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Emergency Piggy Barely Eating. How Long Before Back To Vet?

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AJ55

AJ55

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Hello,

One of our piggies has all but stopped eating and is very lethargic and sorry looking and totally stopped squeaking. It seems to have come on quite quickly (since last Thursday). Unfortunately it fell to my husband to take him to the vets which he did on Saturday but he hasn't done much of the care so couldn't give the vets much info. The vet said our piggy was under weight, that'd probably had a bit of a bug and that the other (bigger) piggy was probably bullying him out of his share of the food. We've had them for just over two months now without there being any bullying issues. They came from rescue and have always been together without any problems. The vet recommended that we separate them for a week to give our poorly piggy chance to gain weight, but he's still not really eating, he's barely touched any hay or grass at all and eaten just a very small amount of fresh veg and a couple of treats I got him to try and fatten him up. He's not doing much poo and what he is doing is very small and thin, but I don't know if this is because he's not eating much so there's nothing to poo out or something else. I've been reading about gastrointestinal stasis and I'm a bit worried he might have that. My question, after that lengthy preamble, is how long should we wait before taking him back to the vet? I don't want to leave it a week if he's really ill.
 
It certainly sounds like your piggy needs to see a vet as an emergency today. Not eating and being lethargic are signs that something is seriously wrong. The vet locator at the top of the forum will be able to direct you to a piggy savvy vet, as your pig needs emergency treatment ASAP.
 
AJ55 said:
Hello,

One of our piggies has all but stopped eating and is very lethargic and sorry looking and totally stopped squeaking. It seems to have come on quite quickly (since last Thursday). Unfortunately it fell to my husband to take him to the vets which he did on Saturday but he hasn't done much of the care so couldn't give the vets much info. The vet said our piggy was under weight, that'd probably had a bit of a bug and that the other (bigger) piggy was probably bullying him out of his share of the food. We've had them for just over two months now without there being any bullying issues. They came from rescue and have always been together without any problems. The vet recommended that we separate them for a week to give our poorly piggy chance to gain weight, but he's still not really eating, he's barely touched any hay or grass at all and eaten just a very small amount of fresh veg and a couple of treats I got him to try and fatten him up. He's not doing much poo and what he is doing is very small and thin, but I don't know if this is because he's not eating much so there's nothing to poo out or something else. I've been reading about gastrointestinal stasis and I'm a bit worried he might have that. My question, after that lengthy preamble, is how long should we wait before taking him back to the vet? I don't want to leave it a week if he's really ill.
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Please see a vet as an emergency today and start syringe feeding and watering asap!
Guinea pigs that do not eat or drink lose weight very quickly and their guts will slow down and then close down if you do not support with syringe feed.

Up to 80% of the food is hay, and you cannot control that. The only way you can control the food intake is by weighing any healthy guinea pig daily and any ill guinea pig daily at the same time. Any weight loss over 50g/2 oz should be seen by a vet. if you can, please make a piggy savvy vet.
We have got a recommended UK vets locator on the top bar, but can provide a link to recommended vets in some other countries of wished.

You can used mushed up pellets in an emergency, but please prep the syringe tip as shown for the fibre to come through. Take the time to read through our step-by-step syringe guide. It will give you all the necessary tips and information how to syringe feed safely and how often/how much to feed.

This is now a fight for life and death. Together with any necessary vet care, your home care round the clock is as crucial - medications cannot get to work if your piggy is dying from lack of food and water, and too weak to fight back.
 
Thanks flutterby. When I say lethargic, I mean not coming to see us when we walk in the room and spending just about all his time in his huggle hut. He'll still get out of the way pretty sharpish if you try and pick him up (he's never been keen). It was one of the recommended vets we took him to and she just said to keep an eye on him. These are our first piggies and I'm not sure what they're like when ill, I agree he needs to go back though, I'm not happy about leaving him.
 
Brilliant, please let us know how he gets on. You can start the syringe feeding straight away if he isn't eating on his own.
 
