Illness – caring for your guinea pig

At some point it’s highly likely you will have to look after an ill guinea pig. Guinea pigs are often stressed in a veterinary environment, so when your veterinarian feels your guinea pig is well enough to go home they may want you to continue their nursing care at home.

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A guinea pig who is feeling ill may not be eating and drinking. Gastrointestinal stasis is where a guinea pig digestive system slows down and can come to a complete standstill. This is a very serious and often fatal condition, so you need to ensure that your guinea pig keeps eating and drinking.

Offer them tempting foods, such as fresh herbs, greens, freshly picked grass or whatever their favourite food is. If this doesn’t tempt them to eat, then the only option will be to syringe feed them. Your veterinarian will be able to advise what to feed and will be able to supply this to you and advise on how much and how often to feed your guinea pig. Ensure your guinea pig also has a constant supply of fresh hay.

Make sure your guinea pig has access to fresh water that they can easily reach. If your guinea pig isn’t drinking, you can try syringing small amounts of water into their mouth; if this isn’t successful then speak to your veterinarian about the possibility of providing your guinea pig with a fluid injection.

Guinea pigs are clean animals and hate being or feeling dirty. Ill guinea pigs often can’t or don’t feel up to cleaning themselves, so you will need to do this for them. Gently wipe their eyes with some cotton wool and warm water. Give their coat a brush and a quick wipe with a damp cloth. Make sure their bottom is clean, and if it’s dirty or wet then carefully clean and dry it for them. Make sure you dry them thoroughly, so they don’t get cold.

Your guinea pig may be on a variety of medications such as gut stimulants, pain relief, antibiotics or topical medications such as eye or ear drops.

It’s very important that your guinea pig gets the correct dose of all their medications at the right time of day and for the correct amount of time – you may find it helpful to write out a checklist then you can tick them off when you have administered them. If you’re unsure about how to give your guinea pig medication, how much to give or when to give them, make sure you speak to your vet or a nurse to clarify any concerns.

If you have any problems medicating your guinea pig, speak to your veterinarian as they may be able to offer advice or prescribe alternative medication.

If you accidentally overdose your guinea pig or forget to give them a dose, speak to your veterinarian straight away before giving any more medication.

It is very important to keep and ill guinea pig warm, dry and comfortable. Guinea pigs that usually live outside are best brought indoors when they are ill so they can be kept warm and monitored closely. Bedding guinea pigs on vetbed, which draws urine away from the surface, is a good idea to help prevent urine scalding and sores, especially if your guinea pig has limited movement. This will also keep them comfortable and warm. However, don’t let your guinea pig’s environment become too warm, an ideal temperature is between 21-23°C/69.8-73.4°F.

If your guinea pig is able to walk around, then this should be encouraged as it will help stop the muscles wasting, encourage gastrointestinal movement and help stop the joints stiffening. Guinea pigs that are unable to move, need to be turned from lying on one side of their body to the other side, every couple of hours (day and night). This will help prevent hypostatic pneumonia, whereby fluid builds up on one side of their chest, causing breathing problems or potential pressure sores caused by lying in one position for long periods of time.

Gentle massage and movement of limbs can help keep your guinea pig supple and prevent stiffness if they’re unable to move very much. Your veterinarian or veterinary nurse will be able to show you how to do this.

If at all possible, bonded companions should be kept together.

Guinea pigs form strong bonds and separating them may cause further stress and break up that bond. If it’s not possible to keep them together, keeping them within sight and smell of each other is the next best thing.

Hopefully you will see a gradual improvement in your guinea pig’s condition over time, but if you notice any of the following, you should speak to your veterinarian straight away:

• Trouble breathing.
• Cessation of urine or feces production.
• Decreased or complete loss of appetite.
• Pale/blue mucous membranes, eg gums.
• Diarrhea.
• Fitting or convulsions.
• Loud, painful grinding of the teeth.
• Bleeding.

Nursing a sick guinea pig is very time consuming, tiring and hard work, but it can also be very rewarding knowing you are giving your guinea pig the best care possible. Seeing them get better is the best reward of all!