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Some advise needed

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Humfred

Humfred

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello everyone.
On Friday evening I noticed Humberts chest sounded a bit raspy. Having lost a piggy to URI a few months ago I paniced. Even though he sounded better by the morning my partner took both boys straight to the vet the next morning. The rodent expert examinated them both thoroughly and said there "might" be something there with his chest, but nothing to worry about at the moment. She has given him a anti inflametory shot and has put him on a course or Baytril- 0.36mls twice daily. Which he started last night. When I came home from work he was sat in host house hunched up and when I gave them some leaves he didn't come out. I put some infront of him and he took it from my hand but just dropped it. A few hours later he came out for veggie time as normal and this morning he snatched lettuce of me, so he does seem to have an appetite still, although my gut instinct still tells me he is not quite himself. Also whilst holding him this morning I noticed his poo was smaller than usual.
Just want some tips of what I should be looking out for. Do I need to be giving him a probiotic and if so what's best? With my other pig we used droppings from the healthy pigs mixed with his veg smoothy, but I don't really want to force feed Humbert as he is eating fine by himself. I have acidophilus plus capsules in the fridge for myself. Is it save to give the grains from inside the tablets on some veg and if so how much? Would be really grateful for any advice as Humbert is an old man who is over 6 years old and I want to make sure I do everything right to get him feeling better again.

I'm also worried they may be cold? The heater isn't on all day and night, but they do have plenty of warm beds in their cage and hay to sleep in- should that suffice?
 
Sorry to hear Humbert is poorly, I would recommend getting some probiotic in such as Avi Pro Plus http://www.vetark.co.uk/pages/Avipro-Plus_4.aspx to give to him at an alternative time to his baytril. As you quite rightly mention a poo from a healthy piggie mashed with 1ml of water and syringed to him will also help, no need for the veg purée as piggies love poo lol

Please weigh him daily and if poo output drops or he stops eating or seems worse contact your vet ASAP, sometimes URI's can cause fluid on the lungs which a diuretic such as furosemide an help with so worth mentioning this to your vet if things seem worse. Normally Antibiotics should start to improve things within 48 hours or so.

Lots of healing vibes to your little lad, please keep us updated.
 
Baytril can cause loss of appetite and tummy upset, so that could be at the bottom of it.

Please give a probiotic and/or "poo soup" to support the guts. Weigh Humbert daily at the same time in the feeding cycle to check his food intake. If he continues to lose weight, please top him up with hand feeding (use a 1ml syringe whose narrow tip has been cut off); mushed up pellets will do the trick as well as recovery food. See your vet if he continues to not eating properly and not being right.
http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
 
Like the others have said definitely get some probiotic. If he does not improve get him back to the vets as he may have fluid on his chest and need a diuretic such as Furosemide. Does his breathing seem laboured at all?
 
Thanks everyone for the replies, I really appreciate it. I'm still very worried about him. His breathing seems ok actually. I can't hear wheezing anymore nor does he look like he's struggling like my last pig who passed away after having a URI. But he is not himself at all. We especially went out to buy all his favourite veg but he wasn't excited when we brought it to them like he usually is. He did eat a bit with encouragement and throughout the day we've been offering him bit that he's eaten with little enthousiasm. He had a grape with some probiotic powder on and I've seen him eat hay aswell. Should I start feeding him some pellet mush? I am worried the anti biotics are doing more harm than good. So worried about him :-(
 
Top him up with syringe feed if he is losing weight, this is were weighing can really give you an indication of what is going in... Pooing okay?
 
As Sport Billy says, definitely step in with syringe feeding. Do you have any Metatone vitamin tonic (you can get it in the supermarket with the human vitamins). If a piggy is run down and has no interest in food it can help stimulate the appetite, dose is 0.5ml once a day for a week and 0.3ml for the second week.
 
