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Guinea pig not eating

Fiona1987

Fiona1987

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello everyone,
I’m wondering if I can get some advice or previous experience so I can help my little pig as I’m so uncertain what’s the best thing to do.
I noticed my male guinea (3 1/2 years) eating and drinking less last Saturday afternoon. I decided to keep an eye on him for the rest of the day and knew by evening something definitely wasn’t right when he didn’t touch his food at all. The next morning he did start to drink again and had a slice of cucumber but that’s all he could manage. I have critical care food at hone so decided to give him this and softened pellets before seeing the vet on Monday morning.
I was half hoping it was dental but his teeth were fine, he is active enough and his weight is on the low side of average but not a concern so she said nothing obvious was wrong but an ultrasound was needed.
it revealed his left kidney was bigger and not the usual shape of a kidney which indicates a tumour but she couldn’t be certain.
she gave him a steroid injection and said for us to keep going with the critical care and to see if he starts eating again. It’s now Wednesday and he’s drinking small amounts but no pellets, a few stands of hay and some Dandelion leaves. The critical care is quite wet so we can syringe but this has now left him with very soft poo which has caused him to become constipated and backed up and struggling to pass! 😥.
He however has just passed 4 bigger poos which made him
Squeak a little. 😓

I know he will need another vet appointment but has anyone had something similar to this or recommend anything that may help?

Thank you
 
Oh dear, poor you and poor piggy. Have you read this: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide ?

I'd suggest if his poops are on the loose side, to make the critical care mix up a little thicker if you can - difficult to gauge it just right in order for it to fit through the syringe. If piggy enjoys the taste of it, would he take it from a spoon? Did your vet check the molars too?
 
I'm concerned about the steroid injection as I know they're not typically used in treating piggies. Is your vet an experienced cavy savvy one, or the more general dog and cat sort? A good exotics vets is worth their weight in gold, as a lot of general vets don't really have enough knowledge or experience unfortunately. I'll attach another link for you to look at The Problems With Steroids And Why They Shouldn't Be Used.

There is a list of Forum recommended vets at the top of the page, if you'd like to check it out.
 
hi Janey,
Thanks for replying. Yes the vet checked and all is well with his teeth including the molars. The critical care is not the nicest flavour for him I must admit and doesn’t like the taste at all, or the syringe for that matter. If only he knew it was to make him feel better.
I will make the mixture thicker tho as I do believe this has caused it.
 
Fiona1987 said:
Hello everyone,
I’m wondering if I can get some advice or previous experience so I can help my little pig as I’m so uncertain what’s the best thing to do.
I noticed my male guinea (3 1/2 years) eating and drinking less last Saturday afternoon. I decided to keep an eye on him for the rest of the day and knew by evening something definitely wasn’t right when he didn’t touch his food at all. The next morning he did start to drink again and had a slice of cucumber but that’s all he could manage. I have critical care food at hone so decided to give him this and softened pellets before seeing the vet on Monday morning.
I was half hoping it was dental but his teeth were fine, he is active enough and his weight is on the low side of average but not a concern so she said nothing obvious was wrong but an ultrasound was needed.
it revealed his left kidney was bigger and not the usual shape of a kidney which indicates a tumour but she couldn’t be certain.
she gave him a steroid injection and said for us to keep going with the critical care and to see if he starts eating again. It’s now Wednesday and he’s drinking small amounts but no pellets, a few stands of hay and some Dandelion leaves. The critical care is quite wet so we can syringe but this has now left him with very soft poo which has caused him to become constipated and backed up and struggling to pass! 😥.
He however has just passed 4 bigger poos which made him
Squeak a little. 😓

I know he will need another vet appointment but has anyone had something similar to this or recommend anything that may help?

Thank you
Click to expand...

Hi!

