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Lump, And Some Weight Loss/depression?

Thanks - I think he's ok with it, he just simply doesn't want to eat. When I do manage to get it in his mouth, he doesn't react badly to it - he'll eat it, he just doesn't want to be fed in the first place. I'll try just his nuggets in a mush and see if he's any more willing with that, though.

Is there anything else I can be doing at home to help him?
 
Are you getting plenty of poos coming through? I still think some gut motility drugs could really help. I am currently dealing with a piggy who had stopped eating, but with gut mobility drugs, Metacam, fibreplex, probiotics and little and often syringe feeding, he is now starting to eat well. It has taken over a week, but I think we are definitely on the up and up now.
 
Betsy said:
I like the look of those they look :drool::drool:
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Having spent the best part of 10 years syringe feeding one guinea pig or another, I've found that what one piggy likes, another hates and some like a certain food for a day or two and then decide they would rather starve to death than have any more! Little Benji (RIP) would have 5 mls of one food and then I had to give 2 mls of a different one, then maybe 3 mls of another and then we could go back to the first one again! I know I let them rule me, but hey, why not! :yahoo:
 
Ooh, I'll grab some of those in the shop tonight or tomorrow and see if he likes them!

There wasn't much poo until today - this afternoon, I've found clumps of thin poos that are stuck together with a kind of mucus. I'm keeping an eye to see what comes next... I know the mucus can be a sign of a couple of things, or can just be a sign of the digestive system having been struggling/bacteria levels being disrupted by the antibiotics, so I'm trying not to panic yet. I'm just glad there's been some kind of output, finally - it signals to me that at least the gut is moving again, and these are the first solid ones in a couple of days.
 
Oh, also, on the subject of painkillers - is it a good idea for me to try re-introducing the metacam? Bearing in mind he's had an injection of vetergesic this week, I don't know how the different painkillers interact and if I'd be putting him at risk of an overdose.
 
Froggerella said:
Oh, also, on the subject of painkillers - is it a good idea for me to try re-introducing the metacam? Bearing in mind he's had an injection of vetergesic this week, I don't know how the different painkillers interact and if I'd be putting him at risk of an overdose.
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Vetergesic would be out of the system within 12 hours, so reintroducing metacam should be fine. If no better by tomorrow, try and get vet to prescribe Zantac and Emeprid xx
 
Ok, thank you! I'll reintroduce metacam tonight at the same dose he was getting last week (0.4ml per day, with food). Luckily my vet is open on Saturdays too, so I'll give him another 24 hours of syringe feeding and metacam and if that doesn't work, I'll take your advice re: zantac/emeprid and get a vet appointment Saturday morning.
 
Froggerella said:
Ok, thank you! I'll reintroduce metacam tonight at the same dose he was getting last week (0.4ml per day, with food). Luckily my vet is open on Saturdays too, so I'll give him another 24 hours of syringe feeding and metacam and if that doesn't work, I'll take your advice re: zantac/emeprid and get a vet appointment Saturday morning.
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I’d split the metacam dose to 0.2 ml twice a day. Their fast metabolism means it’s out of their system within 12 hours xx
 
Ahh fair enough - I'd already given him the 0.4ml tonight, but I'll split them into morning and night doses tomorrow.

I got some of the baby puree, as you suggested - he's not overly fussed on anything at all right now, and is fighting the feed. I've noticed he's become more bitey again (that went away after his vetergesic injection), which makes me think he's in pain - so I'm hoping the metacam kicks in over the next hour or so, and I can try again and see if he's any more willing for food then.

This just feels like it's going the same way as his cagemate, Bix. It really feels like no matter what, I'm fighting against nature here and that I can't win.
 
Our sanctuary piggy, Simon, was the same last week. The gut motility drugs worked wonders though. Particularly when given by injection. He initially had them by injection on the Monday and oral drugs to take home. He really picked up after the injectable drugs but didn’t do so well with the oral ones, so got injectable ones to give at home. I think he may have absorption issues, as he struggles to maintain weight, so maybe that’s why the oral drugs didn’t work so well for him. Today is the first day he’s gained weight and he’s eating really well.
 
So, another update - as he wasn't taking in any food beyond the small amounts I could force feed him, we took him back to the vet yesterday. It was a different vet to the two we usually deal with and, to be honest, I wasn't impressed with him. He told us that we're syringe feeding Cube too much critical care a day and that's why he's not eating (!) - he said guinea pigs should only get syringe fed 2ml crit care a day. So, as you can imagine, I took everything he said with a pinch of salt. I feel I should probably say something to the head vet about him - he may be a wonderful vet for other animals but obviously isn't experienced in small animals, and if he'd told that to someone less experienced with owning guinea pigs, that probably would have resulted in a pig starving to death from 2ml a day syringe feed.

Anyway, I got what I wanted out of the vet visit - Emeprid! Cube was given an injection of it in the surgery (although with a further injection of B12, plus an injection of something to help with his dehydration). I also have Emeprid to give to him orally at home, 0.5ml twice a day. Also received more metacam on request.

At the vets, he weighed 1050g approx. His normal weight is usually over 1200g, and I already knew he'd lost - however, he appears to be holding relatively steady at around 1050 at the moment. I'll keep weighing him at home to monitor this.

