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Guinea pig lethargic and not eating

Qualcast&Flymo said:
In such circumstances, the best thing to go by is whether she is maintaining her weight; so you need to be weighing her every day (morning preferably) to check that she is getting in enough food in the hay she is eating herself and the syringe food. If she isn't maintaining her weight then she needs more syringe food.
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Okay thank you so much. I will be weighing her every morning, I just wasn’t sure whether it could be risky to not be syringe feeding her, and how much I needed to push for this.

I’ve spent a lot of time watching her and she has eaten a lot this afternoon and evening and looking far more bright eyed compared to last night& this morning.

I will keep monitoring and maybe attempt to give her another 10ml before bed.
 
I'm so glad she seems better, the pain relief must be kicking in!
My bunny is on pain relief twice daily and has been for some time, it's made the world of difference for her x
 
Wheekallweek said:
I'm so glad she seems better, the pain relief must be kicking in!
My bunny is on pain relief twice daily and has been for some time, it's made the world of difference for her x
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Oh bless her! I will do the same for Peggy if she needs it and I can keep her comfortable that way.
 
GuineaGang96 said:
Okay thank you so much. I will be weighing her every morning, I just wasn’t sure whether it could be risky to not be syringe feeding her, and how much I needed to push for this.

I’ve spent a lot of time watching her and she has eaten a lot this afternoon and evening and looking far more bright eyed compared to last night& this morning.

I will keep monitoring and maybe attempt to give her another 10ml before bed.
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It would be "risky " to not syringe feed at all a piggy that wasn't eating for itself, as gut stasis would result. But now fortunately your pig is eating for herself again so your need is to ensure she is getting enough for her daily needs (energy in > energy out), and her weight is the best way to do it. It does sound like she has turned the corner though, thanks to your intervention 👍
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
It would be "risky " to not syringe feed at all a piggy that wasn't eating for itself, as gut stasis would result. But now fortunately your pig is eating for herself again so your need is to ensure she is getting enough for her daily needs (energy in > energy out), and her weight is the best way to do it. It does sound like she has turned the corner though, thanks to your intervention 👍
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I did syringe feed last night and have just given her a little bit this morning and she is eating some grass now.

Considering nipping her back to the vet because although she is eating a bit, her appetite seems to have decreased again and she looks uncomfortable when walking.
 
Ask the vet if she can have some gut stimulant to help get things moving. The guts are a bit like an escalator, they need to keep eating or everything grid to a halt, do persist with the critical care if you can a little and often or try some soaked mashed pellets
 
Just a brief update, she seemed to regress a bit today. Really struggling to walk and seemed to nudge forward and recoil back, sleeping a lot. Not particularly interested in food but did eat a fair bit of grass and mixed leaves and had 20ml of syringe food so far.

Vet couldn’t see any issues, said she just seemed slightly sensitive around her belly. Completed an x-ray which it did not highlight any issues other than a slight issue with her teeth that does not need addressing right now.

She’s been given painkiller and I have been provided some to take home to give her over the next few days and just monitor how she gets on.

Relieved to hear nothing serious showed, but concerned on how she can seem in discomfort and her lack of appetite without an obvious cause.

Just really hoping it sorts itself out but will give her comfort until then.

Thank you everyone for all your input and support it’s been so helpful.
 
GuineaGang96 said:
Just a brief update, she seemed to regress a bit today. Really struggling to walk and seemed to nudge forward and recoil back, sleeping a lot. Not particularly interested in food but did eat a fair bit of grass and mixed leaves and had 20ml of syringe food so far.

Vet couldn’t see any issues, said she just seemed slightly sensitive around her belly. Completed an x-ray which it did not highlight any issues other than a slight issue with her teeth that does not need addressing right now.

She’s been given painkiller and I have been provided some to take home to give her over the next few days and just monitor how she gets on.

Relieved to hear nothing serious showed, but concerned on how she can seem in discomfort and her lack of appetite without an obvious cause.

Just really hoping it sorts itself out but will give her comfort until then.

Thank you everyone for all your input and support it’s been so helpful.
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Poor little one ☹️ I hope the painkiller gives her some relief and she starts to feel a little better soon 🩷 It must be so worrying to not know what is causing her so much discomfort, but you're doing an amazing job looking after her and getting her the help she needs. It's great that she's eating some grass and leaves ♥️
 
Cait_lin said:
Poor little one ☹️ I hope the painkiller gives her some relief and she starts to feel a little better soon 🩷 It must be so worrying to not know what is causing her so much discomfort, but you're doing an amazing job looking after her and getting her the help she needs. It's great that she's eating some grass and leaves ♥️
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Thank you ❤️ It is hard seeing her not moving and clearly in discomfort, but I think the painkillers are kicking in as she was squeaking for food when I went upstairs just now :)
 
Just an update on Peggy:

She’s showing more appetite for food but still eating slower than usual. She is really happy eating grass and so I am giving that 3-4 times a day. Eating leaves and a small amount of interest in hay. I am also syringe feeding 5-10ml of supreme recovery food every 1-2 hours and have got a lot better at this now.

She is moving slightly more comfortable(probably the pain killer), though still very lethargic. Her eyes and coat look better and she looks more herself than yesterday, though still very quiet compared to normal.

I have noticed that her poops are tiny and quite dry, so I am regularly giving her water through a syringe which she will willingly take.

