ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
hi. i have a guinea pig, and he is refusing to eat anything. he isn’t pooping, and he isn’t peeing either. his roommate died last month, and i think he’s starting to realize that he’s gone. please help me 
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Help! - Guinea pig not eating
- Thread starter ilovemypiggy123
- Start date
I'm so sorry for your loss.
Please urgently step in and syringe feed him a fibre rich recovery feed or mushed pellets if you don't have recovery feed. Please also urgently see a vet.
Weigh him daily and feed as much in a 24 hour period as is necessary to keep his weight stable.
If he is in acute pining, and a vet deems your piggy otherwise healthy, then you need to get your piggy a new friend straight away.
The guides below offer further information on acute pining, and the emergency measures of syringe feeding
Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
Please urgently step in and syringe feed him a fibre rich recovery feed or mushed pellets if you don't have recovery feed. Please also urgently see a vet.
Weigh him daily and feed as much in a 24 hour period as is necessary to keep his weight stable.
If he is in acute pining, and a vet deems your piggy otherwise healthy, then you need to get your piggy a new friend straight away.
The guides below offer further information on acute pining, and the emergency measures of syringe feeding
Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
thank you so much. i’ll take him to a vet asap.
Fingers firmly crossed.
PLEASE read the advice. Your home feeding care is as important in keepin your piggy alive until it has recovered. Guinea pigs cannot fast or their gut stops working; they rely on a regular food supply of grass/hay fibre.
Please use mushed up pellets as described in the emergency care guide (read it for further practical tips on how you can improvise in a crisis). Here is the link: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
PLEASE read the advice. Your home feeding care is as important in keepin your piggy alive until it has recovered. Guinea pigs cannot fast or their gut stops working; they rely on a regular food supply of grass/hay fibre.
Please use mushed up pellets as described in the emergency care guide (read it for further practical tips on how you can improvise in a crisis). Here is the link: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
This is a proper emergency. Step in with syringe feeding send get him seen by a vet as soon as possibleilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
ill try to syringe feed him. i’m at work all day so i’ll have someone take him after i leave or if not possible, i’ll have someone syringe feed him.
ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
hi. update
i am taking my guinea pig to the vet. he’s starting to breathe pretty heavy, and i just came back from work. we’re about to leave.
i am taking my guinea pig to the vet. he’s starting to breathe pretty heavy, and i just came back from work. we’re about to leave.
Fingers very firmly crossed!
ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
hi, we’re currently at the vet specialists office. my guinea pig has been taken in as an emergency
ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
update!
my guinea pig is okay! he’s on antibiotics and critical care he’s currently getting fluids
my guinea pig is okay! he’s on antibiotics and critical care
he’s currently getting fluids ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
update:
my guinea pig is wheezing and breathing much harder today. i gave him antibiotics and critical care, and he still has a loss of appetite
my guinea pig is wheezing and breathing much harder today. i gave him antibiotics and critical care, and he still has a loss of appetite
It will take a few days for the antibiotics to kick in.
It can also be beneficial to give a probiotic either 1-2 hours either before or after a dose of antibiotic as that can help stabilise their digestion (antibiotics kill the good gut bacteria as well as the bad illness causing bacteria and this can also make them not want to eat as much).
Ensure you weigh him daily. This will enable you to make sure you are giving him enough critical care - if he isnt eating anything for himself then you need to feed in excess of 60ml of critical care in a 24 hour period (feeding as much as he will take per sitting. the less he takes per sitting, the more frequently he will need to be fed) but much is determined purely by his daily weight checks
It can also be beneficial to give a probiotic either 1-2 hours either before or after a dose of antibiotic as that can help stabilise their digestion (antibiotics kill the good gut bacteria as well as the bad illness causing bacteria and this can also make them not want to eat as much).
Ensure you weigh him daily. This will enable you to make sure you are giving him enough critical care - if he isnt eating anything for himself then you need to feed in excess of 60ml of critical care in a 24 hour period (feeding as much as he will take per sitting. the less he takes per sitting, the more frequently he will need to be fed) but much is determined purely by his daily weight checks
Claire W
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Good that you have had him seen. I hope he starts to feel better once the antibiotics kick in
ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
thank you so much for the information! my guinea pig is doing so much better, i just got back from work and my parents are caring for him while I'm at work. my mother syringe fed him and he is feeling much much better
. he is currently sleeping.ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
thank you!I hope he starts to feel better once the antibiotics start to work.
All the best! Hang on in there. Great that your mother is helping you with the care.
ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
thank you so much! he is now drinking water, eating celery, and pellets! he’s responding well to treatment, and also eating quite a bit of critical care. he still hasn’t pooped yet, the vet suspects mild GI stasis? He’s just starting to eat solids, so i suspect that he’ll start pooping soon
Here is our advice on GI stasis. Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
Please be patient. If your boy is eating, then this means that the gut is working again but more slowly at first. You have to sit out the period when the internal conveyor belt has stopped and not been loaded (with your boy hardly eating) - that gap will show up later in the poo output. A piggy will really fight food when they can no longer process it for some reason (stasis, blockage, bad pain, the need to breathe overtaking all other needs, organ failure), so if they are eating, it means that you will poos again once the increased food intake has been properly processed - which takes about a day or so; two if the gut has slowed down quite a bit. But just the act of eating more willingly means that your boy has started to process his feed again because he can do more than just breathe and his gut has started working again.
It is great that he is responding well to his medication and feeding support. Just give him more time to recover properly at his own speed. Antibiotics usually take about 5-7 days until the work optimally and strength from the illness needs to gradually be built up. The easier your boy can breathe, the more energy to drink and thirdly eat he has. Always keep in mind that the need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. This is the reason why severe respiratory illnesses are such bad appetite killers in the first place.
Hang on in there. Your boy will come right again.
ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
oh okay, thanks for letting me know!Here is our advice on GI stasis. Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
Please be patient. If your boy is eating, then this means that the gut is working again but more slowly at first. You have to sit out the period when the internal conveyor belt has stopped and not been loaded (with your boy hardly eating) - that gap will show up later in the poo output. A piggy will really fight food when they can no longer process it for some reason (stasis, blockage, bad pain, the need to breathe overtaking all other needs, organ failure), so if they are eating, it means that you will poos again once the increased food intake has been properly processed - which takes about a day or so; two if the gut has slowed down quite a bit. But just the act of eating more willingly means that your boy has started to process his feed again because he can do more than just breathe and his gut has started working again.
ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
the guinea pig pooped! it isn’t solid though, what does that mean?
That means that your piggy didn't eat enough and had a bit of a tummy upset from the GI stasis when it hit; it is perfectly normal to see funny poos coming out at first once the gut gets going again. What you are seeing right now is the debris from the damaged zone when the internal conveyor belt hung up.
You should see the poos gradually normalising and getting thicker over the next day as the syringe feed is more and more reflected in the output.
That is the reason why weighing on the kitchen scales is so important - that tells you what is going on RIGHT NOW.
The poo output can only ever tell you what has happened a day or two before but it is very much running behind events. In your case, it is only proving that your vet has got it right with their diagnosis and that the stasis 'gap' on the conveyor belt is now over.
ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
ohh, thanks for the infoThat means that your piggy didn't eat enough and had a bit of a tummy upset from the GI stasis when it hit; it is perfectly normal to see funny poos coming out at first once the gut gets going again. What you are seeing right now is the debris from the damaged zone when the internal conveyor belt hung up.
You should see the poos gradually normalising and getting thicker over the next day as the syringe feed is more and more reflected in the output.
That is the reason why weighing on the kitchen scales is so important - that tells you what is going on RIGHT NOW.
The poo output can only ever tell you what has happened a day or two before but it is very much running behind events. In your case, it is only proving that your vet has got it right with their diagnosis and that the stasis 'gap' on the conveyor belt is now over
Aww I hope he improves soon.. keep up the good work
ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
thank you!
ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
update:
he has a loss of appetite again.
this is his last day of antibiotics, and he’ll barely eat anything but celery. should i start syringe feeding him again after his last dose of antibiotics? the vet told us not to force the food, but right now he’s looking in rough shape.
he has a loss of appetite again.
this is his last day of antibiotics, and he’ll barely eat anything but celery. should i start syringe feeding him again after his last dose of antibiotics? the vet told us not to force the food, but right now he’s looking in rough shape.
If he isnt eating hay then you must start to syringe feed straight away (Don’t wait until his last antibiotic dose).
Syringe feeding during a period of loss of appetite is not the same as force feeding but supporting them via syringe feeding is essential literally to keep them alive.
Please continue with daily weight checks as it is the only way to know he is getting enough hay and/or syringe feeds.
Syringe feeding during a period of loss of appetite is not the same as force feeding but supporting them via syringe feeding is essential literally to keep them alive.
Please continue with daily weight checks as it is the only way to know he is getting enough hay and/or syringe feeds.
ilovemypiggy123
New Born Pup
oh okay, thanks
How is his weight looking?
This is always the most accurate way to see if a guinea pig is eating enough.
He needs to be weighed daily at the same time, but if he is showing a continual loss across several days you need to step in with syringe feeding immediately.
A probiotic (also mention previously) can help a lot - is he taking one yet?
This is always the most accurate way to see if a guinea pig is eating enough.
He needs to be weighed daily at the same time, but if he is showing a continual loss across several days you need to step in with syringe feeding immediately.
A probiotic (also mention previously) can help a lot - is he taking one yet?