Hi everyone my little old lady had a huge bladder stone she passed. Was on antibiotics for a while and I just found out she has more little stones formed. She is happy to eat lettuce and low calcium veg. But not eating enough hay. I'm trying to force feed critical care but I'm struggling to get it out of the syringe even after 2x the water. Any advice?
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Help force feeding
- Thread starter Linny9
- Start date
Siikibam
Senior Guinea Pig
Sometimes it’s suggested you cut off the top so it passes through. Is it still quite thick in consistency? You could also try offering it on a spoon or in a bowl.
Are they going to see if she passes the stones? And is she on any painkiller?
Are they going to see if she passes the stones? And is she on any painkiller?
Hi!
Cut off the tip of the syringe just before it widens in order to hold the plunger in but allow the fibre in rough ground critical care or in mushed up pellets to pass out. A pair of scissors should do the trick.
PLEASE also accept that we don't like the expression 'force feeding' for a very important reason: just squirting the contents of a syringe into the mouth without doing so very gently and slowly, and only as much as a piggy can hold in its mouth and ONLY ever after they have swallowed the previous lot can lead to aspiration (the feed ending up in the lungs) or blocking the nose. We prefer to call support feeding 'syringe feeding'.
Here is our very detailed practical step-by-step feeding guide: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Is your lady on analgesics (painkiller and anti-inflammatories) and on a glucosamine product to help strengthen the badly scratched and irritated natural glucosamine layer that prevents the corrosive urine from coming into contact with raw tissue?
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
PS: Fine ground recovery formula is usually easier to give and generally better accepted by piggies. Something you may want to look out for in the future; just as helpful tip. Look closely before ordering. If she doesn't like the taste of the CC, see whether mixing it with some mushed pellets will help.
Hey thanks! That's fair I do move slowly. I tried the spoon and it's better. She's on metacam and glucosamine and I give her extra vitamin c, as well as poop soup. I'm unsure of whether this critical care is rough or fine. It just says professional assist feeding formula.Hi!
Cut off the tip of the syringe just before it widens in order to hold the plunger in but allow the fibre in rough ground critical care or in mushed up pellets to pass out. A pair of scissors should do the trick.
PLEASE also accept that we don't like the expression 'force feeding' for a very important reason: just squirting the contents of a syringe into the mouth without doing so very gently and slowly, and only as much as a piggy can hold in its mouth and ONLY ever after they have swallowed the previous lot can lead to aspiration (the feed ending up in the lungs) or blocking the nose. We prefer to call support feeding 'syringe feeding'.
Here is our very detailed practical step-by-step feeding guide: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Is your lady on analgesics (painkiller and anti-inflammatories) and on a glucosamine product to help strengthen the badly scratched and irritated natural glucosamine layer that prevents the corrosive urine from coming into contact with raw tissue?
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
PS: Fine ground recovery formula is usually easier to give and generally better accepted by piggies. Something you may want to look out for in the future; just as helpful tip. Look closely before ordering. If she doesn't like the taste of the CC, see whether mixing it with some mushed pellets will help.
Hey! She's on metacam. The stones are small enough they should be passable, but I'll keep an eye on whether she's still urinating. Spoon is totally preferable for her. Think she's had enough nasty stuff given to her in syringes!
Betsy
Anniversary Herd
Mine prefer Science Selective Recovery Plus to Critical Care. You could try adding a bit of mashed banana/finely grated apple/finely grated carrot and/or oats to the CC to make it more palatable.
If she is still willing to eat from a spoon, then she hasn't completely lost her appetite, which is a good sign.
Oh she's super into vegetables right now, still wheeks for them. Just not eating hay much. Thank for you helpIf she is still willing to eat from a spoon, then she hasn't completely lost her appetite, which is a good sign.
Maybe I'll try to buy that if the oats don't help. I have the pickiest guinea pigs in the world and they don't really like apples and refuse bananas.
I would still try to persist with hay/grass fibre; it is the good their back teeth have evolved against (silica in grass is very abrasive, so guinea pigs have some of the fastest growing teeth of all rodents) and the digestive system with its two runs through the gut is also laid out for a mainly grass hay based diet. Hay is just the food group that is often dropped first when there is some discomfort. Too much in sugary foods like fruit or root veg are not good for a diet. Try the odd fresh herb like cilantro (UK: fresh coriander) as a treat; it is the herb lowest in calcium
Control the food intake/support feed by weighing daily at the same time.