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Desperate - Any Other Ideas?

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ShellW

Junior Guinea Pig
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Derbyshire, England
My guinea pig Mo is really poorly, he just stopped eating, rushed him straight to my vets who checked his teeth (nothing obviously wrong but can't give anaesthetic to look further than with a light as he is too weak) and tummy and said he has tummy ache.
Emeprid (0.5ml 3 times daily) and Metacam (0.25 once daily) were prescribed.
We are syringe feeding him every 2 hours (10-15ml a sitting) on Oxbow Critical Care Fine Grind including throughout the night.
And syringe feeding him (2ml-4ml) of water (with a tiny bit of lvitamin C) at each feed.
He is pee'ing ok. But although food is going in so little is coming out (approx 15 small tods in last 30 hours).
He appears to be straining (he shakes slightly when he does this). There is no external sign of impaction.
I've tried him with tiny pieces of at least 15 different vegetables and a few fruits including all of his favourites and he has 2 different types of hay to try to encourage him but he just won't eat himself.
I'm petrified I'm going to loose him despite all our efforts.
Any other advice on how I can help him particularly with keeping his guts moving and going to the loo?
Would any of the following help...
- Puree'ing something else to syringe feed him e.g. parsley?
- Feeding him the poop of a healthy pig (my cousin has two I could collect some)?
- Massaging his tummy?
- Bathing him?
Anything else?
Thank you very much in advance.
Shell
X

PS First time posting sorry if I've done this wrong
 
ShellW said:
My guinea pig Mo is really poorly, he just stopped eating, rushed him straight to my vets who checked his teeth (nothing obviously wrong but can't give anaesthetic to look further than with a light as he is too weak) and tummy and said he has tummy ache.
Emeprid (0.5ml 3 times daily) and Metacam (0.25 once daily) were prescribed.
We are syringe feeding him every 2 hours (10-15ml a sitting) on Oxbow Critical Care Fine Grind including throughout the night.
And syringe feeding him (2ml-4ml) of water (with a tiny bit of lvitamin C) at each feed.
He is pee'ing ok. But although food is going in so little is coming out (approx 15 small tods in last 30 hours).
He appears to be straining (he shakes slightly when he does this). There is no external sign of impaction.
I've tried him with tiny pieces of at least 15 different vegetables and a few fruits including all of his favourites and he has 2 different types of hay to try to encourage him but he just won't eat himself.
I'm petrified I'm going to loose him despite all our efforts.
Any other advice on how I can help him particularly with keeping his guts moving and going to the loo?
Would any of the following help...
- Puree'ing something else to syringe feed him e.g. parsley?
- Feeding him the poop of a healthy pig (my cousin has two I could collect some)?
- Massaging his tummy?
- Bathing him?
Anything else?
Thank you very much in advance.
Shell
X

PS First time posting sorry if I've done this wrong
Click to expand...
@Wiebke
 
ShellW said:
My guinea pig Mo is really poorly, he just stopped eating, rushed him straight to my vets who checked his teeth (nothing obviously wrong but can't give anaesthetic to look further than with a light as he is too weak) and tummy and said he has tummy ache.
Emeprid (0.5ml 3 times daily) and Metacam (0.25 once daily) were prescribed.
We are syringe feeding him every 2 hours (10-15ml a sitting) on Oxbow Critical Care Fine Grind including throughout the night.
And syringe feeding him (2ml-4ml) of water (with a tiny bit of lvitamin C) at each feed.
He is pee'ing ok. But although food is going in so little is coming out (approx 15 small tods in last 30 hours).
He appears to be straining (he shakes slightly when he does this). There is no external sign of impaction.
I've tried him with tiny pieces of at least 15 different vegetables and a few fruits including all of his favourites and he has 2 different types of hay to try to encourage him but he just won't eat himself.
I'm petrified I'm going to loose him despite all our efforts.
Any other advice on how I can help him particularly with keeping his guts moving and going to the loo?
Would any of the following help...
- Puree'ing something else to syringe feed him e.g. parsley?
- Feeding him the poop of a healthy pig (my cousin has two I could collect some)?
- Massaging his tummy?
- Bathing him?
Anything else?
Thank you very much in advance.
Shell
X

PS First time posting sorry if I've done this wrong
Click to expand...
@Wiebke
 
ShellW said:
My guinea pig Mo is really poorly, he just stopped eating, rushed him straight to my vets who checked his teeth (nothing obviously wrong but can't give anaesthetic to look further than with a light as he is too weak) and tummy and said he has tummy ache.
Emeprid (0.5ml 3 times daily) and Metacam (0.25 once daily) were prescribed.
We are syringe feeding him every 2 hours (10-15ml a sitting) on Oxbow Critical Care Fine Grind including throughout the night.
And syringe feeding him (2ml-4ml) of water (with a tiny bit of lvitamin C) at each feed.
He is pee'ing ok. But although food is going in so little is coming out (approx 15 small tods in last 30 hours).
He appears to be straining (he shakes slightly when he does this). There is no external sign of impaction.
I've tried him with tiny pieces of at least 15 different vegetables and a few fruits including all of his favourites and he has 2 different types of hay to try to encourage him but he just won't eat himself.
I'm petrified I'm going to loose him despite all our efforts.
Any other advice on how I can help him particularly with keeping his guts moving and going to the loo?
Would any of the following help...
- Puree'ing something else to syringe feed him e.g. parsley?
- Feeding him the poop of a healthy pig (my cousin has two I could collect some)?
- Massaging his tummy?
- Bathing him?
Anything else?
Thank you very much in advance.
Shell
X

PS First time posting sorry if I've done this wrong
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry. Is your boy getting any pain medication or no treatment at all? Can you see another vet for a second opinion?

