Guinea Pig Refusing To Eat

[speedmuncher25]

Hi Everyone,

My 5 year old guinea pig Biscuit has lost interest in food and is barely eating in addition to barely being active. She used to love to eat and play, but she had a UTI infection. The vet prescribed Doxcycline for the infection and told us to administer it for a full month. However, barely into the two weeks of the course of antibiotics, Biscuit's appetite gradually started to decrease. Yesterday, we stopped the Doxcycline and gave her Bene-Bac. The vet said that Doxcycline is usually responsible for the reduced appetite, but once you stop giving it, the piggy's appetite should start to resume. I gave Bene-Bac to Biscuit again today morning and gave her her favorite veggies an hour later. She still hasn't eaten much and I am currently confused with what I should do. If anyone one has any advice, please let me know. Thank you so much!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please step in and syringe feed her. You must replace the hay she isnt eating for herself with a recovery feed or mushed up pellets. Switch to weighing her daily so you can closely monitor that she is getting enough food to keep her weight stable.

Bene-bac is a probiotic which can help restabilise the gut microbiome but syringe feeding is essential. If she has a healthy companion, then you can make poop soup from the very fresh poops of her companion. That helps to replace the gut bacteria. Put her companion in a box with her favourite snacks and wait for poops. As soon as they are produced, pop them in a dish with water and soak them, then syringe the water to your poorly piggy. All this must be done within five minutes of the poop being produced otherwise the Bacteria start to die off. This can be given in additional to the benefactor

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

 

[Piggies&buns]

To clarify, veg is merely a snack and its hay which is the important bit to get her back eating again

Is the UTI cured?

 

[speedmuncher25]

To clarify, veg is merely a snack and its hay which is the important bit to get her back eating again

Is the UTI cured?

Thanks for your reply! Originally once we started adminstrating Doxcycline she gradually stopped eating hay. Now she has gradually stopped eating veggies and pellets in addition to the hay from before. I don't think the UTI is cured yet as there still 2 weeks to go giving Doxycycline. We stopped giving Doxcycline though since we didn't want to reduce her appetite even further.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thanks for your reply! Originally once we started adminstrating Doxcycline she gradually stopped eating hay. Now she has gradually stopped eating veggies and pellets in addition to the hay from before. I don't think the UTI is cured yet as there still 2 weeks to go giving Doxycycline. We stopped giving Doxcycline though since we didn't want to reduce her appetite even further.

As soon as they stop eating hay, you need to step in and syringe feed to replace the hay. Not eating veg and pellets doesnt matter as much, reduced hay intake is a problem though.

Is the vet going to give a different antibiotic to cure the UTI?
Antibiotics do come with a risk that they can affect the appetite (they kill off the good gut bacteria) but a lot are well tolerated by most piggies while some are more harsh on them. Obviously taking antibiotics for an infection is important! Stepping in with syringe feeding straight away as soon as they start to reduce hay intake and therefore you will see weight loss on the daily weight checks, along with giving a probiotic is the way to combat it.

 

[PigglePuggle]

Doxycycline is often very hard on the gut microbiome, but also it is an unusual choice to treat a UTI if I understand you correctly- urinary tract infection? Doxycycline is not well tolerated by some guinea pigs and is usually used when other more well tolerated antibiotics better researched in guinea pigs, like baytril and sulfatrim, have failed.
As @Piggies&buns says, syringe feeding to keep the guts moving is essential here- also your vet could perhaps prescribe a gut motility medicine, cisapride or emeprid, as well as the probiotic, to help things along?

 

[speedmuncher25]

As soon as they stop eating hay, you need to step in and syringe feed to replace the hay. Not eating veg and pellets doesnt matter as much, reduced hay intake is a problem though.

Is the vet going to give a different antibiotic to cure the UTI?
Antibiotics do come with a risk that they can affect the appetite (they kill off the good gut bacteria) but a lot are well tolerated by most piggies while some are more harsh on them. Obviously taking antibiotics for an infection is important! Stepping in with syringe feeding straight away as soon as they start to reduce hay intake and therefore you will see weight loss on the daily weight checks, along with giving a probiotic is the way to combat it.

