Sick guinea pig

[bpatters]

They're also under the chin and in the neck, as well. In humans, at least. I assume so in guinea pigs.

[hipxop]

Thank you, I brought it up to the vet and he doesn’t think it’s anything related to her lymph nodes. I saw her blood work and her white blood cell count is extremely low. If it’s an infection then it’s an extremely bag one, but if it was so bad wouldn’t she have more symptoms like pain, loss of appetite or a hunched over position?

I’ve been keeping an eye on her and I noticed something new. She is no longer eating in her cage or moving around in her cage. However, as soon as I take her out she eats a lot of vegetables and is curious about her environment again. Do you think she is becoming depressed over the loss of her cagemate? Before she would almost jump out of my arms to go back in her cage but now she’s not interested in going back to her cage anymore. I am considering getting her a new cagemate, but not for now because she is still sick and I don’t know if it’s contagious.

She doesn’t seem to like eating pellets anymore so I started feeding her critical care which she likes to eat. Could I switch her to a diet of just vegetables and hay, or is that dangerous?

[hipxop]

I tried to edit my previous post and couldn’t. I just read the diet section of this website so nevermind about the pellets. I’ll just research their daily recommended value of vitamins, minerals, proteins and fats and create a new diet for her.

[bpatters]

I missed this bit the first time you posted it, but a low white cell count is not a sign of infection. Leukocytes (white cells) increase in infections, not decrease. And infections don't necessarily cause pain.

[hipxop]

The vet said the blood count may be low because all the white blood cells may be at the infection site fighting off the infection and therefore not circulating throughout the body or she may have a bone marrow disease. However, what he said is that she is very susceptible to infections right now. What can I do if she has a bone marrow disease? Keep an eye out for signs of infection and rush to the vet for more antibiotics? I am gonna clean her cage more often to prevent the formation of bacteria.

Also I don’t know if she’s lethargic. She runs around on the floor when I take her out to feed her, but in the cage she just sleeps either in her igloo or the upper level.

[hipxop]

Recently she started breathing as if she has a stuffy nose and still sneezes too. Which leads me to believe she does indeed have an URI. I just don’t understand why the antibiotic isn’t working she seems to be getting worse rather than better. Is there anything I can do for her? I am giving her extra vitamin c. She’s also not eating as much anymore so the critical care was a good idea, not sure if this is a side effect of the antibiotic. I also noticed she sleeps a lot too, do older guides pigs sleep more or is this a sign she’s not feeling well.

I am starting to think she does have a blood disease where she doesn’t make enough white blood cells hence why she seems to have so many infections. If she does I really don’t know what to do about it.

[bpatters]

The antibiotic she's taking probably isn't effective against whatever organism is causing the URI. Short of getting a culture done, which is nigh on to impossible to do in a guinea pig, there's no way to really know. They could try a different antibiotic, or a combination, or "pulse" them, where they give one, then another, then the first again, etc.

[Lynx]

I encourage you to read over:
heart.html

She may have heart issues that are complicating things and contributing to recurring illnesses.

[hipxop]

Thank you for your replies guys. I will ask the vet about combining some antibiotics Should I ask him for Bactrim? She’s currently on baytril. Her stuffy nose seems to have gone away and she’s breathing normally now but still sneezing occasionally. I read through the heart disease link but besides sneezing and the previous stuffy nose she has none of the symptoms. Also her heart was normal on the X-ray and she had no fluid in the lungs. However, most the symptoms were present in my other guinea pig right before she passed away. I know it’s impossible to tell without a necropsy but it looks like she had a heart problem.

Also I just got back the results for the urine test and she has no bacteria present which surprised me, but then again she never cries when she urinates. What else would cause blood in the urine? The vet said maybe it was a virus? Also would there be a pink tint to her urine if there was blood? Because I keep placing her on paper towel and her urine has just a yellowish tint but no pink or red.

[Lynx]

Blood in urine can also be caused by pyometra (an infection of the uterus). There can also be an irritation of the bladder (interstitial cystitis). Read over:
https://www.guinealynx.info/records/view ... p?f=3&t=21

I don't understand your saying she has a pink tint to her urine and then saying it is only a yellowish tint.

[hipxop]

Thank you for the links. No I am asking if you would be able to see a red/pink tint to the urine if there was blood. She doesn’t have any red or pink tint just yellow. Also I’ll talk to the vet about those two other possibilities.

[bpatters]

She may just have trace blood in the urine, which sometimes just happens. It can be found using a dipstick or other urine test, but can't be seen when looking at the sample.