I just wanted to check that I am doing everything I should be. I have one more sachet of the recovery food for tomorrow, would I be ok to switch to mashed pellets after that’s gone or should I be looking to get more?

If no sign of improvement in a couple days should I go back to vet to ask for alternative treatments? I thought it might be bloat but I think that was ruled out after the x-ray yesterday.

Sorry for the long message, I had lost a lot of hope yesterday but she seems to be slightly improved so want to do whatever I can to give her best chance.
 
GuineaGang96 said:
Just an update on Peggy:

She’s showing more appetite for food but still eating slower than usual. She is really happy eating grass and so I am giving that 3-4 times a day. Eating leaves and a small amount of interest in hay. I am also syringe feeding 5-10ml of supreme recovery food every 1-2 hours and have got a lot better at this now.

She is moving slightly more comfortable(probably the pain killer), though still very lethargic. Her eyes and coat look better and she looks more herself than yesterday, though still very quiet compared to normal.

I have noticed that her poops are tiny and quite dry, so I am regularly giving her water through a syringe which she will willingly take.

I just wanted to check that I am doing everything I should be. I have one more sachet of the recovery food for tomorrow, would I be ok to switch to mashed pellets after that’s gone or should I be looking to get more?

If no sign of improvement in a couple days should I go back to vet to ask for alternative treatments? I thought it might be bloat but I think that was ruled out after the x-ray yesterday.

Sorry for the long message, I had lost a lot of hope yesterday but she seems to be slightly improved so want to do whatever I can to give her best chance.
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What have her daily weight checks been?
Poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake so isn’t a reliable gauge.

I would get some more recovery feed. Mashed pellets are fine as an emergency measure but recovery feed has higher levels of fibre so is better for them.

Is she only on painkillers?

Yes go back to the vet if you aren’t seeing improvement
 
Piggies&buns said:
What have her daily weight checks been?
Poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake so isn’t a reliable gauge.

I would get some more recovery feed. Mashed pellets are fine as an emergency measure but recovery feed has higher levels of fibre so is better for them.

Is she only on painkillers?

Yes go back to the vet if you aren’t seeing improvement
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Thank you for the response!

She’s not lost any weight at all over past 3 days. Same every day.

Perfect, I assume my vets will be happy to give me more recovery feed, rather than ordering online.

I have meloxicam(Rheumocam) and metoclopramide which I believe is to address any stomach issues she is having.

I believe they gave me enough for 4 days, so I will see how she is Monday/Tuesday and go back if no improvement.
 
I just wanted to thank everyone for all the help and support for Peggy, without you all I’m not sure I would have done the right things to give her the best chance.

Peggy is moving around much easier today, though still not as much as usual, but a massive improvement from a couple days where she couldn’t seem to move at all.

She is showing interest in all food today, though still not quite eating as much and eating quite slowly, so I am still syringe feeding for time being.

I was just looking to get opinions on syringe feeding and medication. As she is eating herself, I was wondering if I should be reducing the syringe feed day by day whilst taking her weight to make sure she’s not losing weight.

I have quite a bit of Metroclopramide and Meloxicam left, and I wasn’t sure if I should continue to use these the next few days until she seems to be fully recovered, or if I should stop using them sooner and see how she gets on.

Also I assume I should get rid of these medicines when I am confident she is okay without them as they may expire and can’t be saved for future use?

Please just let me know if I should be asking these questions to my vet instead!
 
I’m glad she is looking better.
You can cut out a feed and see what happens with her weight the next day. Then cut out a second feed the next day she is remaining stable etc.
Of course, any drops beyond normal fluctuation and pop the feeds back up

It may be best to ask your vet about when to stop the meds but you would probably want to be sure she is back up to normal eating before you stop them.

Yes, the meds wont keep once opened.
You should return unused meds to your vet for disposal
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m glad she is looking better.
You can cut out a feed and see what happens with her weight the next day. Then cut out a second feed the next day she is remaining stable etc.
Of course, any drops beyond normal fluctuation and pop the feeds back up

It may be best to ask your vet about when to stop the meds but you would probably want to be sure she is back up to normal eating before you stop them.

Yes, the meds wont keep once opened.
You should return unused meds to your vet for disposal
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Okay great thanks! I will take it slowly as she still isn’t a 100% so don’t want to get ahead of myself.

I will give the vets a call if she seems back to normal for a couple of days and ask about the medication re. When to stop and returning.
 
These things never go smoothly do they. Peggy has had diarreah in the past hour. I skipped her first syringe feed this morning as she was eating hay as usual and munched down some greens, just giving 10ml now.

It also says to stop the metacam if this happens so I will skip this tonight if still having issues and then take her back to the vet tomorrow morning if still having issues.

Hopefully this all sounds the correct plan of action.
 
Metacam does not to affect their appetite or cause diarrhoea. The warning about it is for cats. Whatever is going on it is not going to be because of her painkiller

Please call your vet now, remove veg from the diet
 
Piggies&buns said:
Metacam does not to affect their appetite or cause diarrhoea. The warning about it is for cats. Whatever is going on it is not going to be because of her painkiller

Please call your vet now, remove veg from the diet
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Ok I see. I have called the vet and they have booked me in later this afternoon, but said just to monitor and see if they firm up over next couple of hours, and bring in if no change.
 
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