Help needed! Guinea pig recovery concerns

[Orangefizzypops]

So we recently took our boy (2 years 5 months) to the vet, and he had an operation to remove five bladder stones. Before this operation I assumed his food intake had gone down since he was doing small, thin poos instead of the regular sized ones. Anyway, we took him home from the operation and we were syringe feeding him critical care every 30 mins as the vet had instructed. We did this until we went to bed at around 11:30pm. Woke up at 7 and took him to the vets at 8, vet said he seemed to be doing well and we took him home and gave him a dose of meloxicom and marbocyl (pain relief and antibiotics). Throughout the day I gave him some critical care but he also ate some of his timothy hay and biscuit, so i started giving him less critical care (doctor said I could stop when he was eating normally). he hasn’t been seen drinking any water so I’ve been syringe feeding him some just in case, although he has been peeing. Now onto the part that worries me. He had been doing barely any poos the evening after he had had his operation. I was concerned but thought it was a result of the anaesthetic and decided to keep an eye on it. Fast foward to today. He seemed to be in pain when trying to do a poo (every other poo he has done beforehand he was not in pain, tho the poos themselves were very moist/covered in mucus, and were generally very small and thin in shape). I look at his bum and see there’s a poo stuck in it so I pull it out. Turns out it was a whole string of poos attached to one another by mucus. I’ve read somewhere that this can be a sign of gut failure and I’m very concerned , but I saw somewhere else that this can happen when they’re recovering from an operation? I just want to know if this is a cause for concern, and if so what should i do about it?
This is the first time any of our piggies have gotten sick and I’m horribly concerned, any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this,

You must weigh him daily and continue to syringe feed as much as is necessary to keep his weight stable until he starts to eat enough on his own. Seeing him eat some hay is very deceptive and using that as guide may mean he is not getting enough food which can cause further problems.
Please do not stop giving critical care until he is definitely eating enough hay independently to keep his weight is stable. Then you can reduce critical care but continue to weigh daily to monitor. If his weight drops, you must step back in with the critical care.

Poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake - it is therefore not a reliable indication Of food intake. By the time you notice a reduction in poop, piggy has already not had enough food for up to two days. This is why the daily weight checks are so important.

He is still on painkillers?
Please do get him back to the vet if you are at all concerned about his recovery

The guides below explain everything in more detail

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Tips For Post-operative Care

For long term care going forward given he has had bladder stones, it is important to make sure you monitor his calcium intake. The diet guide below may help further

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[Swissgreys]

You have had some excellent advice from piggies&buns above, but I would also have a read of our syringe feeding guide.

I would stop feeding him Critical Care every 30 minutes - this is way too often, and will simply exhaust him (and you).
It is better to aim for a decent amount every few hours - 20ml 5 times a day is far better than a few mls every 30 mins.
Plus such a frequent feeding schedule doesn't really give him a chance to eat on his own.

But hang in there - you are doing a great job abd it can take a while for piggies to recover from an operation and it sounds like his was a big one. Five stones is a lot!

Ongoing pain relief is also very, very important.
His bladder will feel pretty sore, so make sure he has a good dose of pain relief twice a day.

 

[Orangefizzypops]

I’m sorry to hear this,

You must weigh him daily and continue to syringe feed as much as is necessary to keep his weight stable until he starts to eat enough on his own. Seeing him eat some hay is very deceptive and using that as guide may mean he is not getting enough food which can cause further problems.
Please do not stop giving critical care until he is definitely eating enough hay independently to keep his weight is stable. Then you can reduce critical care but continue to weigh daily to monitor. If his weight drops, you must step back in with the critical care.

Poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake - it is therefore not a reliable indication Of food intake. By the time you notice a reduction in poop, piggy has already not had enough food for up to two days. This is why the daily weight checks are so important.

He is still on painkillers?
Please do get him back to the vet if you are at all concerned about his recovery

The guides below explain everything in more detail

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Tips For Post-operative Care

For long term care going forward given he has had bladder stones, it is important to make sure you monitor his calcium intake. The diet guide below may help further

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Thank you so much for the response! I did read somewhere about Recording their weight every day so I weighed him today and wrote it down. I will definitely continue giving him critical care now, and Will make sure to weigh him daily. He’s only just started painkillers today (day after surgery) as that is what the vet told us to do. And thank you so much for the guides, I’ve been trying to research low calcium foods for guinea pigs but have been getting mixed results.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you so much for the response! I did read somewhere about Recording their weight every day so I weighed him today and wrote it down. I will definitely continue giving him critical care now, and Will make sure to weigh him daily. He’s only just started painkillers today (day after surgery) as that is what the vet told us to do. And thank you so much for the guides, I’ve been trying to research low calcium foods for guinea pigs but have been getting mixed results.

