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need advice for chesney please

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biscandmatt

biscandmatt

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after his dental on thursday he was pretty much back to normal a few hours after we got home.. and was fine yesterday.

today he doesn't look as bright and wasn't as co-operative with his meds this morning. he's on 0.3ml engemycin once a day and 0.3ml metacam twice a day.

he had his veg but about 40% compared to maisie's 60% and looked to be struggling with it. he's also struggling with hay today aswell and just refused dried herbs aswell and didn't want any pellet mash last night.

any advice please?
 
Poor Chesney. Some pigs take longer to recover from dental than others. The important thing is to keep his weight up and stable. Have you tried chopping his food up smaller?

I would certainly contact/visit the vet again if he is not eating right. It maybe worth contacting Furryfriends on this forum as she has lots of knowledge on dental piggies.

I know how frustrating and painful to watch a dental piggie and hope that Chesney recovers soon...
 
i went and got some grass and dandelions from the garden which he ate but he is eating very very slowly.

he's trying his best to eat hay but he's struggling.

i have been handfeeding him tiny bits of lettuce aswell. the pieces he accepts are so tiny but at least he is trying.

i offered him pellet mash again with some dried dandelion. he had one very tiny thin strand of dried dandelion and then didn't want anything else.

he's sitting in his hut alot and occasionally coming out to burrow in the hay and he is trying to nibble hay.

the post just came aswell with the critical care i ordered and vitamin c tablets so i have those now if needed. i also have science recovery food aswell.
 
sport_billy said:
Poor Chesney. Some pigs take longer to recover from dental than others. The important thing is to keep his weight up and stable. Have you tried chopping his food up smaller?

I would certainly contact/visit the vet again if he is not eating right. It maybe worth contacting Furryfriends on this forum as she has lots of knowledge on dental piggies.

I know how frustrating and painful to watch a dental piggie and hope that Chesney recovers soon...
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this morning he ate most of his veg in smaller pieces but now he's needing them even smaller so i'm offering tiny tiny pieces.

the vets have said to syringe feed him depending on how much he is eating so i might have to start that although i feel it may make him more quiet rather than trying like he is now.

he's eating more as the day is going on so i hope he will continue.

i'm wondering if the antibiotic may be making him feel a bit groggy?
 
Have you syringe fed before? Glad you have some critical care. We always weighed before and after critical care feeding so we knew how much we were getting in. You will need to syringe feed him if he isn't getting enough food in himself.

I would definately visit the vet again should he not pick up.
 
Aw, poor little guy :(
You are obviously a great slave and can only summise Chesney is probably a little under the weather from his ordeal ?/ Those of us who have had dental treatment know it can be a bit brutal at times :...
Hugs to the little fella x>>
 
biscandmatt said:
this morning he ate most of his veg in smaller pieces but now he's needing them even smaller so i'm offering tiny tiny pieces.

the vets have said to syringe feed him depending on how much he is eating so i might have to start that although i feel it may make him more quiet rather than trying like he is now.

he's eating more as the day is going on so i hope he will continue.

i'm wondering if the antibiotic may be making him feel a bit groggy?
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Antibiotics can put them off their food, but from what you have posted it seems like he wants to eat but is struggling rather than disinterested.

How is his weight?
 
sport_billy said:
Have you syringe fed before? Glad you have some critical care. We always weighed before and after critical care feeding so we knew how much we were getting in. You will need to syringe feed him if he isn't getting enough food in himself.

I would definately visit the vet again should he not pick up.
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i haven't syringe fed piggies no. i'm syringing his meds though and someone sent me a page on syringe feeding aswell so i should be ok.

good tip about weighing before and after syringing, thanks.

is critical care the best one to syringe then? the vets gave me science recovery but i ordered cc aswell just so we had the option. and can i crush the vitamin c tablet in with that aswell?
 
