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Not Wanting Food Or Water, Listless, Diarrhoea, Facing Corner

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I'm going to ask for her to order some although she didn't seem keen on the idea yesterday.
 
It's best to have everything you need going into the weekend when vet access isn't so easy. That way you don't haven't worry over the next few days and can take your time nursing him. Good luck with your request!
 
He had his injection of metrochlopromide, fed him and less than 20 mins later we have poop! Hes happier already...! I feel bad telling the vet how to do her job and I'm pretty sure if I say the words "the guinea pig forum recommend...." I might get barred lol! Anyway. She's ordering the oral stuff for Monday (finally!) I have to take him back in the morning for another injection, and she's going to show me how to inject him so I can do it myself when they are shut on Sunday if he still needs it, I would Much rather give him it orally but I will do whatever I have to, I just hope I don't pass out on my poor lad! What does the dioralyte do?!
 
kaja979 said:
He had his injection of metrochlopromide, fed him and less than 20 mins later we have poop! Hes happier already...! I feel bad telling the vet how to do her job and I'm pretty sure if I say the words "the guinea pig forum recommend...." I might get barred lol! Anyway. She's ordering the oral stuff for Monday (finally!) I have to take him back in the morning for another injection, and she's going to show me how to inject him so I can do it myself when they are shut on Sunday if he still needs it, I would Much rather give him it orally but I will do whatever I have to, I just hope I don't pass out on my poor lad! What does the dioralyte do?!
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Dioralyte is a water soluble powder that contains electrolytes and salts; it can help with potential dehydration if you are dealing with a piggy off food/not drinking, having diarrhea or severe bloat, especially if you cannot see a vet straight away. You can get the sachets at a normal pharmacy; they are not a treatment, just an emergency measure to tidy you over. A vet can give a subcutaneous injection of fluids if a piggy is noticeably dehydrated.

As your boy is better, I don't think that you need to worry about it.
 
Dioralyte is a fluid replacement drink used for rehydration. Usually used in people but usable in animals and birds too :-) comes in orange, blackcurrant or neutral flavours
 
So sorry to read about your loss. Keeping everything crossed for you. It sounds like you are doing a fantastic job with winston. He is gorgeous.
 
Thanks, these night feeds are reminding me why I stopped at having one child LOL. Looking back over the week, Winston has made 3 similar turns for the better. Each time he's started hand feeding and pooping better the vet has ceased with the baytril and metachlopromide at which point he has stopped pooping which leads to him not wanting to hand feed. It's 2 steps forward three back and I'm keen to break this cycle. I'm scared as soon as I stop the drugs he will deteriorate, does this sound familiar to anyone?
 
I'd say you need to stay on the drugs for a good few days after his symptoms improve, most vets will prescribe a 1-2 week course of antibiotics/other meds to make sure the bugs or problems have been fully solved. How long had he been on the meds for prior to you stopping each time?

You're doing a fabulous job though and it's excellent your vet is open to the suggestions made here. Keep at it and keep fighting Mr Winston!
 
I'm so sorry for your loss, popcorn free Florrie.
Xx

I wish Winston well.
 
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He was taken I'll exactly a week ago and went straight onto baytril 0.3ml daily, and 0.3 ml metachlopromide. He improved by tuesday so vet took him off drugs, wednesday he went downhill so went back on drugs, improved straight away, vet took him off drug Thursday, Friday downhill again, back on drugs and improving again. Basically I think the problem is this, he seems great after his injection of metachlopromide for about 10 hours he poops and is lively, loves his hand feeds, then the next ten hours he becomes less interested in his hand feeds and I have to be more foreceful, he does no poops and is grumpy. Then when he gets his next metachlopromide injection he's back through the cycle again! The vet I saw today has 35 yrs experience and keeps piggies himself, he said as Winston has lost so much weight to feed him 5 mls of complan and water daily, has anyone else heard of this!?! He is steadily gaining weight but rarely comes out of his pigloo. He's depressed since florrie passed anyway, just seems like I'm going around in circles. :( haven't slept properly in a week now with 3 hourly feeds!
 
Sorry to hear you are having such a hard time, it must be extremely tiring for you by now.
When my piggy was given Baytril, he could not tolerate it and stopped eating and got diarrhea, my vet and I agreed to take him off it, as it made him much worse than he was before it. (Although I am aware that it has helped many others). To get him eating again, he was prescribed Emeprid (gut stimulant) which was a 0.4 dose 3 times a day (by syringe). He had to take it for a couple of weeks, even after eating by himself, just to make sure he was back to normal.
Is the Metachlopromide a gut stimulant? I wonder if you would be better with something you could give orally at home, a few times a day to get him wanting to eat more often.
My piggy was also depressed after loosing our other piggy, but he does seem so much better now, we just had to get him through the hard times. But obviously every case is different, and it depends what was causing the initial problems for Mr Winston.
Sorry I'm not sure about the Complan, hopefully someone will be along to help on that. Sending hugs. xx
 
I'm taking him back to vet hospital tomorrow and will ask for emeprid, sounds like a good idea! On a brighter note, I have two new additions to the family. Meet Poppy and Harriet! Putting their cage next to winstons and will slowly introduce, I think just the fact he can smell them is making him more active! received_719397751477898.webp received_719397708144569.webp
 
I'm sorry you lost Florrie but congrtaulate you on how well you have supported Winston and the progress he is making.

Your new additions are gorgeous! I have often put a female piggie (spayed) next to a very poorly boar to perk them up and encourage them to eat!

