Gizmo's Medical Thread

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maggieP

Post   » Wed Apr 07, 2021 3:27 pm


Gizmo is ~3.5 years old and had a bladder stone last year that was removed. Since then he is having episodes of what appears to be severe gas. Vet prescribed cisapride and simethicone drops and he seemed to get better after a couple days. Yesterday he started acting very lethargic again, like he is having another gas episode. He is pooping a little but doesn't seem to be eating much; I supplemented Critical Care and water a few times between yesterday and today. He seems a little more active today but not much. Should I be trying to take him back in ASAP at this point? I'm not sure what else the vet is going to do that would be different than the meds we already have. Are there other things we can do at home? I tried massaging his belly but he is very intolerant of that. I can hear stomach rumblings which may be gas?

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Lynx
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Post   » Thu Apr 08, 2021 2:22 pm


Did you use the massage technique described by Bug's Mom? I have a link in the records forum.
https://www.guinealynx.info/records/view ... f=15&t=117

I am sorry he's having problems. If you observe severe bloat (very tight abdomen, obvious pain), this is an emergency situation and you should see the vet asap.

What is his diet? Does he get a lot of exercise? Exercise can help move gas through the digestive system.

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maggieP

Post   » Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:53 pm


Back from the vet, he stayed overnight. Diagnosis was GI stasis and also mentioned slightly elongated mandibular cheek teeth... doesn’t seem like we know the actual root cause though. Seems a little more active today but will post update later. Will take a look at that page as well. We are on cisapride again, Meloxicam and gabapentin.

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maggieP

Post   » Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:56 pm


Thinking he might have had too much red bell pepper on the day this started (Monday). He likes the pepper seed core as well. Diet is unlimited hay, Oxbow pellets, veggies (greens, bell peppers, bit of carrot, small amount of tomatoes, cilantro)

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Lynx
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Post   » Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:47 pm


What varieties of greens? It sounds like a pretty reasonable diet. I can say that a few people whose pigs have struggled with bloat have experimented with removing diet items and very slowly adding them back in to determine if a particular food is causing issues. The peppers you mention are a fair possibility (do cause some guinea pigs problems).

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maggieP

Post   » Thu Apr 08, 2021 11:48 pm


Variety of mixed greens/lettuces from the big buckets, dandelion greens, herbs like cilantro and parsley, some cucumber. Usually bell pepper every 1-2 days. We try to stay away from mixes that contain spinach but the buckets are so darn convenient and so far none of the others seem to have had any issues... seemed like the variety was preferred over straight green and red leaf lettuce...

He is more or less the same tonight but taking his Critical Care and water well. He is maybe slightly more active but still quite lethargic. Going to go pick up some Pedialyte tonight.

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maggieP

Post   » Fri Apr 09, 2021 12:07 am


Any idea if the BioSponge would help with this issue?

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Lynx
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Post   » Fri Apr 09, 2021 9:47 pm


I think of BioSponge helping with intestinal disturbances. If there is a bacterial imbalance, yes, perhaps it could help.

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maggieP

Post   » Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:15 pm


Gotcha. He's been munching on hay and veggies again today so hopefully he's past this again.

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ItsaZoo
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Post   » Sun Apr 11, 2021 4:32 pm


Glad to hear he seems to be feeling better. If he had a stone in the past, I would avoid dandelion, parsley, and cilantro since they all have more calcium than leaf lettuce and some other veggies.

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maggieP

Post   » Tue May 04, 2021 6:57 pm


Gizmo is having another episode today - looks even worse than the last ones. He won’t accept food or water and appears to be trying to spit up or regurgitate even sometime after I stopped trying to handfeed him. Gave him the prescribed Cisapride and Meloxicam from last time. Not able to find any ER vet to go to until tomorrow evening.

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Lynx
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Post   » Tue May 04, 2021 9:54 pm


I am sorry to hear he is having problems again. Trying to spit up/regurgitate can be a troubling sign. I hope he is better tomorrow.

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