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Recovering from illness, help needed please!

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Subsonica

Subsonica

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I could really do with some advice please. Nibbler has slowly been gaining weight after her battle with coccidiosis, and is eating fine and well. The problem we now have is that her stools aren't going back to normal, and she quite often passes sludgey poops. We started to limit her watery veg and just give her essential stuff with vit c etc, but we've found that with her appetite back to normal she is also drinking a lot.

I'm not sure what I can do to help her poops get back to normal now, any ideas please? Could there maybe be something else wrong as a result of the coccidia? We're continuing to give her the Vetark probiotic to help her.
 
I believe the usual advice is to stop ALL veg for a few days and up the amount for hay. If it doesn't clear in a few days then go back to the vet. As she has been unwell with something else I'm not sure if that could have effected her in some way. Maybe someone will be along later who knows better than I?

Glad to hear your piggy is recovering well though.

Amy
x
 
Poor Nibbler, she really has had a rough time lately :(

Her drinking water increase may be down to the fact you are limiting watery veg, we have seen an increase in Megan drinking since she no longer can eat cucumber. You'd be suprised how much water piggies get from veg.

Maybe try some Fibreplex, this can be obtained from most vets and is a probiotic with added fibre in. Also try and tempt her with a few different types of hays, this should help with the poo's.

Glad you have managed to sort out the coccidiosis. Lots of love to Nibbler x
 
What the Sport Billies said!

Fibreplex is always good to have around the place - it's a probiotic but is also high in fibre, and will help bung them up a bit. 1ml per kg bodyweight, 3 times a day if required.
 
Yes Fibreplex was brilliant in helping my boy back to pooping healthily. He loved it too strangely!
 
I've heard a lot of good things about fibreplex, although I have to wonder if it necessary because she eats her hay like it's it's going out of fashion, so she's getting plenty of that along with her burgess pellets and limited veg.

Her weight tends to fluctuate around the same mark for a few days then shoots up a bit, then fluctuates again. Overall she has definitely gained though. She is most definitely back to her cheeky old self too, showing no signs of illness like she was before, so it's difficult to tell what is causing the sludgey poops. In fact I wish I had taken pics of her whilst she was ill to compare to now, her progress is very visible, in that her hips are no longer sticking out, and although she is still a little skinny she has her little belly back.
 
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She's been having the Vetark ProC probiotic, I sprinkle some through a small amount of oats (the oats are purely for her weight and are kept to a minimum of course) which she wolfs down.
 
You can always syringe some more into her, you cant really overdose (within reason) on probiotics. You could also try some bran, or some pro-fibre from the vets/good pet shops etc, is a probiotic and a fibre suppliment, will help with bigger more solid poos

x.
 
I took Nibbler back to the vet yesterday to get her checked over. She doesn't think that Nibbler has anything else wrong, but she did another float and found just 1 single coccidia, but she's not too worried about that as it's just one oocyst in the whole sample, and Nibbler is so much brighter and eating really well.

I got some Fibreplex from her, a 5 day course, 3 times a day. Says it's for rabbits, but I guess it's the same thing. Giving it to Nibbler is such a battle though because the nozzle is enormous! I'm having to physically open Nibblers mouth wide to get it in (that sounds so harsh!). I'm finding that as she's eating the paste quite a few crystals of it fall out of her mouth. Any tips on giving this stuff easier please?

Oh, and just thought I would add, if anyone in the Moray area needs a vet, go to Moray Coast Vet Group and ask for Amy. She's normally based out of Forres and Lossiemouth. Whilst she's not an exotic vet, she is very very good, and will always refer to an exotic vet friend up in Dingwall.
 
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Subsonica said:
I took Nibbler back to the vet yesterday to get her checked over. She doesn't think that Nibbler has anything else wrong, but she did another float and found just 1 single coccidia, but she's not too worried about that as it's just one oocyst in the whole sample, and Nibbler is so much brighter and eating really well.

I got some Fibreplex from her, a 5 day course, 3 times a day. Says it's for rabbits, but I guess it's the same thing. Giving it to Nibbler is such a battle though because the nozzle is enormous! I'm having to physically open Nibblers mouth wide to get it in (that sounds so harsh!). I'm finding that as she's eating the paste quite a few crystals of it fall out of her mouth. Any tips on giving this stuff easier please?

Oh, and just thought I would add, if anyone in the Moray area needs a vet, go to Moray Coast Vet Group and ask for Amy. She's normally based out of Forres and Lossiemouth. Whilst she's not an exotic vet, she is very very good, and will always refer to an exotic vet friend up in Dingwall.
Click to expand...


Fibreplex tip
1. Get a 1ml syringe.
2. Insert the 1ml syringe into the end of the big fibreplex syringe.
3. Push the plunger down 1ml on the fibreplex syringe as you pull the plunger back on the 1ml syringe (this can take 2 people sometimes to avoid the syringe flying off...) This will decant 1ml of fibreplex into the 1ml syringe.
4. Syringe tiny amounts at a time and yes, bits do fall out.

We normally feed 1ml twice per day if Meg has runny poo's.

Hope this helps, love to Nibbler x
 
I have a few 1ml syringes that I have cut the ends off like these:

http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

I use the ones with the ends cut off (File them with a nail file to make the end smooth before using) for syringe feeding, just make sure the rubber bung is safe & won't come out completely in case the piggy eats it! The ones that are intact with the ends left I use for syringing water (As you don't want water to go in the mouth too quickly)

HTH :)
 
Boots sell the syringes. In fact I'm sure most chemists will if you're not near the vets. Hope little one is better soon x
 
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