So, his current regime is:
- Critical care fine grind - little and often, I'm getting as much as I can get into him every few hours. Just now, he had 4 x 1ml syringe fulls of it. I basically keep going until he gets past the point of having had enough, to avoid stress - but we often have a fight before then, it can get quite forceful at times! Plus baby food supplemented in place of critical care when I feel it'll be more successful.
- Fibreplex - 1ml 3 x day as per guidance on the packet
- Metacam - 0.4ml once per day as per advice from the vet. I told him I was giving this dose split over two (0.2ml twice a day), as per advice from here, and he said the 0.2ml wouldn't be enough to do anything in one dose. As I've said, I didn't have the greatest trust in him, so further advice/guidance/research sources on this would be appreciated.
- Emeprid liquid 0.5ml twice a day
- Syringes of water (laced with probiotics) every now and then to ensure he's definitely getting fluids, although I have noticed he's started to drink from his water bottle again now

I also keep offering him little bits of veg - last night and today he's sniffed at them and shown an interest although not actually touched them, APART from a chunk of cucumber I left in his cage which has been nibbled all around this morning.

He seems very lethargic while in his hutch, but very bright and friendly while he's out with me. He's begun squeaking in protest at me the last 12 hours or so when I'm syringe feeding him, which I'm taking as a good sign that he's still got fight in him. He's also been moving around a lot more while I've got him out and wanting to explore more.

As I said, any advice or links to sources on how to split the metacam dose would be greatly appreciated. And fingers crossed that I'm not being overly optimistic here without good reason!
 
That's so worrying that a vet is giving out such useless and dangerous advice....2 ml of critical care per day! You can't overfeed and it won't stop them eating for themselves.

With regard to the Metacam dose, with a piggy that size, you really could give 0.4 mls twice a day. It will be out of the system within 12 hours, so they are being left in pain for 12 hours, when dosed once daily.
 
Yeah, I'll definitely be avoiding that vet in future - it's just lucky that, from my research and from the information given on here, I already knew exactly what to ask for and I was quite assertive about it. I just worry about what would have happened had I been a newbie at guinea pigs and taking his advice!

What dosage emeprid were you on when repeating every 8 hours?

As for the metacam, it's so difficult to find any solid information on recommended dosage for guinea pigs, as it's prescribed off label for them. I don't know if it's better to do the 0.2 (or 0.25?)ml twice a day, or double that for the 0.4ml - I'm worried about the risk of overdose.

I'll take your advice on getting him up and about, I'll get him out for a run around this afternoon and see how he is!

Thank you so much for your continuing support and advice on this matter, you've been absolutely invaluable.
 
Fab, I'll give that a go then!

I've got to say, he's looking a bit scruffy - he's learned how to spit out some of his syringe feed occasionally, so his chin keeps getting covered in bits of it, and he's seemingly not a fan of me trying to clean it!
 
Froggerella said:
Fab, I'll give that a go then!

I've got to say, he's looking a bit scruffy - he's learned how to spit out some of his syringe feed occasionally, so his chin keeps getting covered in bits of it, and he's seemingly not a fan of me trying to clean it!
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Don't worry about him looking scruffy what matters at the moment is getting food into him. When he's feeling a bit better, I'm sure he'll clean himself off if he wants to.
 
Heh, it's quite cute in a way. He is cleaning himself to an extent, I think he just can't quite reach properly underneath his chin. Occasionally he lets me go at it with some damp kitchen roll though.
 
He's just has 10ml of critical care in one go without much fighting - a little resistence to the actual syringe, but he's stopped spitting it out and seems to realise it's making him better. He HATES the taste of the fibreplex and does his best to get it out of his mouth, but I manage to keep most of it in there for him to swallow. He seems brighter, and more willing to accept the syringes but without me thinking he's given up - I feel like he may be getting a tiny appetite back.

Last night, he actually ate a bit of hay voluntarily which was the first time he's done that in a few days!

Still not a great deal of poo, but it's there every now and then, and still quite small - I'm just glad it's there at all. I've never been so interested in poo in my life!
 
Cube died in his bed this morning :-(

He'd been seeming so much better - his appetite was back, he was eating by himself again, and I was supplementing his food with critical care to help him put weight back on. I had him out yesterday socialising with my other boar for the first time since he'd been ill, and he was enjoying it - they were cuddling up together. This came out of nowhere, I was saying just yesterday that he seemed to be out of the woods. I guess with pigs you never can tell.

He's now buried alongside his old cagemate, Rubix.

I just don't know what happened, I feel like I did something wrong here.
 
You did nothing wrong. You did everything you could to keep Cube from tottering off the the Rainbow Bridge but sometimes, no matter what we do, the pull is too strong. Maybe he heard Rubix calling for him we shall never know. He and Bix are playing at the Rainbow Bridge happy to be reunited again. So sorry for your loss. Piggies are delicate animals and we are privileged to have them in our lives and that they get over their prey instincts and trust us to look after them and give them as happy a life that we can.
 
Thanks. I think there'll always be that little doubt in me. I wondered if I aspirated him last night when giving him critical care, and if that's what lead to this - but surely I would have noticed while he was out if I'd aspirated him, he would have shown signs. I guess it was just one of those things, but it's normal to wonder if I could've done more, or if I did something wrong that lead to this.

He was such a cuddly little fluffball, he'd fall asleep on me during cuddles. He was definitely my most laidback pig.

It's all a part of the privilege of owning pigs, isn't it? They bring so much love into our lives, but they eventually die.
 
I’m so sad to hear that cuddly little Cube has passed over to the rainbow bridge. You did an amazing job with Cube and all the critical care he needed. Your love and devotion showed and you couldn’t have done any more for your boy. Please don’t think it’s your fault, you couldn’t have spotted anything wrong. Sadly it was just his time to go and he must have passed peacefully in his bed.
RIP Cube.
Sometimes people put tributes in the Rainbow Bridge section.
Hugs :luv: xx
 
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