I will be keeping track of his weight daily now, but so far I'm pretty sure he has not lost any significant weight. He is 1180 tonight which is what his weight has always roughly been. As for poops its hard to tell as he is not alone in his cage. This morning when I had him out he did a tiny poop on the fleece, much smaller than usual. We just offered him some grass and he got really excited about that. We washed it and put some more probiotic powder on it, which has all gone down :-) If I do decide to pellet mush feed him how often and how much should he be having?
 
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Have you syringe fed before?

If you aim for at least 30ml each feed and each feed should be every 4 hours including through the night. This is for a pig that is not eating at all. Some people will say 120ml in 24 hours but I have been advised to aim for 120ml in 12 hours. If this seems too much try to aggressively feed through the first 72 hours. It is a good idea to supplement with vitamin c too when syringe feeding. Remember to syringe feed fluids too. Use no bigger than a 1ml syringe as any bigger and the pig can choke as it is difficult to regulate the dose. You can cut the tip off a 1ml syringe so the feed goes in better but make sure the black plunger cannot go into the mouth. If you have trouble getting the syringe in, place your hand over his face gently so your fingers are either side of the mouth as this should make him open his mouth. Then put the syringe in from the side so it goes behind the front teeth and you don't shoot it straight down the throat. I always sit the pig on a pillow too as it is stable and comfortable for them.
 
I have syringe fed my last pig when he had URI, but he was very ill and not eating/ pooing at all. Thank so much for the tips, and fast replies.It's been very helpful. I'm going to give it a go. Will keep you guys updated.
 
Just a quick update- Made a massive plate of veg for Humbert this morning and grass (since it went down so well last night) He ate the grass and some lettuce but showed no interest in much else, so I decided to feed some pellet sluch as I wasn't convinced that he was having enough. I managed to feed two syringe fulls this morning. Bit confused about the measurements. Thing its a 1cc syringe. It's says .1 .2 .3 etc. does that mean that's only 1 ml for a full one ore 100? Went home from work in my lunch and he had eaten some of the veg I had left with him and there was a few poops as well. Fed him again this afternoon, 3 and a half syringes full and he had more grass and lettuce. There was some poops stuck in his sack which I cleaned. He seemed rather bright and took to the feeding without too much hassle. I gave him time to chew and we took it slow, but he was shaking after the 3,5 syringes so I put him back. Will repeat tonight unless you guys think different? Also managed to give him some probiotics both this morning and afternoon.
Would appreciate it if someone could clear up the confusion about the 1cc syringe? How many of those does he need? Will weigh him tonight again... Will keep you guys posted.
 
Is it a very small syringe? that looks like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shesto-Pack...8&qid=1385401476&sr=8-1&keywords=1+ml+syringe

If so, it is 1ml and yes the whole syringe makes up 1ml.

Glad you got some feed into him but unfortunatley 3ml here and there is nowhere near enough to keep his system going if he is not really eating much for himself.

Are you giving the probiotics an hour apart from the Baytril?

To be honest I think you should speak to your vet again as it is worrying that he has so little interest in food.
 
Also is he on any pain relief? a pig that is in pain does not want to eat.
 
Just got home from work. Since I left him at 2 he has eaten the lettuce and grass that I'd left with him and there is precisely 11 small poops. I will try and feed him a bit more even if it means I have to use some force. He has had his probiotics apart from his antibiotics, not exactly by an hour, but spaced out. Its been hard today as I've had to do it arouns work and my partner is away with work til midnight. We are taking him back to the vet first thing tomorrow morning. I will feed throughout the night too. His chest sounds absolutely fine to me. Is it possible the Baytril is making him lose his appetite? I worry its making him worse. Thanks again for advice. It's so good to be able to ask people who know when you're not sure what is best :-)
 
Just remember to feed at the pig's pace not yours. I understand how difficult it is with working etc. I am lucky that my OH can take a poorly animal to work. It is a case of weighing up what is best for the pig if you are unable to feed around the clock. Not saying he is at that stage yet. Glad you have an appointment, tell the vet all about how he has reacted as it is possible for a pig to be allergic, we had one at clinic and his vets records were marked up accordingly. Septrin is another option if the vet still thinks he needs antibiotics. See what they say. Also ask about pain relief if the vet feels he is in pain, and gut stimulants if he seems bloated at all which he may well do if he is not eating and pooing enough (11 poos is good though).