Thanks all for your help. I saw a different vet to the one my husband saw. She doesn't know what's wrong with him, she says she can't feel anything amiss other than him being very thin. She's given me some oxbow critical care and some antibiotics, just in case there's an infection. The vet did say it could be his kidneys and she may try and do an x-ray. She didn't want to take bloods though cos she said she would need to knock him out and she didn't think he was strong enough. Our piggy seemed to like the food when we syringed it in, so hopefully he'll get enough and pick up. He's still not showing any interest in other food though. We have an appointment with the vet on Wednesday morning where we'll discuss other options if he hasn't perked up. Bless him, he looks so tiny.
 
All the best and fingers firmly crossed!
Please follow the guidelines for how much/how often to feed and also add water (if necessary with dioralyte). Make sure that you do not give more than he can swallow in one go (0.3-0.5 ml). Weigh daily to keep an eye on the weight/food intake.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

I hope that you can get to the bottom of it, but for now, concentrate on keeping him alive with your feeding and watering regime. have your vets had a look at the mouth and the back teeth?
 
Thank you! The vet said his teeth looked fine. I've just been feeding him again and he's decided he really doesn't like the food now so looks like it's going to be a long night!. He had a small piece of cucumber though, bit of extra liquid at least.
 
AJ55 said:
Thank you! The vet said his teeth looked fine. I've just been feeding him again and he's decided he really doesn't like the food now so looks like it's going to be a long night!. He had a small piece of cucumber though, bit of extra liquid at least.
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I feel for you! Getting food into a very ill piggy can be a real struggle; can make for very lonely and desperate nights!
I find that fresh herbs often go down well, too, and they add extra trqace elements. You can also add a pinch of probiotics to the syringe feed to help bolster the guts against the antibiotic, which can be additionally appetite dampening.

If feeding is very hard work, you are looking at trying to get as close to 40 ml in 24 hours as
you can - every ml more is a little triumph!

Hang on in there!
 
Wiebke said:
I feel for you! Getting food into a very ill piggy can be a real struggle; can make for very lonely and desperate nights!
I find that fresh herbs often go down well, too, and they add extra trqace elements. You can also add a pinch of probiotics to the syringe feed to help bolster the guts against the antibiotic, which can be additionally appetite dampening.

If feeding is very hard work, you are looking at trying to get as close to 40 ml in 24 hours as
you can - every ml more is a little triumph!

Hang on in there!
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Thanks, I'll try with the herbs. We've got some fresh coriander and I know he likes that. I cant believe how quickly this has happened.
 
He's still going bless him. He's had more feed and antibiotics and a small piece of cucumber and a tiny piece of red pepper. I've put him in his hay tray with a water bowl next to it and he's having the odd nibble. He looks very weak though. Thanks for asking
 
Hello, got horrible news. We had to have our little piggy put to sleep this morning. We managed to get some more food into him in the night but it wasn't enough. The vet thinks he had a congenital kidney condition and it was clearly the kindest thing to do, he could barely lift his head. I can't believe the speed of it. This time last week he appeared, at least, to be perfectly fine. I'm gutted, the kids will be heartbroken, not looking forward to breaking the news.
 
Thank you. The vet couldn't feel his bladder at all. She said that meant it was empty meaning his kidneys weren't working. I feel terrible, the poor little thing. It doesn't sound like we could have helped him and I kind of wish we'd done it on Monday, saved him the unpleasantness of the syringe feeding which he really didn't like. You have to try though don't you?
 
Thank you all. I hope we did our best, we certainly tried. Here here is, little cutie. Our Halohorn (kids choice of name!)
IMG_0132.webp

IMG_0126.webp
 
AJ55 said:
Thank you. The vet couldn't feel his bladder at all. She said that meant it was empty meaning his kidneys weren't working. I feel terrible, the poor little thing. It doesn't sound like we could have helped him and I kind of wish we'd done it on Monday, saved him the unpleasantness of the syringe feeding which he really didn't like. You have to try though don't you?
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yes we do. hindsight is not allowed. You did amazin for the guy. Be proud he was ill and nothin you could do. Sleep well little guy.
 
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