Gassy pig

[andisafc]

Hi everyone, so sorry that I only seem to post when I have an issue! Bramble has been to the vets today as he gets quite gassy. He has been on cisapride 3 times a day after a nasty case of not eating after an antibiotic & I have got him down to 1 dose a day.

Vets have checked him over & said he does have a bit of gas but nothing worrying & have said to stop the cisapride & see what happens? I’m so scared in case he bloats?

They also said that the gas could be dietary & to reduce the 3 types of hay he gets & 2 types of pellet (we have a 4mth old & 1 of the pellets is for adults). Does anyone think that hay /pellets could cause gas?

As for fresh veg he gets a mixture of red pepper, romaine hearts, sweet / little gem, cucumber.

I went feeling good as it was just a check up & now I’m so wound up! x

 

[Piggies&buns]

It wouldn’t be for us to tell you to do anything other than what your vet says regarding the medication. I guess you could put him back on it if you see any issues but for now I would follow vet advice

It is possible he is reacting to something dietary.

You don’t need to be feeding different pellets - young piggy pellets are not needed at all (they’re a bit of a gimmick) and babies can eat normal adult pellets from birth.

Regarding the hay, some types of hay can be a bit too rich so I guess it depends what hay you are feeding.
Mine currently have orchard and meadow but the orchard is rather expensive and they seem to prefer the meadow now so I’m switching back to just meadow

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone, so sorry that I only seem to post when I have an issue! Bramble has been to the vets today as he gets quite gassy. He has been on cisapride 3 times a day after a nasty case of not eating after an antibiotic & I have got him down to 1 dose a day.

Vets have checked him over & said he does have a bit of gas but nothing worrying & have said to stop the cisapride & see what happens? I’m so scared in case he bloats?

They also said that the gas could be dietary & to reduce the 3 types of hay he gets & 2 types of pellet (we have a 4mth old & 1 of the pellets is for adults). Does anyone think that hay /pellets could cause gas?

As for fresh veg he gets a mixture of red pepper, romaine hearts, sweet / little gem, cucumber.

I went feeling good as it was just a check up & now I’m so wound up! x

Hi

We recommend 1 tablespoon max per piggy per day but you can replace it with dry forage if wished. Baby pellets are basically a sales gimmick to get more money out of owners who want to be extra good; they are not needed.

Feed either timothy or meadow hay, whichever you piggies prefer. Timothy is a bit more efficient for the digestion while meadow hay contains a wider variety of grasses and therefore requires a wider range of digestive bacteria.

Long term cisapride can cause minor ongoing bloating issues as I know from piggies of my own who needed it (and was warned about by the prescribing vet). That is the reason why your vet has asked to stop it in order to see whether the bloating issues come from there.
Unfortunately, gut medication for guinea pigs is very limited and with ranitidine (the UK vet brand was called zantac) difficult to get hold of for vets, cisapride is the only alternative since steroids - the most effective medication for more complex gut problems - are totally out for any rodents.

I hope that this helps? All the best.

 

[andisafc]

Thanks @Piggies&buns sorry I should have said I’m feeding Supreme Science nuggets & Oxbow Adult Essentials, very nearly got the young food!
He is having meadow hay & some Timothy Hay. So stressful as I thought he was ok!

thanks @Wiebke, hope your lovely pigs are all ok?
As said above I decided against the baby food!
Would you not recommend a mixture of hays? Ahh right, that wasn’t explained to me. Makes a lot of sense now that you have said. My mind is going to that he is going to bloat but if she was concerned there’s no way they would send me home without treatment?! I honestly thought he was ok today?

Could too much veg cause a bit of gas too?

Sorry, I am completely forgetting everything I know from owning them for 25+ years but honestly in that time we had so few issues.

Thanks both for taking the time to answer x