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Dave not eating. Please help

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Amy1218

Amy1218

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Hi. Unfortunately the last time I came in here was for help with my other guinea pig yorkie who died :-(
I am now back and very sorry for not posting for a while but dave is not eating. He is a very greedy pig and never refuses food but he's not eaten. What should I do?
 
My Dindy is also a greedy pig that never refuses food, so I know that if ever she goes off her food or stops eating there must be something wrong and I would take her to the vet straight away. There are many things that can cause loss of apatite. Please don't wait a few days, Guineas can't last a few days, get him to the vets asap.
 
Have him seen by a vet as soon as possible.

Check his breathing by holding your ear to the nose, throat and chest area(URI), gently feel his tummy (signs of bloat?), is he very ho (fever; i.e. infection?), look out for signs of pain.

Please weigh him daily and hand feed him either mushed pellets or Critical Care. It is important to keep the guts going, even though a piggy will usually fight you at this stage; so you will normally only be able to get small amounts of food into him - little but often is the trick how much etc. you can find in the link about hand feeding. Make sure that he also gets water and does not dehydrate.

Here are more possible causes:
http://www.guinealynx.info/anorexia.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/pain.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
 
I have booked in with a vet for in an hour. I am
So worried about him. I don't hold him as he's never liked it so I don't know if he feels different. He has lost weight. He's usually 1500g but he was 1200g this morning since I last weighed him.
I am going to ask for a syringe and some pellets for him from the vets. Fingers crossed he's gunna be ok.

Do piggies ever pull through from not eating?
 
Oh, yes; they can come round again. It depends on what he has and how far down he has gone. Wishing you the best of luck. You may need to hand feed him round the clock at first; but with some determined care you can pull a piggy through. Dave is not at a critically low level of weight yet, so there is everything to play for!

PS: My Hywel wouldn't live (and thrive) now without the care he received.
 
Back from the vets. She said temperature fine, chest clear, teeth fine, tummy fine. She thinks he has a bug and given him baytril. Gave him injection there and some to take home. I have got some excel pellets too to mush up and feed him.

This is all too familiar. All this Happened with yorkie and I do believe I kept him alive with the syringe feeding. But it was a sad ending. Let's hope dave doesn't follow yorkie.

Any tips or advice on food? Amount? Water etc or just anything that might help. ? Thank you x
 
I am
Currently syringe feeding him
Pellets with vit c in as well. How much should he eat in each sitting?

Also he's just eaten a couple of strands of hay on his own!
 
If you are syringe feeding and the pig not eating for themselves you should be aiming for 120ml in 24 hrs, 20-30ml per feed. Some pigs will eat the softened pellets from a spoon or bowl, otherwise you will need to add a bit more water and syringe in. I usually give about 5 ml of water at the end of a feed too. If you can add some probiotic to the mash it will help counteract the antibiotic's affect on the gut flora.

HTH

Suzy x
 
As Suzy has already mentioned 120 mls per 24 hours is a good amount to syringe to a piggie who is eating very little or nothing for him/herself.

Is Dave taking syringe food well? How did the vet examine the back teeth?

If you can keep enough food going through the system, giving the antibiotics time to kick in, then this will hopefully have a positive outcome. Fully syringe feeding a piggie isn't easy and it needs a lot of commitment but it can be done with excellent results.
 
I am syringing it in and he's chewing it but not liking it. He's eating a bit of hay is this good? His stools are loose :-(

They just opened his mouth up to check teeth
 
Checking teeth by just opening mouth isn't going to give a proper view of the back teeth. The only way to see them properly is to use buccal pad separators.
.
Syringe food can cause soft stools. Do you have any probiotic you can add to the syringe food? If not you can buy it at Pets@home.

How much syringe food is he taking per sitting?
 
Agreed, if there is no sign of illness and his eyes and coat are bright it will likely be his teeth. Even a tiny little bit of overgrowth can cause inflamation and irritation of the cheeks. I would get him properly looked at.
Syringe feeding is hard work but when a piggy comes round its so worth it :).
I fill a ramkin bowl with pellets about a 1/4 of it and then fill with boiling water, cover with cling film and then its ready in about 45mins-hour, make sure he is on vit c and probiotic like others have said and is not dehydrated. Dont worry if he will struggle at first with the feeds, piggies suddenly refusing foods I find usually take a few days before they manage the 120mls. Loose is to be expected, it will get better as he comes round
 
your Vet is probably right a bug , but not all bugs respond to anti b's

Just to tell you of a pig that l had with a diminished appetite, (lucky to get him to eat 1-2g of dried food a day , and would not touch veg at all !

he went on the Vet meds merry-go-round , and syringe feeds but nothing worked and the situation lasted for a long time , and he lost over 30% of his body mass

when l first took him to Vet l asked for a poo analysis, but vet just did a float and microscopic ! and said all was well , and proscribed Batril for pos tummy bug !

wasn't till l 5 weeks later that l requested a full spec poo analysis by the lab , did it revel that his tummy lining was full of Giardia a microscopic protozoan parasites (one celled organisms)

apparently several different fecal samples may be needed for a positive identification. Special stains may be needed, as the organism can sometimes be elusive.

and althoug one of the most common symptoms are runny poo's , it is not always the case , and in the case involving my pig , the only outward symptoms were no appetite (possibly due to gut irritation )

after the correct meds and a lot of time , he recovered , he is now eating properly and regained all his weight ,


not saying this is what is wrong with your pig ! just something to consider
 
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I went to holly house in moortown yes I live in Leeds. He's not managed much poor thing. I just think he's going to die. This is exactly what happened to my other guinea pig.

