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GI Stasis Recovery?

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PooperPiggies

New Born Pup
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Hi all,

My piggy Theo was diagnosed with GI stasis and bloat about a month ago. We dilligently syringe-fed him and gave him antibiotics, metoclopramide, metcam, and other assorted medicines the vet prescribed for over three weeks, and last week he seemed to be getting better and we were told to stop all the meds. As for the primary cause of him not eating, the vet thinks it was due to an infection, so the antibiotics should have fixed it. Unfortunately, a week later, Theo is still having a hard time - his poops are still small and greenish and dry, and his fur puffs up like he is in pain every once in a while (not hunching anymore, at least, and his weight is low but has stabilized). He's eating everything but pellets now, including harder treats, so this isn't a dental problem. The vet didn't recommend him to return until next week, but I'm just unsure of what is normal or how to help him - how long should it take for him to want to lay on his side again for more than 5 minutes a day, and for his poops to look normal, and for him to want pellets? He'll lay down on his side if I put a heat pack under him and hold him, but even then it takes 30+ minutes before he wants to.

Also, the vet did not recommend poop soup or any probiotics, but I've given him poop soup once a day for the last four days because of what I've read on this forum. And for some reason... he seems to love it? He attacks the syringe trying to get more, and I'm not sure what to make of his behavior. He shares a cage with a piggy who's healthy, but never tries to eat his brother's poop naturally (without human intervention). Am I doing something wrong?
 
PooperPiggies said:
Hi all,

My piggy Theo was diagnosed with GI stasis and bloat about a month ago. We dilligently syringe-fed him and gave him antibiotics, metoclopramide, metcam, and other assorted medicines the vet prescribed for over three weeks, and last week he seemed to be getting better and we were told to stop all the meds. As for the primary cause of him not eating, the vet thinks it was due to an infection, so the antibiotics should have fixed it. Unfortunately, a week later, Theo is still having a hard time - his poops are still small and greenish and dry, and his fur puffs up like he is in pain every once in a while (not hunching anymore, at least, and his weight is low but has stabilized). He's eating everything but pellets now, including harder treats, so this isn't a dental problem. The vet didn't recommend him to return until next week, but I'm just unsure of what is normal or how to help him - how long should it take for him to want to lay on his side again for more than 5 minutes a day, and for his poops to look normal, and for him to want pellets? He'll lay down on his side if I put a heat pack under him and hold him, but even then it takes 30+ minutes before he wants to.

Also, the vet did not recommend poop soup or any probiotics, but I've given him poop soup once a day for the last four days because of what I've read on this forum. And for some reason... he seems to love it? He attacks the syringe trying to get more, and I'm not sure what to make of his behavior. He shares a cage with a piggy who's healthy, but never tries to eat his brother's poop naturally (without human intervention). Am I doing something wrong?
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry. GI stasis and bloat are often mixed up with each other and can primary (i.e. caused by dysbiosis - an overgrowth of the wrong kind of bacteria in the intestine) or a stoppage of part of or the whole intestine. It can however also be a reaction to pressure on or pain radiating into the gut. Recovery depends on what is going on, which is anything but easy to tell. Recovery from major primary bloat is always slow and can take weeks to rebalance.
Please give him freshly made poo soup twice daily, 3 ml each time for best effect. It mimics natural recovering behaviour in guinea pigs. It is obviously what his body is craving for if it is a mainly digestive problem.

If his poos are small and green, then he is not eating enough hay and is not getting enough water (mild dehydration). You cannot just withdraw feeding support until you are sure that your piggy is eating enough and has started to actually putting on weight again reliably with every paassing day of less feed. It is a gradual, fluid process.

This guide here will help you interpret better what is going and manage the transition from support feeding to fully eating independently in a tailored, monitored way.
Wiebke

Thread 'Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support'

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
3 The...
  • Like

A vet will only prescribe prescription-only medication. Probiotics and - for other health issues - glucosamine are classed as freely available food supplements; they are not a medication.

Poo soup is generally not known to vets. It is one of the few home cure tips that have actually stood the test of time in our collective forum experience because it is taking a leaf from the piggies' own medicinal cupboard - but not all piggies will go and bum dig.

Please go back to offering poo soup, recovery feed, as much as he wants to take in one session 2-3 times a day and give him the option to drink as much poo soup as he likes from the syringe. You can also offer water fom the syringe mixed with a little probiotic at other times. Please don't force any water on him; just allow him to take what he wants from the syringe. He will tell you when he has had enough.
His appetite and the need to drink (which comes before the need to eat) are clearly not properly back yet.

All the best. We are here for all your questions along the way, moral support and practical tips for as long as needed but we kindly ask you to plese bookmark this your ongoing support thread so we can keep all information for each case together. This helps both sides and can also help future owners. Thank you.

 
Thank you for all your advice!

It's been two days, and I've been giving him poop soup twice a day, at least 3ml but usually I'll just let him have as much as he wants in excess of that. I've also been giving him water whenever I pick him up - he seems to be drinking plenty of it, I'm curious why he doesn't use his bottle as much, but he's starting to again, slowly, it seems. His weight hasn't changed. I'll keep updating as he improves!
 
If he is having water in poo soup and you are syringing him water he's probably not thirsty. There's also a lot of water in recovery food if he's still having that.
I hope he gets well very soon, it's always such a worry when they are ill.
 
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