Critical care help

[Lisanjake]

I’m sorry if this has been asked a million times already I’ve had quite a few tips but none have worked so far so I wanted to ask everyone’s advice!

Any tips on how to make a piggy like their syringe feed?
I’ve tried her favourite pellets / new pellets / wheatgrass powder / baby food purée/ squeezing blueberry juice into it, nothing seems to cut it that I’ve tried.

1 thing I know is she will literally rip my hand off for blueberries i managed to find some blueberry baby purée but when I got home I read it had yoghurt in it! Doh

All ideas welcome.

 

[Wiebke]

I’m sorry if this has been asked a million times already I’ve had quite a few tips but none have worked so far so I wanted to ask everyone’s advice!

Any tips on how to make a piggy like their syringe feed?
I’ve tried her favourite pellets / new pellets / wheatgrass powder / baby food purée/ squeezing blueberry juice into it, nothing seems to cut it that I’ve tried.

1 thing I know is she will literally rip my hand off for blueberries i managed to find some blueberry baby purée but when I got home I read it had yoghurt in it! Doh

All ideas welcome.

Some piggies just don't like supplementary feeding and syringes.

If that is needed, you have to simply get on with it; the same as with a very ill piggy that is totally off their food and that is fighting the syringe.

Use a mixture of our piggy whispering tips to assert your authority as a kind of super-piggy, plus lot of chivvying and praise for every little thing she does right.
Who is the Boss - Your Guinea Pig or You?

This is how you control the head in piggies that are not cooperative:


The good news is that once your piggy realises that she can't get away with it and that she will feel better with the extra feed, they will become usually better about it. And it won't break your bond, which will go back to the old ways within a few days of you stopping the medication/supplementary feed.

All the best! Unfortunately the 'nice way' doesn't always or even often work.

 

[Engel]

Have you tried oxbow critical care or science selective recovery feed? It take perseverance. A poorly piggy won't know that what you are doing is going to help them.

What are you actually struggling with? Getting enough into her or getting her to eat it in the first place?

Here's our syringe feeding guide:
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

With my Basil I wrapped him up like a piggy burrito initially. You've got to be a bit forceful I guess.

 

[Lisanjake]

Have you tried oxbow critical care or science selective recovery feed? It take perseverance. A poorly piggy won't know that what you are doing is going to help them.

What are you actually struggling with? Getting enough into her or getting her to eat it in the first place?

Here's our syringe feeding guide:
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

With my Basil I wrapped him up like a piggy burrito initially. You've got to be a bit forceful I guess.

Oxbow I have tried 2 flavours bar the apple and banana as that was like £25 on Amazon though I’m tempted as she seems to love fruit recently.
Not sure about science selective but the vets gave me a clear bag of feed for the first go, I think that might of been it.

Both to be honest. Even if I open her mouth she’s pawing and spitting it out. Not co operative at all. Even if I put the tiniest amount in.
I’m only managing just about 50ml a day that’s a struggle, I need to up it as she’s losing weight daily.
She will happily eat small pieces of fruit and veg but it’s not bulking her up enough.
I do the burrito but she soon finds a way out every video I watch all the guinea pigs are fairly easy to handle and are enjoying it lol

 

[Wiebke]

Oxbow I have tried 2 flavours bar the apple and banana as that was like £25 on Amazon though I’m tempted as she seems to love fruit recently.
Not sure about science selective but the vets gave me a clear bag of feed for the first go, I think that might of been it.

Both to be honest. Even if I open her mouth she’s pawing and spitting it out. Not co operative at all. Even if I put the tiniest amount in.
I’m only managing just about 50ml a day that’s a struggle, I need to up it as she’s losing weight daily.
She will happily eat small pieces of fruit and veg but it’s not bulking her up enough.
I do the burrito but she soon finds a way out every video I watch all the guinea pigs are fairly easy to handle and are enjoying it lol

If she is spitting food out, you either don't push the syringe not past the tongue or she has got swallowing issues.

 

[Engel]

Oxbow I have tried 2 flavours bar the apple and banana as that was like £25 on Amazon though I’m tempted as she seems to love fruit recently.
Not sure about science selective but the vets gave me a clear bag of feed for the first go, I think that might of been it.