So it is actually a long story, but we started noticing Biscuit urinating blood in late June. We originally took her to a vet (who wasn't an exotic specialist) and he prescribed Baytril. Two weeks later we noticed no signs of improvement so we went back to the vet who told us to go to another vet. The new vet ran an x-ray, urine-analysis, and urine-culture test. However, in the x-ray they noticed something which they believed to be a bladder stone. We didn't want to pursue surgery as it was very risky so we decided to let Biscuit be and keep her as comfortable as possible. This all happened in early-mid July. Towards July end, Biscuit started having to go to the bathroom more frequenty and was struggling urinating and pooping (with more blood also coming out). We decided to take her to a new exotic vet 1 hour away for a second opinion. The new vet told us that Biscuit didn't have a bladder stone as that would be clearly evident on the x-ray (on the x-ray the previous vet saw some small substance and considered it a stone as he wasn't an exotic). The new vet told us to give Biscuit Doxcycline as that was the only antibotic resistant and safe to give for her condition (the bacteria in the urine-culture test was called Corynebacterium). We started giving Biscuit Doxycycline twice a day along with a prescribed pain relief medicine. Ever since we started to give Doxycycline, Biscuit's appetite has started to reduce (I read that is because of Doxycycline's strong effect). Over the weekend her appetite has completely decreased and she is now barely eating her veggies and rarely eating pellets, hay, and drinking water.

I really don't know what to do at this point as the UTI isn't cured, but if we give her the Doxycycline she won't eat. To anyone who reads this, thank you for taking time out of your day to read this super long message. I just want Biscuit to get better as she used to be such a playful and joyful girl! If anyone has experienced something similar before with their pigs, any advice would greatly be appreciated! Thank you all so much!

 

[speedmuncher25]

Doxycycline is often very hard on the gut microbiome, but also it is an unusual choice to treat a UTI if I understand you correctly- urinary tract infection? Doxycycline is not well tolerated by some guinea pigs and is usually used when other more well tolerated antibiotics better researched in guinea pigs, like baytril and sulfatrim, have failed.
As @Piggies&buns says, syringe feeding to keep the guts moving is essential here- also your vet could perhaps prescribe a gut motility medicine, cisapride or emeprid, as well as the probiotic, to help things along?

I believe Doxycycline was the only antibiotic that was safe and effective to give Biscuit. I have attached her Urine Culture Test Results below.

 

[PigglePuggle]

Thanks for the clarification, and I do sympathise- we have a piggy who had an ongoing respiratory infection that required doxycycline after 8 months of repeated baytril and sulfatrim failed, and its great your vet did a urine culture test to see what might work best- sounds very rigorous, they seem like a good vet.
My piggy stopped eating completely within 24 hours of starting doxycycline and it was a real battle keeping her eating, probiotics and syringe feeding and gut motility medicines, but after a difficult month she did make a complete recovery.
There are other off-label antibiotics, zithromax and marbocyl, that are sometimes prescribed to piggies with various stubborn infections that are resistant to conventional antibiotics- something to discuss with your vet maybe, though your vet sounds very good and maybe considered this already.
Sounds like you are currently in that awful place many of us have been, trying to clear a tricky infection while trying to keep piggy's guts functioning too.
Best of luck and I hope you can clear the infection and get piggy eating again x

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

You have my full sympathy!

