How Much Critical Care Is Needed If Pig Is Eating Small Amounts?

[Germaine]

Hi. My pig Lily passed her bladder stone quite traumatically. We came home and she was sitting in bloid and her bladder was swollen. We went straiggt to vet and they looked after her for three days.

She lost 100g during this time so vet gave us CC to bulk her back up. She said if she is eating she only needs 8ml x3 daily. Lily is eating hay and leafy veg (she wont eat peppers or anything else). Is this amount enough? Can you make a batch for the day and keep it in fridge?

She is sleeping a lot too. Is this normal? Is she just recovering? When she's not sleeping she has perked up a little in 24hrs.

 

[helen105281]

Ouch poor girl.

I would say she needs more than that, a pig that is not eating at all needs a minimum of 120ml so if she is nibbling at stuff you could maybe halve that but weigh her daily and let her weight be your guide. Also keep an eye on her poo output. She will also need plenty of fluids. Is she on pain relief?

Critical care can keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours I think though I have never left it that long.

 

[Wiebke]

What your vet is suggesting is far too little. Please weigh her daily at roughly the same time. You will struggle to get 120ml into guinea pigs off their appetite, but try to top her up every 3-4 hours. Usually you get about 15-20 ml into a piggy in one session that is still showing some interest in food; if I were you, I'd aim for 60-90ml in a day and adjust the amount to the degree she is eating by herself and her daily weight. Offer her some solid food first before hand feeding to encourage her to eat by herself. Make sure that you give 1ml of water for every 3-5 ml of recovery food. If your girl is not keen on Critical Care, you can try pellets that you have mushed up in boiled water instead. It can take some time to recover the weight, so don't be impatient, but just keeping her from losing any more is a worthy aim! http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

I hope that your vet has given her metacam, as passing a bladder stone can be very painful. I assume that she is also on an antibiotic. You may also want to give probiotics like avipro plus (which is the only one without added calcium), especially if your girl is on baytril. It is well known for being very harsh on the guts and killing the appetite.

You may find this thread here helpful for her future diet: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...or-piggies-an-option-to-be-considered.105930/

 

[gizzy]

Sorry to disagree but I think you're vet is spot on , before considering syringe feeding, there are so many factors to be taken into consideration, you cannot just say that a guinea pig that may need syringe feed should get over 100 ml of past, each case. Is differnt , each pig is different ! For a pig needing full-time syringe feeding, 40 to 60 ml daily little and often, is quite often all that is required, though there are some that will eat more ,

Also if you try and force large amounts you risk getting the pig syringe shy, and the stress of this will also add to weight loss

You also have to remember that's a guinea pigs "actual " stomach is quite small in comparison with the rest of the digestive tract , Feeding large amounts May actually cause discomfort ! I believe you're that your vet has made the right call,

If Lilly is eating hay and leafy vegetables, then trying to feed her large amounts of syringe paste may well be extremely counter-productive,

as quite often syringe feeding a pig Will put it off eating normal food, and part of the natural digestions process involves chewing the food, to produced digested enzymes, insuring the pig gets the most goodness out of the food ,

In your case as Lilly is eating would probably be better to simply top up with small amounts of syringe paste leaving room in her tummy For the all important food that she can chew herself,

As for keeping The spare paste in the fridge, yes ! personally I would not keep it for longer than 24 hours, and remember to let it go back to room temperature before starting the feed

 

[Germaine]

Thanks for all the replies! We had been giving 8ml 4times a day and I weighed her this morning again before feed like yesterday and she is up 25g. She hates the critical care. She is on septrin and metacam and will take those but cannot tolerate critical care. We have to wrap her. Ill continue to weigh her and see how much she is eating. I have seen her in the pellet bowl sussing it out so hopefully she will start munching through those. I would love to see her enjoying her green pepper though. It was a favourite of hers!