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3 week old not eating

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Linz

New Born Pup
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Hi everyone our lovely fluffy 3 year old boar is not eating today. He hasn’t eaten any nuggets for a few days and has seemed more lethargic today he hasn’t eaten anything and not wanted to come out his igloo much. He has come out one or twice but we are concerned.
At one point should we call a vet?
Thanks
 
Linz said:
Hi everyone our lovely fluffy 3 year old boar is not eating today. He hasn’t eaten any nuggets for a few days and has seemed more lethargic today he hasn’t eaten anything and not wanted to come out his igloo much. He has come out one or twice but we are concerned.
At one point should we call a vet?
Thanks
Click to expand...

Please call a vet right NOW!

With babies you should ideally contact your vet as soon as something is not quite right because they can go downhill so very quickly with a not yet fully developed immune system and not much body mass to fight any illness. :(

Here is our comprehensive emergency information:
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...pport-feeding-orphans-and-tiny-babies.159468/

Finger firmly crossed for your little boy!
 
Thank you @Wiebke for your message. I took him to the vet last night who couldn’t find anything wrong but gave him some tummy meds anyway. He’s eaten a little hay today but no veggies so far.
Hopefully he’ll perk up soon vet thinks he may just be very distressed about being away from. Mum and on his own.
 
Linz said:
Thank you @Wiebke for your message. I took him to the vet last night who couldn’t find anything wrong but gave him some tummy meds anyway. He’s eaten a little hay today but no veggies so far.
Hopefully he’ll perk up soon vet thinks he may just be very distressed about being away from. Mum and on his own.
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He must eat Hay, don’t worry about the veggies at this point as it’s hay which is the most important part. Are you syringe feeding him?
do you have his mother or is he your only piggy?
 
Yes his mum and auntie are in the cage next door. We separated them at 3 weeks it’s such a shame they were all so happy before and popcorning all over the place.
The baby did have a big appetite until a couple of days ago.
The vet didn’t say anything about syringe feddings...
How much do you think we should handle the baby?/put him in the run?
 
@Linz , your title says Three Week old, your text says 3 year old. I'm guessing he is 3 years old, but please can you clarify? Thanks 👍

Edit: sorry, cross-posted, hope your baby is ok in the end
 
Linz said:
Yes his mum and auntie are in the cage next door. We separated them at 3 weeks it’s such a shame they were all so happy before and popcorning all over the place.
The baby did have a big appetite until a couple of days ago.
The vet didn’t say anything about syringe feddings...
How much do you think we should handle the baby?/put him in the run?
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Ok - thanks for the clarification
He will be getting some interaction with mum and aunt through the Bars so do ensure their cages are next to each other.
He must have food going through him, piggies need to eat constantly. I have no experience syringe feeding tiny babies though but a piggy who isn’t eating is a poorly piggy but with such a tiny baby it’s more worrying.
 
Linz said:
Thank you @Wiebke for your message. I took him to the vet last night who couldn’t find anything wrong but gave him some tummy meds anyway. He’s eaten a little hay today but no veggies so far.
Hopefully he’ll perk up soon vet thinks he may just be very distressed about being away from. Mum and on his own.
Click to expand...

Hi!

PLEASE step in with feeding support NOW! Seeing a piggy nibbling on a little hay is ever so deceptive because it is like watching your child swallow a small spoon of porridge and thinking that will last the human patient the whole day - and unlike humans, piggies can't afford to fast, especially not babies!
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...pport-feeding-orphans-and-tiny-babies.159468/
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
 
Update:we have given Buttercup lots of attention this afternoon and he seems perkier. Still not eating veggies but I decided to put him on the grass for a few minutes in a run next to his mum. He immediately started munching and seemed much happier. Back in his cage he’s active, gnawing a lot but not eating.
The vet said not to put him on grass but I’m thinking if that’s what he’ll eat it seems a good idea?
 
While eating grass and hay is absolutely what you want (but unprepared tummies need to be very careful when being put on grass), nibbling at a bit of it here and there (including veggies) isn’t enough - they need fibre so syringe feeding it to him to ensure he is getting the fibre he needs if he won’t eat hay (or not eating enough for himself) is essential
 
Thanks @Piggies&buns we made a ledge in his cage so he can see into his mum’s cage and he’s been sat there the past hour or so.
What should we be putting in the syringe? He’s on emeprid. Someone sent me a link but I couldn’t tell which bit showed what to syringe sorry for all the questions!
I appreciate your time I’m sure you are busy but we’re first time owners so this is really helpful 😊
 
Linz said:
Thanks @Piggies&buns we made a ledge in his cage so he can see into his mum’s cage and he’s been sat there the past hour or so.
What should we be putting in the syringe? He’s on emeprid. Someone sent me a link but I couldn’t tell which bit showed what to syringe sorry for all the questions!
I appreciate your time I’m sure you are busy but we’re first time owners so this is really helpful 😊
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Fibre rich food so either critical care or if you don’t have critical care in then you can mix up the normal pellets with water until it goes mushy enough to push through a syringe. I’ll pop in the link to a guide below for ease of reference
 
Have you been monitoring his toileting? If he stops passing poos at any point for more than a few hours he could be suffering from gut stasis, which happens when pigs stop eating. If that does happen, he'll need to see the vet again. It's good that he's on emeprid as this can help with GI issues. Is your vet an exotics vet who's experienced with guinea pigs?
 
@rudent yes things were very worrying on that front we came down one morning and he hadn’t pooed all night at all. That was when we started syringe feeding.
@Piggies&buns and @Wiebke he seems to have turned a corner he ate a good portion of greens last night. Today we made a fun indoor run for floor time right next to mummy and he even popcorned a couple of times.

We’ll keep weighing him but I’m assuming we can stop syringe feeding for now? He is eating some greens and hay. Especially if we hold him and hand feed him. He’s still not eating any nuggets at all though.....
 
Glad he seems to be perking up and eating something but do be aware that eating greens isn’t enough as it only makes up such a tiny portion of their diet in any event. Don’t worry about the pellets too much but he needs to be eating plenty of hay. You need to continue to weigh him daily and don’t stop support feeding him until he is eating plenty of hay, enough to get him gaining weight again - he absolutely needs the fibre from the syringe feeds, a little veg just won’t cut it I’m afraid
 
Linz said:
@rudent yes things were very worrying on that front we came down one morning and he hadn’t pooed all night at all. That was when we started syringe feeding.
@Piggies&buns and @Wiebke he seems to have turned a corner he ate a good portion of greens last night. Today we made a fun indoor run for floor time right next to mummy and he even popcorned a couple of times.

We’ll keep weighing him but I’m assuming we can stop syringe feeding for now? He is eating some greens and hay. Especially if we hold him and hand feed him. He’s still not eating any nuggets at all though.....
Click to expand...

Please continue offering feeding support until his weight is climbing again with every passing day and his poos are looking normal again.

Don't make the mistake of withdrawing before you have confirmation that he is really eating enough for himself. That doesn't seem to be the case yet if he still needs your stimulation, as well as that of his family. Could he live side by side with his family for the time being? Babies are just so desperate for company of their kind at this age.
 
Hi everyone I just wanted to say thanks so much for all our advice and posts. We would never have known to syringe feed him otherwise and I think that’s what saved him.
He is doing really well now. He eats enormous amounts!
He is about to be reunited with his mum and auntie
 
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