Please keep going with the syringe feeding, which replaces the 80% of hay/grass intake that make the bulk of a piggy diet. If the mix is too wet, he will get enough fluid to have less need to drink; see whether you can make it thicker.
You are aiming at around 60 ml of syringe feed in 24 hours in a piggy that is not eating but try get past 40 ml with piggies that are totally off their food and struggle to swallow. You have to feed the more often, the less a piggy can take on in each session.
You may also want to see whether probiotics in the syringe feed can help.

Have you been given any painkiller? Pain can radiate into the gut since the organs are all very tightly packed against it.
Sadly, a mis-shapen, enlarged kidney is not good news since kidney removal in guinea pigs is right at the cutting edge right now and sadly very often doesn't come off. I have had 2-3 piggies of my own put to sleep because of that over the years when the pain got too much.

Please have him seen by a vet again and discuss your options including benefits vs. risk/cost with your vet. If you ask them politely for their honest opinion, they will usually give it. Ultimately, any decisions lie with you as the owner. A vet can only recommend. By the sound of it, your boy is not quite there yet, though.

Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
The Problems With Steroids And Why They Shouldn't Be Used.

All the best in this difficult time.
 
Yes the steroid injection wasn’t something I expected. Unfortunately I was at work so my husband took him to the vet instead. I’m a little annoyed as when we went to pick him up after his X-ray, he wasn’t able to see the vet as she was in with another animal at the time. The receptionist handed him over and went back to get the answers of the few questions my husband asked. She did say to return if he didn’t start eating by Friday? I’ll have a look for an exotic vet around my area. Thank you
 
Fiona1987 said:
hi Janey,
Thanks for replying. Yes the vet checked and all is well with his teeth including the molars. The critical care is not the nicest flavour for him I must admit and doesn’t like the taste at all, or the syringe for that matter. If only he knew it was to make him feel better.
I will make the mixture thicker tho as I do believe this has caused it.
Click to expand...
Well that's good to know about the molars - checks of them don't always happen at vets! A lot of piggies don't like the taste of the critical care; so it might be worth sticking to mashed up pellets or trying a different recovery food - mine prefer Emeraid over Oxbow, but will eat both if I persist.
 
Fiona1987 said:
Yes the steroid injection wasn’t something I expected. Unfortunately I was at work so my husband took him to the vet instead. I’m a little annoyed as when we went to pick him up after his X-ray, he wasn’t able to see the vet as she was in with another animal at the time. The receptionist handed him over and went back to get the answers of the few questions my husband asked. She did say to return if he didn’t start eating by Friday? I’ll have a look for an exotic vet around my area. Thank you
Click to expand...
Recommended Guinea Pig Vets

PS: Exotics vets can sometimes use steroids in guinea pigs where the benefits outweigh any longer term risks but often steroid injections are given by general vets who are not aware that rodent species react to them differently.
 
Thank you for your reply’s everyone. I must admit it was it touch and go and I will definitely be looking for a local exotics vet for my piggies.
on a brighter note, this morning he was up munching on his toys, wanted some hay, some fresh veg (only small amounts) but all on his own. We did still syringe feed him and he was happy to take it. I’m also giving him pro-biotic in his water. He’s drinking ok to with just a top up when feeding him.
he does seem much better and Alert today which is a relief but still constipated. I have made the mixture thicker which is helping.
I'm only now concerned he’s eating but not passing it? I don’t want to force too much in him if it’s not coming out and making him uncomfortable.
 
Piggies don’t get constipated. Reduced poop output is a reflection of reduced food intake. Poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake, so the fact you aren’t seeing poops today is because he hasn’t eaten enough yesterday/the day before. It will take another 1-2 days before you see the poop output from what he has eaten today
 
Piggies&buns said:
Piggies don’t get constipated. Reduced poop output is a reflection of reduced food intake. Poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake, so the fact you aren’t seeing poops today is because he hasn’t eaten enough yesterday/the day before. It will take another 1-2 days before you see the poop output from what he has eaten today
Click to expand...
Ah ok, that makes sense. Thanks for replying. He’s been having a liquid diet the last few days and they have been much softer and looking like he’s struggling a bit to pass. He’s done 3 big clumps which made him squeak a little and definitely was straining. Hopefully should pass ok.
 
