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Am I disabling my little piggy?

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Lilgrey87

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all,
Big of a long story but....
My 4 year old sheltie had a kidney stone removed in November. He had 2 days of not eating prior to this and the vet gave me antibiotics before the xray Aswell as feeding him critical care.
Ended up having his stone removed and thank god even with his weight loss he made it through. Of course, made lots of fuss of him, had him bundled up in a blanket feeding him and getting him back to health. He recovered, eating lots, put on weight so I weened him off the critical care and spent less time with him each day and he spent time back in his house.
Since then though, my little pig has started to eat less and less. He's never been a water drinker but cucumber and lots of watery fruit/veg has been fine for him. However he will now only eat certain foods.. Tomatoes, brocoli and strawberries. I noticed after 4 days, he was eating but not as much and he'd lost weight on the scales so I've put him back on the critical care. The vet said to continue painkiller and antibiotic just incase he's still got an infection, possibly kidney related or from the surgery however he doesn't have blood loss or anything. He has however got an ulcer on his foot which the vet has said to clean everyday with salty water and use sudocream. (just to add, my piggy lives inside in fleece covers, not hay and I clean him out every other day although am now doing that everyday.
My question is (after all that!) has anyone else had a piggy like this? I'm heavily pregnant at the moment and am tryin to spend as much time as poss feeding him critical care but it seems after he's being independent, eating and looking better he seems to go downhill again if I spend less time with him. I know this sounds crazy but Have I disabled him spoiling him too much? His best mate died in May but he coped well and only showed signs of illness (kidney stone) in November. Not sure what I should do, any advice please? Thanks xx
 
After any potential medical issues have been addressed, then you need to look into the possibility that your piggy may be lonely if you haven’t found him a new cage mate. You certainly haven’t spoiled him, critical care syringe feeds can be essential to keep a poorly piggy alive.

Does he have constant access to hay to eat (they need to eat more hay than any other food - over 80% of the diet needs to be hay)? There is nothing wrong with a piggy being bedded on hay, in any event.
Unfortunately broccoli, tomatoes and strawberries (any fruit, tomatoes included should not be fed any more than once a week) are not very good food for him to be reliant on ( all of which have issues such as high sugar levels (fruit and tomatoes), higher levels of acidity, potential for build up of gas (the broccoli)) so I would cut those down to encourage him to eat more hay, definitely keep up with the support syringe feeds, and stick to safe daily veggies. If he refuses to eat those veggies then it isn’t a huge issue at present (having lots of fibre with hay and the critical care is essential to get him well).

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
 
Yes, he was off his hay but now enjoys it again, he also is eating his nuggets - sorry forgot to mention this in the original post.
This morning he ate some carrot and green beans but isn't keen on his romaine lettuce.
I did say to my vet about too much sugar and acid from the strawberries and tomatoes and he said as it's high water content, not to worry too much as the Guinea needs water since he won't drink independently. I have made his critical care watery to help with this Aswell.

The vets not suggested a pro biotic, could you recommend me one please?

Also another question, would it be acceptable to put a plaster on the ulcer with sudacream on?

Thanks xx
 
@PigglePuggle would be better at me at recommending a probiotic and it’s correct use.

No, please don’t put a plaster on it. It wouldn’t be safe (piggy could eat it, it could affect healing)
 
I reccomend fiberplex from a vet or online. Or failing that, pro c which you can buy from pets at home
 
Pro-C and fibreplex are good probiotics but I'm not sure a probiotic is necessarily the whole answer here, though of course it may help and can't hurt to give one. A foot sore after a kidney problem and still seeing signs of illness so long after surgery suggests that something else might he going on here, personally I would go back to the vet or seek another vets opinion on this, a foot sore on a piggy cleaned out daily or every 2 days doesnt sound normal... healing wheeks for your boy, and please dont apply any dressings to the foot unless your vet recommends it!
 
Has your vet examined for further stones/kidney problems. Unfortunately after quite a big operation for my late boar he went downhill two weeks later and it was the other kidney that was swollen/enlarged at that time
 
No, I agree a second opinion would be good, however, my vet specialises in rodents and people travel from far to see him so I trust him. He did say if there was still blood like there was before the removal then he'd think there was another stone forming however the vet thinks my gp has just had a bit of trouble recovering. I can get another xray to be sure though. He did say it's hard getting blood from Guinea pigs Aswell.
I will continue with the critical care anyway as he really likes it and I'll try the pro biotic too.
He's only 4, and although he doesn't have a pal with him anymore I do have 4 piggies In Total who are altogether but seperated by perspex so they all do have company and are aware of each other. Unfortunately in the past when I've trued to bond piggies it hasn't worked out and as I said before I am due my first baby in a few weeks and I really can't take on that responsibility of bonding at the moment :(
 
Lilgrey87 said:
No, I agree a second opinion would be good, however, my vet specialises in rodents and people travel from far to see him so I trust him. He did say if there was still blood like there was before the removal then he'd think there was another stone forming however the vet thinks my gp has just had a bit of trouble recovering. I can get another xray to be sure though. He did say it's hard getting blood from Guinea pigs Aswell.
I will continue with the critical care anyway as he really likes it and I'll try the pro biotic too.
He's only 4, and although he doesn't have a pal with him anymore I do have 4 piggies In Total who are altogether but seperated by perspex so they all do have company and are aware of each other. Unfortunately in the past when I've trued to bond piggies it hasn't worked out and as I said before I am due my first baby in a few weeks and I really can't take on that responsibility of bonding at the moment :(
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if your vet is a piggy specialist, then all you can do is follow his advice. We would only advise you to ensure your vet is an exotic specialist anyway! You certainly aren’t doing him any harm by feeding him.

In terms of failed bomdings in the past then that will be down to incorrectly matched piggies. Character compatibility between pigs is the key to a successful bonding - piggies have to like each other! Best wishes for the birth of your baby!
 
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