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Thoughts or advice - non eating, pooing, weight loss

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Smidge

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Hi there,

A little worried on all accounts really; Miss Piggy has been to the vets 3x in the last 4 days. Last visit was yesterday lunchtime before the vets closed.

Piggy has not been eating and not passing stools. Vet has clipped her front teeth and filed back her back teeth. Has had injections and has been on Supreme Science Recovery.

We're running low on this and are on baby food and vitamin C water. Last weigh in on Friday she was .720kg, this morning she is .450kg. She's not taking food without the syringe, vet was under the impression that she might perk up after filing the teeth.

We obviously can't get to a vets until tomorrow and we're trying to keep her hydrated in the hope that she'll recover.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation or can offer any advice? We're feeling a bit cruel and wondering whether we should let nature take it's course...:...

In the meantime any positive vibes would be well recieved :)
 
Please keep on hand feeding as much as you can - a piggy that is not eating needs 120ml in the course of 24 hours round the clock; mushed pellets will do if you are out of Critical Care! Also syringe water to keep her hydrated. Ask your vet for a gut stimulant.

Contact Debbie at her sanctuary/hospital for dental and ill piggies for post dental treatment tips. How experienced in guinea pigs is your vet? Were the teeth clearly misaligned as she sounds very young and small for tooth trouble?
http://www.teasnorthampton.co.uk/
 
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Sorry to hear your piggie is poorly. I am concened at the amount of weight lost which suggests she needs to be fed more syringe food.

Personally I use the piggies own nuggets with added Vit C and probiotcs, soaked in warm boiled water and then blended with a hand blender - much cheaper and they prefer it. If you don;t have probioitcs to add, then add in some of your rmeinaing CC powder.

This is stored in the fridge in an airtight container over a period of 24hours. I decant what I need into a seperate clean dish each time , add some warm boiled water and maybe, depending upon the pig, some Ellas Organic baby food, and then syringe this, throwing away any that remains.

As Wiebke has said. if you are syringing a pig that isn;t eating at all you need to aim for 120ml in 24hours - that's 20-30ml max stomach capacity per feed spread 3-4 hours apart (to give their stomach time to empty bewteen meals). It also helps to syringe some water after every 3-4 syringes of mush to help rinse their mouths ! If hydration is a porblem and they're not too keen on water, try Diarolyte - it's rehydration sachets that you dissolve in water that contain ions and glucose - available at most main supermarkets.

If the pig isn;t pooping very well, producing tiny poops or is not pooping at all then you need to go back to the vet to get some oral gut simulants - metoclo-promide (or eme-prid) and zan-tac are most commonly prescribed. You really need both as they act on different parts of the gut to keep it moving.

Also ensure that if necessary there is adequate pain relief (normally metam) as pain is one of the main resons why piggies stop eating.

It is perfectly possible for a piggie to recover, even given the weight loss you describe, provided they have adequate support and meds at this critical time - but the piggie does needs intensive support int terms of regular feeding both day and night and does need pain relief (if required) and gut stimulants to prevent gut stasis.

The best vets in your area for piggies is Cheshire pets (Molly Varga) but they don;t have a sunday clinic and I don;t think they operate their own emergency cover so you may not get a cavy savvy vet. Might be worth rinign them though to discuss the situation and ask about gut stimulants. etc

http://www.cheshirepet.com/specialist-services/exotic-medicine/

Hope this helps - keeping fingers and paws crossed for your little one.

Hope this helps
x
 
Firstly, it really is essential to get approx 120 mls of syringe food into a piggie who isn't eating per 24 hours. This sounds like a lot but it is the minimum they need to hold their weight where it is. They are unlikely to gain weight with this amount but it stops the situation getting worse.

Secondly, how experienced is your vet in dental issues? We really need to ascertain whether this is a dental issue and not something else. If it is dental, it can take many weeks before a piggie starts to eat for itself again. During this time regular filing of the teeth will be needed. This often needs to be weekly, and therefore you will need someone who can carry out dental work without GA.

The very best vet to deal with dental issues is Simon Maddock, here in Northampton. I offer temporary places at my Sanctuary to enable piggies with dental issues to receive treatment from Simon before returning home when they are cured. I currently have a place available.
 
Hi all,

thanks very much for all of your comments, information heeded, especially re: feeding. We've been trying to up her syringing which has led to some small strings of poos which we think is a step in the right direction. The poos did come out with some sticky stringy mucus substance, but they weren't soft enough for her to eat.

With regards to the diagnosis, she was taken to my general vet in Chester. Unfortunately my regular vet was away but the vet who saw her seemed to be familiar with cavvies. She did say that when she filed the teeth, the back of her mouth was red and inflamed, which may indicate an infection. Unfortunately she didn't have time to diagnose and treat before the surgery closed. We don't know really how old Miss Piggy is as she was inherited from neighbours who separated. She does seem to be grinding her syringe food though with little problem and does show some interest in vegetables, giving it a sniff and a lick. However she doesn't make any attempts to nibble or take it in, which would support the sore throat theory perhaps?

Thank you for your holiday offer furryfriends! But I guess until we get a complete diagnosis then we won't know what it is for sure. However this may be an option as Mum has the summer off and could travel down if neccessary.

The biggest problem we have is that piggy is staying with me as a holiday; she returns with my parents back to WYorkshire today, so consistency with vets is an issue (hence why we haven't gone out of hours here.) We've checked the recc. vets sticky and Mum plans to take her to Vets4Pets in Barnsley first thing tomorrow. However if anyone has any cavvie vets in the Wakefield/Barnsley area please do let us know.

The fact that she's pooed has reassured us a bit, just hope she keeps on improving.

Thanks for all of your help, I'll keep you updated x
 
My concern is that without a vet experienced in teeth you aren't going to find out for sure what it is. The fact you mention that there was some inflammation in her mouth makes me think there could be spurs on the teeth that are rubbing the cheek and mouth. So many vets miss these tiny spurs and that is why the piggie so often fails to improve after dental work.

I don't charge for boarding temporary residents, although a donation to the Sanctuary is always very much appreciated, and just ask that the owner pays for the vet bills, which can be paid over the phone directly to the practice. If you wanted Simon to take a look at your piggie I would be more than happy to have her here.

How much syringe food are you getting in per sitting? Some piggies happily take about 30 mls and others prefer little and often.
 
Thanks everyone for your input.
Unfortunately the difficult decision had to be made to put Miss Piggy to sleep. She was not responding to treatment and wasn't showing signs of improvement. To save her from further discomfort and pain it seemed the right thing to do.
Hoping that she's happier over the rainbow bridge and is being cared for by the other piggy angels. Fortunately I still have my two boars for comfort.
Thanks again x
 
Oh no, i'm sorry to read that. I recently had to make that decision too and it was not easy.

Sometimes you just have to do what is right...

x
 
Sorry for the loss of your piggie.

RIP Miss Piggy
x x
 
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