help feeding critical care

[Piggies&buns]

yes! we’ve just gone to give her her 9am lot but she’s upstairs in her hay loft eating hay so don’t want to pull her away while she’s eating herself. as soon as she stops and comes down ill get her out for critical care / nugget soup. she did actually eat one nugget i offered her after her meds this morning which i was happy about!

okay i will try every two hours, because she hasn’t really lost any weight, will just 5ml (or as much of it as she takes) every 2 hours be enough?

we tried the bowl and offering her nugget soup on a spoon but she was not interested at all unfortunately.. she has in the past just suddenly gone off nuggets then wanted them again a few days later so i’m wondering if shes just not wanting nuggets as everything else she is fine eating. we where giving her pea flakes previously as a treat after meds which she loved but stopped yesterday as saw they could potentially cause stomach problems if piggie is already struggling a bit. she also ate lots of grass yesterday so ill be getting some more for them both today and hopefully she eats that.

i have a bag of excell rabbit feeding hay i think its called i bought for there birthday which i didn’t know if i could try as i thought a new hay might be interesting to her, however i have never fed them any of this brand so i didn’t want to introduce if it could potentially cause tummy troubles?


i haven’t noticed any strange looking poos now, they seem to be getting back to normal, just slightly smaller than usual so i have decided to stop the fibreplex for the time being, to reduce the amount of things we have to give her hopefully reducing the stress a little. i hope this is the right decision to make.. i thought i could always start it up again if i noticed thing’s getting worse again? vet said to use until diarrhoea clears up but she never actually had diarrhoea in the first place, just odd shaped, slightly wet poos.

As the amount you syringe feed is linked to how much hay they are eating independently, only the weight checks can tell you whether it is actually enough. If she is feeling a bit better and eating more hay, she may not want the critical care. There’s no right or wrong answer really - yes you aim for 40-60ml where there is weight loss but there comes a point when they are feeling better and as hay intake increases, syringe feeds decrease

The hay is just timothy hay, I don’t see that it will cause issues if she is used to eating timothy hay.
I appreciate thus may not be helpful given you are having issues getting syringe feed into her, but you can mix the Fibreplex/any probiotic into the syringe feed - one less thing to have to try to get into her separately

 

[Wheekallweek]

Glad to hear she's munching away in hay today!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

As the amount you syringe feed is linked to how much hay they are eating independently, only the weight checks can tell you whether it is actually enough. If she is feeling a bit better and eating more hay, she may not want the critical care. There’s no right or wrong answer really - yes you aim for 40-60ml where there is weight loss but there comes a point when they are feeling better and as hay intake increases, syringe feeds decrease

The hay is just timothy hay, I don’t see that it will cause issues if she is used to eating timothy hay.
I appreciate thus may not be helpful given you are having issues getting syringe feed into her, but you can mix the Fibreplex/any probiotic into the syringe feed - one less thing to have to try to get into her separately

ah right i see! we will be keeping a close eye on her hay intake today and go based off of that.

okay thats fab i will add some of that in their cage today and see if theres any interest, oh great idea! that’s something to remember, thankyou!

 

[Piggies&buns]

ah right i see! we will be keeping a close eye on her hay intake today and go based off of that.

okay thats fab i will add some of that in their cage today and see if theres any interest, oh great idea! that’s something to remember, thankyou!

It’s her weight check which is going to tell you whether she has had enough hay. Continue to offer the critical care feeds and see how things go. When she has had a feed offer her some grass, some hay etc and hopefully she will continue to much away!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Glad to hear she's munching away in hay today!

yes! not as much as we would like but anything is better than nothing!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

It’s her weight check which is going to tell you whether she has had enough hay. Continue to offer the critical care feeds and see how things go. When she has had a feed offer her some grass, some hay etc and hopefully she will continue to much away!

thankyou! is it possible to feed her too much grass? as it seems to be the thing she’s interested most in at the moment i didn’t know if it was better to try give her a large amount or if it should only really be a little bit?

 

[Piggies&buns]

thankyou! is it possible to feed her too much grass? as it seems to be the thing she’s interested most in at the moment i didn’t know if it was better to try give her a large amount or if it should only really be a little bit?

if her tummy isn’t used to it, then yes it is possible to feed too much. Grass, particularly rich spring time grass, can cause digestive upsets if introduced too much too soon.

if she is used to it then it’s fine to offer her some handfuls

 

[piggiemummy03x]

if her tummy isn’t used to it, then yes it is possible to feed too much. Grass, particularly rich spring time grass, can cause digestive upsets if introduced too much too soon.

if she is used to it then it’s fine to offer her some handfuls

oh yes of corse, she is used to it thankfully! fabulous! thanks!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

forgot to say, we gave della her 9.30 feed and i recon we managed around 4ml so better than we have been getting in her!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

again just managed about 4ml, i really do hope this is enough

 

[Wiebke]

again just managed about 4ml, i really do hope this is enough

Just try every two hours throughout the day; try to get as close as 5 ml and if possible more. The fact that you cannot get in more means that the appetite is not back yet and that you are not fully out of the woods.

