[Gpdd] HEALTH: Aquinnah's Proud Pile

[Martha Coburn]

Dear Nicholle

 

I'm really glad to hear that Aquinnah is on the mend. I too had a piggie, my
dear Sweet Sally, who suffered from gas. I kept a bottle of Baby Oval,
http://www.churchdwight.ca/product.php?productidx=66671, on hand which
really helped.  The active ingredient is Simethicone. I would give Sally a
dose of 0.4 cc's up to 3 times a day. Baby Oval is the product in Canada,
Mylicon, http://www.mylicon.com/products/index.jhtml, is a brand in the
States. Using this in addition to tummy rubs tackles gas quite well. 

 

Now I was not aware of hay causing gas, though Timothy is better for them,
it seemed to me to be more related to veggies. Sally loved cucumbers but
they had to be limited as they are a gassy vegetable. I also steered clear
of broccoli, cauliflower and any cabbagey type veggies. Also keeping a
piggie active, walking and running around can help to reduce the incidence
of gas and bloat. 

 

Cuddles from my girls to yours.

 

All the best,

Martha, Poppy, Holly & Miss Otis

 

 

 

Message: 12

Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2007 23:46:34 EDT

From: Willowstorm25 at aol.com

Subject: [Gpdd] HEALTH: Aquinnah's Proud Pile

To: gpdd at gpdd.org

Message-ID: <c74.11c7dcf7.33d18a1a at aol.com>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

 

Hey All,

 

Quinn stopped eating again this morning.  There was nothing coming out  of
her from either end, and she was cooing and whimpering.  I called the  vet
again first thing this morning and asked for an appointment, and the  tech
staff said someone cancelled, and they had an opening (though at this  point
if they didn't I just would've shown up and demanded to be seen as an
emergency)

 

They took pictures of her bowel and she was completely full of gas
and...well, you know.  The gave her a guinea pig Fleet -- or as Craig
called it, a min-ema -- and Quinn spent about 45 minutes dooting herself
silly  in their holding cage.

 

This is not the first time I have had a clogged guinea pig... Indeed, this
would be the third guinea I've had in three years who's suffered a similar
ailment.  The vet believed that they are not getting enough timothy in
their diet, and I think he's right.  No, I know he is.  About 3 1/2  years
ago, I had to switch to compressed cubes, which are 50/50 timothy  &
alfalfa.  The only reason I switched is because one of my girls,  Sianndre,
was blind and kept impaling herself with the timothy stalks.  I  had her to
the vet 5 times in one 

month for hay-related eye injuries.   She was a beautiful, but fragile girl,
and 

didn't last too long.  After she  passed, I kept the pigs on the tim/alf
cubes because they were available and I  didn't think they were doing them
any harm.  Ryssi sustained blockages  several times.  Sapphryn did too.  And
now Aquinnah.

 

In any event, lesson learned and I am remorseful that several of my babies
had to suffer in order to teach me this lesson.  Quinn is currently
reclining in my lap.  She has made about a dozen beans since I brought her
home this afternoon, though she is not eating as much as I'd like.  The vet
says to keep her on pure timothy hay for about a week, and to syringe feed
her  fruit juice as well.  Because the blockage was so massive, he warns she
might have to return this weekend for another flush, but he says the odds
are  good that she'll recover with no ill effects -- save a sore bum.  The
gripe  water did buy her time.

 

I just spent some time online ordering timothy pellets from Sweet Meadow
Farms.  They have this wonderful package called "The Guinea Grab" which
includes three 1.75 lb. bags of timmy grass, two 1.75 lb. bags of meadow
grass  and 

one 10 lb. bag of C-fortified timmy pellets for $22 plus shipping.   Based
on 

what I currently spend on bulk feed, this was quite reasonable to  me.  And 

pluss, I am supporting a family-owned and operated business.   I don't know
much 

about them, but I was on their site and it is beautiful and it  seems that
they love their animals.  They started this business actually as  a spin-off
of their original efforts to provide for their own beloved  pets.  I thought
that sounded pretty cool.

 

In any event, thank you all for your support and encouragment throughout
this difficult time.  It is funny, that even though I may not be on for a
while, when I return it seems as though I've never left :)

 

I will keep you all posted on Aquinnah's status.  As of now, she seems
stable, with room for improvement.  I am shooting for better.

 

Have a good night, fellow rodentophiles!

 

Nicholle and Bwee-Squared