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Can you help me please, very poorly piggie

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Hiya Laura,

Thank you so much for asking, he is the the same as last night really, but that is good he has a good appetite and is happy to suck the syringe for food.

The only problem I am having is he is taking so long to eat, it took two hours last night to give him his tea last night. He will have a bit of food and chew it for ages before he is ready for the next bit, there is no way I could do feeds every two hours, I would be making up the next lot as soon as I finished. Again this morning he was so happy to eat, but slow, he is so lively now though and even ran off from me last night so that is a good sign.

I need to get a bit of weight on him though he is painfully thin, but his character seems to of returned, being as he is making the effort to chew and swallow I am hoping he will gain a bit. If I cut up the veg small and pop it in his mouth he will eat it, it occasionally drops out so I have to pop it back in for him. He is not eating mushy pellets by himself, I really wish he would.
 
It sounds like he is doing pretty well, unfortunately sometimes it can be a long haul and you may feel like you're not getting anywhere for a while. Unless the guinea feeds from the syringe ravenously, feeding does take a bit of time. When I first syringe-fed a guinea, it took an hour to get 5ml down her, but she was incredibly ill with a respiratory infection. 18 months later I had to do the same for her again due to dental trouble, but this time she wanted to be fed, she accepted the syringe and we eventually got up to feeding at a rate of 1-2ml per minute. She did have other medical problems and she would not eat any solid food at all by herself (she would try to pick it up, have a half-hearted nibble and then walk away).

I'm sorry if you have mentioned before now (I may have missed it) but how much does he weigh? Are you able to weigh daily and monitor his weight?
 
I was suppose to weigh him but haven't, I will deffo do it tonight. I know I am a bit scared to weigh him as he will be just so light, actually I hate touching his bum because I can feel the bones, he has never been a biug pig, but he never looked like this and compared to Bert he looks so tiny now. I am going to stop being a baby about it and weigh him later and update here.

I hope he gets back to his munchy self, he was always so greedy. I am so pleased your piggie accepted food better.
 
I know it feels very worrying, finding out exactly what his weight is (I completely understand and would feel just the same) but you do need to know so that you can monitor his progress and judge whether he is getting enough food in him. It is a proactive step!

If he continues losing weight daily, then he generally needs more food. If he has always been naturally dainty then a low weight won't be as worrying as it would be for a chunky pig who got down to a very low weight.
 
Yeah I totally know you're right, I am stupid I don't know why I have delayed it. I have some animal scales there is no reason for me not to of done it, other than nervous, I will get his weight tonight without a doubt, I am going to try and find out if my boss is in all week too, if he is off at all, I'm going to bring him in and I can keep up with feeds during the day.
 
Sorry it's taken me so long to updater, I have to let one of my bunnies go to the bridge tonight, so I have been really upset. :0

Ernie is doing really well, he wanted two bowls of food of food this morning which he had by syringe, he is so sweet, when the syringe is empty he pulls it thinking it thinking he can make the food come out. He has started to pick up veggies by himself and eat them too, but hasn't managed to eat the mushy pellets yet. I weighed him and he weighs .65kilo, so very thin :(
 
I'm so sorry you lost one of your bunnies, sounds like it's a bit of a bad run there at the moment. :( Big hugs.

It sounds like Ernie is doing well at the moment, that he is taking his syringe-food and eating some things himself really is a brilliant step in the right direction.

650g is on the light side, my own dental pig got to that weight but she did have other medical conditions that prevented her recovery. Ernie should maintain his weight if he continues eating well. Once he starts eating his dry food (well, soggy pellets :))) again he'll gain more easily, but the syringe-feeds should at the very least hold him steady.

Fingers crossed he has a good night. xx
 
Thank you so much, I am so gutted I have lost Maisie, she had xrays at Christmas as she has a chest infection that wouldn't clear, but it turned out she had a massive abscess in her left lung, I have been so tearful tonight there is a little tribute and pics here, she was so pretty http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=212940 .