Fiona1987 said:
Thank you for your reply’s everyone. I must admit it was it touch and go and I will definitely be looking for a local exotics vet for my piggies.
on a brighter note, this morning he was up munching on his toys, wanted some hay, some fresh veg (only small amounts) but all on his own. We did still syringe feed him and he was happy to take it. I’m also giving him pro-biotic in his water. He’s drinking ok to with just a top up when feeding him.
he does seem much better and Alert today which is a relief but still constipated. I have made the mixture thicker which is helping.
I'm only now concerned he’s eating but not passing it? I don’t want to force too much in him if it’s not coming out and making him uncomfortable.
Click to expand...
I’m so glad he seems brighter today!
 
Janey said:
I’m so glad he seems brighter today! Is he an older piggy?
Click to expand...
He’s 3 1/2 so not that old but not young either. He’s my first one so I’m quite attached to him.
 
Fiona1987 said:
Thank you for your reply’s everyone. I must admit it was it touch and go and I will definitely be looking for a local exotics vet for my piggies.
on a brighter note, this morning he was up munching on his toys, wanted some hay, some fresh veg (only small amounts) but all on his own. We did still syringe feed him and he was happy to take it. I’m also giving him pro-biotic in his water. He’s drinking ok to with just a top up when feeding him.
he does seem much better and Alert today which is a relief but still constipated. I have made the mixture thicker which is helping.
I'm only now concerned he’s eating but not passing it? I don’t want to force too much in him if it’s not coming out and making him uncomfortable.
Click to expand...

Constipation is not a problem that guinea pigs suffer from. Their gut works very differently to that of omnivores or carnivores. It is more like a conveyor belt that can stop or stutter (GI stasis) or get jammed (blockage is thankfully very rare) but it generally runs constantly to break down the grass fibre that makes the bulk of the diet in two runs through the gut (piggies eat the poos that contain the nutritious fibre parts for the full break down of the tough fibre but do this at a different time to the normal waste poo output; the caecotrophs are a different consistency and have a different smell so piggies don't mistake them). This digestive process takes about 1-2 days.

What you are currently witnessing is the lack of loading the guts with fibre over the last couple of days. If there hasn't been enough food coming in through the front, then there won't be any coming out at the back.
If Albert is lively and still taking food and has a gurgly tummy, then this means that the internal conveyor belt is still working. With gastro-intestinal (GI) stasis, the gut goes deadly quiet and your piggy will be very lethargic and refuse to take any feed because they cannot process it anymore.

You just have to be patient waiting for the factory to process the increased syringe feeding support from yesterday; please feed as much as he will take.
That is also the reason why daily weighing at the same time is so important. It gives you instant feedback about what is happening right now and whether your piggy is getting enough nutrition to hold their weight or not. Just by looking at the poos, you are running 1-2 crucial days behind the even horizon.

I hope that this explains it?
 
Wiebke said:
Constipation is not a problem that guinea pigs suffer from. Their gut works very differently to that of omnivores or carnivores. It is more like a conveyor belt that can stop or stutter (GI stasis) or get jammed (blockage is thankfully very rare) but it generally runs constantly to break down the grass fibre that makes the bulk of the diet in two runs through the gut (piggies eat the poos that contain the nutritious fibre parts for the full break down of the tough fibre but do this at a different time to the normal waste poo output; the caecotrophs are a different consistency and have a different smell so piggies don't mistake them). This digestive process takes about 1-2 days.

What you are currently witnessing is the lack of loading the guts with fibre over the last couple of days. If there hasn't been enough food coming in through the front, then there won't be any coming out at the back.
If Albert is lively and still taking food and has a gurgly tummy, then this means that the internal conveyor belt is still working. With gastro-intestinal (GI) stasis, the gut goes deadly quiet and your piggy will be very lethargic and refuse to take any feed because they cannot process it anymore.

