Tips For Getting Guts Back To Normal

[claire2281]

Anyone got any good advice for helping a guinea pig tummy get back on track?

Took Fred to the vets after his appetite suddenly lessened and his poops showed signs of a poor gut (mushy, small, light coloured). He had a full body and dental x-rays which showed nothing untoward so was given Baytril and metoclopramide for 7 days. I was also giving him some ProC via syringe.These do seem to have helped him in that his poop is now normal colour and consistency and his weight is fairly stable between 1190-1230 (he was up at about 1280 before). He certainly seems perkier and is eating much better although not grazing quite as much as I'd usually see. Poop is still on the small side though.

Since Saturday I've been giving him metatone once a day (which he loves, the nutcase) and Fibreplex three times a day. I've also treated him for mites because of some excessive scratching (as pain may also have been the cause of his appetite reduction). He is eating more of his hay but not as much as I'd like. He seems to be making a slow recovery but is there anything else I could be doing to prod his gut back to normal? I know they can take some time to recover but obviously I'd like to help him although as much as I can.

Thanks!

 

[helen105281]

You do seem to have everything covered, I was going to suggest Metatone but he is already having it. Apparently it is like catnip to them. The only thing I can think of is to restart the Metachlopromide and keep going with the Fibreplex.

What hay are you feeding, is it just one type or a selection?

 

[claire2281]

At the moment he has timothy hay (the alfalfa king one), a meadow hay which is mostly to burrow in but they will eat, hay cookies and some of the Excel timothy with dandelion and marigold. He seems to have gone off the normal timothy hay somewhat although I do wonder if that's because he has to walk to get that - the other stuff is closer in the cage to where he sleeps! He is and always has been inherently lazy and not that adventurous on floor time. His brother will go wandering off all over the place but he will wander a foot or two than just sit there. Not helpful when you want him to move around to encourage a sluggish gut!

He's definitely eating with more enthusiasm when on floor time etc but in his cage he's being a bit lethargic which isn't helping him.

I've given him a cardboard tube to chew on which he's very impressed with. I've also had him sitting on a massage pad and he definitely perks up after that the fibreplex or metatone.

Do you think it'd be worth giving him some infant calpol in case he's still in some discomfort and this is depressing his appetite?

 

[helen105281]

Glad the massage pad is helping too, keep that up definitely.

That is a good selection of hay, you could always try adding Oxbow Orchard grass too, mine love it.

Pain could be a factor but you will need to speak to your vet about pain relief.

Do you think he is gassy at all? The massage would be helping with that but you could always add in Woodwards Gripe water at a dose of 3ml every few hours, this helps break down the gas bubbles and is much safer than Infacol. Dioralyte can also help with this, I give throughout the day.

 

[claire2281]

There was no sign of gas when the vet x-ray him however I wouldn't rule it out entirely whilst his gut is still delicate and he's not eating his hay as wel. The gripe water is a good idea thanks. He definitely is keen to eat and more enthusiastic but doesn't seem to have his full appetite which does make me think he's still a bit tender and out of sorts.

 

[helen105281]

I think pain relief is definitely worth considering then.