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help feeding critical care

Bonnie320121 said:
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?
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thankyou so much for the advice! i don’t mind at all! shes only on hay and nuggets, however shes not interested in her nuggets at the moment!
 
That's fantastic! the relief you feel when they've had a good critical care feeding session is 😁
Slow and steady is the way to go. Hopefully now if she's taking more critical care her appetite will start to return 🙏🤞
 
I always found when syringe feeding that it would stimulate their appetite and they would eat better after having had a syringe feed.

I’m so pleased that she’s eating better and fingers crossed weight is up tomorrow.
 
Lavinia said:
I always found when syringe feeding that it would stimulate their appetite and they would eat better after having had a syringe feed.

I’m so pleased that she’s eating better and fingers crossed weight is up tomorrow.
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thankyou!🤞🏻🤞🏻
 
just managed another 6ml however i think thats as much as were going to get in her today, bless her heart she has done so well. we are praying that what we have given her today + what she’s managed to eat on her own will be enough to at least keep her weight the same but only time will tell🙏🏼
 
dellas just finished her first feed for today, we managed 10ml roughly but its taken us an hour, is this normal? what do people do about work and every day life while having to do this for their babies? obviously we are going to put della first, always, i just wondered if anyone had any advice please x
 
I'm retired so it's not been a huge problem for me, it must be difficult for people who work.
The only times I've had a piggy take a long time over syringe feeding I've changed the food and they have become keener to eat. They do seem to have their preferences! I've never had a piggy like Oxbow Critical Care!
 
Wheekallweek said:
I've always been lucky that I've been able to feed tiny babies etc. at work although I understand that's not always the case! ❤️
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luckily i am unable to work at the moment.. i do have lots of appointments though which i will be cancelling to be there for della until she is better, i think we just have to work on how long its taking us, we started off 5ml every hour but the time we had finished and put her back wed have to get her out again ten minutes later! she really puts up a fight!
 
piggieminder said:
I'm retired so it's not been a huge problem for me, it must be difficult for people who work.
The only times I've had a piggy take a long time over syringe feeding I've changed the food and they have become keener to eat. They do seem to have their preferences! I've never had a piggy like Oxbow Critical Care!
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yes thats why i asked! luckily i am currently not able to work and my boyfriend has a bit off time off, if he didn’t i would be screwed! dellas a two man job for sure, i’m wondering wether to look into another type of food that isn’t critical care, she wasn’t interested in nuggets either unfortunately so any other branded suggestions i’m all ears!
 
piggiemummy03x said:
yes thats why i asked! luckily i am currently not able to work and my boyfriend has a bit off time off, if he didn’t i would be screwed! dellas a two man job for sure, i’m wondering wether to look into another type of food that isn’t critical care, she wasn’t interested in nuggets either unfortunately so any other branded suggestions i’m all ears!
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Shelly is enjoying Emeraid B0A68B43-9A59-4EF3-BA33-EC069962304D.webp
 
i have also noticed that della seems to be chewing alot after we syringe feed her, yet isn’t eating anything anything more. we are wondering wether bits of the critical care and sticking to the inside of her cheeks and she’s struggling to get it out.. is this a problem? are we doing the mixture too thick? we was told aim for a thick gravy like consistency that should squirt out like a worm?
 
piggiemummy03x said:
i have also noticed that della seems to be chewing alot after we syringe feed her, yet isn’t eating anything anything more. we are wondering wether bits of the critical care and sticking to the inside of her cheeks and she’s struggling to get it out.. is this a problem? are we doing the mixture too thick? we was told aim for a thick gravy like consistency that should squirt out like a worm?
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I make it wetter which also increases the fluid intake. We use a 1ml syringe with the tip cut off and it is just thick enough to stay in the syringe. She may be struggling with the texture if it is holding its shape like a worm. As it is wet, it is easy to refill the syringe from the ramekin with one hand while holding her upright with the other. I have her wrapped in a towel like a burrito and slip the syringe behind her front teeth and squeeze a little at a time. She would take between 10 and 20ml like this in around 10 mins.
She also loved the emeraid when we had that but I felt the oxbow critical care seemed more fibrous and similar to her pellets etc - I have no idea if that is the case but it just seems like that to me lol.

Good luck, I hope she starts eating better for you
 
SallyM79 said:
I make it wetter which also increases the fluid intake. We use a 1ml syringe with the tip cut off and it is just thick enough to stay in the syringe. She may be struggling with the texture if it is holding its shape like a worm. As it is wet, it is easy to refill the syringe from the ramekin with one hand while holding her upright with the other. I have her wrapped in a towel like a burrito and slip the syringe behind her front teeth and squeeze a little at a time. She would take between 10 and 20ml like this in around 10 mins.
She also loved the emeraid when we had that but I felt the oxbow critical care seemed more fibrous and similar to her pellets etc - I have no idea if that is the case but it just seems like that to me lol.

Good luck, I hope she starts eating better for you
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i see! we where told it needs to be some what thick as if it was too liquidy it would go through her too quickly, it needs to be thick enough to be seen as food otherwise it won’t get her digestive system working! thanks for the tips! thankyou❤️
 
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