It is very frustrating but please keep hanging on in there.

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Just try every two hours throughout the day; try to get as close as 5 ml and if possible more. The fact that you cannot get in more means that the appetite is not back yet and that you are not fully out of the woods.

It is very frustrating but please keep hanging on in there.

i will do! don’t worry we will do whatever we have to to get our girl back where she needs to be

 

[piggiemummy03x]

just attempted to give her 10ml, she took about 6ml and she was done, we tried a little more but she was NOT having it! didn’t want to stress her out too much bless her

 

[weepweeps]

just attempted to give her 10ml, she took about 6ml and she was done, we tried a little more but she was NOT having it! didn’t want to stress her out too much bless her

6ml is better than nothing. Every little helps.

 

[piggiemummy03x]

6ml is better than nothing. Every little helps.

definitely! and its 2ml more than we have been getting in her each sitting! i just hope her hay eating picks up soon. i think it’s probably just all the drugs she’s currently on mixed with the stress of multiple vet trips throughout the week.. shes been through a lot bless her.

 

[piggiemummy03x]

i have just read that its actually best to give cisapride (which i think is the probotic?) 2 hours after her antibiotics! so we will start doing this from tonight! hopefully it’ll start to work!

 

[piggieminder]

Cisapride is a gut stimulant to keep things moving. I've not heard of giving it 2 hrs after ABs, that would be the probiotic, pro C, Fibreplex, Benebac, Bio Lapis to name a few off the top of my head! Of course I could be wrong and it would be best to wait for a health expert. I've used Cisapride quite a few times though and never been told to give it seperately.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Cisapride is a gut stimulant not a probiotic.
Probiotics do need to be given 1-2 hours before or after an antibiotic dose

 

[Bonnie320121]

I'm sorry to hear about your poorly piggie. I had the exact same problem in January with Lola, she had problems with her teeth and hated all of the critical care food I gave to her, I bought 4 different types and she wasn't interested in any of them. I mashed it with bananas, baby food, strawberry and she wouldn't take it, she wouldn't touch the nougat soup either. Like you I was so stressed as you feel so helpless as you are trying so hard but if they won't take the critical care you can't force feed them it.
The most she took was about 10ml and then wouldn't have anymore for hours after, so I know how you feel when you read 60ml a day is what your aiming for, you feel like crying as it's impossible.
But what you have to remember is every piggy is different, you are doing your very best, the fact that she's eating hay and still doing poos it good as my Lola wasn't doing any of that even after she came back from the vets after having her teeth done.
It does get easier feeding them the critical care as at first your so stressed out and I think they can pick up on that. I used to get Lola out for cuddles and when my heart had stopped beating so fast and I was calmer, then I would start with the critical care. I also did some piggy whispering, I would talk to her in a really soothing voice telling her what a good girl she was and how much I loved her and it did help to relax her.
Sorry, this is so long but I wanted you to know you're not on your own and you are doing great

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Cisapride is a gut stimulant to keep things moving. I've not heard of giving it 2 hrs after ABs, that would be the probiotic, pro C, Fibreplex, Benebac, Bio Lapis to name a few off the top of my head! Of course I could be wrong and it would be best to wait for a health expert. I've used Cisapride quite a few times though and never been told to give it seperately.

oh my mistake! thankyou for confirming that, i assumed it was a probotic but obviously not!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Cisapride is a gut stimulant not a probiotic.
Probiotics do need to be given 1-2 hours before or after an antibiotic dose

sorry thats me being stupid! so that would be the fibreplex?

