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How much Critical Care to give?

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JayneG

JayneG

Teenage Guinea Pig
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I've managed to syringe around 4 mls of CC into Eric this evening to try and slow down the weightloss. He isn't that keen. How much should I give him each day? We're off to the vet in the morning, but should I give him some more?
 
Is he eating voluntarily? If so I would give him more critical care if he'll eat it, a good way to do this is to cut a chunk of cucumber and use a teaspoon to scoop out a 'bowl' then fill it with critical care. Or fill a celery stick. If he'll eat it by himself that's great. The main thing is to keep his guts moving, if he won't eat this then even grass if he'll eat it, just to keep food going in.

Good luck and I hope he's soon on the mend

Sophie
x
 
Thanks Sophie. He's eating normally but I have to syringe the CC as he doesn't seem to like it. I'll try hiding it in some cucumber like you say, that would be easier than syringing.
 
50ml is the recommended amount, but some places advise 25ml. Personally, and realistically, I advise around 35-40ml minimum a day.

I know how hard it is so I really feel for you. First time round I managed 2ml at a half hour sitting. It takes a LOT of learning but I upped it to 5ml at a sitting. Now, after a year or so of intermittent handfeeding, I can get 10-15ml a sitting. At first I could only get 0.1ml in the pigs mouth each time, but the technique came along the more I practiced and now the ideal amount per mouthful is 0.3ml. I let them chew for about 5-10 seconds then get the next mouthful in.

Critical Care is enjoyed here, but not half as much as NutriPowder.
 
Wow I thought me managing 5 mls was a lot. I have some syringing to do! I guess whatever I can manage to feed him is a plus.

He's doing ok. Hasn't lost more, has gained 10g actually. I'm just so paranoid and keep checking him. Fingers crossed.
 
I had to give CC to Rene as he'd suddenly stopped eating altogether and lost over 300g. He [*]hated[/*] it! But he didn't mind being fed on his back in my lap. So long as I let him have a wee wriggle about every 2 ml or so... I have read in books that that position should be avoided but, Mummy knows best and as long as he wasn't in distress, I felt it was fine.
 
Just thought I would add on to my previous replies here. I have read that for a 1kg pig (2.2lb) they need 60-70ml a day. This is for a pig who is not eating at all.
What really, really helps is having more than one syringe to work with. I line up 4; fill them up, work through them, then Tup has a break for a few seconds while I refill all four again. Relying on one syringe can really slow you down.

I've managed to get 50ml down Tuppy in two feedings, with another 20ml feeding planned for bedtime; it helps if the pig wants to eat!
 
Thanks. Well he wasn't that keen but had some. I got some nutripowder from Galens and he loved this all last week. Then he had an "off" day and wouldn't eat anything. Ever since, I've had to practically force the nutripowder mix into him. I can't understand why he's suddenly gone off it. Unless he thinks that made him ill the one day and now won't touch it. I'm stressing out that he'll lose weight again now if I can't syringe this food into him. He'll take some if I force it, but is even spitting some out now!
 
3 month old pig on critical care

my pig Amber has been put on oxbow critical care as she has diarrhoea! The instructions on the pack say 3tablespoons per 1kg of bodyweight. she weighs just less than 400g, so should I give 1.5 tablespoons per day? Also does anybody know how many days I should do this for? As it doesn't specify on the pack.
 
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Aw, so sorry to hear Amber is not well :( May I ask is the cause of her diarrhoea ?
If it's too much veggies, then obviously you need to omit for a few days. Is she on an antibiotic as this can wreak havoc on their little tums ? Critical Care is good for piggies who are not eating for themselves as it contains all the nutrients a piggy needs but you need to be cautious as hand feeding them will often make them forget how to do it for themselves (they become lazy)
I would go with the instructions, mix to a paste consistency and give it to her via a small spoon. Mine have taken it from my finger but others have had to be syringed if they've been really poorly.
Weigh Amber to keep a check, this is critical so you can gauge weight loss/gain etc.
I think the going rate of CC is 120mls per 24 hours so if you feed her 10mls every 2 hours, should be sufficient. If she takes more, then you could reduce the feeds. This is what I have done for an adult poorly piggy, not sure how old Amber is if she is only 400g - she is very young I assume ? Always give her a good brand of pellets and fresh water too.
I empathise totally (been there a few times :...) but it is so important to keep her gut moving and prevent stasis as this can be fatal. Keep her on the feed until she is eating for herself or has reached her target weight. Maybe give her a Vitamin C supplement if she's not having fresh veggies, soluble tablets are available from most supermarkets/pharmacies for £1+.
Please keep us informed and we're all here to help if you have any worries :)
Hugs to Amber x>>
 
She is only 3/4 months old so I'm really worried about her. She can be a real piggy on the greens and the vet thinks that may be the cause. Shes not on antibiotics yet as the vet didnt want to loose her good bacteria for fighting off any infection unless it becomes necessary. Shes not as bright as her usual self and her appetite is poor but she is nibbling hay occasionally. She is being so stubborn with the critical care and is refusing to eat it and wont take it via syringe without a fight...

