Figgy's not eating...

Status
Not open for further replies.
poco and figgys' mummy

poco and figgys' mummy

Joined
Jul 11, 2009
Messages
319
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
France
Hi,

So, Figgy's cage-mate/best friend/ like a brother, Poco died on Monday.

I posted a thread that Figgy hadn't reacted, and I was wondering if he would start pining, well we've been keeping a close eye on him and he's not really eating much.

It started off that he was only eating cucumber, and we thought it was because of the heat, that he didn't have much of an appetite and the cucumber gives him a lot of fluid. Every morning since then I've been throwing away almost all of his food, and every night Romy's been throwing away almost all of his food.

So this morning I threw out a load of tomato and red cabbage, and put in some fresh cucumber, green beans and lettuce (yesterday he ate those a little).

It's now 6 PM and he has barely eaten anything: just nibbled a tiny bit on some cucumber.

I think he's really pining for Poco, because apparently they can stop eating when they are pining.

I'd like to know what I can do to encourage him to eat more, or how I can help him.

Also, if anyone has any information on critical care/ where I can get syringes/ how to do it, please say.

We just need a way to help him to eat.
 
I think you can get syringes from a pharmacy or vet.

I'm so sorry he's not eating. Keep trying all his favourite food, and hopefully he'll eat soon. :(
 
Thanks~

Another question: If he does continue to not eat, what can I feed him through syringes?

We are trying to get him a friend, but we really don't want a petshop pig, and there aren't many rescue centres near me.
 
I had similar problem with piggie untill i found her housemate, I found what worked for me was to give her all her favourites focusing on giving her that little bit of extra attention, so at feeding time i would take her out and try her with little bit of lettus and carrot amd dandelion leaf ,hand feeding her. I also gave her lots of extra attention and even resorted to using my guinea pig pouch so she felt safe and secure with me.

It did work and she did begin to eat again after a while but i would say shes even happier with her house mate if not tad bossy. Hope this helps:)

I also have hand fed using syringes i sort of made veggie smoothy minus dairey factor of course, i just blended carrots, cucumber and other bits together and tryed that way, though i believe that your vet can give you a substance that contains all natural vitiams etc that piggie needs:)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for that,

We have been giving him an extra load of attention. We've been cuddling him an awful lot and when we aren't cuddling him, he's sitting on the sofa on a towel so that we can be with him.

I put his bowel of food down there with him, but he only nibbled a tiny bit of cucumber out of my hand, and then stopped.

have been focussing on his favourites, which is usually tomato and red pepper, but he hasn't eaten either of those.
 
We just whipped up a piggy friendly smoothie, and tried feeding it to him off a teaspoon, but he's still turning his nose up.

At what point should I think about syringe feeding him?

He has barely eaten all day or all yesterday.
 
The best thing you can do for Figgy is finding him a new friend as soon as you can. Ideally, take him boar dating at a rescue within your reach this weekend. It is amazing how quickly piggies pick up when they have company again!

If he hasn't eaten much for more than a few days, I would start syringe feeding him. You will need to give about 120ml per day to keep up his weight. Most piggies come out of deep mourning after a few days and start getting on with life again.

Here is a list of rescues:
http://www.guineapigrehome.org.uk/gp/centres.asp

Sorry - I forgot that you are in France!
 
Last edited:
I'm probably being over cautious but i say as soon as, I also agree totaly with wiebke,
 
Wiebke:

I live in South France, and I don't know of many centres there. I don't know if the link you sent me covers my area, but I'll have a look. Thank you.

Are you sure that 120ml is okay for an adult guinea pig (I'm not good at gauging the volume of litres, that seems like not a lot to me)?

Thanks very much for your help.

Indie: Unfortunately here (I'm not sure about England, but here it is like this) just going to the vet for a consultation is very expensive. We are strapped for cash right now, and I'm sure my mum would rather wait and see.

My mum thinks that syringe feeding could be mean, shoving a big syringe in the pigs mouth when he doesn't want to eat. Is this true? Is there anything I can do to make it better?
 
its not cruel , ive had to do it few time, pariculary after one of my sows had litter where she lost baby and became very depressed.

