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Very Poorly Piggie, Not Eating- Convenia

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Kit06

Kit06

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I currently have a very poorly piggie and am after any advice/experiences.

My boy went in for neutering and seemed fine when he got home. After a few days he developed an abscess/reaction to sutures and was given an injection of the antibiotic Convenia. This is not something I've had prescribed before so I noted the name of it down. After the antibiotic injection my piggie just stopped eating and drinking so I took him back to the vets. He was hospitalised for 24hrs and they said the infection wasn't the problem but the reaction to the antibiotic. He has been syringe fed every 3 hours since last Friday (on the fourth day now) with Supreme Recovery plus. He is also having Emperid and Fibreplex and water.

He is holding weight but not gaining and not showing any indication of wanting to start eating on his own. He is not lethargic and will fight the syringe feeding but I try and get as much in as possible. How long can we go on like this? The antibiotic is long acting (2 weeks they said) so will it be 2 weeks before he picks up? It's very hard to keep going and I am worried what will happen when I am at work tomorrow and can't feed every 3 hours. Will I have to leave him at the vets? I have another vet appointment this evening. Any success stories would be nice to hear. I'm afraid we'll lose him :(
 
Still syringe feeding. Am including some poo soup as well now. The vets admitted they shouldn't have given that antibiotic. I just hope I can keep him going long enough for it to wear off :( My poor boy. I feel awful getting him neutered now.
 
Kit06 said:
Still syringe feeding. Am including some poo soup as well now. The vets admitted they shouldn't have given that antibiotic. I just hope I can keep him going long enough for it to wear off :( My poor boy. I feel awful getting him neutered now.
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Keep going as you are- this isnt your fault. I'm praying he pulls through xx
 
Ask your vet to give you some Emeraid powdered food to give him as well,make sure they pay for it as they prescribed the antibiotic incorrectly I had a very poorly piggy pull through with it as it is high calorie & mine ate it even when she wouldn't eat anything else. Make sure it is the vegetarian small pet one though .
 
Still syringe feeding - it's nearly a week now. I took him to the vets yesterday for feeding while I was at work and have done the same today. He's still making no effort to feed/drink himself and has started to lose weight despite the feeding - 50g lost yesterday. This is heartbreaking. It's 10 days since he had the antibiotic
 
Kit06 said:
Still syringe feeding - it's nearly a week now. I took him to the vets yesterday for feeding while I was at work and have done the same today. He's still making no effort to feed/drink himself and has started to lose weight despite the feeding - 50g lost yesterday. This is heartbreaking. It's 10 days since he had the antibiotic
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You are doing all you can, keep up with the syringe feeding and gut protectant like zantac, as well as a gut stimulator like metacloprimide if not alot of poos are being passed.

Its good that hes still going and as hard as it is, you are doing the right thing by giving him the chance to get over this reaction and waiting for it to be out his system.

Try and up the amount of syringe feeds (and ask the veterinary staff to do the same) if hes still losing weight. Investing in something like critical care fine grind would be worthwhile- the fine grind version is a very fine powder, meaning u can make the paste thicker than normal recovery/critical care without it blocking the syringe- this means he is getting more feed and calories per ml compared to the stuff that needs watered down more.

I would also enquire about the practice responsible for giving him the convenia, to pay the ongoing fees for his current condition- they have admitted he shouldnt be given it therefore admitting liability for his current poor health.
 
He put a bit of weight on over the last 24 hrs and has been seem munching a bit of hay and sitting in the hay tray rather than hiding in his fleece tunnel. I'll try and get my hands on the critical care fine grind. He's having Emeprid to help keep things moving and Fibreplex too (along with poo soup). The last couple of days the vets fed him while I was at work and they didn't charge me - I've just had to pay for the food sachets. I'm desperate for him to pull through. I'm hoping the antibiotics are wearing off and his gut can re-populate and started to function correctly soon so his appetite increases.
 
That is all very positive- keep going. Ask your vet to order in the critical care fine grind, probably your quickest option. X
 
Still going! Been syringe feeding for over 10 days now. He is losing weight but very slowly. Plenty of poo coming out and most of the sachet of recovery plus going in. I've got critical care fine grind winging it's way to me and I also ordered some Avipro plus as I find getting the fibreplex in a bit tricky. I put him outside yesterday on the grass and he was eating it for quite a while (not sure why he didn't gain weight from this) and I still see him munching a bit of hay and veggies but very small amounts. I just wish he'd take an interest in eating for himself again. He's still perky, chewing holes in the towels when I'm feeding him! Have included a pic of him feeling sorry for himself:
20160628_135616_zpsxv6dxggj.jpg
 
What a great job you're doing nursing him back to health. Fingers crossed he pulls through to full health and independent eating soon xx
 
He is going in the right direction, you are doing amazingly well.

Ps he is a stunner!
 
Pip is still with us. I've been syringe feeding for over 13 days now. I took him to a different vets the day before yesterday and they were fantastic. They recommended I start using critical care fine grind (which I already had on order) and it is definitely going down better than the recovery plus. They also prescribed tonnes more probiotics than he was having previously. In the last 24hr he has put on a bit of weight which he wasn't doing before. I have another appointment next week to review progress. I've been offering lots of different hays and forages to try and get him going again. He shows interest initially but soon goes off them. I'm just hoping that over the next few days his guts start to work properly again and his appetite increases.
 
