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Guinea pig subdued, on syringe feed

More updates because I'm like that!

Peanut is up again in weight which is really promising. 1400g now at the same time as yesterday.

He had been turning his nose up to hay and we were worried. However, we went and got a brand new fresh bag from our local shop and it turns out he was just being a snob as he's dived into this new bag. The last bag must have been a bit dried out for him. Not as much as he would have eaten in previous sessions, but I presume his appetite will be somewhat lower while we continue to syringe feed. He is absolutely ravenous for veg and we're having to split up him and his brother as his brother is receiving a little more and we don't want Peanut overeating on fresh veg.

The vet had tried to call yday but the call bounced, so I am making sure they get through today. The vet didn't try more than once and teh receptionist said there were no urgent notes so I would think she's happy with his progress.

We are going to keep syringe feeding until told otherwise, however, as he has consistently been around 1450g for his entire life.
 
Further updates. Vet asked him about his pooping, appetite, general energy levels, bladder, and weight, and was happy with all of it - even if he isn't quite as enthusiastic about hay, although over our past three sessions with him sat around with hay he's been much more enthusiastic today. As a result she's asked us to take him off antibiotic, but leave him on Emeprid and Metacam until it's exhausted. She has also asked us to stop syringe feeding from last night, which we have, and his weigh is stable - lower, but only 20g which is in line with the weight guide. If his weigh in tomorrow remains within the range I'll be pretty happy, but we have more critical care on standby in case!
 
just seen this thread,you have been given excellent advice,that i cannot add to .just sending my support,and saying you have been a very dilligent caring owner,i hope Peanut continues to make good progress.
🤗
 
Thank you everyone for your kind replies.

Peanut has lost a bit of weight again in the night. He's gone from 1400 to 1380 to 1340 which is a little concerning. We have rang the vets at 2 but they haven't rang back yet. He is otherwise very much himself, with a voracious appetite for vegetables and everything else - just not quite as keen on hay - so I think a syringe feed to keep him topped up is in order until the vets can get back to us.
 
If he has lost weight then it’s because he isn’t eating enough hay (veggies only make up a small proportion of the diet so they won’t have much of an effect on the weight). Please do step back in with syringe feeding him to stop the losses.
 
We will do - he is eating some hay, but just not enough it seems. Until the vets have had a poke at him we will keep him plumped up. He was very good with his syringe feeds and I dare even say he might enjoy them (even though he hates syringes) so we'll help him along. He doesn't seem bloated at all anymore either.
 
Poor Peanut and poor you, they are such a worry when they are ill. When my Peanut was on antibiotics a couple of months ago it really knocked out his appetite. I had to top him up daily for about 6 weeks until he started eating enough for himself to get his weight going in the right direction. I weighed daily to see if he was getting enough and adjusted the amount of top ups he had accordingly. The last few weeks it was once a day until he was eating enough himself to start gaining again. He is now about 60 gms from his start weight and eating almost non stop.
Sending Peanut healing vibes.
 
I really appreciate that- thank you. He was also on antibiotics, though we have been asked to stop those now. We have probiotic but want to wait until the vet is happy with everything before we think about adding that to his diet.

I'm pleased Peanut is happy as ever for you now, I hope we can replicate a bit of that eating energy! As I say he looks so happy in himself, he's inquisitive, alert, drinking water, as energetic as he can be (he's generally a very lazy pig, and always has been!) and it's just the hay that's missing.
 
You normally give probiotic 2 hours before or 2 hours after each dose of the antibiotic. I did with Peanut but we've noticed he has a particularly strong bad reaction to antibiotics.
When they are ill I've noticed hay is the first food to go and the last to come back. They are funny little things!
 