Ernie is doing great, he is totally back to his cheeky self and he is running away from me again, so I know he is on the mend. He is eating his veg and he was sniffing at the mushy pellets too, I am just off to give him his night time syringe feed, how long would it take for him to gain weight?
 
I'm glad Ernie's improving & getting back to his cheeky self :)

I am also very sorry to read about Maisie :(

Sleep in peace gorgeous girl x
 
How is he doing today? The fact he is getting his character back is brilliant, he sounds very cheeky. :)
 
Hiya,

Sorry it's been so long since I was last on and thank you for the concern and good wishes about Maisie.

I went to see a certain gentleman off the forum yesterday (thank you very much) and this morning Ernie was eating hard pellets, I am so pleased :(|)
 
Can I ask about my piggy

I have been having the same trouble with Elvis my pig, he went in last week to get his back teeth sorted and the vet cut the bottom front teeth too short[I know incompetent vetsgrrrr]. He wouldn't eat at all even though he showed some interest so he has been syringe fed and I have been trying to give him as many tiny bits to keep his teeth working but he won't take it I have to push it in his mouth. His teeth at the bottom now are growing and I would have thought he could pick the food up now but he still has no interest.Do I just carry on and hope I can get him intested again, I don't think I can do anymore.
I went through all this last year with my other pig Bart but we had to have him PTS 4 weeks later because the tooth roots were growing up, this is what I am now worried about if he doesn't start eating properly soon.
Can I just say you all seem to really care about your piggy's I only have the one now, I get so upset when pets are ill I don't want anymore. I also have two dogs, two cats and a tortoise. but I love reading about yours on here, I am in wednesfield wolverhampton.
 
Ruth said:
I have been having the same trouble with Elvis my pig, he went in last week to get his back teeth sorted and the vet cut the bottom front teeth too short[I know incompetent vetsgrrrr]. He wouldn't eat at all even though he showed some interest so he has been syringe fed and I have been trying to give him as many tiny bits to keep his teeth working but he won't take it I have to push it in his mouth. His teeth at the bottom now are growing and I would have thought he could pick the food up now but he still has no interest.Do I just carry on and hope I can get him intested again, I don't think I can do anymore.
I went through all this last year with my other pig Bart but we had to have him PTS 4 weeks later because the tooth roots were growing up, this is what I am now worried about if he doesn't start eating properly soon.
Can I just say you all seem to really care about your piggy's I only have the one now, I get so upset when pets are ill I don't want anymore. I also have two dogs, two cats and a tortoise. but I love reading about yours on here, I am in wednesfield wolverhampton.
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Its a shame you only have one pig, as they are very sociable characters and often feel lonely depressed on their own. In fact, this could be causing him to lose his appetite.

I would urge you to consider taking in a rescue pig from a rescue centre near you. This list gives you a list of rescues, if you find one near you they can help you find a compatible companion for Elvis if you take him along with you

http://www.guineapigrehome.org.uk/gp/centres.asp

If you really can't have any more pigs, would you consider handing him into a rescue for them to rehome to a safe and loving home? I really feel, as you said his teeth are growing back now, that his loss of a companion and no piggie company could be contributing to his loss of appetite and wellness in himself.

I noticed that my piggie, Lucky, was much the same after our old piggie past away. She lost her appetite, would not eat or wheek for food and just looked unhappy in herself, there was no sparkle to her eyes and she sat in a corner most days. When we rescued Poppy, we saw an instant change in Lucky for the better, and now she's back to her usual self.

I would kindly recommend that you consider either taking on a new pig, this forum can be very helpful in providing assistance with illness and any concerns you may have, and can be a very beneficial tool for piggie owners.. or rehoming the one you have so that he can have company with his own kind.

If you decide to take on a new piggie, I hope you will return to the forum as regularly as we all do, for support and advice on our furry friends!
Rescue centres are also good at recommending good vets in your area, i would suggest you look into this as well, doesnt sound like your current one has much experience of rodents.
 
Thankyou for the reply I have started my own thread so is it ok for me to copy your reply onto that one, sorry didn't know what to do .
 
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