Both to be honest. Even if I open her mouth she’s pawing and spitting it out. Not co operative at all. Even if I put the tiniest amount in.
I’m only managing just about 50ml a day that’s a struggle, I need to up it as she’s losing weight daily.
She will happily eat small pieces of fruit and veg but it’s not bulking her up enough.
I do the burrito but she soon finds a way out every video I watch all the guinea pigs are fairly easy to handle and are enjoying it lol

May I ask why she needs to be syringe fed to begin with? Is she in pain? When piggies are in pain they can stop eating and this can include syringe feed. Is there anyone who can help you hold her while feeding?

 

[Lisanjake]

May I ask why she needs to be syringe fed to begin with? Is she in pain? When piggies are in pain they can stop eating and this can include syringe feed. Is there anyone who can help you hold her while feeding?

Teeth issues, has them filed a few weeks ago and can’t quite eat harder foods so can’t eat hay or pellets
On 0.5ml dog metacam 2x a day + 0.1ml ciasapride x2.
Sadly not, I live in a new town and I don’t know anyone who would sit with me for an hour whilst feeding (this is how long it takes to get 13ml in ) obviously I wait for her to swallow / Chew etc x

 

[Engel]

Oh dear. I have no experience with dental issues (yet). However, I'd be inclined to go back to the vet and speak to them about the problems you're having. There may be something else going on. Hopefully there isn't.

Is there anything fibrous you can tempt her with? Grass? Readigrass? Different types of hay? Will she eat soaked pellets out of a bowl? I'm sure you've tried all this but just thinking of things to try alongside syringe feeding.

Also what is the consistency of the syringe feed? My Basil would only take it if it was quite runny to begin with. It was like the consistency of baby porridge.

I also tried mixing in baby food I think it was something with carrot but I also tried one which was apple/strawberry and banana. As she likes blueberries see of you can find one with blueberries in it and mix a little bit in

 

[Black piggies]

It's hard work, I never manage to go anything but very slowly. The more a piggy is struggling, the slower I go, very small amounts.
When you say she'll rip your hand off for a blueberry, was that before?
I recently had a departed piggy suddenly stop eating, I'd been taking her to the vet about her breathing on and off for months, and when she stopped eating, the vet said she was refusing syringe feeding as she'd be having to choose between taking a breath and taking a mouthful of food.
Is your piggy definitely well in herself and able to be syringe fed, just can't eat due to her teeth?
The first piggy I syringe fed, I asked the vet nurse to show me her doing it, which was very helpful.
I just use nuggets mashed, but people comment that their piggies like emeraid recovery food. Good luck.

 

[Siikibam]

Would it be possible to syringe 5-10ml every two hours rather than trying to get 15ml into her in one sitting?

Also to put on weight she needs to eat hay. Veg and fruit (the latter shouldn’t be fed daily) doesn’t make up the bulk of their diet. Hence syringe feeding.

Good luck and I have everything crossed that she will feel better and up to eating soon.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

When dealing with dental piggies, it's important to not get too hung up on the hay eating issue. Lots of dental piggies take weeks, or even months, to eat normal amounts of hay. Tilly, who recently went to rainbow bridge, never ate a normal amount of hay, as her teeth were so bad, but she lived an extra 3 years eating grass, sliced veggies and small nuggets (the Burgess Blackcurrant and Oregano ones).

Are you using a 1 ml syringe, with the end cut off? They are the best ones to use for syringe feeding. Some piggies are happy to take many mls per sitting and others prefer little and often feeding. Will she eat softened nuggets off a plate?

 

[Deleted member 146752]

I have no experience with dental issues either, and I’m not sure if you’ve mentioned this or not, but have you tried putting the food on a spoon and letting your piggie lick it off instead? So sorry you’re having trouble with this, I hope you can find a good method that works!

 

[Merab]

Mine love Oxbow Critical Care, especially the aniseed flavour.
I usually mash a small piece of banana into it.
I also place a small dish of the mush into the cage to encourage the piggies to eat for themselves.
Hope things get better for you soon.