 

[piggiemummy03x]

I'm sorry to hear about your poorly piggie. I had the exact same problem in January with Lola, she had problems with her teeth and hated all of the critical care food I gave to her, I bought 4 different types and she wasn't interested in any of them. I mashed it with bananas, baby food, strawberry and she wouldn't take it, she wouldn't touch the nougat soup either. Like you I was so stressed as you feel so helpless as you are trying so hard but if they won't take the critical care you can't force feed them it.
The most she took was about 10ml and then wouldn't have anymore for hours after, so I know how you feel when you read 60ml a day is what your aiming for, you feel like crying as it's impossible.
But what you have to remember is every piggy is different, you are doing your very best, the fact that she's eating hay and still doing poos it good as my Lola wasn't doing any of that even after she came back from the vets after having her teeth done.
It does get easier feeding them the critical care as at first your so stressed out and I think they can pick up on that. I used to get Lola out for cuddles and when my heart had stopped beating so fast and I was calmer, then I would start with the critical care. I also did some piggy whispering, I would talk to her in a really soothing voice telling her what a good girl she was and how much I loved her and it did help to relax her.
Sorry, this is so long but I wanted you to know you're not on your own and you are doing great

thankyou so much for your reply, I'm sorry to hear your piggie had some issues, how is she doing now?
i know i was so shocked when i saw people doing 15ml a sitting!
yes we do a lot of piggie whispering too
don’t apologise i really appreciate it!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

just managed around 9ml! has taken the best part of an hour though

 

[piggiemummy03x]

i was told to stop the fibreplex once her poos where back to normal.. is this not correct? should i try and carry on?

 

[Piggies&buns]

sorry thats me being stupid! so that would be the fibreplex?

i was told to stop the fibreplex once her poos where back to normal.. is this not correct? should i try and carry on?

Yes fibreplex is the probiotic. Don’t give that at the same time as an antibiotic dose.

She is still on antibiotics isn’t she? If so, then I would not stop the Fibreplex until the antibiotic course is finished

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Yes fibreplex is the probiotic. Don’t give that at the same time as an antibiotic dose.

She is still on antibiotics isn’t she? If so, then I would not stop the Fibreplex until the antibiotic course is finished

got it! yes she is, okay thankyou!

 

[Bonnie320121]

thankyou so much for your reply, I'm sorry to hear your piggie had some issues, how is she doing now?
i know i was so shocked when i saw people doing 15ml a sitting!
yes we do a lot of piggie whispering too
don’t apologise i really appreciate it!

My piggies doing well now thank you, it's been a bit of a long journey to get her sorted but she's much better now.
It's good news that she's just taken 9ml. It's slow progress but it's going in the right direction with her having more each time
If you don't mind me asking, what is wrong with your piggy?

 

[piggiemummy03x]

My piggies doing well now thank you, it's been a bit of a long journey to get her sorted but she's much better now.
It's good news that she's just taken 9ml. It's slow progress but it's going in the right direction with her having more each time
If you don't mind me asking, what is wrong with your piggy?

i’m so glad to hear that!
she had a UTI about 3/4 weeks ago now that she was on a course of meds for, this cleared up but the start of this week she had symptoms again (crying when weeing & pink wee) she has had a bladder stone in the past and due to it being so close to the last one (UTI), we decided to do a xray and scan to check there wasn’t another stone. luckily the scans came back clear so vet has just extended her course from 1 week to 2 hence why she is on them now, of course to have the scans done she had to have some drugs (she was not completely put under anaesthetic) and i just think it’s a mix of these drugs, the antibiotics and the stress of all the vet visits thats caused her to loose her appetite!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

we went to giver della her critical care at 5.30 however she was eating hay so we decided to wait till 6.. 6 oclock and shes still eating hay!
i don’t want to pull her away while she is eating herself, is it okay to wait for her to stop then feed the critical care?

 

[Bonnie320121]

i’m so glad to hear that!
she had a UTI about 3/4 weeks ago now that she was on a course of meds for, this cleared up but the start of this week she had symptoms again (crying when weeing & pink wee) she has had a bladder stone in the past and due to it being so close to the last one (UTI), we decided to do a xray and scan to check there wasn’t another stone. luckily the scans came back clear so vet has just extended her course from 1 week to 2 hence why she is on them now, of course to have the scans done she had to have some drugs (she was not completely put under anaesthetic) and i just think it’s a mix of these drugs, the antibiotics and the stress of all the vet visits thats caused her to loose her appetite!

Oh bless her that's great news that the scan came back clear, uti's are no fun at all. One of my other piggies, Rosie, had a long running battle with a uti, I even tried homeopathic remedies in an attempt to resolve it. I hope you don't mind me saying but if you feel she isn't getting any better or you can't resolve the uti, then maybe seek the help of an exotic vet who has experience of treating Guinea pigs. I took Rosie to a regular vet and they wouldn't prescribe her anything stronger than baytril, which wasn't strong enough to stop the uti so I just carried on with baytril and at one point she was taking it for over a month. Again, I hope you don't mind me suggesting this. I can see that Della is precious to you and I wish someone would have said this to me back when Rosie first started to have problems.
Also, I think if she's happily munching on her hay, maybe wait until she's finished. Is she back on fresh food or just hay and pellets?