When a piggy stops eating, giving veg or fruit baby food is not the right thing.
It does not contain the fibre that their gut needs to keep functioning properly. Giving excess veg (or fruit sugars) via syringe feed with lack of hay fibre intake can cause further digestive problems and imbalances and thus exacerbate the problems.
They need a proper fibre rich recovery feed such as critical care or mushed pellets (as the emergency measure) to maintain gut function.
A very small amount of veg baby food can be added to make recovery feed more palatable but baby food must not out-proportion the fibre of recovery feed and it must not be fed on its own during a period of illness.
Please never ‘shove’ it further down. It risks aspiration.
Syringe feeding needs to be done carefully and taking into account the capacity they can hold in their mouth at a time of around 0.3ml.
In some situations, spitting food out can be due to a blockage or the system shutting down - they simply cannot swallow - this is an emergency and can mean they are sadly about to pass away.
It’s essential vet advice is sought if a piggy stops eating - there is always a reason and diagnosis and prompt treatment is key (and also a legal requirement for any illness). Anybody in a situation with a poorly piggy who has stopped eating and potentially going into stasis must see a vet.
Not eating is an emergency; not keeping gut function/not pooping (ie stasis) is an emergency. Both of these can be fatal without a vet diagnosis as to the cause and if not dealt with properly with pain meds, gut meds, syringe feeding a fibre recovery feed and daily weight checks to ensure enough fibre is fed to keep the weight stable each day.
1 Feed
- Important crisis management resources
- When is improvising necessary?
- Which food group am I replacing with my feeding support?
- How much and how often should I feed and water?
- What can I use that I have already got at home?
- Other possible easily available foods with their pros and cons
- How do I prep a syringe for rougher pellet fibre?
- What can I do without a syringe?
- The role of lukewarm water
2 Probiotics
- Probiotic products...
1 Weight and Weight Loss
- Why regular weight monitoring matters
- How weight changes over a lifetime
- How to weigh on your kitchen scales (with video)
- The weight loss rules
- How critical is the weight loss for my piggy?
- Possible causes for weight loss
2 Body Mass Index (BMI) or 'Heft'
- Why is understanding your piggy's weight so important?
- 'Average' weight vs. individual weight - the big trip up
- How to check for the BMI...
Introduction
1 Choosing the right place to medicate/feed your piggy
2 Guinea pig whispering and asserting your authority
3 Recovery products and emergency improvisation
4 Syringe recommendations
5 Weight monitoring: your biggest ally
6 Weight loss guidelines and when to step in with feeding
7 Syringe feeding amounts/frequency advice
8 Practical medication and syringing tips
9 Medicating and feeding cooperative guinea pigs (videos)
10 Medicating and feeding uncooperative guinea pigs (hold pictures and tips)
11 The line between life and...
1 Not eating (anorexia) and the importance of syringe feeding fibre
2 Soft poos and runny diarrhea
3 Acute bloat (severe dysbiosis) - blockage - twisted gut - persistent milder bloating
4 GI stasis (no gut movement)
Severe runny diarrhea, bloat, blockage or a twisted gut, GI stasis and excessive salivating in guinea pigs that are not eating are absolute life and death emergencies that need to be seen ASAP by an out-of-hours vet at any time of the day or night or that should be seen by a vet as soon as you can get an appointment outside the UK...
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