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I think my boy may be dying :-(

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JayneG

JayneG

Teenage Guinea Pig
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My 4.5 year old Eric has been ill lately and losing weight. I thought I'd managed to bring hi out of it, but today he doesn't want the critical care I've been giving him this week which he has been enjoying, won't eat the fresh stuff (had a bit of romaine earlier). He's chomped on a tiny bit of hay but is just sitting in a corner all quiet. I feel awful trying to force the critical care down him as it's stressing him out. What to try next? I'm wondering if there's something else I could try besides the critical care he might like. I know he's old and maybe this is him going downhill. I have to try everything. Any advice greatly appreciated. I'm getting myself all upset and that won't help him :-(
 
have you checked his rear end? is he passing stool ok? is he droooling? in any case a trip to the vet is a precaution worth taking.
I like the name BTW!:))
 
Thanks :-) He went to vet a week ago and he's due for check up this week. He was doing really well until today. Just now I managed to get 2mls of cc into him and he's eaten a tiny piece of grape. Stools are good. Vet said last week that it may just be old age. I'll see how he is in the morning. Am calling vet in any case, thanks :-)
 
Baby food can be used but it must not contain meat or dairy.You can get fruit puree and some vegetarian baby foods that are suitable .
 
I'd say baby food is a good idea too. Get an organic, fruit or vegetable-based food. Pear is often a hit. I'm not sure what CC tastes like but I'll bet baby food is a lot nicer. I syringe fed a rescue sow on baby food alone for about a week, giving her 5mls every 4-5 hours and more if she wanted it. If he's not drinking you can also give him a few mls of water to top him up. If he doesn't like the baby food, what about his normal pellet mashed up with water and syringed into his mouth? If he's not on pellets, the Pets at Home pellet for guineas is popular with mine. You might also want to try some really strong food (parsley, etc) or some really bland food (cucumber, etc) to see what he fancies. Cucumber's also good for getting fluids into him. Good luck with him, fingers crossed.
 
aww poor old man.i hope he is strong enough to pull through this for you
 
Thank you so much. He's eaten a bit more veg this morning and I think seems a teeny bit perkier. Still wouldn't have the critical care though so I've practically forced some in him. Felt awful but he needs it for strength and bulk.

I think I'll try the vegetable baby food. I need something he will like to get him eating properly again. He loves parsley and cucumber, maybe I could mix some in.

Thank you :-) He's also booked to see vet (he doesn't like going!)
 
When I was feeding Lennie CC, I mixed some organic baby food (carrot and potato) in with it, he seemed to like that. If you can get any grass, he may like that although its nutritional value is not up to much at this time of the year,it will keep his gut moving :)
Fingers crossed for him x
 
Good advice from Fiona - even when Ruby was really poorly she would still nibble on some grass, I even managed to blitz it up a bit and added it to baby food which she seemed to enjoy.

Hope he continues to rally.
 
I'm sorry to here that Eric is poorly. Sometimes older piggies don't eat as much as when they were younger. Could it be that he is having an 'off' day? Maybe tempt him with some of his favourite foods. I hope the vets visit goes well and let us know how he gets on xx
 
Why not make your own baby food so you know exactly what is in it. steam or boil the veg or fruit until soft and then use a blender to make it in to mush! Its also a lot cheaper used to do this for my daughter instead of buyin the jars. you can freeze it in an ice cube tray and just defrost the amount you need for the day if you do a big batch!
 
Thank you, great idea. He is eating better again, so I'm relieved. I'm going to make some up today as I still want to give him extra bulk. I might even mix a bit of cc in it. I think he's just got fed up of the cc, either that or me shovelling a syringe at the poor lad every day. I'm just relieved that he seems to have perked up again :-) Jeez these gorgeous guys stress me out sometimes :{
 
Hope hes doing ok.
When I was doing a rescue a few years ago I had a guinea that had an absece and then he stopped eating. I tried loads of things and the one thing that did work was cucumber! Cucumber was his fav food, so what I did was used my blender/liquid thingy and blended the cumcumber and then put it over his pellets. This made them really soft and he started running round his cage as couldnt at first work out where the cucumber was!
He started to eat! If he has a fav fruit/veg whynot give it a go. It was the only time I have every used my kitchen gaget!
 
Thank you Katie, he has perked up a lot so I'm very relieved. I'm watching him like a hawk though and he hates it :-)
 
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