Free Ranger
Forum Donator 2023/24
Before I blether on, the nub of my question is this: If an otherwise well-looking guinea pig doesn't eat voluntarily for 2 weeks is it possible gut stasis is still the issue? How long can GS take to resolve? I can keep going with the support feeding but my concern is that I'm masking a serious issue like a cancer, and that I'm setting her up to suffer pain or distress in the future. Ivy has me and my lovely vets completely baffled. I've been through the whole emotional rollercoaster and now I'm starting to second-guess myself so I have finally joined GPF (which has proved so helpful over the years - thankyou!) to get a wider perspective.
We've had various guineas over several years. Ivy is 3 1/2 and has not been able to eat for 2 weeks now. I noticed her dropping her carrot chunk and giving up one Saturday (Friday she had been bulldozing through the pellet bowl as normal) - straight down to vets - teeth overgrown (not too much, and we had seen no obvious struggling to chew and no drooling). She had anaesthetic for the dental and then stayed over at vets for round the clock support feeding - extended for a few days as no progress. Painkiller (metacam) and a "high dose" of the gut stimulant emeprid but she was, unsurprisingly, upset by the experience and hid all the time. After a belly shave and scan (nothing except some small ovarian cysts which don't seem to cause her any pain) I brought her home on the Wednesday following and she was delighted to be back. Vet said gut sounds had been very intermittent - healthy sometimes - then really quiet - then louder again later. We took a gamble and also started her on Baytril antibiotic 6 days after the op. Once home she was in much better spirits and although still fought the syringe of 'Recovery' going in was quite settled when sitting and chewing the contents. She was 1 kg when she left and has maintained a weight of 975g since... could just be different scales - her eyes are bright and her coat looks good - no shedding. Walking well, no hunching, no obvious signs of any pain. Occasionally she tries to nibble veggies. She sniffs and 'lips' at things as she's snuffling round but if she tries to nibble some grass / veg / a flake of 'fruit n fibre' (which kept her going through a bladder infection a year ago) she inevitably pulls a 'retching' face - big, wide mouth with head twisting to one side, sometimes with a big drool to wash out the offending fragment. If she can't shift it out she must get it into a better position as she'll then sit and chew... I can feel her teeth going. Poops minimal but OK.
Since then there has been frustratingly little change. We're now doing 20ml of Recovery a day split over 3-4 sessions between 7.30 am and pm (she gets upset any later as she is tired in the evening). She will take water from a syringe or bowl but not from the bottles. She loves her metacam (they say it's sweet) and loves a syringe of 'carrot water' made by pounding fragments with a little liquid in a mortar and pestle but will not touch the more solid 'soup' produced when they were blended (raw) in the nutribullet. She swallows liquids no problem but seems to have to 'gulp' to get the Recovery down: too thick and she just pushes or scrapes it back out of her mouth so we aim for a 'soft toothpaste' flavoured with a little carrot water and spiked with 'bio-lapis' gut powder and 'poop soup' from her companion George. At first she could only take about 0.2 ml at a time but now she will accept almost 1 ml tucked into the cheek pouch which she then sits and chews. She can sometimes take 8 ml in a session - but this takes about 1 1/2 hours so either way I'm syringing 4 - 5 hours a day. She fights it - it's an uncomfortable compromise but you can tell she's hungry, especially in the morning, and she looks depressed as George munches away. After that feed they will both lay comfortably together. She's probably not as perky as she used to be - it's hard to tell - she's as lively as big fat George and doesn't look unwell. She keeps herself tidy and cleans off the 'beard' of Recovery and carrot immediately after the feed. You can tell she worries about the syringe when she is picked up but enjoys laying in the sun on my lap after we've done and being stroked - sometimes she nods off! She's getting tired of the situation though and squeals in protest when collected for the next feed.
The vet will see her again tomorrow which will frighten her but I'm sending her in with George. He'll probably say teeth are fine (2 vets at the practice have checked already) but we are stuck in the same position again. If he feels any lumps or bumps in the throat at least we'll know something...?
