither has helped. Talishan and Lynx have suggested a couple additional probiotics and tablets I can also try, I've got an order in for em on Amazon.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Tue Apr 26, 2016 12:21 am


Is she drinking well? You don't want her to become dehydrated as well as a result of this.

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Zaphy

Post   » Wed Apr 27, 2016 3:38 pm


She has been drinking well through all of this, yes.

Sorry for the late response- I tried switching from Bene-Bac to poop soup one last time and her poop immediately firmed up to weirdly shaped but somewhat normal consistency yesterday. Hooray! She's back at 600g this morning also. Which again is probably just water weight, but it still makes me feel better than 550g did. Still interested in trying Flagyl just in case though.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Thu Apr 28, 2016 4:00 am


Just ... keep switching probiotics.

:-/

I know this sounds weird, but this may just be a chronic condition to manage, not to cure. When Heather left us we did not have a necropsy done, but to the best of my knowledge her similar condition didn't shorten her life, nor cause her any particular discomfort.

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Zaphy

Post   » Thu Apr 28, 2016 12:19 pm


Yeah... I wonder if when she had this bout and dropped a bit of weight, I switched between the probiotics too fast? I went to just using Bene-Bac for several days since the poop soup hadn't been helping and it's harder to get. Maybe she just had to build up a 'sensitivity' for lack of a better word to the poop soup, or vice versa.

I think adding another probiotic in to the rotation will help with future bouts like this. I don't mind cleaning up the mess as long as she's happy and otherwise healthy, but she does scare me from time to time, heh. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience. It's definitely comforting to have help from someone who's dealt with something similar before. Out of curiosity and if it doesn't bring up any painful memories, how long did Heather live?

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Fri Apr 29, 2016 3:51 am


We had her a little over two years. We got her from babytulip07's rescue, and she was allegedly 4 when BT took her, but as with most surrenders ... who knows for sure.

She had a chronic sinus condition that didn't seem to trouble her much, and she also developed a thyroid nodule that we treated with methimazole. She had some trouble holding weight, was very energetic and had a thick, lush coat which also are indicators of thyroid disease.

Our best guess is that she lived about 6 1/2 years, which is too short, but her first four were in pretty poor conditions, from which we speculate she got chronic GI disturbance. She was a happy, cheerful, outgoing, engaged, cool little pig who passed very quickly one evening of what we speculate may have been a stroke. She was a really neat little pig, and we miss her.

She is not the only one we've had with chronic or intermittent soft stool, but she was the most distinctive/consistent one.

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Zaphy

Post   » Fri May 06, 2016 1:51 am


Thank you for sharing. I do know that Hazel's condition is likely different, but it's good to know that another condition that also has these symptoms was able to be managed well.

The ProBios powder and the Oxbow tablets came in the other day, and I started her on both (I figure since the tablets aren't an actual antibiotic I can just give them to her whenever). She does like the ProBios! And it worked, her poops are teardrop again and she's doing well, though I still expect her to roller coaster again. But right now she's running out at the sound of my voice and standing on her tippy toes for chin rubs (well, probably treats actually, but I give her chin rubs).

Thank you all for the suggestions! It is good to have another thing to add to the rotation. Also, she likes those Oxbow tablets a LOT, haha. With the molasses in them they smell like candy to me, small wonder there!

Could I ask for some insight on a couple thoughts I've had recently? Sometimes it seems like she has some minor gas accompanying her diarrhea when it gets bad. I've noticed on these days she tends to be bite-ier and whinier, so I wonder if she has some cramps with the bad bouts that are causing her pain? I was wondering if y'all thought a vibrating massage/heater pad might help to relieve that (or at least not do any damage). If so, is there a brand or particular product anyone recommends? I'm not really sure what I ought to be looking for in such a product.

Another question I had was in keeping her feet clean. When she gets bad, I'll give her a foot/butt bath, but that's started happening so often (every few days she'll have an episode, and during those episodes she's constantly getting poop all over her feet regardless if she's on loose paper bedding or fleece). Should I be worrying about drying her feet out? I usually just rinse with water unless it's caked into her fur, and her skin doesn't look dry at all yet, just wondering if there are other options that would be better than a water rinse or guinea shampoo.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Fri May 06, 2016 2:59 am


We would wipe feet off with very soft toilet paper or the softest Kleenex you can find (they make an "ultra-soft" one) if the droppings were still soft.

If they'd dried, we just soaked the feet in warm water until the droppings could be gently picked off. Guinea pig poo is thoroughly water-soluble, and it usually didn't take long for the material to become gently pick-able, and come off in chunks. We never had dried-out or scaly feet from this.

See if your vet will give you some Metacam to give her in low doses just as needed if she has a GI bout. If she gets a little bitey and whiny, she's probably in some mild discomfort from the GI turbulence. A bit of Metacam, only if and as needed, may help her be more comfortable.

I'm leery of using any pad with heat. They can overheat very easily and very quickly. The vibrator thingy we have is a neck one, shaped in a tight U. I put this on my lap, put a towel over it, then put the pig in the hollowed out spot formed by the U. It takes 2 C batteries and has two speeds. I've only ever used the lower setting.

In my experience, pigs either like those things or hate them, and there's little in-between. You'll know the instant you put her on it which she is. If she tries to frantically bolt off it, give up at once. It does no good to freak her out. If she seems kind of intrigued and settles down into it, she's enjoying it and you can keep her there as long as she'll tolerate it.

Sit on the floor so she won't fall if she does bolt. If she likes it, you can sit on a chair, but keep your hand gently around her so you can restrain her if she makes a sharp move.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri May 06, 2016 7:59 am


If by any chance you can get some of the green special poops from another pig, try to give those too. The gas to me means there is an overgrowth of gas producing bacteria, likely not the best bacteria in the gut. I don't recall any of my pigs ever passing gas or having any sort of bloating.

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