When i had to do it i made her feel as secure as possible i use to wrap her in little towel so she felt snug and cozey:) or use a guinea pig pouch:)

Look at it this way when ure ill sometimes you have to take the most disgusting medcine ever but it make you better:)

I also have chameilon who has to be syringe fed as he very ill , he hates it and my heart goes out to grumpy so and so when he has to be given it but its for his own good.

Your doing it through love of your pet which is always a good place to do anything from:)
 
Thank you very much, Indie.

Good news!

I was just able to hand feed him a piece of cucumber, which he really tucked in to.

It's strange, he eats sometimes but other times he just turns up his nose...
 
Hmm, I was just sifting through "The importance of weight checks" and saw that feeding too much cucumber can cause diarrhoea...
I'm slightly worried as that is the only thing he is eating.
 
Have you tried parsley or some fresh grass? Hopefully, he'll come out of deep mourning soon; most piggies do.

please remind your mother that guinea pigs are not meant to be alone. Sorry the rescues cover only Britain. I do not have a list of rescues for France. Could you get one from a French forum?
 
I'll try grass, thanks!

Only.. My cat almost pounced at my feet when I went outside :0 I'll try again now.

Oh no, I hope my mum didn't come off bad! She's been brilliant, she knows as well as anyone else that Figgy needs a little friend, but as you can understand we'd much rather rescue.

We phoned the vet to ask if she knows anybody with piggies for adoption a few days ago, and she said she would call us back when she finds out.

We've had Figgy out practically all the time, stroking him and letting him hear our voices, but we understand that he needs someone of his own species to communicate with.

We are also concerned about the quarantining process- by the time we get another pig, which might be another few weeks, and then we have to quarantine him for a further few weeks, Figgy might have plunged in to depression by then.
 
Only if he is eating A LOT of freshly grown very rich spring grass and nothing else. Just try to follow the grass up with some normal food, even if it just a small portion; perhaps he be tempted to nibble on it later on or throughout the night. Also keep his hay, pellets and water bottle freshened up.

A bit of squishy poo is still MUCH better than him not eating, right now! Hoepfully, he has turned the corner now.
 
Okay, I'll try and feed him some of the green beans I cut up earlier.

He hasn't been drinking water, eating hay or pellets either. He was just sitting around, waiting to waste away...

His poo was quite squishy (My mum said ''it's melting'') but it isn't runny at the moment.
 
The green beans I tried haven't worked. He's only eten grass and a little bit of cucumber all day...

I freshen up has water and hay and dried food every day, so I don't thing that that is the problem.
 
How long since he stopped eating now?

Are you weighing him daily? I would worry when he loses more than 100g/3 oz.
 
Well he stopped eating most things but cucumber since he noticed Poco was gone from the cage, I guess Monday night, though today has been the worst.

Yes, I have been weighing him, but recently discovered my scales were wwaaaayyy off. I used a different set today and apparently he's gained 200 grams. I seriously doubt that!
 
Hopefully, he will feel a bit more lively within the next three days!

Keep on tempting him with grass - if that is all he wants to eat, then so be it! He'll probably start eating hay to balance his guts once they get going properly again. A piggy that is not eating normally, tends to have funny poo. Soft poo is better than very dry one; that means that he is not dehydrated.
 
Thanks, I hope so too... It must be the grieving so... Hopefully we'll find him a friend soon.

I hate that we have to get him a friend, but I know it's for his best. To me it feels like we are replacing my sweet angel, Poco, but I know that this is what we have to do to make Figgy happy. I'm scared that I won't love the new pig as much because he'll remind me of Poco's death.

He's not at all dehydrated, which is strange as he has been drinking no water. I only managed to get him to take a sip by holding the bottle to his mouth, before he turned up his nose.
 
Update

I've been weighing him daily since Thursday
He had lost 20grams per day, until last night he started really chowing down on his parsley:
- The weather was cooler
- It was the evening
- We put some anti-stress liquid in his water

We think these had a lot to do with him eating again. This morning I weighed him again and he has put back on 32 grams! It's brilliant, he's really starting to get back to his old self.

His poos are still quite squishy though. when I cleaned out his cage this morning most of his poos had points on the end and/or they were squashed (I guess from where he stood on them).

Right now he's happily hopping around on my lap!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top