Emergency and supportive care guide for foster families

A guinea pig's health can deteriorate very quickly. By the time problems become apparent, illnesses may be life-threatening. Guinea pigs very seldom get over an illness without help. Prompt, competent veterinary care is crucial to saving the life of a sick pet. When caught early, most illnesses can be cured fairly easily with a course of antibiotics safe for guinea pigs. Find a guinea pig-knowledgeable exotics vet soon after adopting a pet so you know whom to contact in an emergency.

Please note our pet care is standard and followed by most guinea pig rescues of our size in partnership with a veterinary clinic to control vet costs.

Do not hesitate to seek veterinary care or contact us if you suspect your pig is ill.

Signs of illness and possible causes:

• Anal fecal impaction - Clear these as long as it is not adhered or going to damage the anal area by removing. This condition does not require a vet visit UNLESS there are complications. This condition is common in old boars.
• Anal gland impaction - Treated with aloe vera, to lubricate. If infected, a vet visit is required.
• Arthritis / pain management -- We have dosing instructions for meloxicam to administer to piggies with pain due to arthritis. We also have gabapentin for advanced cases and dosing instructions. If those do not work, we bring them to the vet and they can prescribe morphine-based pain medicine.
• Bleeding from rectal area -- UTI, Bladder Stones, Pyometra, Retained Placenta, other
• Blood in urine -- UTI, Bladder Stones, Pyometra, other
• Broken bones, sprains, internal injuries - Visit the vet.
• Bumblefoot - There are three levels of bumblefoot. To treat mild bumble (no scabs, just inflammation): aloe vera, extra padding, increased cage cleaning/cleanliness and potentially some weight loss (if overweight). Inflamed feet with scabs: All of the above plus mupirocin twice a day, soaking affected feet in diluted betadine for 10-15 minutes daily (or whatever guinea will tolerate), and oral meloxicam. Any toe or foot swelling, abscessing, amputation needs, etc.: All of the above plus TMPS/TMP until a vet visit can be scheduled to prevent sepsis or death. Surgery is sometimes required for advanced cases.
• Delivery problems -- Dystocia, Retained Placenta, other
• Diarrhea, watery poop -- Diarrhea. Common post antibiotic and gut problems. If occurring after antibiotics, we can do fecal/critical care syringes plus benebac as this almost always happens with entrofloxacin (baytril). We have subcutaneous fluids to prevent dehydration for animals until they can be seen at the vet. We have benebac probiotic to administer orally. This condition is always a vet visit to diagnose via lab work UNLESS it’s due to antibiotics. 
• Death for no reason - Westgate and the emergency vet clinic often will do autopsies for free for us if we ask them to.
• Drooling, oral abscesses -- Malocclusion, other
• Ears

• Infections - We have ear drops on hand AND this is always a vet visit because it can get worse and cause head tilts.
• Tears -  Common in fights. No vet visit unless infected; there is nothing they can do except prescribe antibiotics for an infection. We apply topical antibiotics and let heal. Damage is not repairable

• Eyes:

• Crusty eyes, sneezing -- URI, other
• Dull and/or receding eyes -- URI, other
• Eye trauma – Treat but visit the vet. We have tobramycin and meloxicam for hay pokes, eye infections, and eye wounds. We can administer this until we can take them to the vet for further evaluation if they do not drastically improve in 24-48 hours.
• Missing eye, recessed eye, or bulging eye- This can kill guinea pigs. Vet visit required.

• Gut 

• Stasis / swollen abdomen - BLOAT. We have subcutaneous fluids to be administered to prevent dehydration for any animals in gut stasis. We also have critical care and GasX to feed the animals. You can also use an electric toothbrush on its vibration setting to help break up gas into smaller bubbles to make it easier to pass, though if there is severe distention or pain when trying to massage the belly, stop and bring to vet. All guinea pigs that stop eating completely are taken to the vet no exceptions. May be renal disease or uterine cancer or tumor for females and cancer for males.. 
• Torsion - Fatal condition, visit the vet immediately. May require euthanasia; this is why we never put guinea pigs on their backs.

1. Hair loss, excessive scratching 

• Mange Mites, Fungal Infection, other; we have Revolution and Ivermectin on hand as this condition is easy to diagnose and untreated animals can/do go into seizure and can die. Also, clean the environment after application of medicine so get rid of any residual mites/eggs that may be lurking in the enclosure.
• V-shaped hair loss - Ovarian cysts, visit vet to diagnose and surgery/spay required.
• With white dander - Scurvy. Vitamin C supplements and heavy Vit C greens diet for 7 days. If it does not resolve in a week or if animal gets worse, vet visit.