Well done - it sounds like you are doing absolutely everything you can, and that your boy is a real little fighter.
Go Pip!
 
He is definitely a fighter! Hopefully he'll turn a corner soon and his appetite will return. You have done a great job keeping him going. xx
 
You are doing such a great job in keeping him going! I hope that he can pull through.
 
Weight up again this morning which is positive and more veggies taken over the night. Fingers crossed things are improving. I don't know whether weight gain is from the introduction of critical care fine grind which is easier to get in him or whether he is nibbling more during the day. I've also had him out on the lawn when possible. There's no sudden increase in appetite but I guess after so long it would be a very gradual increase over time? He's still spending a lot of time hiding in his wooden tunnel but has been showing a bit more interest in things around him, wheeking with the others for veggies (even though he doesn't come straight out for them) and popping out for a nibble of hay.
 
Kit06 said:
Weight up again this morning which is positive and more veggies taken over the night. Fingers crossed things are improving. I don't know whether weight gain is from the introduction of critical care fine grind which is easier to get in him or whether he is nibbling more during the day. I've also had him out on the lawn when possible. There's no sudden increase in appetite but I guess after so long it would be a very gradual increase over time? He's still spending a lot of time hiding in his wooden tunnel but has been showing a bit more interest in things around him, wheeking with the others for veggies (even though he doesn't come straight out for them) and popping out for a nibble of hay.
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It is very positive indeed! After this time and coming back from as far down as he has, it is a long way back, but he looks like is very much willing to live. The fine grind may make the difference in weight gain. Hopefully in the measure that he feels better in himself, he is going to pick up and eating more and more under his own steam. it may be worth having his teeth (especially his premolars) checked for overgrowth as he hasn't been chewing all that much.

You can be very proud of yourself. Many piggies don't survive being given convenia.
 
You are doing a fabulous job and it all sounds so positive. Sounds like you've turned the corner.
 
Pip has lost weight for the last two days :( This is despite the continued syringe feeding. I thought he was getting better as he's been nibbling pellets, hay and drinking water again. He's eaten some veggies each night and I've tried about 6 different types of hay. He's still alert and wheeking for veg. I just don't understand why his weight won't increase :( I'm afraid we'll lose him after all this time. I have another vet appointment on Tues. The vet said by then we should know whether or not there was a chance he'd recover. It was so positive a few days ago and now I dread the weigh-in each morning.
 
Kit06 said:
Pip has lost weight for the last two days :( This is despite the continued syringe feeding. I thought he was getting better as he's been nibbling pellets, hay and drinking water again. He's eaten some veggies each night and I've tried about 6 different types of hay. He's still alert and wheeking for veg. I just don't understand why his weight won't increase :( I'm afraid we'll lose him after all this time. I have another vet appointment on Tues. The vet said by then we should know whether or not there was a chance he'd recover. It was so positive a few days ago and now I dread the weigh-in each morning.
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Try up the syringe feeds for now until the weight stablises, its not ideal but you have both done amazingly well, dont give up hope just yet. Hes such a fighter for doing this well xx
 
His weight was up 20g this morning :) I'm hoping for another increase tomorrow. Costing a fortune in critical care and fibreplex as I don't order enough online and end up buying from the vets with a huge mark up! On about 4 different forms of probiotic plus gut motility stuff. He's being very good about all the syringing though
 
I am still having my fingers crossed! Would you consider to try a bit of mushed up pellets in your syringe mix to help stretching it?
 
I may be speaking out of turn but I hope the vets who made the mistake of administering convenia are footing the bill for all of this. If not, then they should be.
I agree with @Wiebke that some mushed up pellets in the mix will help it stretch further.
Good news about the weight gain.
 
Just a thought, could he be dehydrated? I would make sure he is getting water syringed carefully into the side of his mouth, 0.1-0.2 ml at a time, take care not to syringe directly down the back of his throat though in case of aspiration. The vet can also give him fluids by injection "sub cut" they call it. Upping his fluids should make him expel the toxins more quickly.
 
Weight down again today but only by 9g :( I have been adding some finely ground pellets to the food to bulk it out a bit - he seems to like this. He's getting lots of water - I syringe after each meal and he's drinking from his water bottle himself now. He ate a whole plate of veggies last night (pepper, spring greens, celery, carrot, romaine lettuce, cucumber) plus 1/2 a regular portion of pellets, I just don't understand why he isn't gaining weight from all the food he's having?!? I will check with the vet tonight about teeth and ask about pain but he doesn't look like a pig in pain. He is wheeking loudly for veg and wandering around in his cage, saying hello to his neighbours. It is over 3 weeks since the antibiotics were administered so they should be long gone by now and the amount of probiotics he is having should have helped re-populate his gut too. I'm just wondering if the antibiotics permanently damage him? The vets that did this did charge me for food and an overnight stay (but not some medicines) but since I changed vets I am paying for it all myself :/ I know I should say something but I don't like confrontation and don't have the energy right now :(
 
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