Hi! We have 2 boars who will be 6 in the summer. One of the boys (Rumple) has had dental (front teeth) issues now for about 6 months and has also recently developed a nasty URI . So bad that the vet gave him 2 days on anti biotics to see if he could start to improve before maybe having him PTS. We were distraught! He has also been gradually losing weight over the last 6 months too. Anyway, he has made a great improvement and thankfully at his appointment on Wednesday he got home to take the rest of the Baytril. He is in his wee hospital cage recovering and can go back to his
run ( which is indoors too ) with his brother tomorrow. Anyway , sorry this is a long route to my actual question .... Does anyone know what fruits of veg is best for giving to a guinea pig for it to gain weight quickly ? Obviously he is getting his dried foods which he is eating and his hay etc too. He has been eating strawberries and cucumber and dandelion since Wednesday also due to the fact he has also just had his teeth burred down. Poor wee man.
Thanks all x
Hi!
You may find our tips for caring for a dental guinea pig in our syringe feeding guide helpful. Please be aware that guinea pigs have the fastest growing teeth of all rodents. it usually takes several rounds of treatment with increasingly greater intervals to rebalance the dental system and keep it from going wrong again as most guinea pigs with overgrown premolars are not able to chew evenly straight away and may have to slowly relearn it.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
There is always the temptation to turn to empty calories fat/sweet/starchy stuff to get the weight of an ill piggy up, but these empty calories come off as fast as they go on, and they do not help overall health. Up to 80% of the daily food intake should be hay, so supporting your piggy by offering fibrous syringe feed (if necessary mixed with mushed up pellets) and concentrating on getting the guts up and running again as much as possible with probiotics or a full course of fibreplex (once you have finished the antibiotics) is much more effective and sustainable.
Baytril is known for being pretty harsh on the gut bacteria. As the need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat, the guts are currently taking a double battering. Support your boy with offering extra syringe feed during this time as fibre, fibre, fibre is what his guts need right now!
Fresh herbs rich in vitamin C like coriander/cilantro, parsley, dill, mint; fresh (dry) grass and dandelion; finely sliced pepper, spring greens or kale and a bit of fattening grated carrot are better than giving too much fruit, as the acid in fruit and tomatoes if given too often and/or too much can cause lip infection (cheilitis).
At the age your boy is at, it is very difficult to get much weight back on; you see the same in old human folk. Once he is better in himself that weight gain is coming from within as his body can absorb and process the good quality nutrients better again. But that is not a quick fix.
You may also want to support the weakened immune system by giving extra vitamin C for a few weeks.
You can find all the details as to how to best feed veg and syringe feed to dental guinea pigs, recovery products, probiotics, fibreplex and vitamin C in our syringe feeding guide here:
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
You can help with easing the breathing by placing a bowl of steaming water next to the cage (keep that refreshed), steaming up our shower and placing your piggy in there for half an hour as an improvised nebuliser or - if his breathing problems persist - make a proper nebulising chamber.
You boy may also profit from bisolvon powder to help clear the airways of any mucus (it thins that) and by giving a diuretic to drain any fluid build-up in the lungs. You need to get these from your vet.
