[Gpdd] [HEALTH] Hairballs??? I think it is gas

[Ann Evans]

Hello Caroline,
I have just returned from a tour of England, where I met with several 
rodentologists and spent two days at the Cambridge Cavy Trust and Guinea 
Pig Hospital. Vedra Stanley-Spatcher has been operating the guinea pig 
hospital for almost 40 years. I specifically asked her and the 
rodentologists about hairballs. None of them have ever seen or heard of 
a case of hairballs in a guinea pig or any rodent.

It sounds like Dewey has gas. Gas is treated with infant colic drops 
like Dentinox Activated Dimeticone or Childrens liquid simethicone. Give 
3.0 ml every 3-4 hours. Massage belly, keep him moving. You can also put 
him on his back with his anus higher than his stomach and gently pump 
his hind legs back and forth. Guinea pigs can not burp or vomit so there 
is only one way the gas can come out and that is through the anus. Also 
you can use activated charcoal caps. Just take one cap and empty the 
contents into some water and syringe feed. This can be done twice a day. 
Gas can be fatal so quick treatment if very important. Too much gas in 
the stomach can cause gastric torsion and death. If the above treatment 
does not seem to be working in 24 hours then he may need a dose of 
metoclopramide 1.0 mg/kg given sub cut or orally. This motility drug can 
be repeated in 12 hours.

Also since he has been on a course of antibiotics I would also treat him 
with a probiotic. Just a plain acidophilus capsule will do just fine. 
Give one third of the contents of the capsule in water/day for a week.
Another thing to keep in mind is that whenever a piggy goes off food the 
natural yeast found in the gi-tract can over grow and cause a systemic 
fungal infection. These infections cause a lot of gas and can cause 
adhesion of the gut wall thus forming a blockage. I routinely treat all 
piggys that have been off food for any reason with an antifungal. 
Nystatin oral suspension 100,000 units/ml at a dose of 0.3 ml twice a 
day for 7 days. Maybe you can get Daktarin oral gel over the counter. 
This would be given at a dose of 0.5 ml orally three times a day for a 
week 1, then 0.5 ml twice a day for week 2 and 0.5 ml once a day for week 3.
I volunteer as a consulting rodentologist to Drs. Danielson and Saleh 
D.V.M. of Ehrlich Animal Hospital and Dr. Bonsack D.V.M. of Westchase 
Animal Hospital Tampa, Florida.

Cheers,

Ann and the Rescued Piggys of Piggyville, Tampa Florida USA