HELP! PLEASE HELP!!!

[dd]

OK i am just going to get to the point. My guinea pigs are NOT eating or drinking. They are not eating pellets or vegetables and not drinking water. Nibbles will drink and eat abit but shadow will not eat anything or drink anything!!! i think they are sick. here are the main reasons!

* Well it is now Spring so it is VERY hot so my dad decided to put them outside in the pagola (outside under a roof is sunny but not in directly in the sunlight) They might be sick because of the sudden weather change

* When it is night we bring them inside and put them in a box which is full of hay (but its small and dark) do you think they are depressed?? There is not much room for them to move

*It was a really sunny day 2 days ago so i let them go outside and i gave them a bath if you call this a bath. I lay a towel down in the sunlight and got some water and sprinkled it on their belly and back and then i wiped them with a towel and let this go in the sunlight (I did this to them about 3 times)

*I keep lifting them up and giving them cuddles Shadow does not squeak but Nibbles does (do you think this frightened them)

*Shadow's lip the top upper corner was bleeding but it is now dry i think his teeth look fine but maybe that's why Shadow can't eat once i heard a weird crunch from his teeth when i was holding him

*Also i give them grass but there is this really long grass and i feed them that but it is kind of diffrent to the other small grasses.

There heart beat is slow and my dad said we don't have money to go to the vet because we are kind of broke but he said we could go in November

Also in the box its really dark and depressing

Dad said they might be having this behavior because of the weather change We are thinking of bringing one of the cages from outside on Sunday and leaving them in their to see if their behavior is going to go back to normal because i don't want them to be outside because it is too hot and when i put them in their tiny dark box at night they will just get depressed!

HELP PLEASE ANSWER WHAT YOU THINK IS MAKING THIS BEHAVIOR PLEASE ANSWER WITH ANYTHING. I DONT WANT THEM TO DIE

[newpig]

DD it's extremely important that your pigs eat and drink. Their gut can go into stasis if they aren't pushing food through it and that can lead to fatalities. There are foods you can buy to mix with water and syringe feed them but if you can't afford that then crush down their ordinary pellets with water and make it into a mush that you can feed into a syringe. Something like cranberry juice through a syringe would keep them hydrated and also provide vit c. If you're going to syringe feed then please read through some of the sites that explain how to do it as it's important to do it right.

Start with Jackie's pages: jackiesguineapiggies.com/handfeedingyourguineapig.html

[jolovespiggies]

I am so sorry sweetheart, you do sound in a state. When my pigies are poorly I syringe pineapple juice, it is good for them and they love it.

Good luck and please let us know how you get on.

Hugs

JO xx

[3piggles]

It sounds like heat stroke to me, and they need to be kept below 80F.

Try soaking them in luke warm water to reduce their body temps. Don't leave them there, maybe 10 minutes.

Fill 2/3 full with water as many bottles and jugs as you can, and freeze them. Wrap them in a thin cloth and put them in the cage to give the pigs cold spots, and to help lower the ambient temperature. Gallon jugs of frozen water will easily stay cold for 16 hours.

If they are currently not eating, find some way to lower the air temp, don't blow a fan directly on them, until you see some signs of activity again. They will die if left to fight the extreme heat without eating or drinking. Vets can't do much except give them subQ fluids, which would definitely help. It won't help if they are returned to extreme heat. Good luck!

[3piggles]

Double posting just to ask how the pigs are doing? I hope they are better, and the problem is under control! Hugs!

[colonthree]

I'm sorry but I can't help but wonder why you own pets if you cannot afford to properly care for them?

Please, please set aside a vet fund. Sending healing thoughts your way.

[doodles]

Hi dd,

Sorry to hear your little guys aren't feeling well. I just wanted to add a couple more ingredients to the crushed up pellets & water, try also adding in a little baby food, like pureed carrots or sweet potatoes. Also you can add some little bit of Pedialite or like product. It will help rehydrate them. A vet told me about these added things when I had a piggy that was not eating. A vet office may also carry a product called Critical Care which is wonderful for sick piggies and you can add all of this to it and it will help get piggies back on the right road.

Hope they are feeling better soon. Please let us know.

[yodelpig]

I sounds very much like heat stroke. I hope that they are OK!!!
www.oginet.com/pgurney/heatstroke.htm

Please make sure that you (and your family whose ultimate responsibility it is as long as you are a minor) have the money to afford the vet cost for any pet that you ever own. It is very important.

[3piggles]

Sadly, parents often get their kids a pet to teach the kids about caring for others. But if the parents don't know or realize the full extent of vet care the animal could need, the animal is sentenced to a short life. Also, because unless people can bond with animals enough to see past the animals not being human, and find the value and interest in each species, they see animals as expendable, cheaper to replace than repair.

The main purpose to any animal forum is to teach people all they need to know about the animals, their habitats, foods, accessories, medical aid, etc., so more and more people really understand and work to create the best possible lives for their pets. We all learned the hard way, at the animals expense, the first time. We encourage all guinea pig owners or potential owners to join us and learn what they need to know. If these poor little ones didn't or don't make it, best not to get guinea pigs again. They can be very expensive pets.

Parents need to learn as much about the pets they are buying for their children as possible, and get the right pet for the size of they house, the hours they keep, the money they have to spend it the animal, etc. The initial purchase price is not the cost of keeping the animal!

[jolovespiggies]

How are they love?

Hugs

JO xx

[dd]

i dont know how to double it but i will do a new post called 'Help Please Help! the rest'

[dd]

I just read the comments on my other posts i would like to thank everyone that posted.
On Sunday (4 days ago) we moved both cages inside into the house. Immedianly they started roaming around and acting the same about 2 minutes after me and my dad put them in the cage they both started EATING i nearly cried with joy!
They are now fine and very happy!! Dad might put them back in December (which is Summer for us) i dont think that is a good idea so i will tell him not to do that

[Bean]

dd I've moved the post you made in a new thread into this existing thread - it's much more helpful to people who have been helping you if all the posts on one topic are together, especially when they can see a problem they have been assisting with has been resolved.

Glad to hear your pigs are well again - you are very lucky. I hope that seeing how hot temperatures can affect them is lesson enough for the whole family to support them living in an environment which suits them and won't make them ill.

[yodelpig]

Glad to hear that they have made it. Guinea pigs come from a stable clime and do not cope with either heat OR the extremes of cold weather OR big sudden changes in temperatures. Anything above 25 C is very hot for them and they need extra protection (shade, towels soaked in water, frozen water bottles well wrapped in towels).

PS: Please keep everything to as few threads as possible. We have quite a few members who nip in occasionally and you will become confused or lose interest if the get only part of a story.

[jolovespiggies]

I am so glad for you dd, please give them a noserub from their auntie Jo.

Hugs

JO xx

[3piggles]

Really glad to hear the pigs are doing fine. Pigs can survive cold much better than heat, and it really depends on so many factors for how hot is too hot. So happy they are eating, drinking and enjoying life, again!