Guinea pigs don't have a habit, and much more. What can I do?

Hello dear piggy lovers,

My sweet 2-year-old suddenly became very ill. It's almost a miracle that he's alive.

In short:

Now he's feeling worse again.

He eats little, no vegetables anymore, just herbs and sometimes a bit of hay.

So we're currently supplementing his diet. Tomorrow we'll take him back to the vet, and they'll probably keep him there. Still, this can't be a permanent solution.

The following happened:

My guinea pig, his partner (about 8 years old), sadly passed away, presumably of old age. Two days later, one of his eyes had to be operated on.

Things really got going after the surgery. That was on Friday.

First, he ate and walked around. Well, more like staggered around, but that was still due to the surgery.

I suspect he didn't eat anything all night. Of course, I observed him in the morning and noticed his behavior. He was barely eating and had stopped walking.

I then took him in and offered him food. He happily accepted. However, he didn't usually eat on his own, and eventually he stopped eating my food. On top of that, his breathing was getting really bad.

What do you do? Straight to the vet, of course. After I got everything ready and picked him up, he was just hanging there; I thought he was dead.

The vet then took his temperature. It was 42 degrees Celsius, plus a bloated stomach.

They then injected medication directly into his stomach. The vet then told me she didn't know if he'd survive the night. It looked very critical. I was supposed to bathe him at home with cool water and cool him down. That's what I did.

A new problem. He was completely hypothermic. So, his temperature rose again at first. Then he was fine. Then at night, he had a fever again. He still wasn't eating on his own and had to be fed. This went on for two nights. On Monday, we went straight to the vet who had also performed the operation. They took him in. He didn't eat at first either.

On the second day with them, he started eating again. Then at home, too. We were all so happy that we cried.

He didn't run, though. He did move from point A to point B.

Now he's feeling worse again.

He eats little, no vegetables anymore, just herbs and sometimes a bit of hay.

So we are currently feeding them.

Tomorrow we'll take him back to the vet and they'll probably keep him there.

Nevertheless, this cannot be a permanent solution.

And I don't know if the vet is suitable for this case…

Does anyone here know what I can do?

Euthanasia isn't an option. I can tell he wants to live, he's just having a hard time right now. If I ever notice that he doesn't want to live anymore, that won't be up for debate. But right now, he wants to live.

LG

Ella