Piggie not eating

[arathi11]

Hey piggie is 3/4 year old. I don’t the correct age as she was orphan before. She is not eating since 14.11 morning(no hay no treat) I have been to the doctor yesterday and today (14.11 & 15.11) I am asked to force feed her with syringe. I want to know do someone has tips so that I can motivate her to eat.

DOC 1: said she has gas
DOC 2: said she has ovarian cyst

Best Regards

 

[Piggies&buns]

It is essential that you do step in and support syringe feed (don’t force feed her) her a recovery feed or mushed pellets.
This guide below will help you on how to do that.
Make sure you switch from routine weekly weight checks and ensure you weigh her daily (at the same time each day). This is the only way to ensure her weight is remaining stable which means you are getting enough syringe feed into her in each 24 hour period. We recommend 40-60ml of syringe feed in each 24 hour period, and feeding every two hours. If she loses weight then you need to feed her more.

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Has she been given any medications?
She would need gut stimulants to move her digestion through and pain killers (having bloat is having painful for them).

Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)

 

[Wiebke]

Hey piggie is 3/4 year old. I don’t the correct age as she was orphan before. She is not eating since 14.11 morning(no hay no treat) I have been to the doctor yesterday and today (14.11 & 15.11) I am asked to force feed her with syringe. I want to know do someone has tips so that I can motivate her to eat.

DOC 1: said she has gas
DOC 2: said she has ovarian cyst

Best Regards

Hi and welcome

Ovarian cysts can also cause gassing, just to make it all much more complex. If your girl is not picking up, please ask for a scan. What medication have you been given?

Please take the time to read our very practical support feeding guide; it is essential to keeping your girl alive with feeding support. We have included all the little how-to tips and tricks, pictures, videos and how improvise in an emergency:
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Here is our bloating care guide: Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)

More information on ovarian cysts: Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

Fingers very firmly crossed!

 

[Free Ranger]

I went through my first time with bloat earlier this year - we had a happy ending. Here is the thread about what we did First time with bloat - and it's Louise

We got a painkiller and a gut stimulant (metacam and emeprid are the names in the UK). Bloat is painful - my girl squinted her eyes.
Our problem was triggered by rich grass - we cut out all veg until she was better. Just fibrous syringe food and hay.

I have a heat pad and a hot water bottle (a rubber bottle you put warm water in). I put this on my lap and put a fleece on top to make a warm surface. I put my girl on top and gently ran the handle of an electric toothbrush over her sides for 15-20 minutes at a time. She did enjoy this - she didn't try to move. I didn't hear any gas passing although sometimes you can. They don't burp it up - it has to come out the back.

Syringing is important because the gas in the gut makes them not want to eat but it's this that will push the gas through. She wasn't pooping for a bit but then there were lots of squashed looking ones as everything got moving again. Once she started pooping she really started to improve and she wanted to eat again. We used a ground food called Recovery but there are a lot of types available and you can just use mushed food pellets until you get what you need. The syringe food tends to be finely ground and thus easier to syringe. A healthy piggy usually gobbles down syringe food but a poorly one will not be enthusiastic. It doesn't help that some foods come with a mighty 20ml syringe but a piggy mouthful can be about 0.5-1ml (or even less) so the best way is to use a little 1ml syringe with the end cut off. Be careful if there is a little black rubber bit that you don't pop this out the end into piggy's mouth!

Wiebke is the one who will know about cysts - I hope that your girl's situation isn't too complicated. But the bloating is her immediate problem. Good luck x

 

[arathi11]

It is essential that you do step in and support syringe feed (don’t force feed her) her a recovery feed or mushed pellets.
This guide below will help you on how to do that.
Make sure you switch from routine weekly weight checks and ensure you weigh her daily (at the same time each day). This is the only way to ensure her weight is remaining stable which means you are getting enough syringe feed into her in each 24 hour period. We recommend 40-60ml of syringe feed in each 24 hour period, and feeding every two hours. If she loses weight then you need to feed her more.

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Has she been given any medications?
She would need gut stimulants to move her digestion through and pain killers (having bloat is having painful for them).

Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)

Metacam, rodicare Appetit, critical care herbivore

 

[Wiebke]

Metacam, rodicare Appetit, critical care herbivore

Metacam is a painkiller and anti-inflammatory. Have you got the dog or the cat strength and which dosage?
Rodicare (after looking it up) is a herbal prescription.
Critical care is the supplementary feed that takes the place of hay (which makes the mainstay of the daily food intake).

 

[arathi11]

Metacam is a painkiller and anti-inflammatory. Have you got the dog or the cat strength and which dosage?
Rodicare (after looking it up) is a herbal prescription.
Critical care is the supplementary feed that takes the place of hay (which makes the mainstay of the daily food intake).

I don’t have dog or cat. The vet gave the above.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I don’t have dog or cat. The vet gave the above.

Yes we understand you don’t have a dog or a cat but when guinea pigs given metacam they are given either the metacam version for cats or the metacam version for dogs.
Which version were you given - it will say on the box. It makes a difference because dog metacam is stronger than cat metacam.

 

[arathi11]

Yes we understand you don’t have a dog or a cat but when guinea pigs given metacam they are given either the metacam version for cats or the metacam version for dogs.
Which version were you given - it will say on the box. It makes a difference because dog metacam is stronger than cat metacam.

It’s the cat

 

[Piggies&buns]

It’s the cat

And how much have you been told to give?
How often have you been told to give it? (Piggies need their pain meds twice a day really)
How much does your piggy weigh?

 

[arathi11]

Once a day 0.3ml