Why is my guinea pig lethargic and not eating on antibiotics?

I would be concerned that your guinea pig is not eating well and it may indicate that her infection is having a detrimental effect on her overall health. You may need to weigh her daily to ensure weight gain. Continue offering her food as frequently as you can to encourage her to eat. You may also want to try a critical care supplement that you can give her to help increase her caloric intake. If Angel has not been eating well for more than a 2-3 days then I would recommend taking her in to the vet for a thorough check up. She may need additional medication to help her get to feeling well. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

These signs, quite severe in guinea pigs) could be compatible with an inflammation infection of the gastrointestinal system and surrounding organs (like pancreas and liver). A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is immediately essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Antibiotics and possibly further investigations (like fecal analysis) may be needed. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

This is a quite generic but concerning sign. Differentials are many, from gastrointestinal diseases (infection/inflammations often dietary related) to any disease that can spread systemically (causing lethargy for example) like infection, and anything that can cause pain/discomfort. Loss of balance could be due to a neurological problem affecting the vestibular system (the one in charge of maintaining the balance). Very commonly middle ear inflammation is responsible for the vestibular system. The approach must be logic, starting from offering different kind of food. A check up is needed if inappetence last for more than 24hours. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Make sure they check all of his teeth. The teeth can overgrown to the point that they can’t eat. If he hasn’t eaten for a while the intestines will stop moving and they will need medications for pain and also some to try and get them to start moving again. Hope they figure it out for you. Good luck

Hello, and thank you for your question. I'm sorry to hear that Shadow is unwell. Guinea pigs often hide their illness until they are very sick, so I would recommend getting him to a guinea pig-savvy vet as soon as possible in the morning. The blockage at his anus may be indicative of constipation, which may be secondary to dehydration due to some other underlying illness, such as dental pain, gut stasis, infection or cancer. The vet will perform a full physical exam, check for dehydration and fever, and may recommend further diagnostic tests such as blood work or x-rays to determine the underlying cause of illness. At minimum, they can try to rehydrate him through fluid therapy, and prescribe pain medication and a special diet to help maintain his nutrition. In the meantime, try to offer him a variety of his favourite foods (hay, veggies, fruits) in order to keep up his strength and hydration. Keep him in a warm, non-drafty area. You can try to gently remove some of the impacted feces using warm water and a soft cloth. However, if he resists or struggles, I would not continue trying, as stress may worsen his condition. I hope this helps, and that Shadow feels better soon.

Hi, and thanks for your question. This is a quite generic but concerning presentation. Differentials are many, from gastrointestinal diseases (infection/inflammations often dietary related) to any disease that can spread systemically (causing lethargy for example) like infection, and anything that can cause pain/discomfort. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is immediately essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

He needs to be seen as soon as possible by your local veterinarian. Unfortunately the signs you are describing are quite severe and concerning and possibly a gastrointestinal inflammation/infection is present. I would recommend an immediate check up, radiographs, antibiotics and supportive treatment (fluidtherapy) are required.