Hungry Piglet

Question
my guinea pig, piglet, hasn't been eating or drinking. this has been going on for a couple of days now. he won't even eat any of his treats. he won't even fill up on water anymore. on top of that, everytime he falls asleep he gets all this gunk in both of his eyes and when he wakes up, he can barely open them.

I'm not sure how old Piglet is, but he doesn't have any cagemates. His bedding, i believe, is a cedar bedding that i bought at Petco. he eats pelets that are from Petco also. He hasn't had any recent changes, so I have no idea what is going on.

Sincerely,

Scared in Washington

Answer
Hello Samantha,

I'm sooo sorry it took me so long to check this, I've been dealing with some sick pigs myself. I hope Piglet doesn't suffer because of the delay. Ok, first, he needs  bedding change. Cedar can cause liver damage and the oils in it can cause respiratory troubles, which it sounds like your piggy may have. He sounds like he has either a URI or possibly conjunctivitis. Usually with a URI his nose will be icky too, but not neccessarily. He'll need to see a vet for antibiotics for either condition, but both are treatable. You also should start force feeding ASAP. Piggies not eating is very serious. If they don't always have something in their tummies, their digestive system shuts down and they bloat and it can kill them. Crush pellets and mix with water to make a mush, then use a syringe to force feed him. If you can get a bit of liquid vitamin c to mix with his mush, it's a good idea. Hopefully little Piglet will be ok soon and again I'm terribly sorry about the delay.

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs