So I decided to order a packet of Emeraid Intensive Care to supplement Treacle as he is very underweight and seemed to be getting fed up with Critical Care.
I just wondered if anyone has used Emeraid and advise me what consistency it should be when made up. I made it up using the directions on the packet which states one part powder to one part warm water. This made a liquid which I drew up in a syringe to feed him. I just wanted to check that it should be a liquid feed rather than a “gloopy” consistency like CC.
Hi!
Please follow the advice on the packet. You can also feed a mix of emeraid and Critical Care if that is going down. Critical Care has more fibre but Emeraid tastes better and accepted more easily.
You need to feed 40-60 ml over the course of 24 hours to any guinea pig completely off their food and not happy to eat anything; that is ideally every 5-10 ml (or as much as you can) every two hours during the day and once or twice during the night, depending on how critical your piggy is in order to keep the gut going.
Any piggy that is willing to take on syringe feed or is still nibbling/partially eating on their own you feed 60-90 ml in 24 hours, ca. 10-20 ml per session. Every 3 hours and once in the night at the lower end you get in per session, 3 times a day with no need to get up at night when your piggy is happy to take it and you get 90 ml or more.
You also monitor the weight by weighing first thing in the morning (lowest weight) and try to adjust your feeding regime accordingly. Unlike poos which usually lag a day or even two behind, the scales will give you the status and can also tell you whether and how much your piggy is eating for themselves.
Your main aim at this stage is to stabilise the weight in the first place and then gradually up it as any medical treatment kicks in. How successful you are, depends on the nature of the health problem and its treatment and to a degree also on the age; so without knowing what your boy is being treated for, I cannot comment. Without treating the underlying problem directly, you are generally rather looking at slowing down the weight loss caused by its progression rather than getting your piggy back up to the previous healthy weight.
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