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Guinea pig not eating

  • Thread starter Thread starter DM130321
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DM130321

Please help my 4 year old guinea pig won’t eat. I weighed him and he is 1000 grams. He still walkes around and I saw him clean himself, I gave him a carrot and he ate part of it then I tried one of the carrots and it tasted bad. So I thought that he didn’t like it so I gave him some lettuce and he ate a bite and didn’t swallow I then gave him food from a syringe and he ate all that I gave him water. Please respond as soon as you can I’m really worried for him please help.
 
Please step in and syringe feed mushed up pellets or a recovery feed such as Oxbow Critical Care.
If your guinea pig is not eating hay for himself then it’s essential you replace the fibre with the mushed pellets. Offering veg will not keep the gut functioning.
In a complete lack of appetite you need to syringe feed at least 60ml of mushed pellets/recovery feed in a 24 hour period.
Switch to weighing him daily so you can ensure you’re getting enough syringe feed into him - if his weight drops, then he isn’t being fed enough.
You must also get your piggy to a vet to find out why he is unwell and start treatment.

Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Please be patient, we are a UK based forum and your post was made during a time when most of us are still asleep. However, we can only offer support and seeing a vet is your first port of call
 
Please have your piggy seen as soon as possible. All the best.
 
Its a massive worry when a piggie stops eating , , , a lot of us here have been subjective to this,
You need to see a vet and get help , ,
 
Did you manage to get him to the vet?
 
Ok so I have been syringe feeding him and weighing him every hour and he hasn’t been doing well. His nose is plugged up and crusty and same with his eyes. I have him laying in his dog bed with his cage-mate and I’m just hoping that he does well, he has completely stopped eating and he tried to clean himself but he couldn’t lift his arms off the ground. I’ve done everything I can, I’m trying to get him an appointment but it’s a school day for me so I can’t do much. I’ll give updates if anything happens. He is an old boy, so I’m very concerned, what else should I do?
 
Please do try and get him in to see the vet. Make it clear that it’s an emergency. All the best.

PS weighing every hour isn’t useful as there is so much fluctuation throughout the day.
 
Username.... said:
Ok so I have been syringe feeding him and weighing him every hour and he hasn’t been doing well. His nose is plugged up and crusty and same with his eyes. I have him laying in his dog bed with his cage-mate and I’m just hoping that he does well, he has completely stopped eating and he tried to clean himself but he couldn’t lift his arms off the ground. I’ve done everything I can, I’m trying to get him an appointment but it’s a school day for me so I can’t do much. I’ll give updates if anything happens. He is an old boy, so I’m very concerned, what else should I do?
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Oh you must be worried, can a adult not help. Piggie needs help
 
4 is older but not old. He might just need a course of antibiotics and some painkiller for a week. But if you can't keep him eating his guts will stop working and this happens pretty quick.... they don't have to get thin first. If the guts stop (gut stasis) they don't always start again. Keep going with the mushed pellets. If he'll eat them himself from a bowl that's fine too - but he must see a vet if he's any chance to get better because if he's struggling to breath it will put him off trying to eat x

PS About that crusty nose. Guinea-pigs don't catch colds like people do... they get respiratory infections.
 
Okay I called my vet and they aren’t available today and I’m going to try different vets, they said to keep syringe feeding him and to put him in a separate cage, but I want to keep him in with his friend so he doesn’t get stressed, what else should I do. He isn’t eating in his own so I’m feeding him pellet paste, he seems to eat that when u give it to him. If the gut is making noises, does that mean it’s digesting, and if it’s not making noises is that a bad thing?
 
Username.... said:
Okay I called my vet and they aren’t available today and I’m going to try different vets, they said to keep syringe feeding him and to put him in a separate cage, but I want to keep him in with his friend so he doesn’t get stressed, what else should I do. He isn’t eating in his own so I’m feeding him pellet paste, he seems to eat that when u give it to him. If the gut is making noises, does that mean it’s digesting, and if it’s not making noises is that a bad thing?
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Definifely keep trying to get him to a vet, and keep up with the syringe feeding - syringe feeding is an emergency measure to keep the guts functioning but it isn’t treatment. if he is struggling to breathe, then he won’t feel like eating so you need to give him much syringe feed in a 24 hour period as it takes to keep his weight stable. Weigh him once a day only (not more as it picks up too much fluctuation). You are aiming for at least 60ml of syringe feed, but as I said, its his daily weight checks which ou need To go by - he may need closer to 90ml of syringe feed for example.

A silent or near silent gut is a bad thing - it means the gut has stopped functioning/isn’t functioning fully
 
Keep him with his friend - vet might be thinking his friend will eat all the food but if you have to syringe anyway it is better for him to have company... they get stressed when alone. Also vet might be concerned this is something contagious but the friend has already been exposed it doesn't make any difference now and it looks like the other one is fine. I've had pigs with respiratory infections before and the others in the same cage had no problems at all!

