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Phoebe not picking up yet ... advice needed please

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We tried the crushing/syringing method tonight - a lot less stressful for all concerned I think! She's been a bit quieter today and hasn't seemed to eat as much - but have weighed her and she's actually increased a little - so it looks like heading in the right direction, hopefully! :)
 
Can't understand it. She still doesn't seem to be eating much but is putting weight on - the poos however, have returned to small size. Is this something that needs checking out? I've seen her eating her nuggets once and she has adlib hay and salad leaves - won't touch anything else. Appreciate your thoughts, as I'm concerned, thanks.
 
Did she eat all her veggies before she got ill not just salad leaves?

I would monitor for a day and see what she is actually eating so put in a handful of hay and see how much goes down, the same with pellets maybe put in a measured amount, the same with any veggies measure how much you are putting in and assess if its what she is eating. Are you still feeding her with critical care? The small poos sound like shes not eating much fibre wise. If your concerned go back to the vets, she might need something like bisolvan to clear any mucus in her nose and throat, that can put them off eating.
 
Her favourite has usually been salad leaves of all description - except iceberg of course. She used to eat peppers, carrots, watercress, celery and cucumber, but have tried to introduce beans, baby corn and have also tried a little apple and banana, which she did have. She's also had a small amount of spring greens, didn't want to give her too much because of making her gassy. Her tummy looks quite round-ish at the moment though.

I'm putting fresh hay, water, pellets and greens in before I go to work, she's going for the greens and have seen her nibbling at the hay, but isn't eating as much as she was. Do you think it might be bloat? Have tried tapping her tummy to see if it sounds hollow, but doesn't sound it to me. Though no experience of this at all. I haven't been topping up with the CC as she seemed a bit brighter and weight was increasing. Just don't know what to make of it.
 
Is the hay and pellets going down? Mine when ill have gone off pellets and nibbled at food but I have always supplemented with CC as well till they was eating pellets on their own. Are you giving her probiotics? Just a thought can't remember if you mentioned them but if on antibiotics of any kind a good idea to keep gut flora in check :)
 
not going down significantly, that's why I can't understand the weight gain. She's up 20g from last night and all I've seen her eat is salad and a few bits of hay. She's just on the 2 types of antibiotics, the metacam and the vit C.
 
I would get some probiotics pets at home sell them vetark brand, you mix them into the water think its a scoop per 200ml water, I mix half of that amount up or less and syringe it an hour to an hour and a half after giving antibiotics. Antibiotics can mess the gut flora up, baytril is renowned for it as are others. So always wise to given when under the weather. Might be the reason for the small poos. Is she eating more now then she was when she was at her most poorly?
 
hard to say, sorry but my brain is all over the place. She's definitely wheeking for her veg and eating that, I think more keenly than before. I've separated her from the other piggy as the other was bullying her quite a lot. They are indoor piggies and in the same room so they can hear each other if not see. Sorry, just worrying.
 
HUGS! It is a good sign that her weight is going up, but like most recoveries it is not quite a nice straight script; they have their own little wiggles. Check that she is not gassy.

Watching a piggy eat can be very deceptive - some can put on weight while they hardly seem to eat while others are seemingly tucking in normally, yet the scales are on a steep downhill slide. That is why weighing is so important; the scales don't lie! Enjpy the fact that yours is going in the right direction; the rest will follow as she gets better and even more so once her digestive system is not so badly pounded by strong meds.

So take heart, you are still well on course to win this battle! :tu:
 
If she is wheeking then that's a huge positive especially if she is tucking into them. Once they start eating what they fancy (like us when we are ill) then they will go on from there and the rest should follow. I would get some probiotics to boost her system and keep an eye on her. If your worried ring the vets but as shes gained weight and is eating I wouldn't be overly worried. They like to worry us, I have had more sleepless nights this year with some of mine but I wouldn't swap them for the world :)
 
Janey said:
Do you think it might be bloat? Have tried tapping her tummy to see if it sounds hollow, but doesn't sound it to me. Though no experience of this at all. I haven't been topping up with the CC as she seemed a bit brighter and weight was increasing. Just don't know what to make of it.
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If you are worried about gas/bloat first check your other piggy, if you hold her and tap on her sides near her tummy you shouldn't really hear any sort of hollowness. Then try again with Phoebe, as you have the opportunity to compare you may hear a difference. I personally when checking for gas/bloat, find it easier to hold the pig so she is stood on my knee either on her back legs or on all fours and gently tap.
Has she been pooing okay?
 
Thank you so much. I'll take her to vets tomorrow as not sure what a gassy piggy looks/feels like. Have an appt for Sat but don't want to wait that long.
 
If she is gassy she would have discomfort if you touched her tummy as well. Please keep us posted how she is :)
 
klee said:
If you are worried about gas/bloat first check your other piggy, if you hold her and tap on her sides near her tummy you shouldn't really hear any sort of hollowness. Then try again with Phoebe, as you have the opportunity to compare you may hear a difference. I personally when checking for gas/bloat, find it easier to hold the pig so she is stood on my knee either on her back legs or on all fours and gently tap.
Has she been pooing okay?
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Her poos are much smaller than usual. They were small at the start of this, then back to huge size when she was at the vets on Saturday, then have gone small again. Not sure if it's because she's not eating enough fibre (but is gaining weight)?
 
