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GI stasis in young pig

pepperpoop

pepperpoop

Junior Guinea Pig
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Jan 18, 2020
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Hi everyone,
On sunday we noticed both of our boys had soft poops, with Moose (1 year old) being hit harder by it. We took them off veggies and started giving critical care, but the next day Moose was a lot worse, and had stopped eating and pooping. He's now been to the vets a few times, and they did x-ray, didn't find anything, and gave him 2 different gut stimulants, painkillers, and fluids etc. We've also been giving him fibreplex and lots of critical care, and feeding him throughout the night, as well as massaging his tummy. Its now Thursday, yesterday the vets were saying if his condition worsened he should be put to sleep, but he ate a tiny bit of greens this morning and pooped a couple times, so we are waiting to see if he gets better. He looks very weak at the moment and is puffed up and not really active.

I'm so so worried and upset, I don't know why this is even happening to him. We think it could have been after they went on the grass the other day, and I'm worried it could have been dog wee, but my family say that they weren't on a patch where our dog usually wees so I don't know.
Any words of advice or support would be really appreciated, its been so hard. He's only basically a baby so this is obviously upsetting. I don't know if there's anything else we can do but hope.
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry to hear this

Were you given painkillers and gut meds to give him at home?
Are you weighing him each morning so you can monitor food intake?
Are they used to eating fresh grass and was it gradually introduced over a period of weeks after winter?

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)
Click to expand...
Thank you, yeah we are giving painkillers and gut meds. We aren't weighing him each morning but since he's not eating anything we are feeding around 1-2 hours at this point. As for the grass, yeah they're really used to it at this point. Nothing is helping and he really seems on his last legs, I'm so worried :(
 
What dosages is he getting of pain killers and gut meds?

It’s very important to weigh every morning when you are syringe feeding as it is the only way to know they are definitely taking enough to keep gut function.

Do you know how many ml of syringe feed he is getting in each 24 hour period?
For a critically ill piggy aiming for 40-60ml is needed.
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry to hear this

Were you given painkillers and gut meds to give him at home?
Are you weighing him each morning so you can monitor food intake?
Are they used to eating fresh grass and was it gradually introduced over a period of weeks after winter?

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)
Click to expand...
He's being weighed every day at the vets, they advised 3 scoops of critical care a day, given every 2 hours. He's not pooed all night, so the vets are advising he be pts. :( I'm so heartbroken and I don't understand why this has happened- can GI stasis just happen like this in a really young pig?
 
pepperpoop said:
He's being weighed every day at the vets, they advised 3 scoops of critical care a day, given every 2 hours. He's not pooed all night, so the vets are advising he be pts. :( I'm so heartbroken and I don't understand why this has happened- can GI stasis just happen like this in a really young pig?
Click to expand...

I’m sorry to hear this. You obviously have to be guided by the vet and their prognosis of the situation.

Has his weight been stable each day when weighed?

This guide explains the situations in which stasis can occur and unfortunately it can seem to come out of the blue and be very hard to get on top of.

Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)

How is your other boy doing?

You feed as much as is necessary to keep his weight stable each day, and feed as often as needed depending on how much is taken at each feed.
Poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake so food from yesterday won’t show in poop until today or tomorrow etc
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry to hear this. You obviously have to be guided by the vet and their prognosis of the situation.

Has his weight been stable each day when weighed?

This guide explains the situations in which stasis can occur and unfortunately it can seem to come out of the blue and be very hard to get on top of.

Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)

How is your other boy doing?

You feed as much as is necessary to keep his weight stable each day, and feed as often as needed depending on how much is taken at each feed.
Poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake so food from yesterday won’t show in poop until today or tomorrow etc
Click to expand...
Thank you, our other boy is perfectly fine.
We've been feeding Moose consistently for this whole week but barely any poops.
I'm not sure if his weight has been stable at the moment. I don't think there's any more we can do, and its upsetting because we started critical care as soon as we noticed his poops were soft, as we always have done. I feel like we have done everything we possibly could, but its just not worked. I'm devastated to have him taken from us so soon. :( He's a rex if that means anything also.
 
I’m so sorry, it’s such a difficult thing to deal with. It does sound as if his system is really struggling. You absolutely have done everything you can for him.

I’m glad your other boy is ok
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m so sorry, it’s such a difficult thing to deal with. It does sound as if his system is really struggling. You absolutely have done everything you can for him.

I’m glad your other boy is ok
Click to expand...
He may have pooed yesterday but hasn't for about 24 hours now, and just sits huddled in his cage not moving. I feel like we are giving up on him, he has an appointment for 5:30 today at the vets to be pts :( Thank you for your help though
 
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