• Head tilt -- Ear Infection, wry neck, other. Can administer over-the-counter meclizine; it may help with vertigo from severe ear infections. 
• Heart conditions/unexplained fluid retention - Always a vet visit and prescriptions to treat.
• Hernia - Vet visit to determine if surgery required.
• Kidney/bladders stones - Provide pain killers (meloxicam/gabapentin) until they can be seen by vet. ALWAYS a vet visit.
• Labored breathing, wheezing -- URI, Circulatory Problems, or respiratory infections such as pasteurella and pneumonia. This condition is easy to diagnose and, when we get a pneumonia case in after-hours or weekends with no hope of care, we start the guinea on antibiotics as they can die in 24-48 hours without them. Standard course of care is 10 days on antibiotics. If the guinea pig does not respond, then we visit the vet and they will test for antibiotic resistance, heart failure, and switch antibiotics for us as needed. We also have an oxygen generator to use as needed.

Note that URIs and LRIs can be from bordatella, which can cause a fatal pneumonia in GPs. For this reason, dogs that have recently gone to boarding facilities and dogs that have URI signs should be kept away from GPs until their symptoms resolve. Rabbits can also carry bordatella, so keep separate from GPs and wash hands in between handling. 

• Lethargy, hunched posture -- URI, pain, bladder stones, other
• Limping, hopping, severe injury -- Injury, Vitamin or Mineral Deficiency, Arthritis, other
• Loss of balance -- Ear Infection, Injury, Poisoning, other
• Mammary tumors or fluids expelling from nipples and NOT pregnant or nursing- Vet visit required, usually cancer and surgery is required (or euthanasia).
• No feces/poop -- Anorexia (not eating), Bloat, other
• Penis, extended (will not retract) - Treat with aloe vera and, if still does not retract after 24 hours, visit the vet.
• Pregnancy/delivery 

• Visit the vet only if birth fails to proceed (i.e. one animal birthed at least every 15 minutes and/or hemorrhaging starts). Moving a mother in labor is dangerous and can kill them. Westgate ONLY does emergency c-sections if NOTHING else is possible.
• Mother not nursing - We feed babies. We have rodent milk and feeding instructions to feed babies. Mother needs to go to the vet if it's medically related. 
• If the mother dies, babies get feeding and care from us. Nothing vet can do that we can't. If a baby dies in birth or is born dead, Westgate and the emergency vet clinic often will do autopsies for free for us if we ask them to.
• If mother dies and if there is another GP who has given birth within 2-3 days, it might be possible to pair the babies of the deceased mom with the new mom. This has been done in the past at AGPR, and it might help decrease the number of feedings the babies need.

• Refusal to eat or drink (anorexia) -- URI, Malocclusion, other
• Ringworm - Easy to diagnose and can be confirmed with lab work, though we typically do not pay for lab work unless it does NOT respond to fungal treatments. We have itrafungol on hand and dosing instructions to use it if topical over-the-counter medications (lamisil, for example) fail to work.
• Rough or puffed-up coat -- URI, other
• Seizures - Visit a vet.
• Teeth,incisors overgrown - Visit the vet to have teeth trimmed. 
• Anything beyond front teeth trimming is a vet visit for diagnosis and treatment.
• Tumor/growth

• Non-cancerous Lipomas (mobile/non-adhered) - No treatment unless they are large and obstruct something critical, then need surgery. These are common in guinea pigs and not life threatening - probably 10-20% of our guinea pigs have them.
• Adhered/non-mobile - Always visit a vet for biopsy and diagnosis.

• Unable to urinate -- Bladder Stones, other
• Undescended testicles - Surgery is required. Visit the vet.
• Urine burn/UTI - Unless infected. Treat at home. Bathe with medicated shampoo, apply topical OTC treatments, haircut or shave area on longer-hairs. Visit vet if it does not improve. May be a UTI, always visit the vet as this needs lab work to diagnose.
• Weight Loss -- Malocclusion, other
• White dander/hair loss/scurvy - Vitamin C supplements and heavy Vit C greens diet for 7 days. If it does not resolve in a week or if the animal gets worse, vet visit.
• Wound/tears

• We have both oral and topical medications. Flush the wound and apply topicals. If it becomes putrid or forms an abscess, we do TMP. If they do not respond to TMP, schedule a vet visit for further evaluation and treatment.
• Ear/nose/cheek/mouth/jaw tears (common in fights) - no vet visit unless not healing correctly; there is nothing they can do except prescribe antibiotics for an infection. We apply topical antibiotics and let it heal. Damage is not repairable.

Links courtesy of Guinea Lynx :: Emergency Medical Guide