My vet listens for gut noises - but she uses a stethoscope like the doc uses to listen to your heart. No gut noises is a bad thing... but I can never hear any gut noises with just my ear even for pigs who are munching while I'm listening!

Is he still pooping? Another reason people sometimes split is to see how much poop the poorly pig is doing but it seems a bit mean to take his friend away just to monitor this. If his poops are smaller or dryer you'll know who is doing what anyway. If he's still pooping the guts are still going. You might be in for a long night of syringe feeding - try and get your parents to help - only a little bit with each mouthful so he doesn't choke. It's good he's still hungry and it will give him the energy and nutrition he needs to fight off his disease.
 
Username.... said:
Okay I called my vet and they aren’t available today and I’m going to try different vets, they said to keep syringe feeding him and to put him in a separate cage, but I want to keep him in with his friend so he doesn’t get stressed, what else should I do. He isn’t eating in his own so I’m feeding him pellet paste, he seems to eat that when u give it to him. If the gut is making noises, does that mean it’s digesting, and if it’s not making noises is that a bad thing?
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Check the gut of his companion (which can stay with him) for how a healthy gut should gurgle away; use that as your comparison.
A silent gut means that it has stopped working (GI stasis).

Here is more information on gut stasis: Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
 
PS are you east coast/west coast or middle USA? I'm just thinking about time difference... it is 8.15 pm here
 
i haven’t seen him poop today. his friends guts sound similar to his, also I live in the east coast of the US, its currently 1:06 PM here sorry if i'm bothering you
 
Username.... said:
i haven’t seen him poop today. his friends guts sound similar to his, also I live in the east coast of the US, its currently 1:06 PM here sorry if i'm bothering you
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If he hasn’t pooped then it means he hasn’t been getting enough food
 
My piggy once came very close to gut stasis last year. I started syringing straight off when I noticed she'd stopped eating but the pooping runs a bit behind so I had a very scary 24 hours when she didn't pass anything and I thought I was too late - but then the syringe food started coming through. I never thought I'd be so happy to see tiny, dry twisted poops in my life! Syringe him as much as he'll take.

No bother about the time... the question was just because I don't want to be thinking it's daytime over there when it's midnight and I get mixed up because compared to the UK America is really - you know - big! I'll be offline soon so I'll wish you and your brave boy good luck 💕
 
Thank you i started syringe feeding him yesterday 10:30 PM(my time) And he pooped little, ive been feeding him once every hour and hes been laying in his bed, i saw a little tiny poop on his bum a few minutes ago, I think he has an upper respiratory infection because his nose is stuffy and when i pick him up he makes a muffled wheek. I tried to call my parents but they wont listen and they said that they would get him an appointment tomorrow, but i dont want to wait long because it looks like hes in pain. I can try to take a photo if you want me to
 
He really needs seeing as soon as possible. Poo output is 1-2 days behind so if he’s not pooing or doing very little then it shows he was t eating enough 1-2 days ago.

I really hope you can get him seen. Your parents are obligated to provide vet care when he needs it.
 
It's OK - there's no need for a photo for us - we know he's poorly. (You could send one to parents if you think it would do any good!)

If it's antibiotics he needs they will start to work straight away but they have a big job to do at the beginning so you often don't see improvement in symptoms for 24 hours or more. This is why we are urging to try and get an appointment as soon as possible. Also it is better for him of course!

If it's his lungs they may well be causing discomfort for him - last time I got a resp. infection myself I wasn't feeling good at all. There are painkillers you can get for piggies from the vet - a common one is called metacam (or sometimes loxicom) and it tastes sweet so he will like it. Antibiotics normally taste bitter so I always dose with the nasty one first and then the sweet one straight after to take away the taste. If he will take the food syringe without being picked up it might be easier for him but he may get too tired for that. Hang in there little fella, and keep eating and pooping x
 
He was eating normally yesterday morning and was pooping dry, twisty poops. I tried to call my main vet but its closed and all the other vets dont take guinea pigs. His breath is also very stinky. My vet that normally takes guinea pigs is closed on Mondays so if i wanted antibiotics i would have to wait until tomorrow morning. My mother is trying the animal hospital right now and ill see if i can get him in
 
These are all good symptoms you are noticing which can give the vets a clue to what is wrong... guinea-pigs don't normally have stinky breath as you know. And yes it can be hard in some places to find a vet who will treat piggies! We are constantly weighing up seeing a vet sooner or waiting for one who has more experience. It is a balancing act... but we keep trying because we love our pigs!

I have to retire now but your poorly boy will be in my prayers tonight x
 
He has gone limp now, still breathing, thank you for trying to help but I'm afraid hes not going to make it
 
Has he been seen by the vet? I think as it’s an emergency he should be seen by any vet.
 
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