Getting a piggy through antibiotic related total appetite loss is hard as you have to fight for every syringe load you get in, but it has to be done. I have been there often enough myself over the years. However, your support feeding care can make all the difference for the outcome. No medication can work when your piggy is too weak from lack of food to fight off an illness or their body is closing down.
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

You can find practical tips and advice about all aspects of syringe feeding, including how often and how much depending on the situation in our illustrated step-by-step syringe feeding guide: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

You monitor the weight loss/food intake by weighing daily at the same time (I prefer to do this first thing in the morning when the daily weight swing is at its lowest). Normal cheap kitchen scales from online or a superstore are perfectly adequate for the job.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely

Please keep in mind that unlimited hay makes ca. 80% of the daily food intake and is the mainstay of the diet. Dental growth and the digestive system are fully laid for grinding down the silica in the hay fibre and then breaking it down in two runs through the gut. Veg and pellets (1 small bowl of preferably green veg and fresh herbs and 1 tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day) are only filling in the supplementary role that wild forage used to have for those nutrients that are not present or present in high enough quantities in fresh grass (which is actually high in vitamin C) and hay. For long term health and a longer life span it is important to not overfeed on veg and pellets.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

All the best!

 

[Free Ranger]

I have little to add to the expert opinions above - other than that you can look into which syringe feeding mixtures are available to you as a piggy can have a preference and if you find one Biscuit is interested in it might be a little easier to persuade her to take it. Ground up and soaked pellets can be useful in the short term but the syringe mixtures are designed for piggies to get full nutrition. We tried Science Selective Recovery, Oxbow Critical Care (Green packet, aniseed flavour) and Oxbow CC Fine Grind (Brown packet, papaya flavour). The fine grind was the most popular for us (and smoothest to syringe), the Recovery was second - another member vouches for Emeraid as her piggy's preference. It depends on what you can get in your country. You can mix any VitC or probiotic that you are adding into the slurry. Don't syringe plain water/liquid - it is too easy to inhale and cause lung problems on top of everything else (and it is so easily done ) We were worried about liquid and I offered the middle bit of a cucumber smooshed with a finger which my girl could slurp up herself.

We once had an x-ray that seemed to show a small stone - a bright white blob. We suspected my sow had already passed one (the girls can sometimes) and they were looking for more. Next x-ray was clear - either she had passed a stone again or it was a collection of bladder 'sludge' which had accumulated at the entrance to the urethra and looked a bit like a stone. The vet said it could have been either way, but as our x-ray was clear we didn't mind.

Good Luck Biscuit, you sound a really great girl and your owner is right on the ball finding you a thorough vet and looking out for your best interests

 

[Cittycat]

Just wanted to say I'm so sorry you and Biscuit are going through such a tough time and I hope things improve for you soon.

 

[speedmuncher25]

Thanks for the clarification, and I do sympathise- we have a piggy who had an ongoing respiratory infection that required doxycycline after 8 months of repeated baytril and sulfatrim failed, and its great your vet did a urine culture test to see what might work best- sounds very rigorous, they seem like a good vet.
My piggy stopped eating completely within 24 hours of starting doxycycline and it was a real battle keeping her eating, probiotics and syringe feeding and gut motility medicines, but after a difficult month she did make a complete recovery.
There are other off-label antibiotics, zithromax and marbocyl, that are sometimes prescribed to piggies with various stubborn infections that are resistant to conventional antibiotics- something to discuss with your vet maybe, though your vet sounds very good and maybe considered this already.
Sounds like you are currently in that awful place many of us have been, trying to clear a tricky infection while trying to keep piggy's guts functioning too.
Best of luck and I hope you can clear the infection and get piggy eating again x

Thank you for your response! That is great that your piggy was able to continue eating after a month. How long did you stop giving doxycycline to your piggy for? When you resumed giving doxycycline, did your guinea pig exhibit loss of appetite and activeness again?

Biscuit has gotten much worse and is currently sitting with her eyes barely open. I tried syringe feeding, but it wasn't that successful. I am unsure if she isn't eating because of the Doxcycline or the bacteria responsible for the UTI. I have reached out to my vet for any last minute suggestions and am currently trying to syringe feed Biscuit and offer probiotics. Yea it sucks because Biscuit has never had any health issues her entire life until now. Praying that something goes right and she is able to pull through.