You're welcome, am happy to help.
 
Just fed him 10 1cc syringes full which took about hour. Saw him drink and eat hay and he has pooped quite a bit. Also eating grass, leaves and choy sum. Got to keep trying I suppose. One moment he seems quiet and ill and the next moment he seems to have perked up. Will see what the vet says tomorrow. :o
 
Your doing well, keep it up. As Helen said in a previous post, trim the end off the syringe, but make sure the plunger doesn't come out - this makes life easier.

Lots of love to your piggie, we are all rooting for him.
 
That's good, it's finding a balance between feeding enough and letting them eat for themselves that can be tricky. Hopefully the vet will be able to help tomorrow. I would get the Metatone too if you can, it really can help stimulate the appetite.
 
If you could weigh him daily too then you will be able to keep an eye on whether he is maintaining his weight.
 
Looking back I think I mentioned the Metatone on a different thread. It is a vitamin tonic you can get from the supermarket which can help stimulate the appetite. Dose is 0.5ml a day for the first week and 0.3ml for the second week.
 
He was a little lighter tonight than last night, which is kind of understandable since I only started feeding this morning, and not very much as I wasn't too sure about the measuremens. He is still eating bits for himself just not enough. You did mention the metatone yesterday but I haven't had a change yet to get it. Will go to Tescos tomorrow after vet. Humbert has gone to sleep now. I'm going to leave him for a couple of hours. Time for me to have some food myself. I've been so busy with him rushing home in my lunch that I've skipped my own meals. My partner has a day off tomorrow so he will have someone there to look after him all day. It's all I've been thinking about in work and the worst thing is that other people don't understand it cause he is "just a guinea pig" "Why don't you just get a new one?" Thanks all for your support.
 
Oh did I? I couldn't see it. Falling asleep myself I think. Yes go get something to eat yourself, you need to look after yourself too. I know what you mean, I am worried sick all day at work when mine are poorly and colleagues just don't understand though I am the office weirdo which doesn't help (vegan freak to them).

Is understandable that he has dropped, hopefully tomorrow he may have gained a bit or maintained.
 
Hello everyone. Really sorry I haven't been back for an update, but I've had all sorts going on, plus my phone has been broken. Would like to let you guys know how Humbert is doing now. We have been back to the vets three times since I last updated and at one point it was looking very bad. He continued to lose weight despite the handfeeding and was just such a sad little piggie. Wouldnt eat, wouldnt come out, wouldnt chat. We took him of the baytril, cause his chest sounded fine, but he still wouldnt eat and I could feel all his bones. We took him again last Saturday thinking it may be time to give up and have him pts. I was crying in work all morning, but I really thought he had suffered enough. When we got to the vet we talked through all the options. When she picked him up he put up a fight, which he hadn't done previous times. She said he didn't feel dehydrated and she couldnt feel anything such as growths, which is not to say they aren't there... We basically had to choose whether to go all out and investigate what is wrong with him, but because he is so old I didn't want to take him to the specialist in Cheshire. Partly as well because he was in such a bad way at that point. So I asked the vet if it was worth trying him on a painkiller, as I remembered Helen saying they won't eat if they are in pain. She agreed and he was started on metacam. They gave him the wrong dose for the first 3 days which made no difference, but phoned us on Tuesday and he has been on a higher dose since then. Within 24 hours he was a different piggie. He has gained weight every day since then and is almost back to his old weight. He squeaks for veggies again and he comes out when I call him. It's so nice to see him like this. I am not sure if people think I've made the wrong decision not to send him to Cheshire. I realise the painkillers are not a cure for whatever was wrong with him in the first place, but even if they did find it, as his age there is a good chance they won't be able to fix it and I would have put him through that for no reason? I'd rather he is happy and comfortable for now, and we will take it one day at the time I suppose. Thanks again for all the advise and support when I needed it.
 
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