You just have to be patient waiting for the factory to process the increased syringe feeding support from yesterday; please feed as much as he will take.
That is also the reason why daily weighing at the same time is so important. It gives you instant feedback about what is happening right now and whether your piggy is getting enough nutrition to hold their weight or not. Just by looking at the poos, you are running 1-2 crucial days behind the even horizon.

I hope that this explains it?
Click to expand...
Thanks so much. What you said makes lots of sense 🙂. I will definitely keep going with the food and I’m weighing him daily so hopefully should see progress.
 
Hey everyone.
Just a quick question about poop when a piggy is on critical care. My male guinea has been on critical care for just over a week as advised by the vet. He is eating himself but not enough and he’s struggling with hay apart from the odd few bits. Hence the top up with critical care.
His poos are a bit clumpy and wetter than usual but just this day they are changing to be a little more firm and regular shape but still smaller than usual.
will his poos return to normal on CC or does he need to start eating a good amount of hay to see the difference?
I'm also hoping he’s not getting backed up inside!
Thanks
 
I have merged your most recent post with your previous thread given it is on the same subject. This helps us to advise you as we have all the information together in the same place.

Its the fibre content which keeps their guts functioning properly (and the critical care is replacing the fibre he isnt getting from a normal quantity of hay intake) and being on critical care doesnt cause soft poops/diarrhoea. Soft poops are caused by a gut imbalance and small poops are due to reduced food intake hence the need to supplement with critical care.

Guinea Pigs dont suffer from constipation so he isnt getting backed up like that
 
Piggies&buns said:
Fiona1987 said:
Hey everyone.
Just a quick question about poop when a piggy is on critical care. My male guinea has been on critical care for just over a week as advised by the vet. He is eating himself but not enough and he’s struggling with hay apart from the odd few bits. Hence the top up with critical care.
His poos are a bit clumpy and wetter than usual but just this day they are changing to be a little more firm and regular shape but still smaller than usual.
will his poos return to normal on CC or does he need to start eating a good amount of hay to see the difference?
I'm also hoping he’s not getting backed up inside!
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Hi!

Please continue to supplement feed. Critical Care and other recovery care products are needed to supplement a diet where not enough hay (80% of the daily food intake) or other foods are eaten. Smaller than normal poos show that your piggy is not eating enough hay on their own. Please also continue to monitor the weight daily at the same time on your kitchen scales. You cannot control the hay intake just by eye and your piggy will not suddenly start eating fully while the gut microbiome is still unbalanced (soft poos and diarrhea).
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Please supplement your support feed with probiotics and - if you have a healthy companion - with 'poo soup' (i.e. live healthy gut microbiome transfer, the recipe for which you can find in the link below) in order to help the gut to rebalance. Critical care does contain some probiotics but you want to up that to help the gut get back to normal - once the gut has been rebalanced and the cause of the health problem has been fully healed, the appetite will return. Be patient and be aware that unlike the scales, the poo output is running a day or even two behind the event horizon.

If things don't normalise, then please contact your vet again.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Please continue to supplement feed. Critical Care and other recovery care products are needed to supplement a diet where not enough hay (80% of the daily food intake) or other foods are eaten. Smaller than normal poos show that your piggy is not eating enough hay on their own. Please also continue to monitor the weight daily at the same time on your kitchen scales. You cannot control the hay intake just by eye and your piggy will not suddenly start eating fully while the gut microbiome is still unbalanced (soft poos and diarrhea).
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Please supplement your support feed with probiotics and - if you have a healthy companion - with 'poo soup' (i.e. live healthy gut microbiome transfer, the recipe for which you can find in the link below) in order to help the gut to rebalance. Critical care does contain some probiotics but you want to up that to help the gut get back to normal - once the gut has been rebalanced and the cause of the health problem has been fully healed, the appetite will return. Be patient and be aware that unlike the scales, the poo output is running a day or even two behind the event horizon.