They said if appetite hasn't got better then on Monday he will have to go for sedating to check back teeth and possible X-ray

I am including vitamins into his mush. Will buy a probiotic also.

He's managed about 15ml first go and about 20ml before I left. Then I'll give him more tonight. I'm so worried its not enough.
 
15 - 20 mls per sitting is fine. It just means you need to fit in an extra feed or two during the day. Which vet did you see at Holly House? I've heard that James is quite guinea pig savvy. Can they not just check the back teeth without GA?

I syringe feed a lot of guinea pigs. I've just been feeding Oscar and Cherry. Oscar easily takes 25 mls per sitting and Cherry takes between 10 and 15 mls. This is fine, and it's best to feed the amounts your piggie is happy to take at any one time.

Will you be able to feed about 120 mls per day during the week or will you be at work throughout the day?
 
I saw holly. I saw James last time with yorkie.
I am at work during day so really don't know what to do as he needs his feeds. He's not had a lot today due to not getting back from vets til late.
 
I'd be more than happy to have him here so he could be syringe fed during day. I could also get my vet, who is very guinea pig savvy, to have a look at him and examine his teeth. Simon does dental work without GA. The only problem would be getting him here.
 
Where do you live?
I know this sounds really cheeky of me when you have offered so kindly but I'd be worried leaving him with a stranger.
Although he won't be much better at home. Been thinking about not going into work.
 
I'm in Northampton. I have a sanctuary for guinea pigs with extra needs. Some piggies are permanent sanctuary residents and others are either short term or long term members. I mainly take guinea pigs with dental issues but also other problems too. I recently had a guinea pig from Leeds here so she could have a tumour removed from her face by Simon. She returned home last weekend.
 
Your vet sounds fantastic. That's really far away :-(
I just don't know what to do. I don't know how I'd get him to you I wish you lived closer.
I just wish I could find a proper vet. I went to holy house on the recommendation from someone on here after, what I believe, my previous bet killed my last guinea. It takes me over 30min to get to holly house but he needs a vet that knows what they're doing

I want to give him the best chance. What could I do when I go to work next week? He's currently sat with me. Hes managed about 20ml. Will try another 10. He's also eating a little bit of hay.
I wonder what's up with him. He's refusing his fave food xx
 
I know this sounds really random but I have taken a sound recording of him just now when I was stroking him. Don't know if he's in pain or happy. Is there a way I could send you it if you know piggie sounds well?
 
Amy1218 said:
Where do you live?
I know this sounds really cheeky of me when you have offered so kindly but I'd be worried leaving him with a stranger.
Although he won't be much better at home. Been thinking about not going into work.
Click to expand...

Don't worry about Debbie 'being a stranger' We can all vouch for her, and her incredible sanctuary and also the best piggie vet.

Our rescue has had piggies stay with Debbie so Simon could work on teeth, and they are now a lifetime resident at the sanctuary. I have no doubt Kevin would have died if it wasnt for her expert care, as well as all the visits she made to the vets. The Sanctuary is a life saver and Debbie commitment and dedication is outstanding - she has been our saviour.
If it was me I would jump at the chance of Debbie's help - our rescue vet is very good but she couldnt work on Kevin's teeth without GA and Kevin was too weak for that, Simon did them without GA in and out in 10 minutes!

Anyway, sorry for going on but I was so grateful for Debbie saving Kevin's life.

I live in Doncaster and it took me less than 2 hours. I would have drove through the night to get him there.
 
Thank you. I will speak to the partner tomorrow and see what he thinks. May be worth the drive down tomorrow. I'm so worried about him. I feel
So useless like I don't know what to do.

Do you think dave can be saved?
 
I understand that you dont know what to do, its so draining looking after sick animals especially when there you dont know the outcome - please try and get a good nights sleep.

We cant really tell you if Dave can be saved, not over the internet. That is why time is at the essence to get a firm diagnoises and a road to the correct treatment to go down.

I know and so do many other piggie owners that its so frustrating when the vet doesnt know excately what they are dealing with. I had a very stressful time with one of my piggies with a bladder stone, I felt that it was me telling them what to do next not the other way round. If I could turn back time and I knew what I know now.....
 
Piggies travel really well. The best thing to do would take him to furry friends. No matter what's wrong making sure he's syringe fed properly will give him the best chance. A piggy near death won't take syringe feeding. I did a 6am til midnight round trip from scotland to England once. And I don't regret it, as long as you give the piggie the best chance that's all that matters. I took the train and syringe fed on it.....the looks I got lol. I sat in the quiet zone and Theo was no worse for wear when I arrived.
Plus if it is just his teeth its such a relief to find this out as they are usually heavier and back to demanding food within a week. Dental piggies seem so poorly, they are miserable. I just hope that this is what it is as its probably the easiest to sort. Please don't get a GA he may not survive it if his systems are weak.
Stay positive and strong for the wee mite
 
Amy1218 said:
Sorry for all the questions Debbie. Do you charge for the use of your sanctuary? And how much?
Click to expand...

I don't charge for the use of the Sanctuary, although all vet bills would be your responsibility. A small donation, bag of food or anything else that can be used for the piggies is always very welcome.

There is no absolute guarantee that Simon would be able to find anything specifically wrong with Dave, but you wouldn't find a better guinea pig vet. Simon has worked miracles with so many of the Sanctuary piggies. As has already been mentioned, Kevin arrived here literally hours from death due to dental issues, and yet he is now a big strong, healthy piggie, whose dental problems appear to have been completely cured
 
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