Sorry to hear your little boy hasn’t been very well! I have recently been through this with my two boys (one has an X-ray on Monday to see if there are possible bladder stones) so I feel your pain! I was just going to say the exact same as @piggieminder about the top up feeds for a few weeks. One of my boys recently had a lump removed and didn’t have a good reaction to the anaesthetic so I had to step in with syringe feeds. Once his weight stabilised I still gave him two small top up feeds (one in the morning and one in the evening before bed) with added probiotic to help his tummy as he was getting back to his normal self. I really think this helped with his recovery - especially if your boy has had antibiotics too! Hope he continues to do so well :luv:
 
DougalandDiego said:
Sorry to hear your little boy hasn’t been very well! I have recently been through this with my two boys (one has an X-ray on Monday to see if there are possible bladder stones) so I feel your pain! I was just going to say the exact same as @piggieminder about the top up feeds for a few weeks. One of my boys recently had a lump removed and didn’t have a good reaction to the anaesthetic so I had to step in with syringe feeds. Once his weight stabilised I still gave him two small top up feeds (one in the morning and one in the evening before bed) with added probiotic to help his tummy as he was getting back to his normal self. I really think this helped with his recovery - especially if your boy has had antibiotics too! Hope he continues to do so well :luv:
Click to expand...
This sounds a lot like our situation although we were really fortunate that all Peanut had from his sedation was a lack of energy and some bloodshot eyes! It helps so much to have these perspectives, so thank you. I hope your boys are doing well.

Peanut is doing better again now with the syringe feeds. We're on target to get the 90ml in him over the past 24 hours which is good news, and he is pooping a lot and generally seems himself if low energy. He is eating hay when we handfeed him to it, but clearly it's not enough in between! We are still waiting for the vet to get back which is a bit annoying as we want to know how to proceed, and his Emeprid runs out in the morning so we'll have to hear from them before 4pm tomorrow. Oh well - Peanut is well, his weight is up 8g on yesterday so stabilised and a gentle rise which is good news, and his voracious appetite for his vegetables is unabated. Also good to see that we've introduced some of his favourites back, slowly but surely, and he likes that.
 
Peanut is eating more hay and the vets are happy to take him off all meds which is great. We are going to keep syringe feeding him until he is fully better. How much should we be feeding him in addition to veg? I am currently getting through 110ml (20g feed sachet, 90ml water mix) in a 24 hour period - does this sound correct?
 
I've now invested in a pouch of critical care herbivore and will start administering. Peanut remains 1340g so it'll be 36g total (3 tablespoons (9g) per day per kg bodyweight) with 72g water for 108g over 24 hours. He takes 20ml very well so we're going to aim to split it into 20ml feedings with perhaps seeing if he'll take 25ml for an 8 hour overnight.

9g per tbsp = 36.18g

He's doing much better 'in himself' day on day, I just want to try and get that weight back up and up to normalish levels :)
 
An update!

Peanut continues to keep gaining weight bit by bit, 5-10g a day, and he seems more himself every day. It's a slow process but a good one that we're enjoying because we see a bit more of him every day.

Quick question - we've ran out of Oxbow critical care and I can't get more until tomorrow. I've read about pellet mash - we have high quality stuff (Supreme Science Selective grain free) and I've made a mash, but I want to make sure I;m getting it right - do you simply put pellets in a container and get them mushed up with water until they're the right consistency for syringe feeding, and then give the amount of syringes as appropriate? Thanks!
 
Yes that's fine @Gusand Peanut. Once mine are on the mend and just need top ups to help regain weight it's what I do rather than spending so much money on the powders. I feed as much in each sitting as they will comfortably take once we are onto the top up stage.
 
piggieminder said:
Yes that's fine @Gusand Peanut. Once mine are on the mend and just need top ups to help regain weight it's what I do rather than spending so much money on the powders. I feed as much in each sitting as they will comfortably take once we are onto the top up stage.
Click to expand...
Well, he absolutely loves the nugget slurry! Like, he absolutely devours it - he is a very ponderous eater, always has been, so we try and follow up with syringe, but he is happy to just lick it off a spoon.

He is doing well. Very much himself, a stable weight, and slowly creeping up along with our feedings. We are hoping to taper off when he's got up to 1400g or so, which may be another week, but that's fine by us. Touch wood!

