Gut stasis update/question

[Deleted member 151640]

Hi everyone, i have a 5 year old boar dealing with gut stasis.

We went to the vets Saturday and got loxicom and emeprid aswell as critical care.
The first day he had around 40ml of critical care as that’s all he would take. And for the past two days it’s been around 40-50ml each day.

The issue i’m struggling with is that he is eating on his own, he went from eating very little to now eating hay and everything he can get, he is also now a fan of critical care and will put his mouth on the syringe when he’s ready for more.

Being weighed each day hes within the 30g of safe fluctuations but today being a little bit more. 1145g boar. (we started treatment this saturday)

First of all as he is eating on his own i would think i would start to wean or to just stop feeding, since i can’t tell if he’s eating enough to look after himself since he’s being given 40% of his daily calories through me. So he may potentially be able to hold himself steady but i would have to take away the support to fully see.

His poops were a bit misshapen, some tiny, some more round for the first few days but this morning there is a lot less poops than normal and i’ve had a feel of his belly and he’s feeling a bit bloated. I know not seeing any poop can be part of recovery but bloat is something quite serious especially in an already sick guinea pig, but i’m still not quite sure if that’s part of the process or not.

I got another 3ml of loxicom yesterday as our vet gave us the incorrect amount of that on our first visit meaning we have a bit more for the new couple days and the emeprid which is the stimulant and probiotic i believe we have almost none left, i believe it may be near the end of the course but my husband also tipped the bottle upside down trying to get pills out (we also have a sick dog and he got confused) and i lost a bit of what i had.

As he’s bloated does this mean i should ask for more emeprid? Or the vet did say if it’s not working for him they have another option, but i do know he’s eating and doing a lot better than he was. We only have about one more .75mls left (he’s already had this morning and he gets twice a day)

We are also almost out of critical care, i have maybe 10-15mls left maybe 20 if it’s quite wet. As i said he’s eating on his own and i won’t be sure until i take him off it or wean him. If anyone would suggest weaning could you perhaps give a ballpark of what i should be aiming for.

So basically i’m wondering if a) i should order more gut stimulant as we are about to run out - b) if i should get more critical care and if i should continue to support feed and c) should i be concerned about this bloat?
I sort of am already which is leading me to want to order more emeprid of even try the different one but i’ve never dealt with gut stasis before so this may be part of it.

Either way any advice/suggestions is appreciated.

 

[Swissgreys]

I feel your concern and you are doing a great job.

Honestly if you have any worries at all about weight gain or bloat I would continue with all of the medication and stimulant for a few more days.

Bloat and stasis can come in waves for several weeks after the original episode, and when I was dealing with bloat I never really thought of it as 'over' until my piggy had no signs of problems for 10-14 days.
Keep up with daily weighing and I would also still offer syringe feeds if he is willing to take them.
I would also ask for more of the stimulant and probiotic and keep those going until all signs of bloat are gone.
As you have recently seen the vet you should be able to call and arrange to pick these up without an appointment if you feel he doesn't actually need a hands on examination.

 

[Deleted member 151640]

I feel your concern and you are doing a great job.

Honestly if you have any worries at all about weight gain or bloat I would continue with all of the medication and stimulant for a few more days.

Bloat and stasis can come in waves for several weeks after the original episode, and when I was dealing with bloat I never really thought of it as 'over' until my piggy had no signs of problems for 10-14 days.
Keep up with daily weighing and I would also still offer syringe feeds if he is willing to take them.
I would also ask for more of the stimulant and probiotic and keep those going until all signs of bloat are gone.
As you have recently seen the vet you should be able to call and arrange to pick these up without an appointment if you feel he doesn't actually need a hands on examination.

I’ve already phoned in and asked for more stimulant and critical care. We have already been in for more medication so there is no issue getting meds without a consultation.

Good to know about looking around more the two week mark before we’d be “clear” after the last sign of bloat.
I will keep going with the meds and be keeping a close eye on him, thanks!

 

[weepweeps]

Hello. I have no experience of gut stasis or bloat but when I was syringe feeding my sick piggy for over 6 weeks, towards the end, when he was feeling better, I weighed him every morning and if he hadn’t lost any weight overnight I’d give less critical care that day. If he is eating on his own now you will soon see his weight stabilise and you can reduce the feeding. Good luck. It sounds like he’s on the mend.

 

[Deleted member 151640]

Hello. I have no experience of gut stasis or bloat but when I was syringe feeding my sick piggy for over 6 weeks, towards the end, when he was feeling better, I weighed him every morning and if he hadn’t lost any weight overnight I’d give less critical care that day. If he is eating on his own now you will soon see his weight stabilise and you can reduce the feeding. Good luck. It sounds like he’s on the mend.

That makes sense, he is definitely doing better.
I’ll start weaning him from today and see if he can support himself. Thanks!