• PLEASE NOTE - the TEAS facebook page has been hacked, take extreme care when visiting the page, for further information visit here
  • Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Critical Care How Much And Often

Status
Not open for further replies.

Fizzbomb290

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jan 6, 2014
Messages
81
Reaction score
25
Points
195
Location
Liverpool
Hi All,

An unforeseen event happened this morning. My guinea pig Johnny English was really unwell. he hadn't eaten much yesterday and this morning he had white gunge on his eyes and out of energy.

Too him the vets this morning and she said the outlook didn't look good for him. But i am determined to get him on the mend.

I have been feeding him every hour with 3ml of (watered down) Critical Care. I'm not sure if this is enough? he weight 720g (was 900g in November when i last weighed him - lesson learnt weigh him more often) - I'm going to do it through the night too

I'm taking him back the vets tomorrow for a check up.

He is not drinking or feeding on his own. Any other owners that can help me with advice i would be grateful.
 
Yes he is on 0.4ml of Septrin twice a day. Thanks for the guide will have a read of it now.

I have just given him 4ml which took 10 minutes.
 
Yes he is on 0.4ml of Septrin twice a day. Thanks for the guide will have a read of it now.

I have just given him 4ml which took 10 minutes.

I am very sorry that your boy is so poorly.

That is about par for the course. You need to feed more often if you can get only little into him. I would recommend to feed him every 2 hours throughout the day if that is possible and once or twice during the night. Try to get 40-60ml into him over the course of 24 hours to keep the guts going, but in a crisis anything at all is good and gives him a fighting chance - and that is all you can do. just go along with how much is going in. Please also keep thim watered. Don't give more than 0.5ml max in one go and give your boy time to swallow and get it down before you try the next load.

What is it that your vet is treating him for?
 
In an ideal world, if a piggy isn't eating for himself, you should aim for 120ml per 24 hours, in order to maintain weight. However, realistically, if your piggy isn't feeling wonderful, it can be a huge challenge. Little and often is the way forward - even if you get 1ml in and then leave him for a few minutes. As long as there is something going in, that's all that matters. Don't worry about separate water - he will be hydrated by the water in the CC.
 
She thinks it is a viral infection. (I was a bit emotional at the time :(....).
I'm going to try him with 5ml on his next feed at 8pm. He was really fighting back with his last feed but managed to get it down him.
He has also just had a little poo. He hasn't had one in over 24 hours.
 
She thinks it is a viral infection. (I was a bit emotional at the time :(....).
I'm going to try him with 5ml on his next feed at 8pm. He was really fighting back with his last feed but managed to get it down him.
He has also just had a little poo. He hasn't had one in over 24 hours.

It takes about a day or two for poos to come through when a piggy severely ill, so the output is always lagging behind. All the best!
 
Took him back the vets this morning for a checkup. He's on 5ml every 1.5 hours.

Her doesn't look as though he is getting any better :( I don't want to put him through pain. He's not eating anything just what I am giving him.

The vet weighed him again and he's not lost any so my efforts are noticed.

I've got another appointment on Saturday morning to see what the best thing is for him :'(

The future doesnt look bright for my little Johnny English. I feel for his brother who absouluty adores him.

Thanks everyone for your help.
 
BIG HUGS!

I am very sorry. We all would love to be able to save our beloved piggies all the time! You are right in putting Johnny's quality of life and realistic chances of recovery at the centre of any decisions. He couldn't have a better mummy!

It is also always very hard on the companions. We have got tips for what you can do for bereaved piggies at the top of our Rainbow Pets section if you need them.
 
Hope that you can make a difference! We had difficulty feeding initially, but when it got to crunch time we fed him any way possible. After a while you work out a strategy of holding them properly and you will get to know where there mouth is so you can pop the syringe in. I also found it easier to make sure the syringe is in properly. Their mouth is quite big and my pig wasn't taking the feed if the syringe wasn't Popped into his mouth properly..
 
I think you (and more specifically Johnny English) are actually doing very well to have got this far. This suggests it is not a viral infection as they are normally very fast-acting and fatal. The gunky eyes, the fact he will eat syringe food at all, and he is maintaining his weight suggests this is more likely a bacterial infection.


The septrin antibiotic will take at least 2-3 days before you start to see signs of improvement.
During this acute phase - all you can do is provide supportive care, which you re doing, and has been said if you can;t get a full quantity of critical care into him at every feed then a little and often is the way to go.

Also some pigs really don;t like critical care (mine don;t!) so I feed them mashed up nuggets as they tend to take this more easily.

He's maintained his weight over the last 24hrs - which is another good sign. Keep an eye on his poo output as you may find they get smaller/stop becasue he's not eating normally atm, in which case some gut motility meds can help keep food "moving through" until the septrin starts knocking out the bug and he starts to feel better

The most important thing atm is not to give up hope - because Johnny English clearly hasn't as he still wants to eat.....keep persevering with syringe feeding and please come back and tell us how he is tomorrow evening. I am hoping, from my own experence of supporting extremely poorly pigs, that by then he will have started to perk up a bit.
Sending you hugs and healing vibes for Johnny English.
x
 
Johnny English too a turn for the worst. Last night he was spitting out his food and wouldn't take it.

We tried to give him more food this morning and he was squealing in discomfort, heavy breathing and heart rate so fast.

He was lying flat not able to move his back legs and wouldn't lift his head up off the table.

We had to make a hard decision and took him the vets this morning :(

Thanks you again everyone for your kind words and thoughts.

RIP Johnny English
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top