Help For A Starving Piglet

[Countrylass]

Sweep has slightly loose, smelly stools so he has had no salad or grass for 48 hours. He is finding this very hard as he loves his fresh food and gets nearly all his fluid intake from it. Although his stools are much improved from Saturday night's virtually liquid offerings we will not be giving in and giving him anything other than nuggets, dried herbs and lots of hay for at least a week. Is there anything we can give him to eat as he's losing weight and keeps asking for yummy tummy food

 

[Veggies Galore]

I wonder if @Wiebke has any ideas ...

 

[Wiebke]

Sweep has slightly loose, smelly stools so he has had no salad or grass for 48 hours. He is finding this very hard as he loves his fresh food and gets nearly all his fluid intake from it. Although his stools are much improved from Saturday night's virtually liquid offerings we will not be giving in and giving him anything other than nuggets, dried herbs and lots of hay for at least a week. Is there anything we can give him to eat as he's losing weight and keeps asking for yummy tummy food

Hi! Have you had him seen by a vet yet? Any liquid and near liquid diarrhea is a serious issue and needs to be seen very promptly; especially if there is continued loss of weight. We have a piggy savvy vet locator on the top bar. https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-vet-locator/

Please syringe feed and water any guinea pig as soon as they stop eating normally. Here is our step-by-step guide. With any diarrhea, dehydration is a major issue, so you will have to make sure that he is getting plenty of water, too. If necessary, add dioralyte (US: pedialyte) to the water. Stay off any fresh food until at least 24 hours after the poos are normal again and introduce it only slowly and gradually.
Also see a vet asap if the diarrhea is making a return.

You may also want to have sme fibreplex at home and offer some nutrionally poor rough fibre, like brown cardboard; this can both help to rebalance the guts. Poo soup, which the water in which you have soaked some fresh poos from a healthy companion, can also help to restock the guts with all the right gut flora and fauna. https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-syringe-feeding-guide.115359/

 

[Countrylass]

The vet gave us some Zantac and Sweep's poos are pretty much back to normal (he suffers with impaction). He has had his head stuck up Holly's bum so I think he's harvesting his own poo soup equivalent again. I offered him some cardboard but he turned his nose up at it and the girls ate it for him. Weight is stable now at 1215g. He is eating plenty of hay and dry food but he finds it quite boring so is there anything more tasty he can have in lieu of fresh food?

 

[Wiebke]

The vet gave us some Zantac and Sweep's poos are pretty much back to normal (he suffers with impaction). He has had his head stuck up Holly's bum so I think he's harvesting his own poo soup equivalent again. I offered him some cardboard but he turned his nose up at it and the girls ate it for him. Weight is stable now at 1215g. He is eating plenty of hay and dry food but he finds it quite boring so is there anything more tasty he can have in lieu of fresh food?

You can give him little bits of readigrass, but otherwise, you have to be hard, unfortunately.

 

[gizzy]

Hi , l am haveng good results with Verm X pro biotic pellets , and pigs l have ofered them to eat them rederly

 

[gizzy]

How is Sweep

 

[Countrylass]

Sweep loves the taste of fibreplex thankfully and he is back to his usual rumbling wheeky toy type pig self. He is licking the bowl clean of salad to make up for lost time - last pig standing! (I've been keeping a close eye on his bottom). I remember buying Verm-X liquid for the chooks when we first had them and it smelt terrible and stained the drinkers - even the chooks were not keen so we swapped to poultry spice and entrodex as it was easier to add / hide them in their treats. How is Madge now? @gizzy

 

[gizzy]

hi laura , glad that Sweep is do, ing well
Mage is respondeng verry will considering the ordeal she has been through
she is having here stiches out on monday , seeing her with a prolaps was so frigterning
i thougt i had lost her , but the old girl is a fighter

 

[Flutterby]

Come on little sweep you can do it!