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Help for little pig in Spain

Sorry to message again! So Disco is doing well, up by 50g weight which I'm really happy about. BUT she still had slightly soft poos and still seems to be struggling when pooing/feels a tad bloated since she started eating solids. She is on metacam still, pro C, vetregal (supposed to help with tummy upset) and i did give a bit of fibreplex. I'm wondering if she has to many gut meds now, should I do the protocol of no veg, just feel bad as she only just started to be able to eat her fave veggies!

Feeding 30ml Critical care still and, been reducing by 10ml per day after a few days if her wait maintains or she gains on own. The other thing is this piggy doens't like to drink water so been trying to feed her water, probably only around 10-15ml per day.
 
Perhaps cut out the veg again, give her a few days, then introduce them again one at a time to try and identify if it's one particular veg causing her issues. Good to hear she's gaining weight though! ❤️
Make sure she's getting plenty of fluids while she's off the veggies x
 
I think her gut is needing time to adjust certainly. When I give the fibreplex I just mix a bit into the syringe food rather than give it neat - although this is mainly because mine won't eat it! I think you will be the best judge of whether to cut out all veg or just to cut right down to tiny titbits. When pigs don't get their fibre the veg can bloat them up, but if she is getting fibre from hay and/or CC you might just have the balance a bit wrong. Did she fall on her veggies and gorge herself?! We had this problem when one of my girls went nuts for some new springtime grass. However you don't want it to get worse.

I've never had a problem with metacam upsetting anyone's tummy. I've not used ProC before but I've not had any ill effects from fibreplex. I don't know what vetregal is though. But if she's gone up 50g something was going well up to this point. In my experience feeding CC won't stop her eating hay so if she doesn't eat hay it isn't because she's ''too full' or anything. So perhaps you could just mix up a batch and leave it in with her overnight to increase her fibre that way? And is she still on antibiotics or is the probiotic just to try and help her guts get back to normal?

Be brave little Disco. I'm so sorry for the loss of your other girl x
 
Thank you this is so helpful! Yes maybe I need to be more patient, I suppose she’s had 3 weeks of not eating solids. Perhaps just needs more time and I will stick with the Fibreplex 😃 it gets very clogged in the syringe with CC 😅

now thinking about it She did go a bit bananas on pellets when she could first eat so I may reduce this slightly.

She’s back on hay, that’s the biggest relief… I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see her eat Hay😅
 
Hay should form about 80% of their diet and a healthy pig will munch day and night. But hay is hard to eat (that's why it keeps their teeth in good shape) so when they are feeling ill or weak it is the first thing they stop eating. Quite a lot of posts begin with a piggy losing weight but the owner doesn't understand why because the pellets are eaten and piggy is keen for veggies, but it's the constant munching of hay round the clock that has stopped. I only noticed it in my own old boy because the two girls are eating all the time and he was just sitting there, occasionally having a little nibble.

So hay is the first thing they stop eating... and the last thing they tend to pick up again when they're feeling better! if she's eating hay again it is a good sign. Try leaving the CC on a little dish with the fibreplex mixed in... she might just eat it on her own. We don't have much success with the aniseed flavour one in the green pack but mine are very fond of the papaya flavoured 'fine grind' in the brown pack and the bonus is it's easier to syringe. I just got it off amazon I think!
 
Still on a bit of a journey with Disco. After 2 respiratory infections, bad bloat and inflammed gums....

She made a full recovery just last week had xrays / mouth checked and had the all clear. The vet could just see a little gas in her cecum I think its called?

Then 2 days later BOOM back to bad soft poos, hunched back, not eating.... Bloat back again I believe.
She is on Fibreplex that seems to be helping the poos a lot 1.5ml per day spread over day. Poos are still a little soft but shaped correctly much better than the cow pats a few weeks ago.
VetRegal a digestive aid 0.2ml
Vibric Meloxytin / metacam for dogs comparison - 0.2ml
Still on syringe feeding although she doesnt seem to be want this but persevering :box:

Feeding her very little 'wet food' just leave her some leaves and parsley to encourage her to eat and she seems to get more excited and interested in food when its related to biscuits and lettuce

What seems to happen is she gets bloat, grinds her teeth so much she causes them to inflame so she can't eat so well. This time is a lot better than last time she manages to eat hay still just the portions are down.

Any tips would be welcome! It's been a long, tiring 6 weeks :zzz: love her so much I hope this is the last bout of bloat!
 
I can’t offer any advice but want you to know I’m thinking of you.
Dealing with a sick piggy is exhausting.
Look after yourself too.
Holding you in my heart ♥️
 
Merab's Slave said:
I can’t offer any advice but want you to know I’m thinking of you.
Dealing with a sick piggy is exhausting.
Look after yourself too.
Holding you in my heart ♥️
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thank you my love, you are so kind really appreciate it
 
Sending healing wheeks your way! Your piggy really has landed on her paws with you. How lucky she is to have such a dedicated slave *cough* I mean owner :whistle:

I hope things get better, you’re doing all you can for her!
 
