Bee 's Medical thread

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Feb 10, 2018 9:37 pm


Does your sow have a name? I can add it to the title so you can find it more easily.

I was thinking maybe a doe was a female rabbit but was a little fuzzy on that.

fredwardtegreat

Post   » Sat Feb 10, 2018 9:52 pm


Yeah, her name is Bee (short for Beatrice).

Also, I talked to a person at the feed store who raises guinea pigs and she recommended a space heater on a low heat so that Bee doesn't have to heat herself and can conserve energy. I did that and she perked up a bit, just trying to get her to regain her strength.

Erinspigs

Post   » Sun Feb 11, 2018 11:07 pm


I'm confused I don't think she has scurvy, I think it's a URI correct? She needs a vet and the cage mate is doing what animals do, trying to survive. She knows Bee is sick and was trying to make her demise quick so she doesn't get sick also, if I am reading this right.

I hope you can get her to a vet quick. Good luck with the ice

fredwardtegreat

Post   » Sun Feb 11, 2018 11:44 pm


No, she definitely was malnourished from being bullied from other pigs. So far the quarantine is helping a ton, I've got C in her water and she's eating parsley and hay.

I've only found one dropping (she's been digging in the bedding a lot so I assume there's others that are buried), it's pale and shaped a little different but it doesn't smell of diarrhea, so I'll keep an eye on that. Her breathing isn't crackly anymore, that was probably hay dust (but I'm definitely keeping an eye on that too).

From what I've read and seen guinea pigs don't seem to have the ant mentality where they'll kill off sick members, at least not in my herd. Also, I've been watching the culprit and she's a bully to the rest of Bee's old cage mates too.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:01 am


Don't put vitamin C in the water. In the presence of light, it degrades to nothing within a very short time, and then all you've got is funny tasting water.

What kind of C are you using? If it's a tablet, you can crush it and dissolve it in a little water and syringe it to her. Or, if she'll eat veggies, sprinkle a crushed tabled on the veggies.

Or, you can buy VitaDrops liquid vitamin C (it's stored in a opaque bottle, so no exposure to light), and either sprinkle that on veggies or syringe it to her.

She'll get far more vitamin C with less excess calcium from bell peppers than from parsley. Too much calcium can put a pig at risk of painful, expensive bladder stones.

fredwardtegreat

Post   » Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:05 am


Yes, I'm using bell peppers over parsley. She prefers the parsley, but I've been slivering peppers for her to eat also. As for the C, I've been using the VitaDrops you recommended and refreshing the water quite often, though syringing is probably a good idea.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:31 am


Just so you know it's useless to put the drops in the water bottle. Within half an hour, you've got nothing but water. It's a waste of money, and doesn't do the pig any good. Unless you're only putting a teaspoon of water in the bottle, making sure the pig drinks it, and changing it within a half hour, it's doing no good at all.

Erinspigs

Post   » Mon Feb 12, 2018 2:03 am


No they aren't going to kill of sick members, not what I meant but they will often isolated them which means they can't get to food or water as easily, as you've mentioned and seen.

fredwardtegreat

Post   » Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:40 pm


I'm heading out to get CriticalCare this afternoon, the closest place that sells it is pretty far but it's alright. Bee needs the calories. Can I put the VitaDrops directly in that? It seems like it would kill two birds with one stone.

fredwardtegreat

Post   » Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:43 pm


Alright not sure where my last reply went, apologies if there's two replies for you.

I'm going out to get CriticalCare this afternoon, Bee needs the calories. Can I put the VitaDrops directly in that when I syringe it to her?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:54 pm


Yes, you can put it in the critical care.

fredwardtegreat

Post   » Mon Feb 12, 2018 7:58 pm


I got CriticalCare, made some, and offered it to her. She seemed interested, but she didn't eat much. Is there any way you guys know of that will entice her to eat it? I have syringes but I'd prefer if she'd take it herself. She does eat a lot of hay, though.

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