 

[speedmuncher25]

Hi!

You have my full sympathy!

Getting a piggy through antibiotic related total appetite loss is hard as you have to fight for every syringe load you get in, but it has to be done. I have been there often enough myself over the years. However, your support feeding care can make all the difference for the outcome. No medication can work when your piggy is too weak from lack of food to fight off an illness or their body is closing down.
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

You can find practical tips and advice about all aspects of syringe feeding, including how often and how much depending on the situation in our illustrated step-by-step syringe feeding guide: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

You monitor the weight loss/food intake by weighing daily at the same time (I prefer to do this first thing in the morning when the daily weight swing is at its lowest). Normal cheap kitchen scales from online or a superstore are perfectly adequate for the job.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely

Please keep in mind that unlimited hay makes ca. 80% of the daily food intake and is the mainstay of the diet. Dental growth and the digestive system are fully laid for grinding down the silica in the hay fibre and then breaking it down in two runs through the gut. Veg and pellets (1 small bowl of preferably green veg and fresh herbs and 1 tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day) are only filling in the supplementary role that wild forage used to have for those nutrients that are not present or present in high enough quantities in fresh grass (which is actually high in vitamin C) and hay. For long term health and a longer life span it is important to not overfeed on veg and pellets.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

All the best!

Thank you, I will check those links out! I tried syringe feeding a mixture of carrots, cucumbers, bell pepper, and pellets today. Is there anything else you suggest I add to that?

 

[speedmuncher25]

I have little to add to the expert opinions above - other than that you can look into which syringe feeding mixtures are available to you as a piggy can have a preference and if you find one Biscuit is interested in it might be a little easier to persuade her to take it. Ground up and soaked pellets can be useful in the short term but the syringe mixtures are designed for piggies to get full nutrition. We tried Science Selective Recovery, Oxbow Critical Care (Green packet, aniseed flavour) and Oxbow CC Fine Grind (Brown packet, papaya flavour). The fine grind was the most popular for us (and smoothest to syringe), the Recovery was second - another member vouches for Emeraid as her piggy's preference. It depends on what you can get in your country. You can mix any VitC or probiotic that you are adding into the slurry. Don't syringe plain water/liquid - it is too easy to inhale and cause lung problems on top of everything else (and it is so easily done ) We were worried about liquid and I offered the middle bit of a cucumber smooshed with a finger which my girl could slurp up herself.

We once had an x-ray that seemed to show a small stone - a bright white blob. We suspected my sow had already passed one (the girls can sometimes) and they were looking for more. Next x-ray was clear - either she had passed a stone again or it was a collection of bladder 'sludge' which had accumulated at the entrance to the urethra and looked a bit like a stone. The vet said it could have been either way, but as our x-ray was clear we didn't mind.

Good Luck Biscuit, you sound a really great girl and your owner is right on the ball finding you a thorough vet and looking out for your best interests

Thank you, I will definitely keep that in mind!
Hmm that's interesting. When I look at Biscuit's x-rays I can't seem to identify the stone (I know there usually very small, but they are usually obvious to notice). I have attached Biscuit's x-rays below. If you are able to identify a stone please let me know!

 

[Free Ranger]

I'm not a vet but I can't see anything there - on x-rays stones light up like a white dot...
I'm praying for Biscuit, she's being very brave x

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you, I will check those links out! I tried syringe feeding a mixture of carrots, cucumbers, bell pepper, and pellets today. Is there anything else you suggest I add to that?

Yes, please rather syringe mushed up pellets (if you haven't got any recovery formula) than juiced veg - see the links. What your piggy needs is grass/hay fibre, more fibre and then even more fibre and NOT vegetables that can unbalance the gut microbiome even further and cause diarrhea or bloating on top of everything.
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre

 

[VickiA]

syringe feeding either mushed up pellets or a formulated recovery food is the best thing for your piggy right now. I would avoid giving veggies or grass until she is eating again for herself normally and her weight is stable