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Just had to take piggy to the emergency vets - help please?

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furryfriends (Excellent Adventure Sanctuary) said:
I would strongly advise getting your piggie to Simon in the morning. I am more than happy to meet with you to show you how I syringe feed as it can be quite daunting when you haven't done it before.
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Yes we plan to call the vet first thing and tell them our plans, and also to call the Northampton Vet and get him in there asap. If he is still not eating on his own, can they keep him in there over night? Do they have that facility?

I run a business and unfortunately tomorrow is the first day back after christmas - hectic. However, my other half is not back to work until 3rd Jan, so he will be the piggy taxi service tomorrow.
 
Charlie84 said:
Yes we plan to call the vet first thing and tell them our plans, and also to call the Northampton Vet and get him in there asap. If he is still not eating on his own, can they keep him in there over night? Do they have that facility?

I run a business and unfortunately tomorrow is the first day back after christmas - hectic. However, my other half is not back to work until 3rd Jan, so he will be the piggy taxi service tomorrow.
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They don't have the facility to keep them in overnight, but I provide this service and Simon recommends me to people, especially for syringe feeding. I am more than happy to have your piggie to stay for a while if necessary.
 
furryfriends (Excellent Adventure Sanctuary) said:
They don't have the facility to keep them in overnight, but I provide this service and Simon recommends me to people, especially for syringe feeding. I am more than happy to have your piggie to stay for a while if necessary.
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Ok, that's good to know, thank you.

Admittedly the vets he is in at the moment have not given him a scan or anything, which I suppose would show up any internal problems, do you think I should ask them to scan him?

I'm just nervous about taking him so far if they can perform the same investigations at the vets he is currently in - not doubting the specialist at all, I just want to save any un needed stress for him.
 
A pig that's not eating is a dead pig unless you syringe feed. They hate it in the beginning, but you have to get enough fibre and nutrients into them despite what they like or else their digestive system shuts down and there'll be no recovery. A full tea cup of group up guinea pig pellets or equivalent of that in recovery mix has to be fed to a pig per one day, that's a lot, I doubt very much that vets have enough time to spend an hour every 3 to 4 hours feeding just one patient. It's not like with cats and dogs, you cannot wait to see if they are eating or feed them a little bit of recovery, it has to be a normal amount, at least a cup a day. When our boar was ill for over 6 months we were syringe feeding him all the time a cup of mix a day and it was barely enough to keep his weight stable.

Hope your piggy gets better soon
 
I trust Simon 100% and he is so experienced with piggies. I have seen so many mistakes made by other vets too. I started going to Simon when I lived in Rugby so it was a 50 plus mile round trip but worth the travel everytime. If by any chance the problem is dental then I really would not let anyone else do anything as so many vets haven't got a clue!

Also I can offer syringe feeding, and there are many people who can vouch for the success I have had in turning around poorly piggies, whether it be ones with dental issues or other problems.
 
furryfriends (Excellent Adventure Sanctuary) said:
I trust Simon 100% and he is so experienced with piggies. I have seen so many mistakes made by other vets too. I started going to Simon when I lived in Rugby so it was a 50 plus mile round trip but worth the travel everytime. If by any chance the problem is dental then I really would not let anyone else do anything as so many vets haven't got a clue!

Also I can offer syringe feeding, and there are many people who can vouch for the success I have had in turning around poorly piggies, whether it be ones with dental issues or other problems.
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Ok, thank you very much. As I said I will call Simon in the morning and see if they can see him right away, also could you pm me your contact number so I can call you if needed to discuss him staying with you at the rescue / meeting with you regarding the syringe feeding? Thank you for your help.
 
Just wanted to wish you and your piggie luck and to say that I'm sorry you've had such a tough time of it during the last few days.

Also, and I might be wrong on this, but I don't think you want your vet to do an official referral for you. I'm fairly certain that referrals cost more than normal vet trips and that it is cheaper to just get the details and call them yourself. It sounds like you are already planning to do this, but thought I'd let you know just in case you want to go with the vet your current practice mentioned.
 
I would reccomend simon, too, a lot of vets don't recognise the problem might be dental and if they do they immediately only observe the front teeth. It sounds like it might be an obvious issue to someone like simon if this is the case but it might not be to a vet who is not so cavy savvy.
If he will feed from a syringe but not by himself it sounds like something teeth related, hard food might be causing pain?
Good luck with simon, kepe us posted :)
 
Piggyologist said:
A pig that's not eating is a dead pig unless you syringe feed. They hate it in the beginning, but you have to get enough fibre and nutrients into them despite what they like or else their digestive system shuts down and there'll be no recovery. A full tea cup of group up guinea pig pellets or equivalent of that in recovery mix has to be fed to a pig per one day, that's a lot, I doubt very much that vets have enough time to spend an hour every 3 to 4 hours feeding just one patient. It's not like with cats and dogs, you cannot wait to see if they are eating or feed them a little bit of recovery, it has to be a normal amount, at least a cup a day. When our boar was ill for over 6 months we were syringe feeding him all the time a cup of mix a day and it was barely enough to keep his weight stable.

Hope your piggy gets better soon
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I am well aware of the complications of them not eating, which is why I took him straight to a qualified vet and paid a ridiculous amount of money to have the peace of mind that he was being fed by someone that knew exactly how to feed a pig properly.

I have been sent home before with critical care for another pig I had, who was already in a very bad way, and sadly, he got food in his lungs and died.