If things don't normalise, then please contact your vet again.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
Click to expand...
Thank you for your response. Probiotics have been mixed in with the CC and it’s also added to his water. I do also weigh him daily and he’s slowly gained weight this week so not a massive concern there (he’s 940g). It does sounds like I need to increase the volume of the CC so he’s getting enough food and hopefully we’ll see a difference in a couple days.
ill also have a read of those links above.
Thank you
 
Fiona1987 said:
Thank you for your response. Probiotics have been mixed in with the CC and it’s also added to his water. I do also weigh him daily and he’s slowly gained weight this week so not a massive concern there (he’s 940g). It does sounds like I need to increase the volume of the CC so he’s getting enough food and hopefully we’ll see a difference in a couple days.
ill also have a read of those links above.
Thank you
Click to expand...

Just keep at it and up the amount of CC support - use your kitchen scales as a monitoring tool to adjust the varying amount/frequency according to the weight feedback, which is the only way you can get up to date information during a crisis and recovery so you can react quickly to any changes. Things often don't run according to the textbook and your have to take it as it comes.

The quality of the poos is going in the right direction. Just be patient and persist! :tu:
 
I thought I would post an update on Out little one. He unfortunately had a turn for the worse after we thought he was getting better over the last few days. My husband returned from work this afternoon and found him looking extremely sorry for himself and not with it at all . Removed him from his cage and almost straight away he started to have terrible diarrhoea and was pretty floppy. Straight away we went to the vet and was seen within 1/2 hour.
I'm going to sound terrible for this but knowing how sick he has been and the way he was, I was ready to have him PTS and was feeling a sense of relief knowing he wouldn’t be suffering anymore. However the Vet gave him another steroid and kaogel for the next day or so and to see if he pulls through. Unfortunately I wasn’t there as I was working but the vet and another for a second opinion didn’t give the option of having putting him to sleep.
I now have a very sick guinea tonight that’s still having diarrhoea and hardly able to lift his head let alone eat and drink.
I’m just so lost as to what to do and I’m so convinced he won’t make it through the night at this rate.
Sorry I’ve been asking for lots of advice lately but I’ve not been through this before.
Also I’ve weighed him over the last week and today he’s dropped a huge amount of weight.
8th- 927g
9th- 940g
10th- 943g
Today after the vets - 852g
 
Fiona1987 said:
I thought I would post an update on Out little one. He unfortunately had a turn for the worse after we thought he was getting better over the last few days. My husband returned from work this afternoon and found him looking extremely sorry for himself and not with it at all . Removed him from his cage and almost straight away he started to have terrible diarrhoea and was pretty floppy. Straight away we went to the vet and was seen within 1/2 hour.
I'm going to sound terrible for this but knowing how sick he has been and the way he was, I was ready to have him PTS and was feeling a sense of relief knowing he wouldn’t be suffering anymore. However the Vet gave him another steroid and kaogel for the next day or so and to see if he pulls through. Unfortunately I wasn’t there as I was working but the vet and another for a second opinion didn’t give the option of having putting him to sleep.
I now have a very sick guinea tonight that’s still having diarrhoea and hardly able to lift his head let alone eat and drink.
I’m just so lost as to what to do and I’m so convinced he won’t make it through the night at this rate.
Sorry I’ve been asking for lots of advice lately but I’ve not been through this before.
Also I’ve weighed him over the last week and today he’s dropped a huge amount of weight.
8th- 927g
9th- 940g
10th- 943g
Today after the vets - 852g
Click to expand...

Hi!
BIG HUGS

I am very sorry. Please look for another vet. Which country are you in?

You may find the information in these two guide collections here very helpful:
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Death, Dying, Terminal Illness, Grieving and Bereaved Companions: Information and Support for Owners and Their Children
 
I’m in the UK. I do need to find a new vet, I was looking through different vets through recommendations but with this happening all so fast and thinking he was getting better, we stayed with the one 2 minutes up the road from us. I have another boy piggy so he will definitely be seeing another more knowledgeable for exotics should we need them.
 
Percy made his final journey last night over that rainbow. 🌈 x
 
Sorry for your loss. You fought really hard for him and he knew he was loved to the end. Sleep tight little one.
 
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