I have a quick question for anyone who knows about typical gassy foods. We have been trying to mostly feed herbs like parsley, coriander, basil, oregano, and cutting out most of herbs that we've read cause problems - Mediterranean stuff - thyme, rosemary. We have now reintroduced:

Parsley
Coriander
Dill
Oregano
Thyme
Butterhead lettuce
Romaine/sweet gem lettuce
Red chard

Without any incident. If anyone thinks any of these items are bad news that'd be good to know!

I have also cut out of all of the brassicas, as heartbreaking as it is because Penaut adores broccoli. I'm wondering how suitable it is to give the smallest little shred of the head parts from the broccoli as a treat - just the 'fluffy' bit?

Also, is celery likely to cause problems or is that something he may benefit from? Obviously we will try and introduce and see results. Foods we're interested in include:

Celery
Spinach
All types of beans (green, runner, broad, mange tout)
Rocket/arugula

Thanks!
 
I'm glad he loves is sludge. For the veg have a look at the diet guide I'm not sure about gassy veg except brassicas, you shouldn't feed any beans except very fine green beans that don't have the actual bean in, uncooked beans are poisons to people so I assume they would be the same to piggies.
Diet Guides
 
Back again!

I'm glad to report Peanut has generally been much better. Energetic, eating lots, maintaining his new weight.

However, he was a bit poorly overnight in the same way as before. Lethargic, not eating too much, not pooping enough. Took him straight to the vets and they say a impaction is to blame and it has backed him up a bit. They cleared it, gave him anti inflammatory and the gut motility medicine (I forget the name) and asked me to keep an eye on him.

They also recommended infacol, which I've bought. Does anyone have experience with this or dosage?
 
I can't find the edit button - I hasten to add that the vets weren't too worried, and were quite happy that if we syringe feed him and keep cleaning his impaction out through today and tomorrow that they feel he'll improve, but obviously to give them a call in the morning if not. He feels less bloated already after bringing him home, the vets having said there was a little gas buildup but nothing too serious (his gut was quite soft and not overloaded, rather than being hard/gurgling etc.) and has done a few poos, though his appetite isn't up much yet - though that could be down to him being poked, prodded and manhandled all day. In terms of eating he had been eating a bit of hay today, a fair bit yesterday, and had his veggies yesterday too (though we've pulled them off him now).

Found my receipt - he has had Metacam, and Vomend 10ml.
 
Infacol is simeticone and not recommended for use with piggies. Reason being it gathers the gas bubbles into one. This is difficult for them to pass and can be painful, given they can’t burp it up.

Glad to hear he’s maintaining weight. Continue with the syringe feeding and daily weighing. Hopefully he’ll start to feel like himself soon.
 
GusandPeanut said:
I can't find the edit button - I hasten to add that the vets weren't too worried, and were quite happy that if we syringe feed him and keep cleaning his impaction out through today and tomorrow that they feel he'll improve, but obviously to give them a call in the morning if not. He feels less bloated already after bringing him home, the vets having said there was a little gas buildup but nothing too serious (his gut was quite soft and not overloaded, rather than being hard/gurgling etc.) and has done a few poos, though his appetite isn't up much yet - though that could be down to him being poked, prodded and manhandled all day. In terms of eating he had been eating a bit of hay today, a fair bit yesterday, and had his veggies yesterday too (though we've pulled them off him now).

Found my receipt - he has had Metacam, and Vomend 10ml.
Click to expand...

In a mild case of bloat Gripe Water from the baby section of the supermarket can be more effective than infacol because it is better at dispersing gas bubbles.

Unlike the much shorter and thicker gut of meat eating pets (and humans) a guinea pig gut is very long and very thin. Guinea pigs need two runs through the gut in order to break down the hay and grass fibre that should be main food source of their diet (NOT veg and pellets). They eat the poos that contain the partially digested fibre from the first run directly from the anus (caecotrophs). A hay based diet is especially important for boars affected by impaction as they struggle to push out the caecotrophs. A mainly veg and fruit based diet with lots of pellets can unfortunately promote digestive problems and can be sadly life shortening.

Please take the time to read this information here. From your post, I cannot judge whether you are dealing with a digestive problem or with boar impaction, which is caused by weakening muscles in the back of about 10% of ageing boars.
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
Impaction - How To Help Your Guinea Pig.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
 
Hi, sorry as my post was a bit cluttered. I'll try to order it more here.

