Concerns

[Lukejhull]

Hello starting to get concerns on my guinea pig he is around 3 and a half and gets fresh veggies once a day on an evening , noticed lately he is not wolfing it down like normally does sometimes comes back to it and finishes it during the evening but sometimes pieces left by morning, I noticed him doing a strange sound earlier and filmed it but can't upload here happy to show anybody on Kik or something for advice , not sure if he was popping at the time which look smaller and more pieces where he was stood , his brother Charlie passed last year due to what we was told was something blocking him up inside and didn't make it with medications just don't want same to happen to our other 1

 

[Piggies&buns]

If you have any health concerns, then your piggy will need to see a vet.
Are you weighing him regularly to ensure he is actually eating enough hay? Veg is just a snack really and hay is the most important part of the diet.
You will need to upload a video to YouTube and then post a link to it here.

Does he live with another piggy now?

 

[Lukejhull]

Think we will get him taken for a checkup
Don't weigh him no just spend time with him
He always has nuggets and fresh hay in his cage then his veggies once a day, he has currently left them again and will post a link below once uploaded and no he lives alone now seems to prefer it as the other 1 annoyed him a lot and was always countering at each other he seems more relaxed now than he used to be

 

[Lukejhull]

 

[Piggies&buns]

That could well be a response to pain. Please have him seen by a vet to rule it out.

You should weigh piggies weekly as part of routine care and then switch to daily weighing when there are health concerns. It’s the only way to know they are eating enough hay as you cannot judge they are getting enough intake by eye. They should not have nuggets all the time, just one tablespoon once per day.

Just because he didn’t get on with his previous cage mate (although it’s possible what you see as annoying him was simply normal boar behaviours - the only time you separate boars is if there is a full on blood drawing fight, otherwise mounting, chasing, chattering is all normal), it doesn’t mean he is happier alone. They will get on life because they have no choice but to do so, but he is so very young to be contemplating a life alone. He would benefit from having a character compatible friend.

Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[Siikibam]

Let us know how it goes. Hopefully something simple.

 

[Lukejhull]

So George has just been to the vets and they have examined him, strangely never gave him an ultrasound though like they did our other pig what passed, the vet noticed he did poo while there and it was smaller than normal and also told us him bottom area isn't blocked or anything from the outside even though I did see something on him last night.

Been given something to syringe feed him once per day for pain relief and then something to syringe feed him to flush his system out got to give that 3x times per day and see if he improves my biggest concern is he doesn't seem to be eating at his normal rate hopefully it's something minor but don't seem to have a solid answer still

 

[Piggies&buns]

What is the med you’ve got to give three times a day to flush is system out?

Smaller poop can be down to reduced hay intake.

Please make sure you weigh him daily as if he isn’t eating enough hay, then he will likely be losing weight. If that is the case and his food intake has reduced, you will need to syringe feed him a recovery feed such as Oxbow Critical Care to prevent further weight loss And keep his gut functioning properly.

Youll have to see how things go with the pain meds because piggies metabolise meds within 12 hours so once a day on pain meds isn’t usually enough.

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

 

[SquiglyPiggy]

Just like to point out that red and orange peppers should be given in smaller quantities because they have a higher sugar level then the green and yellow ones. I think a few times a week with a slice or two should be sufficient. Please correct me if I’m wrong, and good luck.

 

[Lukejhull]

Emeprid Oral Suspension given at 0.5ml 3x times a day
Also given Metacam Oral given at 0.3ml 1x per day.
We always include the pets at home Timothy hay/meadow hay be always seems to be eating it maybe I'll reduce nuggets in his bowl and try edge him more towards hay,
Seems to be enjoying lettuce more than his cabbage and peppers at the minute

 

[Piggies&buns]

Emeprid is a gut motility drug.
Are you weighing him? Watching him eat hay isn’t enough as it is deceptive, and you can’t know he is getting enough without weighing him.
Do prepare to step in with syringe feeding.
It would be worth taking him off of veg for the time being to give his gut time to settle. He needs fibre from hay and/or syringe feed if he isn’t eating enough, more than anything particularly at the moment.
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

Also to note that guinea pigs metabolise pain meds in around 12 hours so giving pain meds once a day isn’t enough for them. I’m assuming he’s been given cat metacam?