Oh you've been so strong for her - it really is exhausting. Can she manage any fresh grass at all?

The thing about Fibreplex - and it's really good stuff to try and get their guts back to work - but it only contains yeasts (at least the one here in the UK does). Now if a pig has a healthy companion we often suggest making a 'poop soup' where you drop very fresh and healthy poops from the companion into water and use this to mix in with syringe food. It seeds your poorly piggy's gut with types of bacteria that survive well in there and make a healthy piggy gut. But if I remember your little piggy lost her mum and had to have antibiotics and this has been going on since then(?)

There is a probiotic called BeneBac which also comes in a big syringe like the Fibreplex. It's like a gel or paste - you can get a 'plus' version with extra vitamin C in I think. It's from the States so the one time I ordered it we had to wait two weeks. Benebac actually contains bacteria - the good type - and I'm wondering if this will help little Disco more because she keeps having to have her URI treated an this will wipe out whatever's in her gut each time. We used it when my old boy stopped eating hardly anything during a really long course of Septrin antibiotic - in the past my little girl pig had this same one for weeks with no problem but he was badly affected. He was on syringe food with poop soup, Fibreplex AND Benebac in the end! He pulled through and his UTI was gone (tho he has never regained the weight he lost).

I don't know whether Benebac is better or worse than Fibreplex, but it is different, because it contains a mix of bacterial species instead of yeasts. It might be worth a try if you can get your hands on some. And if you have any friends nearby with guinea pigs it might be worth popping round for a coffee, taking a little pot of water, and hanging around near their pigs for when they 'produce'!
 
Free Ranger said:
Oh you've been so strong for her - it really is exhausting. Can she manage any fresh grass at all?

The thing about Fibreplex - and it's really good stuff to try and get their guts back to work - but it only contains yeasts (at least the one here in the UK does). Now if a pig has a healthy companion we often suggest making a 'poop soup' where you drop very fresh and healthy poops from the companion into water and use this to mix in with syringe food. It seeds your poorly piggy's gut with types of bacteria that survive well in there and make a healthy piggy gut. But if I remember your little piggy lost her mum and had to have antibiotics and this has been going on since then(?)

There is a probiotic called BeneBac which also comes in a big syringe like the Fibreplex. It's like a gel or paste - you can get a 'plus' version with extra vitamin C in I think. It's from the States so the one time I ordered it we had to wait two weeks. Benebac actually contains bacteria - the good type - and I'm wondering if this will help little Disco more because she keeps having to have her URI treated an this will wipe out whatever's in her gut each time. We used it when my old boy stopped eating hardly anything during a really long course of Septrin antibiotic - in the past my little girl pig had this same one for weeks with no problem but he was badly affected. He was on syringe food with poop soup, Fibreplex AND Benebac in the end! He pulled through and his UTI was gone (tho he has never regained the weight he lost).

I don't know whether Benebac is better or worse than Fibreplex, but it is different, because it contains a mix of bacterial species instead of yeasts. It might be worth a try if you can get your hands on some. And if you have any friends nearby with guinea pigs it might be worth popping round for a coffee, taking a little pot of water, and hanging around near their pigs for when they 'produce'!
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Thank you this is so useful!

I will try source benefac it seems a little hard to get here in Spain ( along with fresh grass 😂 everything is so dryyy)

She is still eating hay which I’m so grateful for but just not as much

I’m considering adopting a baby piggy to keep her company and encourage her to eat / keep her active next friday with a 10 day quarantine period before introducing. But it is a long wait though but hopefully we can use those poos soon! Think it will be the most effective.

Praying she pulls through we are trying everything. We’ve considered even putting her down as someone said syringe feeding for longer than two weeks was cruel. But she does have energy, squeaks for food and seems happy except when she has these low points when the bloat comes back and causes pain. So any advice on that would be welcome. The vet did say that she seems good mentally and psychically despite getting sick / bloat

Also given the circumstances she lost her mum And only companion I think she’s doing well not to get depressed♥️♥️
 
I’m sorry it seems to be a bit of an up and down. There are some on here who have syringe fed their piggies for extended periods of time. I’m hoping she pulls through. You’re doing a great job for her and it’s encouraging that she’s still wheeking and has some energy.

If you’re getting her a companion less than four months old then please do not quarantine. Young piggies need companionship more than the caution with not spreading anything they’ve come with.
 