Peanut has had a minor digestive problem once in the past where he was doing small, teardrop shaped poos. We took him off all veg on advice here, and encouraged him to just eat hay, and it rectified. As he improved we slowly introduced veg without any issues. Since then we have also changed from cheaper pellets to the Science Selective brand.

Peanut had a more significant incident in late November, the initial subject of this thread. He had what in retrospect was bloat, or something similar to it, as after an x-ray and all the various tests they could only find gas buildup. After about a week of medicine, and three weeks of syringe feeding, he was back to normal, albeit at a lower weight but which he then maintained.

Since then we fine-tuned his diet by introducing small amounts of veg, in different groups, and he is basically only fed a selection of a few herbs (Parsley, Coriander, Dill, Mint) along with small amounts of some lettuce, celery, green bell pepper and cucumer, albeit all in small amounts. We have removed all brassicas from his diet, as much as he loves them, all fruit, and the 'woody' herbs like thyme and rosemary. This is alongside unlimited high quality hay (we also switched from a brand of unknown quality, Helme's Hay, which was meadow, to give him Burgess Excel feeding timothy hay). He has otherwise been fine since then, and in fact more energetic than he has been in quite a while.

Last night he seemed a little more subdued than normal, but he does have lazy days like that (5 and a bit years old now also). However, he seemed a bit too reclusive for my liking during a bit of sofa time and also when he was put in his clean cage - he normally explores the cage very excitedly, eating from every little hay pile we make around it.

He had a little bit of hay this morning and last night, but what appeared to be not enough. He was also not foraging, sniffing, nibbling around, as per his normal behaviour. I weighed him this morning and his weight was down ~40g on his normal swing, which had been normal two days prior. In line with the weight management post here I rang the vets, and they gave me an appointment for 3PM this afternoon. They said they found an impaction along with some gas in his tummy, though nothing serious in their opinion. They cleared out the impaction, asked us to look at him a few times daily to do the same, and injected him with an anti-inflammatory and a gut stimulant to help out. They have asked us to call in the morning.

Since getting Peanut home he hasn't been absolutely tip-top - for the first hour or two he just wanted to sleep, which is fair enough given he'd been poked and prodded. However, since then we've given him three lots of syringe feed at 10ml a feed, every two hours, and he's taken that just fine. He is nibbling at hay and walking around his play area, interacting with his brother pig, and so on, and so looks less lethargic/subdued than he did yesterday. The vet was of the opinion that he isn't so bad, and that his antisocial/subdued nature before and immediately after we took him in was reasonable given he was essentially constipated.

So essentially he has had gut problems twice in the past, and we've tried to address that with much reduced veg and with veg much less likely to impact on his delicate gut. However, the vet also found an impaction. With regards to the impaction, I have in the past found him 'bunged up' like that and conduct a check twice a day just to see how he is. I can't say finding an impaction is a daily occurrence, it's more infrequent than not.

Thanks!
 
Update today - Peanut seems to be feeling better after last night's sleep, where he did stick around in the same place for most of the night. When he is poorly he tends to hide as far away in the corner of this long brown tub we have. When he's healthy he does really like to sleep out, just in the middle of the cage sitting in the sawdust, and he was like that when we woke up today so that's an improvement on when we went to bed.

He is poo'ing more freely now, and we're getting increasing amounts in a good shape and size and doing a bum check with every syringe feed (10ml every 2 hours currently) to make sure he's passing. Weighed him today and he has lost a little again and is at 1250 gram, which is a slowed rate of weigh loss. He is also much more energetic today which is good to see, and generally more alert and active. Going to see how he goes tomorrow before ringing into vet again as he looks fine, is more 'himself', and is eating hay through the day (but not as much as he should be, clearly, hence the syringe).

I do suspect this is all gut related seeing as we've now had three incidents since May 2020. I might move him on to even less veg than he had been having, and more hay and perhaps more variety - two brands/types to keep him interested. I do worry about him getting all the vitamins and minerals he needs on a lower veg diet, though?
 
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