Poorly Piggie

[Kay]

Can piggies have fresh (pure pressed) juice? One of mine is on antibiotics and is not eating. she has only eaten a small amount of red pepper today, and no pellets for a few days. Just thought that some juice syringed may help?

Have read the advice given for previous posts and will try warm pellet mash.

She has had pneumonia and is still apart from her siblings, she seemed to be improving (her breathing isn't as bad) but I am worried about her not eating. She is still putting up a fight with the antibiotics and her eye's and coat are still bright. Any advice gratefully received.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! Fibre should make the largest part of the diet; it is vital to keep the guts going that. Please don't give too much fruit juice, as that could cause sores on lips and the mouth and upset the tummy; it may be better if you diluted any you syringed. If you can give freshly pureed veg, that would be better.

Loss of appetite is very common in piggies on baytril, but your hand feeding care can really make a difference, even though it can be very tough and disheartening to get food into an unwilling piggy. You are aiming at a minimum of 120 ml of food in solids or fluids over the course of 24 hours - little but often, the more you get into her, the better. That she is still fighting is a very good sign, so please take heart!

I assume that she is on baytril? I have made the mistake once to lick up some that had spilled onto my hand, and it is the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted in my life, so I can feel for every piggy! It is usually much easier to give other, not as offensive tasting meds. If you can, give her something strong tasting like ribena afterwards to help wash away the taste.

Try to also get some probiotics or "poo soup" (the water in which you have soaked fresh poos from her friends) to help restock the guts with bacteria.

 

[helen105281]

Hi welcome to the forum, first of all can I ask what antibiotics she is on and has she been given any probiotics? These are essential especially if she is on Baytril as it affects the flora in the gut and can make a pig feel awful. Is there any fluid on her chest? when mine had pneumonia they needed a diuretic to remove the fluid. Also a pig that cannot breathe does not want to eat. It's good that you think her breathing is improving though.

I think it is best that you syringe feed her some of her pellets, you would need to mush them up in warm water and syringe using a 1ml syringe with the end cut off, but make sure that the black plunger cannot go into her mouth. It is also possible to get some recovery food from the vets. Ideally a pig that is not eating at all needs to be syringe fed every few hours to keep their system going. The recommended amount is around 30ml each feed but I know this is difficult if you have not syringe fed before. When syringe feeding insert the syringe into the side of the mouth so that it goes behind the front teeth and release the plunger slowly, I tend to give half of the syringe at a time.

Is she pooing ok? and how much is she drinking? If you can syringe her some water too that would be good, I tend to give 1ml for every 5ml of feed. Again syringe slowly from the side of the mouth so you don't aspirate her.

Finally, where abouts are you? this can affect the advice we are able to give you.

 

[Kay]

Hi Many thanks for your replies but she has sadly just died :'(

 

[helen105281]

Oh no, I'm so so sorry.

 

[Kay]

I'm gutted and feeling guilty that I haven't done enough for her.
She was eating hay and up to yesterday a couple of pellets and nibbling veg. She was my son's favourite, so not looking forward to telling him tomorrow.

 

[piggyfan]

I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[helen105281]

Pneumonia can sometimes hit very hard and quickly. I have lost 3 of my own pigs to it, one in less than 12 hours. I really am very sorry.

 

[madguinealady]

So sorry.When I lose an animal one off the worst thing is telling the kids, that and people who don't understand saying it was only a guinea pig

 

[Janey]

So sorry to hear about the loss of your piggy. There's probably not much anyone can say right now that will help you to feel better, but please remember there's a lot of lovely people on this forum who understand exactly what you're going through and will be here to support you when you feel ready to talk. Hugs xx

 

[Kay]

Thank you all so much. It really helps to hear that many of you have experienced the same things (and are more experienced than I am). My son is, understandably, very upset and has written her a lovely letter! (Made me cry again). He is eight and lost his first two when they were five(ish) so he has been through it before and has two others to focus on. But Caramel was his favourite and a very special piggie (I know they all are but she was extra special).

I have disinfected the bowls that she used and will do the same to the hutch and leave it to air dry before putting the others in it. Is there anything I can do to prevent this happening again to one of the others and should I show her to the other two?

Thank you once again for your support (I was a member a few years ago with our first two piggies and rejoined with this lot!), it really does make a huge difference!