That experience lead me to change to the vet I am currently using, who are prepared to keep him in over night and have enough knowledge to prescribe medications that the other practice refused to because they 'didn't stock it'.
 
Charlie84 said:
I have been sent home before with critical care for another pig I had, who was already in a very bad way, and sadly, he got food in his lungs and died.
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I am very sorry to hear this.

Once you are shown how to do this properly you will do just great: just make sure the mix goes towards the side of the mouth cheek and not into the back of the throat, direct your syringe slightly to the side of the mouth. I was told by a couple of experienced cavie specialists you have to also suck out all the food remains from previous feeding before you start again as they begin to rot.

Hope there'll be some good news for you soon. I know how hard it is to take the pressure to make sure you are doing everything right for your pig.
 
Update on graham! The vets have said that he has taken some food of his own accord over night :)) Good piggy!

I have spoken with the Cat and Rabbit Clinic who said it sounds like my current vet has taken all the correct steps and have done everything they can so far - and they are of course happy to see him if I need to take him for a second opinion, they also recommended Furry Friends to me for the syringe feeding should he need it. The lovely lady on the phone said that it sounds as though Graham may have turned a corner and through the determination of my other vet that he may well be ok. She said it may well be because he lost his cagemate Bear and although he has seemed to be ok on his own that he may be lonely.

My current vet has said that they will continue to feed him and monitor him, give him some more anti-biotics and gut stimulants over the course of today and re-evaluate at around 4pm, and if he has continued to eat by himself then to allow him to come home :(|)

Fingers crossed that he does ok today!
 
Hopefully it does sound as though he's turned a corner, fingers and everything crossed! If you need any help with syringe feeding or for me to have him here for a few days just give me a shout. Hopefully you got my pm with contact nos.
 
Ok - well the vets are letting Graham come home tonight! I pick him up at 5.40 x) I cant wait to give him a cuddle!

They are giving us some medication for him and they want to see him again in 24 hours to make sure he is still eating, but they said he has eaten some food again today on his own :)

I'm so pleased, I really hope he continues to get better, thank you for all the support everyone has given, it means a lot to be able to share thoughts with like minded piggy people x
 
Well Done Graham. Now you keep going in the right direction, there's a good pig.

I can thoroughly recommend Debbie by the way, she will look after him really well should you need it (which hopefully you won't)
 
just got caught up on this thread; I'm sorry you've had such a rough few days! I'm so glad to hear that graham is doing better. good luck returning him to good health! xx
 
Just an update, when we go to the vets, she said that graham hasn't stopped eating all day! :D

I bought him home, and left him in his cage in a quiet room for a good 3 - 4 hours to settle back in. I kept checking on him and I put some parsley, watercress and a little carrot in his bowl.

I opened the door and caught him on the way to his bowl, and he ate the carrot but left the other bits apart from a few nibbles. Carrot is his favourite though!

I have just moved him back into the living room with us, and he is loudly chewing on his tube, and has just come out of hiding to grab another piece of carrot :)

So far it looks like he has eaten a small amount of his normal food, but I can see that he hasn't drunk anything yet.

He looks a bit shell shocked, and is very nervous, but then again I suppose that is to be expected after a stay in a strange place.
 
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Ok, so this morning I can see that he has been out by his water bottle because there are some fresh poops by his food bowl. The poops are about half the thickness of normal poops though.

He is mostly sitting at the back of his cage under his shelf, and hasn't come out this morning.

I am not sure if he has had anything to drink because it only looks like a very small amount has gone, and possibly a small amount of his dry food also.

I do know that he has eaten 2 inch size pieces of carrot, plus another little bit as they are gone.

He is going back to the vets today at 1pm for them to check him. They gave us Baytril 0.3ml to give him last night, which we did and also 0.7ml of Emeprid.

He is still not 100% himself. He did come out and 'scent' his cage last night when we put him in it and as soon as I got him home I put a little hay in his box which he munched on straight away.

I am wondering if he has been put back in his cage and has realised that he is own his own again? Could this all be down to loneliness?

My gut instinct is telling me that there is something still not right and I am tempted to take him to Simon Maddock.

I will see what the vets say at 1pm.
 
Are you still giving him some syringe food too? I often find that a bit of syringe food seems to perk them up enough to start eating more for themselves.

It may be worth seeing what Simon thinks too. Hope your appointment goes well today.
 
furryfriends (Excellent Adventure Sanctuary) said:
Are you still giving him some syringe food too? I often find that a bit of syringe food seems to perk them up enough to start eating more for themselves.

It may be worth seeing what Simon thinks too. Hope your appointment goes well today.
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The Vet has re admitted him to give him fluids straight away and some syringe food. They thought yesterday that because he had eaten all day that he wouldn't need the syringe food.

My vets have agreed and advised finding a specialist - they are going to make sure he is stable - they have recommended a specialist in Cambridge.

I am stuck as to whether to go to Simon Maddock or contact the specialist in Cambridge. 8... I would prefer him to be able to stay in a vets over night if possible.
 
My vote would be to go to to Simon - you will then have the back up of the Excellent Adventure Sanctuary. I send my own special needs pigs there to see Simon for their dental problems and Debbie looks after them as I live too far away to see Simon without her help.

Suzy x
 
If he goes to Simon I would have him here for syringe feeding and could take him to Simon for appointments or if I had any concern whatsoever about him. I have a very close working relationship with Simon and all the staff at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic. If he needed to be the vets during the day he could be, and I could collect him just before they close for overnight syringe feeding. I really don't think you could do any better than see Simon as he's so very knowledgeable and experienced.
 
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