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Eating less

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twiams

twiams

Adult Guinea Pig
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Just want to get people's opinions I'm calling the vet at half 8 but my piggy marmite is of his food
He's been on baytril since Wednesday but now has left most of his veg hasn't had any pellets and has only eaten some hay as I heard him last night eating it.
What could be Wrong?
Is there anything I can do?
I'm worried because its not just one veg he's left he does that cause he is fussy this is like carrot cucumber and pepper
 
- Please give a probiotic with any antibiotic, but especially with baytril. It is known to cause adverse reactions and can be very hard on the guts. If necessary ask for another (unlincensed) antibiotic like septrin.
- Weigh your guinea pig daily when not well.
- Always see your vet as soon as you can if a piggy on treatment is deteriorating.
 
Wiebke said:
- Please give a probiotic with any antibiotic, but especially with baytril. It is known to cause adverse reactions and can be very hard on the guts. If necessary ask for another (unlincensed) antibiotic like septrin.
- Weigh your guinea pig daily when not well.
- Always see your vet as soon as you can if a piggy on treatment is deteriorating.
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Vet said nothing about a pro biotic D: I feel so bad for not knowing he has an appointment at 10 to 10 today so hopefully I can sort something
 
twiams said:
Vet said nothing about a pro biotic D: I feel so bad for not knowing he has an appointment at 10 to 10 today so hopefully I can sort something
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Sadly, most vets are not aware of how vital it is to keep the guts going and the weight up. always ask for it or ideally have some at home; avipro plus is a good one and easily available over the internet. In a pinch, p@h sell probiotics if you need some there and then.

If your piggy is not eating and hasn't been properly for some days, you urgently need to consider hand feeding; mushed pellets will do. Otherwise ask your vet tomorrow for some powdered recovery food. http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

If you can bring the appointment forward, it would be better.
 
Agree with Wiebke - Baytril is harsh on little tums and can diminish their appetite :(
Any piggies I've had on this have needed careful monitoring and assistance with feeding, sooo inportant to keep their gut moving :)
Keep an eye on poos as well as you may find them a bit softer and not as formed - probiotics are a godsend and I always keep a handy tube of Fibreplex in.
 
Went to the vet and got a guinea pig goody bag !
He has a pain killer and I've been told to keep on the baytril but they gave me something else on top to do with helping keeping his gut going and stuff so is that what I need ? I'm not sure what it's called as I'm not at home to look.
I have some critical care too
And he's got an appointment for dental on Monday where he's going under anasthetic to have them looked at as they think that may be why he won't eat.
 
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Great that you went and got your goody bag!

The gut stimulant will be either metoclopromide or a probiotic.
 
I'm a bit worried this dental work may be a waste of money/time if it's just the baytril thats put him of his food.
Should i be worried ?
It's gonna cost £60 taking my vet total to £140 in a week and i really can't afford it, i can do it if it's necessary but I'm worried it's pointless any opinions ?
 
D you say they wanted to do it under anaesthetic? Did they look at his teeth at all? Anaesthetic for dental work is sometimes unnecessary x
 
PopcornPigs said:
D you say they wanted to do it under anaesthetic? Did they look at his teeth at all? Anaesthetic for dental work is sometimes unnecessary x
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Yeah it's under anaesthetic, she looked at his teeth with this scope thing but he kept getting food all over it, first appointment he got some parsley on it second carrot and so she hasn't seen very clearly and all he did was bite it and not let her look well.
She said it was odd he kept that much food in his mouth.
 
twiams said:
Yeah it's under anaesthetic, she looked at his teeth with this scope thing but he kept getting food all over it, first appointment he got some parsley on it second carrot and so she hasn't seen very clearly and all he did was bite it and not let her look well.
She said it was odd he kept that much food in his mouth.
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It's impossible to look properly using a scope and piggies have food in their mouth even if they haven't eaten properly for days! It doesn't sound like your vet knows a huge amount about piggies teeth. I would be very wary of letting them do any work on the teeth as in many cases the teeth can be fine, and a problem caused by a vet doing unneccesary work due to them thinking normal teeth aren't right as they compare them to rabbit teeth.
 
furryfriends (Excellent Adventure Sanctuary) said:
It's impossible to look properly using a scope and piggies have food in their mouth even if they haven't eaten properly for days! It doesn't sound like your vet knows a huge amount about piggies teeth. I would be very wary of letting them do any work on the teeth as in many cases the teeth can be fine, and a problem caused by a vet doing unneccesary work due to them thinking normal teeth aren't right as they compare them to rabbit teeth.
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I'm really worried now, i don't know what to do, he's all booked in for Monday morning and the vet is now closed till then ?!
 
twiams said:
I'm really worried now, i don't know what to do, he's all booked in for Monday morning and the vet is now closed till then ?!
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So is there any real evidence that this is dental? Does he try to eat but can't pick the food up? Or it keeps dropping out his mouth? Does he pull his face into strange positions and his ears waggle up and down as he tries to eat? I am concerned that they might be looking in the wrong direction here and if they aren't experienced in guinea pig dental work then you could be paying for a dental you don't need.