It sounds to me like things aren't moving through as they should. Glad you have a vets appointment, hopefully you will be able to get some gut stimulants. Also, is she on probiotics?
 
Janey said:
Her poos are much smaller than usual. They were small at the start of this, then back to huge size when she was at the vets on Saturday, then have gone small again. Not sure if it's because she's not eating enough fibre (but is gaining weight)?
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Hmm, have the poos gone smaller since you stopped giving her the critical care? That has a lot of fibre in so your reasoning may be right if that is the case.

I also agree with degu_rock, generally a gassy piggy can gets very sensitive around the gassy area. From personal experience Ruby would turn round to try and get to the sore spot if you touched it.
 
When Benny is gassy, he lets me know as he 'burrrrrs' when we touch it.

When Piglet had her spay, we were worried as she didn't seem to be eating, but her weight was going up just light Phoebe's. She wasn't gassy and so the vet said she must be eating. She had also just come off critical care food and her poos were also smaller, and within a week, her weight had dropped back down (but stabalised) and she was eating as normal and poos back to normal.

I'm not sure why it happened, but sounds very similar to what you are experiencing and I hope Phoebe gets better soon.
 
helen105281 said:
It sounds to me like things aren't moving through as they should. Glad you have a vets appointment, hopefully you will be able to get some gut stimulants. Also, is she on probiotics?
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Helen - not long been back from vets. They've given her a gut motility med and advised probiotics. I bought some on the way home - VetArk Pro C. Unsure about the dosage though as the vet and I both agreed Phoebe needs as little stress as possible, so try to get the probiotic powder on some food, rather than making up a solution. Do you have any idea how many average size pieces of cucumber I'd need to cover with this for the right dosage?

klee said:
Hmm, have the poos gone smaller since you stopped giving her the critical care? That has a lot of fibre in so your reasoning may be right if that is the case.

I also agree with degu_rock, generally a gassy piggy can gets very sensitive around the gassy area. From personal experience Ruby would turn round to try and get to the sore spot if you touched it.
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klee - Phoebe doesn't seem sensitive around her tummy, the vet gave her a thorough palpating and said she was gassy, but could feel she also had a full tummy. I haven't given her any CC as she seemed to be eating better and a bit brighter after the vet visit on Saturday. Only took her back today because of her swollen tummy. She's increased her weight by another 5g today from last night.
 
Only just saw this thread! Hope Phoebe is feeling a little better (good name choice by the way!). In regards to the probiotic powder, I think you'll find Phoebe will happily take it from a syringe, I know both my girls adore it! I would suggest putting a scoop into a small cup then adding some water and just give her as much as she'll take. It's very sweet and palatable so giving it to her shouldn't be a problem.
 
Glad you have got the meds and probiotic. I tend to either add probitic to their meds in a syringe (if not an antibiotic) or sprinkle on their dry food. Never dosed in cucumbers so not too sure but they are supposed to have it quite liberally so I would say a couple of bits each dose? Needs to be at least an hour apart from the antibiotics though.
 
Thanks Helen and Piggyfan :)

Will try the cucumber and see if she takes it - I'm told it's palatable?! If she doesn't go for it, we'll add it into a syringe with other meds in.

Edit: She noticed the drugged cucumber! Will have to syringe tomorrow.:tu:
 
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Just a quick update for anyone that's interested.

Took her back to the vets again tonight; she's a lot less gassy and her breathing has improved quite a lot :) Need to be on the same meds for about another week - she's still not eating a lot, but the vet says she has plenty of food in her system (so the little tinker's being sneaky about eating when I'm watching!). Poos are a little better, but dark - and so is her wee - but vet says that's probably the antibiotics causing the discolouration. She also thinks the poos won't return to normal size until Phoebe's finished her course of meds.

So .... just got to keep on, keeping on. My little piggy is so precious, so glad to see her improving, but am impatient for more!
 
Glad that Phoebe is getting better! Well done on you for persisting and pulling her through - you will get there and find that she is even more precious to you now.
 
Well, we're back to the vets first thing tomorrow - just for a final check up to see if we can stop the meds. She's so much brighter and more like herself now, but has lost some weight over the last 2 days. I haven't been supplementing with syringe feeding as she gets so stressed about it all, but will check with the vet that she's happy with Phoebe's weight and general self. Here's hoping all's well.
 
We can stop the antibiotics, but got to keep the gut motility meds up for a few more days and the probiotic & Vit C supplements going for another couple of weeks. So all good.

Would just like to say a huge thank you to all of you who have replied on here and helped me and Phoebe through this. I've really appreciated all your advice and tips. It's been awful at best and a real nightmare at worst and there were times I just didn't think I'd get her to pull through. A real lovely bunch of people :) Hugs to you all x
 
I am so glad that Phoebe has been given the all clear illness-wise! It can take quite a while to stabilise the guts after bloat/stasis problems.

You can be very proud of yourself for having pulled Phoebe through! It is a nightmare, but nothing is a wonderful as a well piggy on the other side of the tunnel!

You may find that Phoebe may be more prone to digestive issues in the future, but they will hopefully never as bad as this.
 
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