Weaning off of critical care diet after two weeks

[ecowoman]

My guinea pig is only about a year and half old and recently had tooth filing due to weight loss, eye infection & an infected pocket in his mouth. He was put on the critical care diet for two weeks to allow his mouth pocket to heal. After the first week as we were learning and he was learning, he lost even more weight. Even though he is now allowed to have solid food and hay, he is not eating much and begging for the critical care/baby food mixture I had been feeding him. He no longer really wants vegetables and is not eating hay - he will eat pellets and fruits. I suspect he is addicted to the critical care and wanted to know opinions on this. I am taking him back to the vet for his follow up but am concerned for his long term health and quality of life. What are suggestions for weaning a piggie off of the critical care when they are obviously hungry but not wanting to eat what is provided?. He was 780 grams two weeks ago and is now 650 grams.

 

[DMS260820]

Perfect to answer this is @furryfriends (TEAS).

 

[Piggies&buns]

I think I would wait until piggy has had his follow up appointment to ensure everything is healed properly before doing anything to reduce his syringe feeds, particularly if he won’t eat hay, then stopping his feeds wouldn’t be wise without veterinary advice as he needs the constant source of fibre. Is he putting weight back on yet?

Please don’t feed fruit too often - it should only be given as an occasional treat in very small amounts, fruits can also be acidic which causes other medical issues.

 

[Claire W]

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Please do not reduce the amount of Critical Care you are feeding, as clearly your piggies teeth are not working correctly and he can't eat sufficiently for himself. You could offer softened nuggets, rather than Critical Care, if you want, but it is more important that you keep plenty of calories going in, in whatever way works for him, rather than trying to wean him off supportive care. A guinea pig will eat properly, if they can, regardless of whether you are offering syringe food, so please don't think you are hindering his recovery by continuing to feed Critical Care, as this is definitely not the case.

 

[ecowoman]

He is not putting weight back on - he has been stable since about a week ago.

 

[Bill & Ted]

He is not putting weight back on - he has been stable since about a week ago.

If he is stable then that is more important than him putting weight on at the moment. I am going through a similar problem with my boy Ted. He has dental problems causing a mouth ulcer so cannot eat hay at the moment, grass is a very good substitute for hay so try to include a little each day. Will he eat grated carrot or parsnip, Ted will eat veggies that have plenty of calories and not sharp to eat. Carrot greens (leaves) are a favourite too, I wouldn’t cut his CC until he is eating hay properly then try slowly and cut down a little at a time

 

[ecowoman]

If he is stable then that is more important than him putting weight on at the moment. I am going through a similar problem with my boy Ted. He has dental problems causing a mouth ulcer so cannot eat hay at the moment, grass is a very good substitute for hay so try to include a little each day. Will he eat grated carrot or parsnip, Ted will eat veggies that have plenty of calories and not sharp to eat. Carrot greens (leaves) are a favourite too, I wouldn’t cut his CC until he is eating hay properly then try slowly and cut down a little at a time

I will try to shred the carrot or parsnip with greens. I had some old young guinea pig food and he is eating that. He just begs like crazy for the Critical care. Question on the grass - it is currently freezing out with snow (In Ohio). Do you grow it indoors? What type of grass?

 

[Gem789]

I will try to shred the carrot or parsnip with greens. I had some old young guinea pig food and he is eating that. He just begs like crazy for the Critical care. Question on the grass - it is currently freezing out with snow (In Ohio). Do you grow it indoors? What type of grass?

Normal grass that normally grows in gardens x

 

[Bill & Ted]

I will try to shred the carrot or parsnip with greens. I had some old young guinea pig food and he is eating that. He just begs like crazy for the Critical care. Question on the grass - it is currently freezing out with snow (In Ohio). Do you grow it indoors? What type of grass?

It’s just normal grass in your garden. Grass is usually quite resilient to frost and snow so pick a little and bring inside and place in a bowl of temperate water to wash, dry on paper towel and feed x Good luck