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How long can a guinea pig go without food and make a full recovery?

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Guineamum

I noticed on Tuesday night that my sons guinea pig Guiness had not eaten all of his veg that day and was just huddled in the corner of his cage. I took him to the vets on Wednesday morning and she gave him a shot of antibiotics and a 5 day course to give at home. She said I should bring him back Friday. My husband took him on Friday morning and saw a different vet who gave him some probiotic powder stuff that he said might stimulate his appetite (Guiness had not eaten anything or pooed since Tuesday). He also injected him with water to rehydrate him.
He has now finished his antibiotics but seems no better, he has the odd lively moment but generally is very lethargic. If you offer food he takes it but doesn't eat it. I have just found this site and have read about other people syringe feeding their guineas, so I pureed some carrot and gave it to him in a syringe. I only had the tiny 2.5ml syringe from the antibiotics but he took about 4 of these.
I am really worried that he will have done irreparable damage to his liver and other organs by going so long without food. Should I persist in trying to get food in him or would it be kinder to have him put down - I really don't know what to do, I just don't want him to be suffering. I have been preparing my son for the worst all week and he accepts this.

Has anyone had experience of a guinea going this long without food and making a full recovery. Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can offer.
 
Welcome to the forum. You need to keep his system going so keep syringing every 2 hours if need be. I find the smaller syringes the best so no problem with using them. I also wrap pig in a towel with their spine to my stomach and that helps to stop wriggling.

Maybe ask your vet for some critical care, this is Timothy Hay based and you mix with water, this is a vital food when they are unwell. :) I got some from my vet and it cost £7.50 for a weeks supply.

What you describe happened to my Sheltie too, he was active but not eating even after finishing the antibiotics, Cuzzy didn't survive but that isn't to say your pig won't. Keep offering food and hay and syringe water too. If he isn't eating veggies then you have to think about a Vitamin C supplement but try green pepper as 1/8th of that does a pig for the day.

Good luck and keep us posted,

Louise
x
 
I had a little sow who suffered a stroke and did not eat for a few days - even syringe feeding was no good :(

However, Jazzy eventually made a full recovery (although she always held her head on the side) and regained her appetite. She went on to live to a good age too.

Hope this has given you some encouragement. Try & persevere with the syringe feeding.

Good luck O0
 
Thanks for the advice. I will keep the syring feeding up. I just wish I had thought to start it earlier.
 
Thanks for the advice. I will persist with the syringe feeding - just wish I had started this earlier.
 
yeah definitely syringe feed him O0 if you can't get hold of CC you can give baby food or try mushing up his pellets with warm water, until it's thin enough to get up a syringe O0 you should try and get in a fair bit every 2 hrs, or if he won't take much, every hour. O0
as S&T said you need to keep his system going, guinea-pigs can go downhill very easily. Yeah also syringe water every 2 hrs, again O0
try tempting him with his favourite veggies or special hay, the sooner you can get him eating the better O0 Keep us informed O0
 
Did the vet check the teeth and mouth thoroughly?.By7 this I mean with buccal pad seperators not an otoscope.
 
Have managed to get a bit more pureed carrot into him, just steaming some broccoli for our tea, so will puree some of this for him. My husband just called at the vets on his way home, but they don't stock critical care. Would I be able to get it from somewhere like Pets at Home?

The vet had a quick look in his mouth the other day and thought things seemed ok, but couldn't be sure about his back teeth.
 
sorry to hear he isnt well, critical care is the best thing as it contains the fibre they need, i used critical care with some baby food to make it taste nicer not all guineas appreciate the flavour! and they like it slighty warm too :)

if you find doing your own veg a bit time consuming you can buy packet of baby food which is pure veg pureed for around 75p which will last you a few days called Ella's Kitchen, small pouch easily put in the fridge.. if you go for that option just watch out for the ones that contain potato they cant eat that :) and just put a good amount in with your CC/pellets

also try the middle bit of a cucumber, even when some of mine seem really off they eat this bit, and its nice and watery too or some melon.. most piggies love those 2 veggies!
 
CC is easier to get online. Many vets have Science Recovery which is similar if you ask for it.

