Piggy on critical care

[Rosie x]

So i win the award for the worst piggy mum when I'm home and the weathers nice I let my 2 boys run around the garden. Well on sunday one of my boys fudge was hiding under a mat and I didnt know and stepped on him! I immediately picked him up to see if he was ok. I put him down somewhere safe and he weed blood and wasnt using his back legs properly. took him to the vet for x Ray's and ultrasound all seems ok just a sore leg and swollen testical and sent home with pain relief.. so since sunday he has hardly eaten a thing, drunk or moved at all and also had runny poos. Took him back today and They gave him fluids and strong pain killers and sent him home with critical care to be fed every 4 hours 6 times a day. Something for his runny bum and to continue with the pain relieve and put him on an ice pack 4 times a day To help with the swelling.. He loves the critical care food but still wont move around or eat anything else. Do you think I'm expecting too much too soon I feel like his given up and just lays there all day not moving.

 

[Rosie x]

Also shall i be syringe feeding water as well as the critical care x

 

[Wiebke]

Also shall i be syringe feeding water as well as the critical care x

Hi!

I am very sorry! It could well be an internal injury or bleeding that is causing the problem

Please follow the advice in our illustrated comprehensive syringe feeding guide; offer your boy as much water as he wants to take willingly; normally you give a syringe full of it for every 5 ml of feed. We strongly recommend to feed every two hours and once or twice throughout the night if your boy is not eating at all. You are aiming to get ideally 60-90 ml into him over 24 hours; 40 ml or as close as you can come at the very worst. The frequency of feeding depends on how much he is eating in each sitting.

How much pain relief is he getting (cat or dog strength)? General vets often underdose as guinea pigs have a much faster metabolism and their kidneys cope much better with the metacam than cats or dogs.

 

[Rosie x]

Hi!

I am very sorry! It could well be an internal injury or bleeding that is causing the problem

Please follow the advice in our illustrated comprehensive syringe feeding guide; offer your boy as much water as he wants to take willingly; normally you give a syringe full of it for every 5 ml of feed. We strongly recommend to feed every two hours and once or twice throughout the night if your boy is not eating at all. You are aiming to get ideally 60-90 ml into him over 24 hours; 40 ml or as close as you can come at the very worst. The frequency of feeding depends on how much he is eating in each sitting.

How much pain relief is he getting (cat or dog strength)? General vets often underdose as guinea pigs have a much faster metabolism and their kidneys cope much better with the metacam than cats or dogs.

Thankyou for your reply.
Iv divided each critical care pouch into 6 feedings and he is only managing half a portion if that. He is on the cat strength metacam and they said to give him 0.3 ml once a day.

 

[Wiebke]

Thankyou for your reply.
Iv divided each critical care pouch into 6 feedings and he is only managing half a portion if that. He is on the cat strength metacam and they said to give him 0.3 ml once a day.

Hi!

Please adjust the number of feeding sessions if you struggle to get enough feed into him.

That is a very low dose. Please give it every 12 hours as metacam starts wearing off after about 10 hours in my experience with piggies in severe pain - and he certainly needs his analgesics (painkiller and anti-inflammatory) right now!
You can give a 1 kg piggy safely up to 0.4 ml dog metacam (that is 1.2 ml of cat metacam) twice daily for short periods in a pinch.

Here is our emergency care advice collection in case your boy is taking a sudden turn for the worse: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

 

[Rosie x]

Hi!

Please adjust the number of feeding sessions if you struggle to get enough feed into him.

That is a very low dose. Please give it every 12 hours as metacam starts wearing off after about 10 hours in my experience with piggies in severe pain - and he certainly needs his analgesics (painkiller and anti-inflammatory) right now!
You can give a 1 kg piggy safely up to 0.4 ml dog metacam (that is 1.2 ml of cat metacam) twice daily for short periods in a pinch.

Here is our emergency care advice collection in case your boy is taking a sudden turn for the worse: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Would the vets be happy to then give me more or can i buy it somewhere else? Tia x