Thanks for your advice on the feeding guidelines, that helps a lot.
 
How is Amber today ?
Have you tried her with a probiotic at all, Fibreplex is my fave as it's a nice thick paste so easy to give a piggy. Most vets will have it in stock and it is not expensive. It may help with settling her tummy down, one of my older boars used to have runny poops if he had cucumber/melon etc. so gave him Fibreplex which helped and I just limit wet veggies for him now.
Ensure Amber is drinking well to avoid dehydration, sometimes a little syringe of water helps if you're not certain how much water she's drinking.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&...vpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&ref=pd_sl_6wiyqf222j_e

I give 1ml per kg of piggy every other day for upset tums :)
 
Thanks for asking. I have just bought some fibreplex to give to amber. She has stopped having diarrhoea and just has slightly soft slightly misshapen poops today. Although she doesnt seem happy in her self. Still fluffed up sitting in a corner some of the time. She is eating hay and nibbling the dry pellets. And I'm syringe feeding her loaaaads of water she is lapping it up. I wonder when should i start to reintroduce veg and what things to give her?
 
That's good news - piggies do tend to fluff up if they're not well as it's their natural way of keeping warm to trap air between their hair giving them a puffed up appearance. A snugglepad or hot water bottle securely covered may help.
I'd keep her off veg until her poops are normal then slowly introduce her back onto small amounts, nothing too wet or stuff that can cause gas.
Our piggies love Romaine lettuce, peppers, fresh beetroot, parsley (limited) baby sweetcorns amongst others.
This may help - avoid dark greens at the moment:

http://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html

I have a piggy on CC top up and she isn't keen but will eat it voluntarily from a small dish, her huspig would gobble the lot if I allowed him to :x - not all piggies like the strong smell :(
 
Fibreplex is great stuff and I mix it with the Critical Care sometimes too just to help it all go down.

other things I have found when desperate are:

1. Mix with some tomatoe juice or veg juice (some people mix with baby food) - I found this improved the taste for them
2. Mix up some ordinary pellets in warm water and mash, then mix with the critical care, this way it tastes a little like their own food (Fibreplex makes it smoother to syringe when doing this!)
3. Put a small amount of honey (I have even tried Ribena) in with the critical care, some love it, some dont
4. Warm it up for a few seconds first, I had one who would only ever eat it when it was warm!

Its just about finding things they like, I have not had one guinea that liked Critical Care really and sadly I have had to syringe a few over the years.

There is a banana flavoured equivalent out there now..I cannot remember the name I will try to look it up. Last time I had syringe feed this was preferred but then I read it was high in calcium so I had to stop using it (I had a bladderstone piggy).



hope this helps? Good luck and sending lots of healing vibes....
 
update on amber

Hi everybody. Just wanted to let you know amber is on the mend and is very much back to herself again. I kept up the fibreplex and critical care and kept her off veg for the last 5 days and her poops have slowly been getting firmer. Today they are pretty much normal pellets again. She was weighed yesterday and had gone from 365g to 295! So I'm really glad shes eating well and feeling herself today.

Just wanted to thank you all for being so helpful. I know i could have lost her if i didnt do the right things!:(|)
 
Glad to hear she is on the mend, sending her lots of recovery vibes x
 
Try the critical care mixed in with some elle's baby food (fruit).. my girl goes NUTS for the strawb and apple. The fruityness will cut the flavour and your piggy might change his mind. You can then wean out the baby food ratio and see how close to neat crit care you can get.

We had to force feed crit care for 6 weeks before finding this trick out and we've never had to feed her forcefully since. She'll take about 12mls a sitting before carrying on with the rest of her goodies.

Also,we were told by our vet to keep infacol in stock. Infacol helps reduce bloatyness. If you give her too many fruits especially banana you might have a yeast overload and lots of gas. We were told to give 2mls twice a day if she is on baby food. Because we mix it we give 1ml twice a day and it works the same. Discuss with your vet first though how they feel about infacol. My vet says there has never been a reported problem with using it regularly in SICK pigs. Not for everyday use in normal pigs. He loves it so much he said every piggy owner should keep some for emergencies (that and probiotics).
 
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