Blondies ill

[Ellie<3piggies]

Sooo my piggie blondie is really ill! I don’t even know what happened to her to make her this ill. I think it started when she jumped abit too high off this block in her cage for his little feet and hurt herself He couldn’t walk properly and wasn’t moving around a lot so I took him to the vets. They just gave him a pain killer injection and just said if he doesn’t get better bring him back. A week on from then he hasn’t been moving or eating and drinking so he is now very under weight. I even had to bathe him as he wasn’t moving to clean him self! The vets just gave him a steroid injection and just said to fatten him up. If he gets worse it’s looking like he will have to get put down I’ve just come onto here to ask people what the best food is to quickly try and fatten a piggie up? The only thing atm he will eat is loads of grass! Help!

 

[Siikibam]

I’m sorry your boy is unwell. Please can you confirm what steroid he was injected with?

You will have to start weighing him at the same time each day - preferably morning. You’ll also have to step in and syringe feed him. If you don’t have anything to hand Joe you can use their pellets. Soak them in hot water until they’re soft. You can then feed them to him once they’re cooked and formed a mash. Either offer them in a bowl, on a spoon or through a syringe. The latter needs to be quite watery and you may have to cut off the tip of the syringe. I would get him seen again by the vet. Did the vet say whether he found any (internal) injuries after the fall?
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Vet Locator

 

[Ellie<3piggies]

He was injected with cortisone. Thankyou! I will definitely do that. The vet couldn’t find anything wrong with him although she didn’t give him a x ray which I found abit strange but she couldn’t feel anything wrong so she didn’t feel the need too. It was only about 5 inch he jumped off I think he must’ve landed funny because he was fine before this, didn’t think he would get this bad. But the amount of weight he’s lost in a week since the last time in the vets was a lot the vet said and I’ve been hand feeding him lots. He just walks like he’s drunk now it’s horrible!

 

[Siikibam]

How much are you syringe feeding and how often?

I’ll tag @Wiebke @Piggies&buns

 

[Ellie<3piggies]

Thankyou! I’ve tried to syringe feed but he’s basically spitting it out and it’s not working he’s just refusing. I’ve tried him on all sorts and the only thing he will eat abit of is grass!

 

[Wiebke]

Thankyou! I’ve tried to syringe feed but he’s basically spitting it out and it’s not working he’s just refusing. I’ve tried him on all sorts and the only thing he will eat abit of is grass!

Hi!

I am very sorry.

This means that your boy is potentially having overgrown back teeth (they are ground down by the silica in the grass hay that should make up to 80% of the daily food intake and that can grow spurs that bridge and trap the tongue if they are not ground down evenly) or a fungal mouth infection, which also makes swallowing very difficult/impossible. Has the vet checked for that possibility?

I am keeping my fingers very firmly crossed as a piggy that you and Blondie can win the race against time.

PS: Steroids should be avoided to be used for guinea pigs; rodents react differently to them.

Please read the information in this guide here: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Vet Locator

 

[Ellie<3piggies]

The vet checked his teeth and mouth said everything is fine! Oh god fingers crossed he doesn’t react badly to it then. I’ve managed now to get a few syringes down. Think I’m gonna have to stay up through the night to try and get more down. Hopefully will pull through

 

[Wiebke]

The vet checked his teeth and mouth said everything is fine! Oh god fingers crossed he doesn’t react badly to it then. I’ve managed now to get a few syringes down. Think I’m gonna have to stay up through the night to try and get more down. Hopefully will pull through

All the best for getting food down him.

If you struggle with every single millilitre, then try to get as close as 5 ml you can get to every 2 hours; you are ideally aiming at 40-60 ml in 24 hours or as close as possible as you can get. It is very exhausting and draining for you. Make sure that you get a little rest and ideally a little nap yourself once you have got 10-20 ml into him if possible. Try to give a little syringe feed but continue to offer grass; sometimes a little feed can stimulate natural eating a bit more. Also see whether he likes the taste of mushed up pellets better (you can mix that with syringe feed if necessary). At this stage, anythings that gets a little bit more food into him goes.
Be careful to allow him to swallow down the previous batch before syringing more. At this stage 0.1-0.3 ml in one go are all you should give at once so he can easily hold it in his mouth and it is not going up the nose or down the bronchia. Also offer him water, as much as he will willingly take from time to time.