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Critical Care Advice?

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irene

irene

Teenage Guinea Pig
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west hempstead, new york
hi! I'm trying desperately to syringe feed my little cinnamon
Oxbow Critical Care as prescribed by vet but she HATES it! Impossible to get correct dose into her. Any suggestions?
 
If she has normal nuggets, then mush those up instead. Put a handful in a mug, pour on boiling water - enough to cover and a teeny bit more - and leave for five minutes. Mix into a paste and add more water if needed to get a syringeable paste. Cold water is good for this, as it helps to cool it down. Allow the paste to cool to a luke warm temperature and syringe in. A 1ml syringe with the end cut off is easiest to use and is more accurate to see how much is going in. She may still be reluctant to have it, but you need to get it in. Don't worry about holding her head - she won't break.

How much did the vet say to give? If she's not eating anything, then aim for 100-120ml per 24 hours
 
hi , l find that milling the pigs dried food pelets to a paste, then loading the paste into a 15ml fibraplex syring,
is a good way to delever food to a poorly pig!

if they are still reluctant then push the tip into there faverote veg to coat the tip of the syring with the tast and smell of there favorte food often perswades them

usualy no more than 3 to 5 x15ml is all that is nesesary dispite what it says on the cri care box! and
never force food into a pig, as there tummies are not as big as you may think,
and they need time to digest it before giving more
 
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could you mash some of her pellets for now instead and then maybe contact the vet when they open to see if they do the science selective recovery feed aswell and then try that instead? some prefer it to the oxbow :)
 
l find it safer to keep with the food thay are already used to, less chance of upsetting there tummys
 
Well here's the issue, cinnamon has recurrent soft poos and has had occasional diarrhea. She never stopped eating! She is now off all veggies and only has Timothy hay and plain pellets. The vet was hoping that the Critical Care would help to regulate her and I have seen improvement even with the small amounts I get into her I have actually seen a few pellets! The dose is supposed to be 1.5 tablespoons of the CC spread over three doses a day
 
I can't help, as all of mine have enjoyed the Critical Care. If I mix some for one I find I have to mix a little for the others as they all love it. However I mix mine on a spoon and then dip the end of a syringe into it, using it a scoop. Some piggies don't seem to know what to do with a spoon and will bite at it a few times and give up, instead of licking the food off. Perhaps you could try the scoop method?
Do you have any probiotics? I find that they are also good for settling upset stomachs.
 
I find that in an emergency with poor appetite, mashed pellets made with up warm, boiled water or a mix of mashed pellets and Critical Care is going down best, as they know the taste. You can also add some probiotics if you wish to. Many piggies do not like the taste of CC, so you may want to cover it up somewhat.

If you have issues with fibre, fibreplex is the best thing for a guinea pig with soft poos.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
 
irene said:
Well here's the issue, cinnamon has recurrent soft poos and has had occasional diarrhea. She never stopped eating! She is now off all veggies and only has Timothy hay and plain pellets. The vet was hoping that the Critical Care would help to regulate her and I have seen improvement even with the small amounts I get into her I have actually seen a few pellets! The dose is supposed to be 1.5 tablespoons of the CC spread over three doses a day
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what a shame she hates it because i agree that it makes so much difference to them. it's brilliant stuff. hope you manage to find a way that works best for you and your girl x
 
Thank you all! I have tried using a tiny spoon and that seems to be going somewhat better. She was on probiotics for awhile when she was on antibiotics but isn't on them right now. Her appetite is fine! Always has been! She eats her hay and pellets fine in fact vet said to "try" and limit pellets but that's hard cause she has a cage mate Pepper.
 
Does anyone have experience with the banana/Apple flavored critical care my vet has that but I'm concerned since I'm trying to stop loose stools. Wouldn't banana/ Apple make that worse?
 
irene said:
Does anyone have experience with the banana/Apple flavored critical care my vet has that but I'm concerned since I'm trying to stop loose stools. Wouldn't banana/ Apple make that worse?
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It depends on whether there is real apple or banana in there or just flavouring. So far, I have never come across fruit flavoured CC, but I would think that it is just the second option to make it more palatable. ;)
 
gizzy said:
hi there how is Simmom !
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Hi! And thanks for asking! There is def an improvement but still struggling with the critical care I'm getting as much of the prescribed dose into her as possible. Of course her cagemate loves it lol!
 
irene said:
Hi! And thanks for asking! There is def an improvement but still struggling with the critical care I'm getting as much of the prescribed dose into her as possible. Of course her cagemate loves it lol!
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always the way! :)) good to hear there is some improvement with feeding though. mollie was a nightmare when she had it at first but she gradually improved as we went on so hopefully your little one will be the same. mollie liked it a bit thinner than i would normally make it, it had to be warm, and she had to have lots of water 'rinses' between each mouthful :roll: :)) .. but we got there in the end :)

hope things improve further again today :)
 
irene said:
Hi! And thanks for asking! There is def an improvement but still struggling with the critical care I'm getting as much of the prescribed dose into her as possible. Of course her cagemate loves it lol!
Click to expand...

