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Advice on eating & drinking

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frankeesh

frankeesh

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Hello all :) not sure if any of you remember me, but my computer has been letting me on now so hopefully this wont be the last you see of me :)

I came here in some advice. Some of you might remember I had two guinea pigs, Wilf and Archie, who are doing fine and dandy... but we also aquired a third :) He was a rescue, so I'm unsure excatly how old he is but he fights with other guinea pigs and after giving him a bit of "meet and greet" with my two through the wire of two pens there was a lot of rumbling and teeth chattering going on and he is happy on his own in a large hutch that looks onto the other two's hutch.
Anyway, all has been going well and I moved house about a month ago, and nothings changed. They live in a large double garage (never has a car inside it) and they all seem to be getting on fine. However, as i went out to the pigs this morning i'd noticed Freddie hadnt eaten or drunk anything overnight. This worried me slightly, and although there is still evidence of poo and wee I left him with a bowl of veg that i had counted the amount of each veg so i could see how much he'd eaten before i left for work. When i came home i found that he'd still eaten no dry food or drunk anything, and had only nibbled at a piece of carrot and eaten a little cucumber. I gave him a fresh bowl of veg tonight with the others and he's only eaten 4 beansprouts and gone back into his bedroom compartment of his hutch. Should i be worried? Any advice very much welcomed
 
Have you checked his teeth and his nose for any blockages as sometimes if piggys cant smell they wont eat.
Worth a check also you could try syringe feeding him to be on the safe side to make his gut work as its important for them to eat.
 
have checked his nose and teeth, no sign of runny nose or his teeth overgrown. his stomach's still soft so no sign of bloat. as i say this has only started from last night and today, yesterday he ate his normal feed, bowl of veg and drank water which is what confuses me as has come on so suddenly. will look into syringing him some food if he hasnt eaten anything by later tonight! :)
 
Sorry to not have been more helpful but I'm sure that someone on here will be able to give you a better answer. Is he eating his hay?
Hope that he gets better soon.:)
 
Yes it is a concern when they don't eat and they need to be eating regularly to stay well / get better.

is he eating hay / dry food?
 
he's eating hay but very miniscule amounts of dry food and vegetables. He seems to have picked up slightly in the eating of veg since i gave it to him though. he sometimes doesnt eat much of his dry food but this is the first time i've seen him barely touch it. thanks for your help :)
 
Don't forget you can use luke warm water and mash up some of his pellets and feed him that through a syringe if he doesn't eat properly soon.
 
Best book him in at the vets for tomorrow!

Check his teeth - especially the molars; mouth or throat rush.

Have you felt his belly - if it is swollen, tight and painful, he may have bloat and need to see a vet asap!
Heart trouble can be another cause for loss of appetite.

Is he still interested in food, but can't eat it, or does not want to eat at all?

If it is the first, tooth trouble is the most likeliest reason.

If you syringe feed him (jar of baby veg or mushed up pellets will do in a pinch), make sure to give plenty of water as well, so he does not dehydrate.
 
yep that was my plan! i've already checked his teeth and his stomach, his teeth are perfectly normal and his belly isnt hard its soft and squishy so no signs of bloat. obviously no idea about the heart trouble, i guess the vet will give me an idea of this tomorrow. He seems very listless, he'll come over and eat some food/veg if i put him infront of the bowls, but he wont go over there of his own accord and he'll only eat a few things before he goes back into his Cozy/bedroom. I've wrapped the hutch in blankets and fleece over the sides, bedroom door and roof incase he's getting cold and filled his bedroom with hay. I'm going down to check on him in a few minutes so shall let you know any progress. Thanks for your help :)
 
With respect, how do you know his teeth are fine?
He is showing signs that can be associated with heart problems.
Is he cold?
 
How is he today?

The listlessness is definitely a concern. The half-hearted attempts at eating often come hand-in-hand with the lethargic behaviour. I agree that the sudden onset of symptoms can indicate heart problems; some heart conditions can be managed with medication.

The back teeth need examining too; checking the incisors can occasionally indicate molar trouble, but it doesn't let you know if there are spurs on the molars leading to soreness in the mouth, for example. A skilled vet or rodentologist will need to thoroughly examine all the teeth; no anesthetic is necessary for this.
 
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Hi all!

Took him to the vets after work today, and she said that he was suffering from a cold that was affecting his chest. She is said to be skilled in small animal care but will obviously take this with a pinch of salt as i know often the help on this forum is a lot more helpful! He's been prescribed a course of antibiotics to have twice a day for a week, and she gave me critical care which i have to give him every 2 hours over this weekend as this should then begin to kickstart his appetite. I've filled his bedroom with his cozy cup and even more hay, his hutch is covered in blankets around the sides and over the top so I'm really not sure how he caught the cold as none of my other guineas are suffering but i guess its just one of those things. He seems to perk up a little after each critical care but he's still only just sitting in his bedroom area most of the time. Anything else you can recommend me to do to help? many thanks :)
 
Just make sure you feed him the critical care very regularly and as much as you can. If you can't get it through the syringe water it down a little bit more (only a little bit) so it goes through easier.

If you are finding it difficult to get the antibiotics down him then get some ribena (proper ribena) and mix a little straight ribena with it - my guineas have loved it mixed with that. the vet told us about it and it worked a treat
 
i dont really know what to say, he took a very downhill turn since yesterday, he couldnt swallow, any of the critical care i gave him would just sit in his mouth, he'd cry every time i picked him up and was so lethargic all he'd do was sit. I took him to an emergency appointments at the vets and she said that she didnt know what else i could do, all the food was still just sat in his mouth, and she said the best thing to do was to have him PTS. I know some of you probably wouldnt have agreed but i'd fed him every two hours, he'd gone so downhill from yesterday and i didnt know what else i could do because he couldnt swallow anythng. i feel utterly awful, it was the most difficult decision i've ever had to make and havent stopped crying yet, but thankyou for all your help :(
 
I am so sorry you lost him. None of us will judge you for your decision, nobody can because nobody else was there seeing what condition he was in; you did what you felt was right for him, you knew him best and knew that he was in a bad way, and let him go peacefully. Big hugs to you. xx
 
I have yet to have a sick pig, that could not swallow, make a recovery. The inability to swallow would seem to be an end stage indication of imminent death.
 
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