Can Guinea Pigs be sick

Question
QUESTION: Hi please can you help, I gave our guinea pigs mellon and he ait some of the rind, next day non of his food had been eaten, he wouldn't even eat dandy lion leaves then he started to retch and brought up green colourd liquid and bubbles from his nose I thought he was being sick, took him straight to the vet, she presumed it was upper respiratory infection but when trying to administer anti biotics they just came back and he continued to retch, it was very upsetting to see him so distressed, I had already nursed a guinea pig 3 years prior with URI only for it to pass away a week later and so I gave concent to have him PTS to save him the distress. I now think he had a blockage due to the mellon rind as the fluids kept coming back and not URI after all, I'm in bits now because I think I made the wrong decision.

ANSWER: I've fed melon rinds to my pigs for many years. They prefer the white and green part over the red on watermelon. Cantaloupe is a bit different, but they still eat the rinds.

Guinea pigs cannot vomit like humans and some animals. If he had a piece stuck in his throat he could gag and try to get rid of it. But I am more suspecting the dandy lion leaves may have had something on them.  Our horses LOVE LOVE LOVE dandy lions, but once they reach a certain point in blooming they will no longer touch them.

I can't give you a scientific reason for this, but horses typically do not eat something that is poisonous or will make them sick. I hesitate to believe that your pig got a respiratory infection that quickly. Guinea pigs have a natural rattling sound in their lungs that is often confused with a URI.

I don't know what kind of antibiotics your vet prescribed, but do make sure they are NOT in the penicillin family. They cannot tolerate any form of pcn and come of the cycline drugs. They destroy the natural bacterial flora in the pig's gut causing them to get a secondary infection.

This sounds more to me like he aspirated something into his lungs OR that the leaves he ate were possibly tainted with some kind of toxic spray, such as weed killer, bug killer, etc. This is of course a guess on my part and I'm just tossing that in as a possibility.

I think you are correct in your thinking he had a blockage of some sort or something caught in his throat.  Don't punish yourself for thinking you made a wrong choice. As animal lovers we do what parents do, we do the best we can.

I would personally discontinue the antibiotics as I don't think they are indicated. But I don't wish to criticize your vet either. Not many veterinarians have cavy experience as they are an extremely small part of their practice and most do not get enough experience to be able to successfully care for a guinea pig. That's not their fault. It's just a reality.

Please let me know how he does. I would like to be kept updated.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks ever so much for getting back to me, he seemed off his food and unhappy before I gave him the leaves he loved his leaves and it was a kind of test to see how he would react, they were from our garden and I washed them too, he nibbled at part of one then went into his bed so I picked him up he felt cold, popped him on the carpet to see him move that's when he started the retching and bubbles from his nose. So panicking then I took him in. I Agree the vet was very lovely and caring but didn't fill me with confidence in her knowledge, you get to know your pigs really well and having dealt with URI I before wasn't totally convinced but wanted to believe her and do something anything! When he couldn't keep the drugs down I knew it wasn't going to work no matter how much I wanted them too or how much I nursed him. She check his mouth but couldn't see anything, maybe the problem was further down. He was five and a half she said that was a good age she could do tests scans x rays etc but the poor little think was retching and struggling and the bubbled from his nose seemed to be getting worse even as we spoke. I was desperately upset as I never give up on any of my animals but I felt so helpless and she put him to sleep for me, I wasn't allowed in because she said she would need to inject him directly into his heart this obviously causes screaming and momentery distress I was mortified at this! She promised to anysthetise him first, after what seemed an eternity alone in that room she finally Brought his little body back in she said he went peacefully. The whole family are soo upset he was our last and we Burry him today next to his cage mate. I'm so sorry to waffle on just need to get it out there and just to have someone's opinion hugest thanks lisa x

Answer
Oh Lisa, you have nothing to apologize for. I'm so sorry you lost him. Your vet did the right thing by gently putting him down. 5 1/2 yrs is considered an old pig. You may never know what happened, and even doing a necropsy would not change the outcome.

We have to just assume it was his time and whatever caused him to do what he did it seems clear that nothing would have altered the final outcome. It may have been just coincidental that he ate the greens then had this episode which sounds like an aspiration.

Euthanizing an animal is not always a pretty sight. I've had to do that with dogs and horses. With larger animals they are given an intravenous injection to quiet them, then potassium chloride is injected into the vein. When a guinea pig is already so very ill it's impossible to find a vein. The vet had no choice other than an intracardiac injection.

My best to you, and if I can ever be of help again please don't hesitate.