Advice for

[PipSqueak20]

Hello,

My Piggie Pumpkin had issues with his gut. He had bloat and mild gut stasis. He was hospitalised for 24 hours on 13/2/25. He had various scans which showed a moderate amount of gas in his stomach and intestines He had to have a tube inserted into his stomach which was able to suck out the gas. He lost at least 250g due to this. He was 1315g and now he’s 1080g. However, hes losing 10 to 20g every few days. He’s currently sitting at 1044g before eating. He was on pain relief as well.

I have taken him for a check up a week later and the vet thinks that this could be his usual weight and that he had some sort of bloat throughout his life as he had issues with digestion before but not to this extreme.

My problem is that he is eating very little hay which I’m concerned about. I am syringing him critical care every 3 hours (which he hates)but he’s still eating vegetables. I got new hay which he seems to like a little more but he still is not eating like he used to. I’ve also tried plain organic oats to add fibre as well as fibreplex.

His poos are abnormal at the moment, clumped and soft but it can swing from that to semi-normal but small.

Any advice would be amazing.

Thank you

 

[Piggies&buns]

His poops suggest that he is not getting enough fibre, that could also tally with the weight loss.

How much critical care are you getting into him in each 24 hour period?
You are looking for weight stability but it sounds like he may still be on a downward trend if he is losing weight. His weight might well come in lower post illness (age dependent - he may never get back to higher weight) and never go but as I said it is stability you are looking for.
You are aiming for at least 60ml of feed per day but he could need as much as 100ml per day to keep his weight stable each day.

You say he ‘was’ on pain relief - so he no longer is?

 

[PipSqueak20]

His poops suggest that he is not getting enough fibre, that could also tally with the weight loss.

How much critical care are you getting into him in each 24 hour period?
You are looking for weight stability but it sounds like he may still be on a downward trend if he is losing weight. His weight might well come in lower post illness (age dependent - he may never get back to higher weight) and never go but as I said it is stability you are looking for.
You are aiming for at least 60ml of feed per day but he could need as much as 100ml per day to keep his weight stable each day.

You say he ‘was’ on pain relief - so he no longer is?

I continued it after the check up as I didn’t think he was pain free yet. I’m definitely giving him 60ml every day. So I probably will have to up it to 100ml. Once eaten he is always at the 1070 to 1080g mark but it’s over night where he loses it when he’s not eating as much

 

[Piggies&buns]

I continued it after the check up as I didn’t think he was pain free yet. I’m definitely giving him 60ml every day. So I probably will have to up it to 100ml. Once eaten he is always at the 1070 to 1080g mark but it’s over night where he loses it when he’s not eating as much

Don’t weigh more than once a day as you just pick up too many unhelpful fluctuations.
It is the weight first thing in the morning which is the most accurate, the one you need to go by and compare to the day before. If he is the same weight each morning (or within the normal daily swing of 30g) then he is stable.
A weight in an evening is just picking up a day worth of food. If you then compare that to his morning weight you are going to see normal drops but you then run the risk of confusing them with a loss when it isn’t

It doesn’t necessarily mean he has to have 100ml - it could be anything between 60 and 100 which would stabilise his weight. You have to find the amount which works for him.

 

[PipSqueak20]

Don’t weigh more than once a day as you just pick up too many unhelpful fluctuations.
It is the weight first thing in the morning which is the most accurate, the one you need to go by and compare to the day before. If he is the same weight each morning (or within the normal daily swing of 30g) then he is stable.
A weight in an evening is just picking up a day worth of food. If you then compare that to his morning weight you are going to see normal drops but you then run the risk of confusing them with a loss when it isn’t

It doesn’t necessarily mean he has to have 100ml - it could be anything between 60 and 100 which would stabilise his weight. You have to find the amount which works for him.

Thank you, that’s reassuring as he’s been in the usual 30g swing for the past week. It’s my anxiety that’s unhelpful in this kind of situation