Mystery Gas Build Up

[Parnassus]

Hey Everyone! I'm just back from our cavy savvy vets with some not great news.

Quick Background:

Our *other* piggy is a bladder piggy, meaning we provide a vet-approved low-calcium diet:
Filtered water
Orchard grass
1/4 C. KMS Timothy pellets daily each
1 Oxbow Vitamin C Supplement

Veggie mix for Breakfast and Dinner:
red/green leaf lettuce
celery
cucumber

We have been on this diet for a few months now. Today, we've learned that our girl, Blade, has gas build up.

We're starting courses for 14 days:
Metaclopramide (0.5 mLs every 12 hours)
Infant's simethicone drops (0.35 mLs every 6 hours)
Probiotics (every 12 hours)
*Critical Care if she stops eating (15mLs 4x per day)
Temporarily restrict the feeding of leafy greens.

We ran blood work on Blade to rule out infection:
No signs of infection
There is elevated Alkaline Phosphatase
From my home care instructions: "In rodents, this is seen with hepatic chloestasis, or bile duct and liver inflammation. This inflammation may be from a digestive upset or infection from the digestive tract.
"We can also see increased alkaline phosphatase from a deficiency in zinc and manganese but i do not feel this is a factor with Blade's increased enzyme."

Does anyone have additional information on this, personal experience with this situation, or tips and tricks to help my Blade feel well again?

Bladeykins!

 

[DM030819]

Keeping her active and using vibration if needed can be a good way to get the gas out. If she's still happy to run around then it's not really a major concern, just give her more floor time than usual.

It is more common for a pig that has had bloat to get it again, so it will be a good idea to monitor her and see if there are any food or veg that seems to affect her more.

 

[Wiebke]

I would take off any fresh veg asap, especially lettuce and other greens, brassica and broccoli. Offer her top sringe feed instead, as much as she is willing to take. Then introduce fresh veg slowly in small quantities to see whether she has any bad reactions to any of the veg. I would also consider swiching to grain-free pellets especially if her guts stay unsettled; they are now available in the UK, too.

Please vibrate as much as possible; you can use the handle of a cheap electric toothbrush for that as the easiest available vibration instrument. Do it half hour sessions to help shift the gas. Please be aware that the digestive system stays unsettled for quite a few weeks afterwards and that there can be flare-ups again. Encourage her to move around, again to stimulate the guts and help shift the gas.

 

[Parnassus]

Thanks for the fast replies all!

I would take off any fresh veg asap, especially lettuce and other greens, brassica and broccoli. Offer her top sringe feed instead, as much as she is willing to take. Then introduce fresh veg slowly in small quantities to see whether she has any bad reactions to any of the veg. I would also consider swiching to grain-free pellets especially if her guts stay unsettled; they are now available in the UK, too.

Please vibrate as much as possible; you can use the handle of a cheap electric toothbrush for that as the easiest available vibration instrument. Do it half hour sessions to help shift the gas. Please be aware that the digestive system stays unsettled for quite a few weeks afterwards and that there can be flare-ups again. Encourage her to move around, again to stimulate the guts and help shift the gas.

I just tried vibrating her with my electric toothbrush, but I'm not sure if I actually did it right. Do you have a visual or video example of toothbrush placement for maximum effectiveness? We have a sonicare, so it's pretty powerful -- should I put padding between?

I am in the US -- do you know of any grain-free options we can explore? We need a lower-calcium option for our bladder piggy as well.

 

[Parnassus]

Progress Report: Feeling Hopeful!

The pigs are on hour 3 of floor time. I've been through several vibration rounds, and gave Blade her first dose of Simethicone, which she gobbled up like a treat! I offered her Critical Care instead of veggies at dinner time and she ate about 4ml of it!

She's already behaving more normally and perky. While still not 100%, she is definitely more engaged and active than she was this morning before I rushed her to the vet.

I am so grateful for this forum! And everyone who replied to help me, of course.

 

[Flutterby]

Sending healing vibes. She's gorgeous!

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for the fast replies all!



I just tried vibrating her with my electric toothbrush, but I'm not sure if I actually did it right. Do you have a visual or video example of toothbrush placement for maximum effectiveness? We have a sonicare, so it's pretty powerful -- should I put padding between?

I am in the US -- do you know of any grain-free options we can explore? We need a lower-calcium option for our bladder piggy as well.

Sorry, no pictures or videos. If necessary, try it with a rag in between. But the vibrations can really make a difference.

 

[Parnassus]

Sorry, no pictures or videos. If necessary, try it with a rag in between. But the vibrations can really make a difference.

Sounds good, thanks!

I've been folding up a blanket and stuffing the toothbrush handle in the middle of the folds, and placing her on top of the folded blanket. She seems to like it, even though it's also confusing her.

 

[Parnassus]

Sending healing vibes. She's gorgeous!

Thank you!