Pureed veg doesn't have enough fibre to keep a piggy going for long - mash some pellets up with water until you can get a good handfeeding solution.
 
totally agree DSL, just pureed veg hasn't got enough fibre. O0 have you been tempting him with anything? It's always worth a go cos as i said before, the sooner he starts to eat on his own, the better O0
 
I have just given him a mixture of pellets soaked in water blended with broccoli, it smelt disgusting but he loved it and had about 5 syringe fulls. I tried tempting him with all sorts of different veg but he just takes them from me but then doesn't eat them.
 
thats great, glad he loved it that'll be just what he needs, keep up with that i should! O0
 
This sounds like a dental problem to me.Maybe overgrown molars or a spur that is growing into the soft tissue and making eating painful.You need to find a gp savvy vet asap.The vet you have seen is useless.If a piggy is not eating the first thing they shouild examine is the molars.This vet probably does not know how to do that.

You need to get at least 25 mls of food into him per day.When I syringe feed I grind up some dry mix in a coffee grinder to a fine pwoder,mix with water to a soup.Pureed veg can be added to give flavour.After 2 mls or so of food,give some water.After you have finished feeding,rinse the mouth by sluicing some water across the tongue.Never put the syringe in the front of the mouth as the liquid could go into the lungs.
 
Hi Mary,

How long does it take the Molars to grow? Say a pig hasb't been eating for over a week would the molars grow that quickly?

Louise
x
 
Yes they could.Inscissors can regrow in a week and molars can grow in a few days.
 
I think MaryH is probably right - I don't think our local vets know too much about guinea pigs. There is only one vet in our town, but we are not far from Stirling if anyone knows of a good vet there I could try.
 
You can always go back to your original vet and say look I think it may be his teeth. They won't dismiss you if they care. I would maybe ring around a few vets and see if they are know about pigs. :)
 
I'm sorry i've just caught up with this thread :( :(
Hi there and welcome from us in OZ :)
I agree this so sounds like a toofie problem and for sure it'll be the molars they can grow very quickly and they do weird things like cross over so their little tongues can't move properly and then sometimes they can grow sideways :(
Give Vedra a call at the CCT and ask her advice and perhaps look on here for other people in your area and i hope they can pass you onto their vets O0
All the very best keep up the syringe feeding obviously this little guy wants to eat food but his mouth is sore and toofies are giving him heck :( :( :( don't forget extra water as well O0 O0 O0
I have toofie probs with my boy and i can understand your problems and frustrations and concerns, we'll have our paws crossed. This can be fixed you just need a piggie savvy vet :)
 
Who's your vet? I'm just outside Stirling. We use Broadleys vet hospital there and (most of) the vets are super there. You are welcome to some of my Critical Care if you're not too far - let me know. O0
 
Yeah it does sound like toofie problems :( Hoping you manage to get to a better vet and get him sorted. ((hugs)) :smitten:
keep up the good work with syringing the food and water O0
 
Just been syringe feeding Guiness this evening and he started to try and eat the tissues I was using to catch the drips, so I decided to try him with a bit of lettuce and he ate this :). This is the first food he has eaten himself in a week, perhaps this is a sign that he is on the mend. I then tried him with some really thinly sliced carrot but he wouldn't eat this.

Thanks Daftscotslass for the info about Broadleys, I have had a look on their website I will perhaps try and see if they can see him tomorrow if he doesn't continue to improve. I'm in Alloa and have just been to the vets here, they are very kind and seem to care about the animals, but just don't seem to know a lot about guineas.
 
really hoping guiness gets better soon sending you all hugs and cuddles from us in oz. :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: you have done a wonderful job with guiness and hoping he continues to improve. hoping you find a vet who knows about piggies, know how you feel there. have had piggies for years and NEVER had teeth problems with any of them is this normal? thinking of you sending you hugs and cuddles. :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: girls send guiness :-* :-* :-*
 
That's great that he's perked up a bit. Since it's a vet hospital there's not usually a problem in getting an appointment at short notice. They can check teeth without anaesthetic and the vast majority really know their stuff about piggies.

I'm in Dunblane... offer stands if you need the Critical Care. I've not needed to use it in ages and the packet is open so it's there if you need it. :)
 
aww so glad to hear he's going the right way, yep thats a great sign O0 :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
i would try him with little bits of his favourite food over the next few days, because it'd be great to get him eating on his own :smitten: Seeing a good vet would definitely be worth it i'd say, even if it's just to put your mind at rest :smitten:
hoping he continues to improve, let us know how he goes :smitten: :smitten:
 
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