Siikibam said:
I’m sorry it seems to be a bit of an up and down. There are some on here who have syringe fed their piggies for extended periods of time. I’m hoping she pulls through. You’re doing a great job for her and it’s encouraging that she’s still wheeking and has some energy.

If you’re getting her a companion less than four months old then please do not quarantine. Young piggies need companionship more than the caution with not spreading anything they’ve come with.
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Great advice I didn’t realise this yes the new one is going to be 6 weeks old. The vet told me to quarantine. Thanks for your words of encouragement it really helps ♥️♥️
 
sunshinepig said:
Great advice I didn’t realise this yes the new one is going to be 6 weeks old. The vet told me to quarantine. Thanks for your words of encouragement it really helps ♥️♥️
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New piggy will need to be introduced pretty much straight away. Or same day you bring her home. Do book her in for a vet check for a week after she’s come to you. Hopefully all goes well.
 
sunshinepig said:
Great advice I didn’t realise this yes the new one is going to be 6 weeks old. The vet told me to quarantine. Thanks for your words of encouragement it really helps ♥️♥️
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Hi

If you have a very frail guinea pig that may not be able fight off any of the opportunistic issues that not quarantined guinea pigs can come with, then the need to quarantine can come before the need of company again.

It is basically a weighing up of risks and needs - companionship for a baby and the capability of a frailer/ill piggy to deal with things like ringworm, skin parasites, respiratory or urinary infections with a lowered immune system. The earlier is hard on the pup; the latter can be potentially fatal. On the other hand, companionship can be a huge morale and immune booster. In cases like yours, you have to weigh up the pros and cons on their own worth and based on your individual situation and make your own decision.

PS: In most cases an older and healthy guinea pig with a fully working immune system is able to fend off any problems the youngster could come with pretty easily; you just need to treat them both so the need for companionship in a baby outweighs the problem by far.
 
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Little Disco is still young though isn't she. And she's certainly a pretty tough little girl! They do need companionship... and it could make all the difference for her. Check the baby over as carefully as you can x

As far as syringing goes it depends on the reason. We syringe to get them through a tricky patch because we expect them to come out the other side and we don't want them to suddenly die from gut stasis as a secondary issue. George was syringed for 3 weeks to make up for his scant eating when antibiotics killed his appetite. He wouldn't have survived without the food - he wouldn't have survived without the AB. But he got better and he's doing OK. Sometimes a piggy has a terminal issue and syringe feeding won't make them better so in those circumstances yes, we're just dragging things out. But it's very difficult to trace the cause sometimes. If you're syringing exclusively - if they're not eating hay or anything else at all - you'll get to a point where the teeth have grown too long. But this can take a month or more depending on piggy and where they were when they started.
 
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Hello I'm back again...unfortunately not with better news!

So two months later... still very up and down. Disco now has a respiratory infection... AGAIN and Bloat... Again! We are on Doxiciclina antibiotics, she thinks the other antiobiotics were not enough to push it out the system...Buprex (analgesia for pain), Metacam for paiin, Aerored(basically simethicone)

I challenged the vet about simethicone but she was convinced it breaks down the bubbles..... I gave her a list of other things I found in this group
emeprid/metoclopramide and cisapride she only discussed metoclopramide - but she said it should only be used when the gas is lower (currently its in cecum) as its for lower gut?

Have Pro C, fibreplex - anything else you think I can do for my girl? Syringe feeding still... I asked the vet directly if it a PTS (put to sleep) situation as obvsiously feel so guilty still feeding this little one and she does seem fed up now. I'm lucky I can work from home, but it is very difficult the ongoing feeds. But she said she is still spritely and she would tell me when.

Vet again next Friday to see progress - but any ideas on bloat very welcome! I'll try anything right now to help her gut!
 
Aw, sorry to hear it's not better news! Hopefully the abs will help.
Have you tried cutting out grain? We used to have a pig at the rescue who would bloat terribly and regularly for seemingly no reason. It turns out after a massive trial and error and a visit to a specialist vet she had an allergy to all grain. Switching to grain free nuggets and removing all other grain treats etc from her diet worked wonders ❤️
 
Aw poor little Disco, sending lots of healing vibes to her x
Hope the AB’s kick in soon and she makes a full recovery 🤞
 
Oh I'm so sorry to hear this. Did the bloat get worse after the antibiotics for the respiratory infection started? I know you've been battling it anyway...

I don't know Buprex but we do get a pain killer called buprenorphine which is an opioid. It is a very effective painkiller (and bloat can be very painful sometimes) but one side effect can be loss of appetite. If you have this effect you'll need to be a bit careful...
When my pigs have been on buprenorphine (such as after surgery) they have been totally stoned. One girl didn't eat anything at all for several hours then just suddenly shook herself and started eating again as if nothing had happened. Poor George hid away in his snuggle bag and didn't come out till the next day - it took longer to wear off for him because he's older. I had to literally rub food on his mouth for him to 'come to' and eat a little before he drifted off again. If your Buprex is a similar product just keep an eye on her appetite - to battle bloat we need to get the food in little and often to push that gas through rather than have several hours of not eating followed by a couple trying to make up for it before her next dose.