I’m glad he is on painkillers.
Do read all the guides I linked in as they explain post op and syringe feeding in much more detail

Pellets and water (if you have hard water) is the main source of calcium intake. Keeping pellets limited to just one tablespoon per pig per day and making sure the pellets you use are grain free and alfalfa/Lucerne free can help. We also recommend filtering their drinking water but we have hard water mostly in the UK.

All veggies contain some calcium but some are higher than others such as kale, spinach, parsley. Feeding lots of hay and fresh grass is key. The guide I linked in has a section on feeding piggies prone to bladder problems.
Unfortunately there is also a genetic element to a piggy’s likelihood of bladder stones but all we can do is owners is keep an eye on the diet since we can’t do anything about genetics.
In addition, you will find lots of information on calcium intake on the forum if you use the search facility.

its important to weigh piggies every week as part of routine care. This can enable you to pick up on any issues sometimes before any other symptoms are showing. Hay is often the first thing they reduce ewting when they are unwell and given it is around 80% of the daily food intake, any reduction in intake shows quite quickly on the scales . You then switch to weighing once a day and step in when there are health concerns

 

[Orangefizzypops]

You have had some excellent advice from piggies&buns above, but I would also have a read of our syringe feeding guide.

I would stop feeding him Critical Care every 30 minutes - this is way too often, and will simply exhaust him (and you).
It is better to aim for a decent amount every few hours - 20ml 5 times a day is far better than a few mls every 30 mins.
Plus such a frequent feeding schedule doesn't really give him a chance to eat on his own.

But hang in there - you are doing a great job abd it can take a while for piggies to recover from an operation and it sounds like his was a big one. Five stones is a lot!

Ongoing pain relief is also very, very important.
His bladder will feel pretty sore, so make sure he has a good dose of pain relief twice a day.

will definitely check that out now, thank you so much! I’ll also need to search for a bigger syringe since we were only given a 1ml syringe. I think currently we have 0.5ml per syringe (9 syringes in total) of painkillers that we’re supposed to give him daily, though after reading your comment I’m not sure that that is at all enough for him

 

[Piggies&buns]

will definitely check that out now, thank you so much! I’ll also need to search for a bigger syringe since we were only given a 1ml syringe. I think currently we have 0.5ml per syringe (9 syringes in total) of painkillers that we’re supposed to give him daily, though after reading your comment I’m not sure that that is at all enough for him

A 1ml syringe is useful for syringe feeding the critical care, as piggies cannot hold much in their mouths at a time. You just need to continue to refill the syringe with the critical care feed multiple times (or have a couple lined up ready to go). How much critical care depends on the stability of his weight checks. He could need 60ml, if not in excess of, of critical care in each 24 hour period and depending how much he eats independently. It’s good he is trying to eat on his own though, so hopefully his appetite isn’t too affected. Managing pain is important though so definitely keep an eye on things.

The painkiller syringes are separate if they are are pre-filled.

Piggies can take quite high doses of painkillers and ideally they have their pain meds twice a day due to their high metabolism but it depends on what your vet has told you given they are the only ones who can advise on such a thing

 

[Orangefizzypops]

A 1ml syringe is useful for syringe feeding the critical care, as piggies cannot hold much in their mouths at a time. You just need to continue to refill the syringe with the critical care feed multiple times (or have a couple lined up ready to go). How much critical care depends on the stability of his weight checks. He could need 60ml, if not in excess of, of critical care in each 24 hour period and depending how much he eats independently. It’s good he is trying to eat on his own though, so hopefully his appetite isn’t too affected. Managing pain is important though so definitely keep an eye on things.

The painkiller syringes are separate if they are are pre-filled.

Piggies can take quite high doses of painkillers and ideally they have their pain meds twice a day due to their high metabolism but it depends on what your vet has told you given they are the only ones who can advise on such a thing

I just read the articles after I had posted that comment about needing a bigger syringe, but I’m glad to hear I can continue using my current one . I’ll stick to what the vet has told me, though if I have concerns I’ll definitely go and ask them about it. This has been extremely informative and helpful, I cannot thank you enough for all of the wonderful information you have provided me with!

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I’m sorry your piggy is unwell. I hope your piggy starts to eat for themselves and is soon on the road to recovery. Take care.