I currently have a piggie here who came for dental work, but when Simon examined his teeth they were fine. Luckily this could be ascertained by a quick look in the mouth using buccal pad separators and didn't result in the owner paying for an expensive dental.

You are quite within your rights to change your mind about whether you want this dental work carrying out.
 
furryfriends (Excellent Adventure Sanctuary) said:
So is there any real evidence that this is dental? Does he try to eat but can't pick the food up? Or it keeps dropping out his mouth? Does he pull his face into strange positions and his ears waggle up and down as he tries to eat? I am concerned that they might be looking in the wrong direction here and if they aren't experienced in guinea pig dental work then you could be paying for a dental you don't need.

I currently have a piggie here who came for dental work, but when Simon examined his teeth they were fine. Luckily this could be ascertained by a quick look in the mouth using buccal pad separators and didn't result in the owner paying for an expensive dental.

You are quite within your rights to change your mind about whether you want this dental work carrying out.
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It all started this whole vet thing from when i took him in for a check up on wednesday afternoon as he was making strange noises every now and then he'd be in his cage and just squeak as if he'd been squeezed i took him in worried he may have bladder stones. She couldn't find anything wrong with him, she checked his teeth and said they were a little sharp at the back but nothing to cause him any problems, he was given baytril and i have been giving him it since Wednesday twice a day.

In this time i've also taken a wee sample which came back fine.

Yesterday morning i gave him his Baytril and he had a small amount of cut up pepper given to him as a treat for taking it i put this in a bowl in his cage but by the evening it was still there and he didn't seem to have touched his nuggets. I cleaned him out like usual and gave him a very small amount of nuggets to make it easier to see what he'd eaten, i also left his veggies in the cage, and when i returned home later in the evening nothing had gone, so i thought it was a little unlike him,

Brought him down for night time meds and had his tea ready (a big plate of veggies) he took his meds and i let him sit down to eat on our laps as usual but he had a small munch and that was it he soon wasn't accepting anything so i thought he may just want to go back in his cage so i let him go back and went to bed myself.

This morning i woke up and only 2 baby tomatoes had been eaten from the whole plate, no nuggets had gone but he had some hay while i was in bed as i heard him munching, i was worried as i know piggies need to eat so called the vet for advice who recommended bringing him in.

I took him in, he ate a small amount of carrot in the car and then just stopped again, she checked him over but said he was well hydrated and seemed fine tried checking his teeth but obviously couldn't see well and said that this was why he wasn't eating even though i don't see how it's related to the original problem. She gave me a oxbow critical care pack, gave him an injection of pain relief and i have some pain relief stuff to give him once a day and something to help his gut keep moving (not at home to check label) I've also been told to carry on the baytril.

While at the vet i signed a form because something i had wasn't licensed for piggies or something, she's then booked me in for a dental for monday.
:...
 
furryfriends (Excellent Adventure Sanctuary) said:
I am thinking maybe the baytril. How much longer does he need to be on it? You say he's eating some hay. That doesn't seem a typical dental thing. They generally struggle with hay.
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Well it seems it is the Baytril as it's since then we've had the problems
She said for a week and then go back and see how he is, so it should be untill wednesday that he's on it.
 
I would top him up with syringe food while he isn't eating so well as the last thing you want is for him to get gassy. Mix some probiotic into the syringe food which will help if the baytril is upsetting his gut. Wait until he finishes the baytril to see if he starts eating more. From what you are saying, he is eating some things, just not in the usual quantities. Wait until the baytril has finished and then review the situation after a couple of days. I think more problems could be caused than solved by jumping in to do a dental now.
 
furryfriends (Excellent Adventure Sanctuary) said:
I would top him up with syringe food while he isn't eating so well as the last thing you want is for him to get gassy. Mix some probiotic into the syringe food which will help if the baytril is upsetting his gut. Wait until he finishes the baytril to see if he starts eating more. From what you are saying, he is eating some things, just not in the usual quantities. Wait until the baytril has finished and then review the situation after a couple of days. I think more problems could be caused than solved by jumping in to do a dental now.
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Okay i'll mix up some of the syringe food for him tonight.

Thank you for all the help and advice i think I'm gonna cancel the dental appointment, say i just can't afford it right now or something.
 
Will he eat grass? Experiment with syringe food to see if giving him about 10 mls and then offering him veggies kickstarts his appetite, or you may find it works better doing it the other way around. For now just ensure he has plenty of food going through his system.
 
furryfriends (Excellent Adventure Sanctuary) said:
Will he eat grass? Experiment with syringe food to see if giving him about 10 mls and then offering him veggies kickstarts his appetite, or you may find it works better doing it the other way around. For now just ensure he has plenty of food going through his system.
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I'll give it a go with grass, should i try like normal grass or would dried stuff be okay ? he likes redigrass.
I won't be able to try this for a couple of hours as I'm not home right now but i may ask mum to fill his herb bowl with grass and put it in the cage.
 
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