Louise's bloat was a short, sharp shock for us as we've never seen it seriously before but she literally felt like a hard barrel and her eyes squinted in discomfort. It unfortunately took me a day or so to notice because she's so immensely fluffy. She got emeprid and metacam and she was massaged on the sides with an electric toothbrush handle. The vibrations are supposed to help break up the gas. She had a heat pad with a fleece on top to help her try and relax. We tried to give 'gripe water' (a product aimed at babies) but she wasn't keen. But a combination of syringing, heat and massage all helped push that gas bubble through (they can't burp it up). Here's a link if it helps at all First time with bloat - and it's Louise

Keep up with whatever probiotics you have while on the ABs. I used a mix for George in the end of Benebac, fibreplex and poop soup all mixed into his slurry food.

Perhaps the fact that she seems to have had her URI rumbling along all this time has caused her gut to be erratic.
 
Free Ranger said:
Oh I'm so sorry to hear this. Did the bloat get worse after the antibiotics for the respiratory infection started? I know you've been battling it anyway...

I don't know Buprex but we do get a pain killer called buprenorphine which is an opioid. It is a very effective painkiller (and bloat can be very painful sometimes) but one side effect can be loss of appetite. If you have this effect you'll need to be a bit careful...
When my pigs have been on buprenorphine (such as after surgery) they have been totally stoned. One girl didn't eat anything at all for several hours then just suddenly shook herself and started eating again as if nothing had happened. Poor George hid away in his snuggle bag and didn't come out till the next day - it took longer to wear off for him because he's older. I had to literally rub food on his mouth for him to 'come to' and eat a little before he drifted off again. If your Buprex is a similar product just keep an eye on her appetite - to battle bloat we need to get the food in little and often to push that gas through rather than have several hours of not eating followed by a couple trying to make up for it before her next dose.

Louise's bloat was a short, sharp shock for us as we've never seen it seriously before but she literally felt like a hard barrel and her eyes squinted in discomfort. It unfortunately took me a day or so to notice because she's so immensely fluffy. She got emeprid and metacam and she was massaged on the sides with an electric toothbrush handle. The vibrations are supposed to help break up the gas. She had a heat pad with a fleece on top to help her try and relax. We tried to give 'gripe water' (a product aimed at babies) but she wasn't keen. But a combination of syringing, heat and massage all helped push that gas bubble through (they can't burp it up). Here's a link if it helps at all First time with bloat - and it's Louise

Keep up with whatever probiotics you have while on the ABs. I used a mix for George in the end of Benebac, fibreplex and poop soup all mixed into his slurry food.

Perhaps the fact that she seems to have had her URI rumbling along all this time has caused her gut to be erratic.
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Thank you this is great. I will try the toothbrush! I was doing massages but I just felt worried bout causing her pain.

Ohhh yesss its been such a long trip. Last night she ate a bit of lettuce and a first bit of hay today, shes still not eating anything really substantial though.

Yes sounds like Buprex is the same as the one you had, or similar at least. Its an opiod and she was really STONED! not really doing anything other than sleeping, poor thing. I didnt give it to her yesterday in the end, will use sparingly and opt for metacam unless she looks really in pain. I will check out your thread too :) xx
 
Oh I'm so sorry to hear your sad news 😢
You both fought very hard for a long time but sometimes we just can't win. She is back with her mother now and at peace 💕
Take care of yourself x
 
Oh no I'm so sorry to hear you've lost Disco 😢 What a journey you've been on together! You're a fantastic owner, you did so much for her. She's free from suffering and vets and nasty tasting medicines now. RIP sweet Disco! Over that Rainbow Bridge 🌈❤️
 
So very sorry to hear this news.
Disco had a wonderful home and couldn’t have asked for a better owner.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve
 
Free Ranger said:
Oh I'm so sorry to hear your sad news 😢
You both fought very hard for a long time but sometimes we just can't win. She is back with her mother now and at peace 💕
Take care of yourself x
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Absolutely they died exactly 2 months apart on 24th spooky but can’t help feel it’s because they wanted to be together again
 
Wheekallweek said:
Oh no I'm so sorry to hear you've lost Disco 😢 What a journey you've been on together! You're a fantastic owner, you did so much for her. She's free from suffering and vets and nasty tasting medicines now. RIP sweet Disco! Over that Rainbow Bridge 🌈❤️
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Thank you, I was hoping we could get her better but luck was not on our side, least she is with her mum 💜
 
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