How much have you been told to feed her, @irene ? As long as guinea pig is acutely ill and in major pain/discomfort, you will always struggle to get enough food in. Maybe mushed up pellets or a pellet/Critical Care mix made with lukewarm boiled water and added probiotics will go down better? At this stage, anything goes that makes feeding easier, just to prevent further weight loss and help to keep the body strength to fight her illness up.
 
biscandmatt said:
always the way! :)) good to hear there is some improvement with feeding though. mollie was a nightmare when she had it at first but she gradually improved as we went on so hopefully your little one will be the same. mollie liked it a bit thinner than i would normally make it, it had to be warm, and she had to have lots of water 'rinses' between each mouthful :roll: :)) .. but we got there in the end :)

hope things improve further again today :)
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Thank you how long was your Mollie taking it? And how is she now?
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
If she doesn't like it then I would go for mushed up pellets with a scoop of probiotic added. There really is nothing to be gained by battling on if they aren't keen, when there is another good alternative.
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Thank you but she has been eating pellets all along and was on probiotics for quite a while this seems to be the only thing making a difference :no:
 
Wiebke said:
How much have you been told to feed her, @irene ? As long as guinea pig is acutely ill and in major pain/discomfort, you will always struggle to get enough food in. Maybe mushed up pellets or a pellet/Critical Care mix made with lukewarm boiled water and added probiotics will go down better? At this stage, anything goes that makes feeding easier, just to prevent further weight loss and help to keep the body strength to fight her illness up.
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Thank you! Her appetite has always been fine. The vet said to give her 1.5 tablespoons spread over three doses per day but I'm not getting full dose in maybe will try the pellet/ critical care mix or call vet who has flavored critical care
 
If you feel that the Critical Care is the only thing that is making a difference, then you are going to have to make sure you get the appropriate amount in. This can mean being quite firm in how you handle and approach this, in the same way you would be when administering medications Animals are very good at picking up on our emotions, so she is going to react to the fact that you are becoming anxious about this. Stay calm but firm!

By the way, have you tried Fibreplex?
 
irene said:
Thank you how long was your Mollie taking it? And how is she now?
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she needed a couple of small feeds after her spay as a little top up to go alongside what she was eating for herself. it was probably around a couple of weeks altogether with a few feeds each day reducing down to one feed a day. not much really but still quite a task because of how much she hated it at first. but she really did improve lots along the way. it wasn't so much the taste she didn't like, more actually being syringed and the thickness of it originally so once i thinned it a bit more she seemed better with it.

she's been doing well thank you. still on-going with some meds etc but her bladder issues and hormonal issues seem to be under much better control since the spay :)
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
If you feel that the Critical Care is the only thing that is making a difference, then you are going to have to make sure you get the appropriate amount in. This can mean being quite firm in how you handle and approach this, in the same way you would be when administering medications Animals are very good at picking up on our emotions, so she is going to react to the fact that you are becoming anxious about this. Stay calm but firm!

By the way, have you tried Fibreplex?
Click to expand...

I agree completely with @furryfriends (TEAS). Syringe feeding is very much a matter of practice; the first piggy is generally alwaya the most difficult to feed. You have to learn to be tough with a guinea pig that is in pain and doesn't want to eat, especially with one that is till losing weight. Your first aim has to be to stabilise the weight. Please weigh daily at the same time in the feeding cycle, so you can judge whether you are getting enough food in or not. The exact amount needed varies from piggy to piggy and throughout its life, too.
 
Wiebke said:
I agree completely with @furryfriends (TEAS). Syringe feeding is very much a matter of practice; the first piggy is generally alwaya the most difficult to feed. You have to learn to be tough with a guinea pig that is in pain and doesn't want to eat, especially with one that is till losing weight. Your first aim has to be to stabilise the weight. Please weigh daily at the same time in the feeding cycle, so you can judge whether you are getting enough food in or not. The exact amount needed varies from piggy to piggy and throughout its life, too.
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Well we're still at it and not doing much better! She does not like the critical care I've tried syringing, mixing with pellets ️and painstakingly feeding it on the ends of pieces of hay! Takes literally hours and most winds up in her fur! She was making pellets for a few days then went back to soft stools. I'm at my wits end I don't know what to do for her
 
What I was meaning, have you tried just plain mushed up pellets without Critical Care to maintain her weight?
 
irene said:
She is maintaining her weight but we can't seem to put an end to the soft stools
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Have her stools been lab tested to find out what could be causing the softness as this has been going on for a bit now without a real change? Have you explored the possibility of a grain-free diet?

Have you considered trying fibreplex and other brands of recovery food to see whether she likes them better? They are all doing the same job. Fibreplex is especially good with ongoing digestive problems.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
 
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