So, does anyone have any experience of this sort of situation? My family are supportive and I'm happy to continue our daily Recovery battle if there might be light at the end of the tunnel but if the message is that she's unlikely to start eating again and I'm just dragging things out... I don't know what to do. Has she gone without eating by herself for too long? Or has anyone supported their pig through weeks of gut stasis with a happy ending?
Phew! Sorry for the long post but thanks for listening folks
We've had various guineas over several years. Ivy is 3 1/2 and has not been able to eat for 2 weeks now. I noticed her dropping her carrot chunk and giving up one Saturday (Friday she had been bulldozing through the pellet bowl as normal) - straight down to vets - teeth overgrown (not too much, and we had seen no obvious struggling to chew and no drooling). She had anaesthetic for the dental and then stayed over at vets for round the clock support feeding - extended for a few days as no progress. Painkiller (metacam) and a "high dose" of the gut stimulant emeprid but she was, unsurprisingly, upset by the experience and hid all the time. After a belly shave and scan (nothing except some small ovarian cysts which don't seem to cause her any pain) I brought her home on the Wednesday following and she was delighted to be back. Vet said gut sounds had been very intermittent - healthy sometimes - then really quiet - then louder again later. We took a gamble and also started her on Baytril antibiotic 6 days after the op. Once home she was in much better spirits and although still fought the syringe of 'Recovery' going in was quite settled when sitting and chewing the contents. She was 1 kg when she left and has maintained a weight of 975g since... could just be different scales - her eyes are bright and her coat looks good - no shedding. Walking well, no hunching, no obvious signs of any pain. Occasionally she tries to nibble veggies. She sniffs and 'lips' at things as she's snuffling round but if she tries to nibble some grass / veg / a flake of 'fruit n fibre' (which kept her going through a bladder infection a year ago) she inevitably pulls a 'retching' face - big, wide mouth with head twisting to one side, sometimes with a big drool to wash out the offending fragment. If she can't shift it out she must get it into a better position as she'll then sit and chew... I can feel her teeth going. Poops minimal but OK.
Since then there has been frustratingly little change. We're now doing 20ml of Recovery a day split over 3-4 sessions between 7.30 am and pm (she gets upset any later as she is tired in the evening). She will take water from a syringe or bowl but not from the bottles. She loves her metacam (they say it's sweet) and loves a syringe of 'carrot water' made by pounding fragments with a little liquid in a mortar and pestle but will not touch the more solid 'soup' produced when they were blended (raw) in the nutribullet. She swallows liquids no problem but seems to have to 'gulp' to get the Recovery down: too thick and she just pushes or scrapes it back out of her mouth so we aim for a 'soft toothpaste' flavoured with a little carrot water and spiked with 'bio-lapis' gut powder and 'poop soup' from her companion George. At first she could only take about 0.2 ml at a time but now she will accept almost 1 ml tucked into the cheek pouch which she then sits and chews. She can sometimes take 8 ml in a session - but this takes about 1 1/2 hours so either way I'm syringing 4 - 5 hours a day. She fights it - it's an uncomfortable compromise but you can tell she's hungry, especially in the morning, and she looks depressed as George munches away. After that feed they will both lay comfortably together. She's probably not as perky as she used to be - it's hard to tell - she's as lively as big fat George and doesn't look unwell. She keeps herself tidy and cleans off the 'beard' of Recovery and carrot immediately after the feed. You can tell she worries about the syringe when she is picked up but enjoys laying in the sun on my lap after we've done and being stroked - sometimes she nods off! She's getting tired of the situation though and squeals in protest when collected for the next feed.
The vet will see her again tomorrow which will frighten her but I'm sending her in with George. He'll probably say teeth are fine (2 vets at the practice have checked already) but we are stuck in the same position again. If he feels any lumps or bumps in the throat at least we'll know something...?
So, does anyone have any experience of this sort of situation? My family are supportive and I'm happy to continue our daily Recovery battle if there might be light at the end of the tunnel but if the message is that she's unlikely to start eating again and I'm just dragging things out... I don't know what to do. Has she gone without eating by herself for too long? Or has anyone supported their pig through weeks of gut stasis with a happy ending?
Phew! Sorry for the long post but thanks for listening folks