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Gut Stasis Day 4

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baggy

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Hi everyone. I have a 5 year old piggy and he's on treatment for gut stasis. Baytril, Metoclopromide, Metacam and critical care syringe feeding. He's had scans and it's definitely stasis. He's not even walking and will hardly take anything from the syringe. He looks more dead than alive but I spoke to the vet yesterday and she says just carry on. He grunts with each breath. When does improvement start to show because it really looks dire.
Thanks. His name is Daddy Pig.
 
I’m so sorry to hear this.

Are you weighing him daily (each morning) to ensure he is getting enough feed each day?
How much feed (in ml) are you managing to get into him in each 24 hour period?

Is he on a good dose of metacam twice a day?
While stasis itself isn’t painful, the reason for him being in stasis could be.

The guide below explains everything more in detail

Wiebke

Thread 'Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)'

1 Not eating (anorexia) and the importance of syringe feeding fibre
2 Soft poos and runny diarrhea
3 Acute bloat (severe dysbiosis) - blockage - twisted gut - persistent milder bloating
4 GI stasis (no gut movement)


Severe runny diarrhea, bloat, blockage or a twisted gut, GI stasis and excessive salivating in guinea pigs that are not eating are absolute life and death emergencies that need to be seen ASAP by an out-of-hours vet at any time of the day or night or that should be seen by a vet as soon as you can get an appointment outside the UK...
 
baggy said:
Hi everyone. I have a 5 year old piggy and he's on treatment for gut stasis. Baytril, Metoclopromide, Metacam and critical care syringe feeding. He's had scans and it's definitely stasis. He's not even walking and will hardly take anything from the syringe. He looks more dead than alive but I spoke to the vet yesterday and she says just carry on. He grunts with each breath. When does improvement start to show because it really looks dire.
Thanks. His name is Daddy Pig.
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome

BIG HUGS

Grunting is a sign that Daddy Pig is in agony. Is his belly feeling like concrete? In this case, please emergency euthanise as soon as possible, as much as it pains me to bring this up. I have had to make that decision for several piggies of mine. There is usually no way back from that. I am ever so sorry. It is very upsetting. :(

GI stasis is when the gut is not moving at all and is dead silent. This is different from when it is ballooned and hard (severe bloat). Gassing/an overactive gut can immediately precede GI stasis and there can be gas showing up during a stasis event but severe bloating in guinea pigs is a different illness; it comes in waves like a tsunami and the belly is hard as a drum. However, both issues or a mix of them can be deadly if the gas cannot be shifted or the gut won't restart.

Wiebke

Thread 'Signs of Pain in Guinea Pigs'

1 Symptoms of pain
- Loss of appetite and slow or reduced eating
- Eyes
- Ears
- Teeth clicking and grinding
- Skin biting, self-barbering and hair loss
- Fur standing up/puffed up coat
- Hunching
- Bunching up and stopping to sleep on the side
- Grunting
- Twisting/Fitting
- Squeaking when peeing/pooing; arching and straining
- Limping, hopping, swelling of foot or leg
- Partial or full back leg paralysis
- Screaming and whimpering
2 Life-saving practical how-to care and information...
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It's not your fault and you have been doing all the right things.
 
I hope Daddy Pig feels better soon ❤️ How is he ?
 
Poor dear Daddy died at about 12 today. I was up with him last night and I remembered about that thing called Kangaroo care that parents do with new borns, so he was on my warm tummy last night to try to soothe him. I tried everything. It was an awful ending. I had just phoned the emergency vet to take him to be put to sleep but he decided himself that he'd had enough. Terrible.
 
I am sorry for your loss 💔
 
baggy said:
Poor dear Daddy died at about 12 today. I was up with him last night and I remembered about that thing called Kangaroo care that parents do with new borns, so he was on my warm tummy last night to try to soothe him. I tried everything. It was an awful ending. I had just phoned the emergency vet to take him to be put to sleep but he decided himself that he'd had enough. Terrible.
Click to expand...

BIG HUGS

I am ever so sorry. Daddy sadly didn't sound like he would make it, to be honest. But it is the kind of scenario I hate when my gut feeling is right. I have been there often enough myself over the years. It is always worse when it happens over a weekend. :(

You have done the right thing in keeping Daddy warm but not hot. It makes letting go easier once the circulation is starting to break down.

Please be kind with yourself. Some battles you can sadly not win; there is nothing you have done wrong. Medication for the digestive tract is sadly very limited and not the most effective - and guinea pigs are mostly gut, wrapped in fur with a wheeking whistle attached...

Give yourself time and try to get a rest and some sleep whenever you can. It is OK not to be OK for a while after an experience like yours but try not to get trapped in one of the pernicious mind loops that grieving can take you into.

Here is our sensitive but practical grieving guide for owners to help you understand your experiences but also with lots of tips of what you can do for yourself and where to find help if you need it:
Wiebke

Thread 'Human Bereavement: Grieving, Processing and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children'

1 The grieving process
- Loss and the start of the grieving process
- Grieving with a terminally ill guinea pig
- Going through the grieving process
2 Ways of coping
- Expressing and processing your feelings
- Regaining your guinea pig
- Burial and marking the passing
- Dealing with special days
3 How do I tell my children?
- Finding local support lines and charities...
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Here is our guide for bereaved companions, from the immediate things you can do from saying goodbye to the longer term. As long as any companion is eating and drinking, they will hold for 1-4 weeks so you will have a bit of time for your own emotional needs.
Wiebke

Thread 'Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig'

1 What can I do immediately after a guinea pig has died?
- Saying goodbye
- What can I do for my grieving piggy?
- Emergency: acute pining (not eating/drinking) or sudden illness
2 New companionship and human grieving
- When can I start looking for a new mate?
- "Replacing" a guinea pig: the conflict between human and cavy needs
- How do I best go about finding a new mate? (Possible options listed for bereaved sows and boars)...

The best thing you can do for yourself is talking. If you are in the UK, then the free pet bereavement platforms of the Blue Cross will be the place for you (weekdays). In other countries, access to pet bereavement support can be rather patchy, unfortunately: Pet bereavement and pet loss

My thoughts are with you.
 
So very sorry that you lost your piggy. You did your best for him but sometimes the pull of the rainbow bridge is too strong. Sleep tight little fella.💕🌈🐾
 
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