Loss of appetite is most often down to pain somewhere in the body. perhaps a scan with minimal anaesthesia can help find out what is going on.

Please keep syringe feeding. A guinea pig needs about the equivalent of 40-60 ml in whatever form, but preferably as fibre just to stay alive and keeping the guts going; a healthy guinea pig in its prime is eating about the equivalent of 120 ml in solids in a day. If your guinea pig is severely ill, it can be a real struggle to get anywhere near to that, but every extra ml you get in can make a difference, so don't despair. You may want to try whether a mix of his familiar mushed pellets and the recovery formula is going down a bit better.
This struggle however is then reflected in the poo output, which shows you what has gone in 1-2 days earlier, depending on how sluggish the gut is.
Please do not feed any guinea pig that struggles to swallow or is too apathetic, as that is going down the wrong way. In that case, you have unfortunately reached the end of the line and it is the kindest thing for your beloved one to let it go in as much comfort as possible. Keep him warm, but not hot - i.e. warm any snugglesafe for only half the maximum time in the microwave.
You may find the tips and tricks in our syringe feeding guide helpful. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

You can offer "poo soup" (i.e. the small amount of water in which you have soaked fresh poos), especially if Moo has been put on appetite dampening antibiotics. Otherwise, adding a pinch of probiotics to every portion of fresh syringe feed won't hurt, either. You might try and see whether serving the mixture with still hand warm mushed pellets is going in a little bit better.

Since we have got members and enquiries from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can always tailor any advice and recommendations to what is available, doable and relevant where you are straight away. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. This means that your location is visible underneath your username in every post you make, and we don't lose time with having to ask you or having to keep things as general as possible in order to cover all bases.
Thank you!
 
Hi thank you so much for your prompt replies.
He is getting Emeprid and Metacam (I thought the latter was for inflammation and pain), although other than the straining he isn't showing signs of pain, no noise when I pick him up or feel his tummy.
I could arrange to see another vet for a second opinion and see if they will scan him, I will get on this now.
He is getting over 10-15ml of Oxbow every two hours (so over 150ml in last 30 hours) and seems to be tolerating this well, it is the output I am most concerned about.
I will try mixing his normal pellets as a mush with the Oxbow.
He is not struggling to swallow and is at his most lively (not as lively as his usual self though) when I hold him to feed him.
I can only guess given the output that the input was lower than I realised 2 days ago.
He is warm enough (got heating on here 23 degrees centigrade) and he lives indoors anyway.
I am going to try the 'poop soup', some probiotics and make the food slightly warm.
If I feel it's time for Rainbow Bridge I will of course keep him comfortable and warm he likes being wrapped in a towel.
We need a Christmas miracle!
PS I have updated my County/Country.
 
If he is a guinea pig that sits really still, he may be able to have a conscious x-ray to see if there is any gas. Oreo was able to.

It sounds like you are feeding more than enough for him. Make sure he is eating enough hay.

He could have dental issues, so that might be worth investigating.
 
I'm gonna ask the vet to X-ray him tomorrow. He's sitting still now he's poorly but doesn't usually.

He's eating what we feed him by syringe just hardly pooping. He won't eat by himself so not getting any hay, tried everything to tempt him. Considering blending some and syringe'ing it.

He's now on the following all by syringe..
Metacam (once per day 0.25ml)
Emeprid (3 times per day 0.5ml each time)
Poop soup (once on 9pm feed)
Probiotics with Vitamin C
Oxbow Critical Care between 10ml and 15ml every 2 hours
Water between 2ml and 4ml every 2 hours
He has drunk a little himself throughout the day.

I initially thought dental probs but vet couldn't see anything and says to look any closer he needs anathestic but isn't strong enough at the minute.
 
Could could you get him some of his favourite hay and give him that? Oxbow hay is really popular with Oreo. He also likes Readigrass but might be a bit too rich at the moment.

Could he not be eating hay because he is so full from Critical Care?

His medicine routine looks good. Could you ask for Ranitidine/Zantac at the vet (brand name) as this will also help his stomach, especially if he's bloated? I would also suggest Fibreplex, which is a fibre and probiotic supplement. It is pricey but it really works.

I wouldn't give him any anaesthetic at this point because he is so weak. I would start with the X-ray and see what comes up with that.
 
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