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What Would You Do In My Position?

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At this stage after an operation@Sian25 it's a bit like children, you let them have what they fancy to keep everything ticking over nicely. When Violet was recovering the week before last I left her pretty much to herself but every hour I offered a handful of something tasty to keep her interest - a bit of coriander one hour, a bit of cucumber, some dried herbs, a handful of timothy hay - just to keep her ticking over. She very quickly picked up and came out to start munching.
Please don't panic. All sounds fine.
You are a very caring owner - and a very tired and stressed one. Please don't fall out with your partner over this - stress and tiredness make us all behave differently. Just carry on with the good work.
 
When my Rupert was really ill in January he wasn't eating. I tried critical care but he wouldn't accept (he had done on previous illnesses). The vet prescribed Science Recovery plus with Vit C. I told the vet nurse that I was having difficulty getting Rupert to accept the small syringe feeds and most of it was going outside his mouth. The nurse then gave me a bigger Science Recovery Syringe. This was the saving of my Rupert. Although it was bigger the mouth part was just the right size for him and I could get more food in him.
I also gave him small amounts of oats to try and build him up.
I gave him Excel Timothy Hay with Dandelion and Marigold Herbage.
He did like grass from my garden. Do you know anyone who has a garden who hasn't treated it to chemicals or got a dog or cat weeing on it so you know its safe/
Basically I tried to tempt him with anything I knew he liked. Remember he has had an operation so I did leave him to rest. But it was grass and Science Recovery that put him back on track.
I hope all goes well.
 
Agree with everything above, if you start panicking they will sense it too. Let them eat whatever they fancy for a few days. After Fuzzy's op she was very lethargic the first night and I had to get up in the night and feed her but by mid morning she was starting to perk up and would take food out of my hands. Did they come home on pain relief?
 
@flintstones I know that my dog was poorly after his neutering/hernia repair- he wouldn't walk but it didnt stop him eating plus it's not the end of the world if a dog won't eat for a while but it's life and death for a guinea pig.

Honestly though they are everything to me and I couldn't cope if I lost either of them, especially if it was due to not eating enough as I should be getting more into them
 
helen105281 said:
Did they come home on pain relief?
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They were going to give me metacam but I brought some with me that I opened for my dog two weeks ago after his neuter.. I was surprised but they let me use that and printed out another label for it. Dog strength metacam 0.5ml twice daily
 
Sian25 said:
@flintstones I know that my dog was poorly after his neutering/hernia repair- he wouldn't walk but it didnt stop him eating plus it's not the end of the world if a dog won't eat for a while but it's life and death for a guinea pig.

Honestly though they are everything to me and I couldn't cope if I lost either of them, especially if it was due to not eating enough as I should be getting more into them
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I understand it is stressful but your boys are eating. Gut stasis is caused by them not eating anything and not moving. They will be a bit picky as they aren't 100% but it's all very good signs that they aren't hunched and are nibbling on different foods.


It's not unusual for the vet just to print a label if you have medicine at home as long as it hasn't been to long since opening.
 
Yes they're eating a few things when I hand it to them but they're not touching their food otherwise and from what I understand reading the other threads, if I don't get 60ml down them, their bodies will close down
 
Milan now won't even eat his veg or anything that I offer willingly. He's the one who was munching away when he come home but has since gone downhill. Hugo is however still willing to eat his veg
 
I've just seen this post now & haven't had chance to read it all so what I'm suggesting may have already been mentioned.

After an op I always use a heat pad for first 2 or 3 days to keep their body temperature up. Once you know they're OK you can discard this. If they're not eating I give them Fibreplex at least 1ml a day but you can give up to 3ml. I also make sure they have Readigrass which is dried grass & the love it as a substitute to fresh grass. Some piggies hate been syringe fed & this can be so stressful to them & to you so try to hand feed them things they like because when they're not eating anything is better than nothing.

I do hope you get your boys through this xx
 
Sian25 said:
Where can I get readigrass? I can't find it on pets at home website
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I bit of fresh grass or fresh herbs will also do with a piggy that is off its appetite, but if your boys are eating normally, then there is no problem and you do not need it. You can buy readigrass in many online places, even ebay!
 
I know it is hard as I also suffer from anxiety and my poor piggies suffer the brunt. But please try and not panic, you have been given some fantastic advise.