 

[Lukejhull]

I need to find something to weigh him with we only have cooking scales at the moment

 

[Piggies&buns]

I need to find something to weigh him with we only have cooking scales at the moment

Normal digital kitchen scales are what is needed to weigh piggies with.
Have you been weighing him up until now? If you haven’t then you aren’t going to know whether he has lost anything in the last few days. Although as I said, smaller poop can indicate reduced hay intake and given poop output is 1-2 days behind, it is likely he hasn’t been eating quite enough for a couple of days. In that case, I would offer some syringe feed anyway and then weigh him at the same time each day going forward so you can monitor and adjust syringe feeding appropriately. What you don’t want is for his guts to slow - hence why the vet has given a gut stimulant.
If you don’t have any fibre rich recovery feed in, then you can use mushed pellets in the meantime

 

[Lukejhull]

Just taken his medicine quite well and now put him back in cage to relax with only a small amount of nuggets fresh water and hay and hoping to pop out tomorrow and get some better quality hay for him and see how he is in couple days hopefully I'll see his pop go back to normal and no haven't weighed previously haven't really got anything proper only old school cooking ones I'll buy a digital scale tomorrow

 

[Lukejhull]

Update on George been giving his medicine as requested but not seeing much change , seems to be in his blue house most of the day, poos still seem small couple of bigger ones , not had loads of nuggets or water it seems but his eating smaller amounts of veg and seems to be eating more hay and biting his chewstick , seems to be squashed up while he sitting or laying down and just got some digital scales so going to weigh him daily

 

[Piggies&buns]

Have you been syringe feeding him mushed nuggets or a recovery feed? As we said, small poops and low gut movement means he isn’t getting enough food so syringe feeding him is so important. I would stuff his cage full with a big piles of hay in multiple places so he can have access to a lot of it - it doesn’t look like there is very much hay in this cage in this picture.
As you haven’t been weighing him up until now it is going to be difficult for you to tell if he has been losing weight over these last few days, hence syringe feeding him a recovery feed is so important. You cannot judge hay intake by eye.
What chew stick has he got?

 

[Lukejhull]

Just a generic chew stick think it's got honey or carrot in it, hay I've just topped up again and only following vet advice they never told us to syringe feed him just to give him this medicine , I've checked his belly and can't feel no obvious Lumps or anything

 

[Piggies&buns]

Just a generic chew stick think it's got honey or carrot in it, hay I've just topped up again and only following vet advice they never told us to syringe feed him just to give him this medicine , I've checked his belly and can't feel no obvious Lumps or anything

Those kinds of chew sticks are bad for them, they contain seeds and honey which should not be fed to guinea pigs. I would strongly advise you to stop using them. Most commercial ’treats’ either contain unsafe ingredients or unhealthy ingredients.

Syringe feeding replaces the hay which your piggy has not been eating for himself - he may have been eating some but for him to have smaller poops and low gut movement enough that he needs a stimulant, then he hadn’t been eating enough. This is explained in the guides which were linked in the first few replies to this thread.

 

[Lukejhull]

If this is the case why has the vet not told us to do this, whatever he eats just doesn't seem to be eating much of it and like I stated is very Inactive from his usual self , I'm not sure if I have a medicine feed from what our other pig got given before be passed I could check the date and if it's ok maybe use it

 

[Piggies&buns]

If this is the case why has the vet not told us to do this, whatever he eats just doesn't seem to be eating much of it and like I stated is very Inactive from his usual self , I'm not sure if I have a medicine feed from what our other pig got given before be passed I could check the date and if it's ok maybe use it

It depends how experienced your vet is really.
Standard advice is to syringe feed a piggy who isn’t enough eating. The lack of activity and small poops are sure signs his food intake has dropped. Lack of hay intake is reflected on the scales which is why weekly weighing is important, switching to daily weighing a piggy is unwell. Weighing also tells you how much to syringe feed - if when being syringe fed a piggy continues to lose weight then you need to increase the syringe feed frequency.

Packets of syringe feed need to be used within 30 days of opening. You can mush his normal pellets with water and syringe feed that to him in the absence of a proper syringe feed powder.

 

[Lukejhull]

We have this syringe feed mix back of it says when mixed use within 12 hours says to mix the 20g sachet with 70ml warm water

1.246 kg he weighs if these new scales are correct

 

[Piggies&buns]

We have this syringe feed mix back of it says when mixed use within 12 hours says to mix the 20g sachet with 70ml warm water

1.246 kg he weighs if these new scales are correct

if it is an unopened sachet then it’s fine to use. If it has been opened more than 30 days ago then I would not use it.
The 12 hours relates to when it is mixed.
He may only take a few ml every few hours. As I said though it all depends on how much he is eating for himself.

He is a good weight then, but it is weight loss which you are looking for. Without knowing what he started at a week ago we obviously can’t know how much he has been eating while he has been feeling poorly.
if that is his weight now, then weigh him again at the same time tomorrow and take note of if. If he has lost more than daily fluctuation amounts, then he isn’t eating enough.

 

[Lukejhull]

Ok thanks forgive me for all the questions and uncertainty I do appreciate the advice and want what's best for the little guy how much of the packet would you mix with water if we were not to mix the whole packet at once I've never had to syringe feed before he doesn't like his emeprid medicine but we are managing to give him the full dose and he seems to enjoy the Metacam

 

[Siikibam]

I’m not sure but perhaps do some pinches in 2ml of water? I would see if you you can get him seen by a more experienced vet.