My guinea pig doesn’t eat as much as before after visting the vet

[Kate222]

This is my first time posting a thread. English isn’t my first language so there might be some grammar or spelling mistakes.

My guinea pig has been diagnosed with upper respiratory disease and is undergoing treatment. The veterinarian said he’s recovering well, but I notice he’s not eating as much as before. He is receiving daily injections for 3 days now, and it will be done after day 5. I don’t know if he’s just stressed or he’s still feeling ill.

There are not many clinics for guinea pigs in my area, or rather my country, because keeping guinea pigs as pets isn’t popular in Vietnam. I don't know if that treatment really works for my piggy, or there is something wrong with him, I'm very worried, please help me with this.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear your piggy is unwell.

Their diet is three quarters hay and grass and quarts hay and when a piggy is unwell they often do stop eating as much or stop eating altogether

If this happens it is essential that you step in with syringe feeding a recovery feed or using his normal pellets and mushing them with water (syringe feeding mushed veg is not sufficient).
It is also essential you switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him daily so you can monitor that his weight is stable each day. A stable weight means you are syringe feeding enough in each 24 hour period. You are aiming for for at least 60ml of syringe feed per day.

What is the injection he is being given?
Is he improving at all?

Please read the guides below as they explain more

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[Wiebke]

This is my first time posting a thread. English isn’t my first language so there might be some grammar or spelling mistakes.

My guinea pig has been diagnosed with upper respiratory disease and is undergoing treatment. The veterinarian said he’s recovering well, but I notice he’s not eating as much as before. He is receiving daily injections for 3 days now, and it will be done after day 5. I don’t know if he’s just stressed or he’s still feeling ill.

There are not many clinics for guinea pigs in my area, or rather my country, because keeping guinea pigs as pets isn’t popular in Vietnam. I don't know if that treatment really works for my piggy, or there is something wrong with him, I'm very worried, please help me with this.

Hi

Antibiotics (most likely baytril - but please enquire at the vets) don't always kill the bad bacteria but can also affect the digestive bacteria in the gut. It is important that you supplement feed your guinea pig during that time in order to replace the hay/grass intake which makes over three quarters of what a guinea pig needs in a day.

Do you feed pellets or a dry mix for guinea pigs or can you get pellets/a dry mix for rabbits? Please crush the dry mix into a powder and then soak it in warm water. Rabbit mix doesn't contain vitamin C but it will do do help get some fibrous calories into your guinea pig. At the very worst, look for pureed veg baby food if you cannot find anything else. It is not ideal but better than nothing and syringe that with a needle-free syringe.

 

[Kate222]

Hi

Antibiotics (most likely baytril - but please enquire at the vets) don't always kill the bad bacteria but can also affect the digestive bacteria in the gut. It is important that you supplement feed your guinea pig during that time in order to replace the hay/grass intake which makes over three quarters of what a guinea pig needs in a day.

Do you feed pellets or a dry mix for guinea pigs or can you get pellets/a dry mix for rabbits? Please crush the dry mix into a powder and then soak it in warm water. Rabbit mix doesn't contain vitamin C but it will do do help get some fibrous calories into your guinea pig. At the very worst, look for pureed veg baby food if you cannot find anything else. It is not ideal but better than nothing and syringe that with a needle-free syringe.

Thank you for the advice.

I don't know if it's a side effect of the medication, but before treatment, he ate even more than he does now, even though the vet said he's recovering well.

I tried crushing the pellets and soak it in warm water to feed him, but he didn’t eat much. He still manages to eat half a tomato and some hay, but I don’t think that’s enough. I’ve bought vitamin C and am going to feed him that.

Except for his lack of appetite and quite low water intake, he acts normal. I’m taking him to the vet this afternoon, too, I hope everything is going well.

 

[Kate222]

Thank you so much for the advice and instructions.

I’ll ask the vet what the injections he’s been given this afternoon. Other than that, I’ll do my best to feed him food.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you for the advice.

I don't know if it's a side effect of the medication, but before treatment, he ate even more than he does now, even though the vet said he's recovering well.

I tried crushing the pellets and soak it in warm water to feed him, but he didn’t eat much. He still manages to eat half a tomato and some hay, but I don’t think that’s enough. I’ve bought vitamin C and am going to feed him that.

Except for his lack of appetite and quite low water intake, he acts normal. I’m taking him to the vet this afternoon, too, I hope everything is going well.

You need to Feed the mushed pellets to him with a syringe and give him as much as he will take at each sitting. He could need to be fed every couple of hours. The less he eats at each sitting the more sittings you need to do.
You need to get at least 60ml of syringe feed into him each day.

Are you making sure you weigh him each morning? That is the only way to ensure he is herring enough food

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much for the advice and instructions.

I’ll ask the vet what the injections he’s been given this afternoon. Other than that, I’ll do my best to feed him food.

Please ask for a 1 ml syringe and cut off the tip as shown in our syringe feeding guide in order to get enough pellet paste into your guinea pig. It needs to be a bit more watery for a syringe.

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures (see chapter 4 for the pictures about where to cut the syringe tip and chapter 7 about how much and how often you need to feed)

With a guinea pig that is not eating much you aim at 40-60 ml of mushed pellets (40 - 60 syringefuls in 24 hours). A healthy guinea pig eats about 90 ml in a day. 40 ml daily are needed to keep your guinea pig just about alive through the crisis.

Baytril (active ingredient enrofloxacin) is the most used antibiotic for guinea pigs; it is also the only one that is licensed for use in guinea pigs worldwide. It is well known for also impacting on the gut bacteria. This can range from just a bit softer poos to total loss of appetite.
The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only in third place the need to eat, so any serious respiratory infection also dampens the appetite. That is why loss of appetite is so common with respiratory infections (both URI/upper respiratory tract infection and pneumonia).

You can mix soaked, ground up pellets with some vegetable baby food and a little water if needed if that helps you more. Just to get enough food into your piggy to keep them going.

All the best! You are a very caring piggy mother but it is more difficult without access to specialist care products.

 

[Kate222]

Update after 2 days: He’s recovering well and has been eating again! I’m so glad! It’d be hard for me without this forum .

 

[Wiebke]

Update after 2 days: He’s recovering well and has been eating again! I’m so glad! It’d be hard for me without this forum .

That is wonderful news!

 

[Kate222]

Thank you so much !

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much !

I hope that the recovery continues?