Please try and not worry about your partners words. If she is anything like my husband, she is just looking out for you and is worrying about the negative effects the boys surgery is having on you.

Healing vibes for your boys xx
 
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Right I got some readigrass, they're only eating bits of it. I'm really confused about what I should be doing now. They're only nibbling on a few things so that's why I was trying to syringe feed them, but people have said not to now? They're not moving a lot really, mostly staying in their hidies. They have also nibbled at their seagrass bed but does seagrass have any nutritional value?
 
I have also rang the vets quite a few times and they keep saying they will ring me back but they haven't! :no:
 
Are you weighing them daily so you can see if they're getting enough food intake. Normally they can go up or down by 25g a day but if their weight keeps dropping this is a sign that they need some extra feeding x

Usually vets tend to be doing ops throughout the morning so most replies would come between 12 & 1pm. If they haven't replied by then I'd phone them again x
 
Sian25 said:
I have also rang the vets quite a few times and they keep saying they will ring me back but they haven't! :no:
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Please try and be patient. Vets are often very busy people and if your vets are anything like mine, this is the time that the surgeons are doing surgery so they are probably currently busy x
 
I'm trying to get some emiprid from the vets.

One has lost 40g and the other 20g since before surgery and I'm trying to get as much syringe food as possible but they are spitting a lot out. I feel so helpless
 
Sian25 said:
Right I got some readigrass, they're only eating bits of it. I'm really confused about what I should be doing now. They're only nibbling on a few things so that's why I was trying to syringe feed them, but people have said not to now? They're not moving a lot really, mostly staying in their hidies. They have also nibbled at their seagrass bed but does seagrass have any nutritional value?
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Please step in with syringe feeding if they are not interested in any tidbits you are offering to titillate their appetite.

Some food is always coming out, but you need to push the syringe in a little bit deeper and let them swallow what you give them in small bits, not a whole syringe full in one go. Feeding an unwilling piggy is never a joyful task. Feed little but often and also make sure that you offer plenty of water. Sometimes, the appetite kicks in again after a bit of syringe feed. At the moment, you need to try to get about 40 ml of syringe feed and solids into them in the course of 24 hours to get them over the reaction to the GA drug, which can be appetite killing; it doesn't matter whether they lose a little bit more weight - they are going to make it up again afterwards.

You can also offer some very rough fibre in the form of brown cardboard or paper, or toilet/kitchen roll inners. Piggies often love it to stabilise their guts after all the operation chemicals.

PS: You needn't worry about weight loss below 50g (when you are advised to start topping up with syringe feed) in the wake of an operation. The appetite will hopefully kick in again soon. Just be patient and don't panic. There is no reason to yet.
 
Sian25 said:
I'm trying to get some emiprid from the vets.

One has lost 40g and the other 20g since before surgery and I'm trying to get as much syringe food as possible but they are spitting a lot out. I feel so helpless
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Don't feel helpless. My Enoch had bad dentle problems where we sadly had to have him pts but he too refused syringe feed and we think he had an underlying condition and he was losing 50g plus daily so please don't worry!

Just keep on trying with the syringe feeding. You can do no more
 
They have a carrot house that is cardboard covered in some kind of herb, would this be useful if they will eat it?
 
Sian25 said:
They have a carrot house that is cardboard covered in some kind of herb, would this be useful if they will eat it?
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It would be useful, but you can always offer some more in their cage. They can take it or leave it.
 
Pop a clean paper bag in, handles cut off, stuffed full of hay with some favourite veggies hidden underneath, that always seems to perk my poorly piggies up & they will eat the paper bag too x
 
Thanks everyone. They seem to be very up and down. One minute they're nibbling their hay on their own, the next they won't even eat anything even Readigrass. Syringe feeding is still proving difficult. But the vet got in touch and said they will fax my local vet with prescription for emiprid which is fab as I don't have to travel an hour there and hour back to the vets which means more time to syringe feed
 
This all sounds normal for post op, even the weight loss. The long string of poo is normal as the guts have just had a period of slowing during surgery. The up and down is normal too. Supplimental syringe feeding is helpful to just get them back going again. I know your worried but everything seems pretty normal post op to me. The sutures look like something called forward interlocking. (I couldn't be certain though). This is just a quick stitch to close a wound quicker and potentially looks a bit off and not quite straight.

x
 
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