I agree with Tbag - gut meds should not be given on/off every 24hours as this doesn't give the gut time to reestablish a natural rhythm of movement and can actually exacerbate the problem. Oral Emeprid (metoclopromide) should be given at least twice daily for at least 3-4 days or until the piggie has produced proper poops for at least 2days. My vet prescribes this in tandem with oral cisparide which works on the hind part of the gut...the two together work better than one or the other.

Similarly either stop the baytril altogether or continue to give it for at least a week as again, on/off administration could potentially be exacerbating the problem and will also select for anitbiotic-resistant bugs. I would suggest that, if he is currently off baytril that he remains off but is put on a good course of gut stimulants as per above as that should hlep sort out any soft poo/no poo problems)

As to Complan - I have in the past used this myself with poorly piggies but not all of them have liked it. I prefer now to add Ellas organic baby food to the critical care/liquidised pellets to help build them up as they seem to prefer this.. I am very careful with the flavours however - carrot/parsnip/apple;spinach/apple/swede or sweet pototato/broccoli/carrots - and don;t give it to a pig with bloat/gas problems as the sugars in processed baby food cause more fermentation in the gut and more gas.

HTH
x
 
kaja979 said:
I'm taking him back to vet hospital tomorrow and will ask for emeprid, sounds like a good idea! On a brighter note, I have two new additions to the family. Meet Poppy and Harriet! Putting their cage next to winstons and will slowly introduce, I think just the fact he can smell them is making him more active! View attachment 17983 View attachment 17984
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oh they are adorable! and you are hightly commended for your committment to your precious Winston! I bet the new additions will boost him up!
 
Ahaaa! Funniest little piggies date, Winston loves the girls, we let them sit together in the bottom of the old cage we don't use, he actually looked like the old Winston :) he didn't seem impressed that I only have them ten mins together! I have a good feeling they will be great together!
 
kaja979 said:
Ahaaa! Funniest little piggies date, Winston loves the girls, we let them sit together in the bottom of the old cage we don't use, he actually looked like the old Winston :) he didn't seem impressed that I only have them ten mins together! I have a good feeling they will be great together!
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Ohhh what great news! You go Winston!
 
Hi all, I saw a different vet tonight, and while his bedside manner seemed a little harsh he at least had a new pov. He thinks Winstons teeth are slightly overlapping caused Probs with eating. He took him out back and I heard a yelp from Winston :( he said he can't do the back teeth as he wud need to be knocked out but hahafixed the others.... He gave me oral emeprid because I asked for it, said he's only ever given it to cats and dogs and I take it at my own risk! He's prescribed a 0.5ml dose once a day... Does this sound right? Also, how fab is ellas organic baby food! Mix a tiny bit into his recovery and he wolf's it down..! He weights 767g now. I have been feeding him every 3 hours for over a week now and I'm knackered! If I mix his baby food and recovery, realistically how many mls do u think I should be getting in him min and max?, I don't want to over feed him as he loves the stuff now! Also how much water alongside? I have to take him back latee in the week to see if he's eating alone and if he needs surgery. ALSO my poor fella has been limping since his trip to the vets, he was quite heavey handed.
 
Sounds like the vet was a bit aggressive poor thing, is he on any pain relief still?

That seems quite a low dose of the Emeprid, it is a while since I have used it though, but I am sure mine have been on higher, it is based on weight though. Did the vet say anything about sorting the back teeth? is he waiting until he is bigger?

It is difficult to say what has caused what here, it is likely though that the dental issues are the result of the original problems and not the other way around.

How are his poos?
 
It's just unfortunate that his regular vet has been on holiday, I've not been keen on the locums. Havin a bad time with Winston, he's not poo'd in almost 12 hrs and is now refusing his feeds. The vet said see how he goes... That was it, I think they are bored of seein me. I'm kind of annoyed the teeth thing was just picked up as I asked them to be checked the very first visit and she said they were fine. What's the best way to get my boy to poo then!?!?
 
Massage therapy would help, can't remember if you are doing that already. Ideally the vet would need to check for a blockage first though. It could be because he is not eating enough, as it does make things slow right down when they are not eating for themselves.
 
"I think they are bored of seeing me"... Any good vet should not get bored of seeing someone. People can't exactly control their piggies' illnesses, that vet proabably is not the best around.

Good luck with Winston's recovery!
 
kaja979 said:
It's just unfortunate that his regular vet has been on holiday, I've not been keen on the locums. Havin a bad time with Winston, he's not poo'd in almost 12 hrs and is now refusing his feeds. The vet said see how he goes... That was it, I think they are bored of seein me. I'm kind of annoyed the teeth thing was just picked up as I asked them to be checked the very first visit and she said they were fine. What's the best way to get my boy to poo then!?!?
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Continued prayers and good thoughts for little Winston!
 
Caramel was on 0.4ml three times a day, but I am not sure if they would come in different strengths, ie cat/dog. Hopefully someone with more knowledge on this can help.
Poor Winston, he has really been through it. I suppose the tooth problems, are due to the not eating/grinding down.
Thinking of you both. x
 
I honestly think that the teeth problems have been the original cause for him. Hes now drooling lots and he's not at all happy, no poops at all since last night and hes had 2 x 0.5 ml of emeprid today. I'm so disheartened by all of this now
 
I've read through this whole thread as my two girls are on emeprid for diarrhea and upset tummies. I really hope that he perks up soon for you, bless him
 
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