Guinea pig slave said:
Aw, poor little guy :(
You are obviously a great slave and can only summise Chesney is probably a little under the weather from his ordeal ?/ Those of us who have had dental treatment know it can be a bit brutal at times :...
Hugs to the little fella x>>
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thanks. i don't know why he is struggling more today when he was pretty much back to normal yesterday and the night before. :(
 
sport_billy said:
Antibiotics can put them off their food, but from what you have posted it seems like he wants to eat but is struggling rather than disinterested.

How is his weight?
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yes, you're right, it's more chewing slowly rather than not interested. what do you think of the metacam 0.3ml twice a day, does this seem enough to control any pain?

his weight has remained stable but i will be weighing him again later so will know then. with his eating less today i feel it may have gone down. if so, i will have to start syringe feeding and go back to the vets if he doesn't improve.
 
biscandmatt said:
i haven't syringe fed piggies no. i'm syringing his meds though and someone sent me a page on syringe feeding aswell so i should be ok.

good tip about weighing before and after syringing, thanks.

is critical care the best one to syringe then? the vets gave me science recovery but i ordered cc aswell just so we had the option. and can i crush the vitamin c tablet in with that aswell?
Click to expand...

We used critical care, I believe it has vitamin C in it also, but would need to double check that (worth a look on the packet) Syringe feeding gets easier with practice as a piggie decides they like the taste. Our piggie loved CC but was a little reluctant at first. If you have any problems or questions just ask...

I really hope he gets better soon x
 
sport_billy said:
We used critical care, I believe it has vitamin C in it also, but would need to double check that (worth a look on the packet) Syringe feeding gets easier with practice as a piggie decides they like the taste. Our piggie loved CC but was a little reluctant at first. If you have any problems or questions just ask...

I really hope he gets better soon x
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thanks, i'll go and read the packet now.

the vets said ches did well being syringe fed and took 10ml a time so hopefully he will do the same for me.

thanks for your help. x
 
Hope he feels better soon and is back eating again.

You could try an oat mash (porridge oats, soaked in hot water and cooled) or try puree'ing his veggies in a food processor ?

Apart from calling the vets I cant think of anything else to suggest other than what you are already trying

Fingers crossed he recovers soon

xx
 
biscandmatt said:
yes, you're right, it's more chewing slowly rather than not interested. what do you think of the metacam 0.3ml twice a day, does this seem enough to control any pain?

his weight has remained stable but i will be weighing him again later so will know then. with his eating less today i feel it may have gone down. if so, i will have to start syringe feeding and go back to the vets if he doesn't improve.
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Worth speaking to the vets regarding pain relief, they are the experts. Our dental piggie 'Pitch' was on Metacam but had to be switched to a Opiate at one point. So a chat with your vet is worthwhile.
 
he's looking a bit brighter than he did before and he's gradually eating a bit more. he's really trying.

i've been picking grass and dandelions for him. and he likes lettuce in small pieces and parsley in small pieces aswell.

he's also managing a bit more hay aswell. short, thin strands.

he was just sat in the corner all day and wouldn't come over for food. but i've just been to get some grass and he came over for it. i also moved their tunnels around and he went and explored them.

he's not there yet but gradually improving i think x
 
CandyFloss said:
Thanks for the update. Hopefully he will keep picking at things and start to improve.
C'mon Chesney !
x
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i hope so. i am offering him small amounts every so often to go with what he is eating by himself and he eats more if i don't offer him too much and too often.

depending on how he is with his tea and his pellet mash, i may give him one syringe feed tonight before bed. but i'll see how he gets on.

i'm a bit worried that through the night he may start to slow down again because i'm not there to offer food often. so i'll probably either stay up all night or get up every few hours just to make sure he has some food.

i'm really proud of him though. he is trying so much. x
 
Critical Care does have Vitamin C - However Science Recovery does not.

It took my Fred 4 days to get back to normal - healing vibes to Ches!
 
just done their tea and usually they both run over and stand up at the bars and maisie wheeks. she did but he didn't.. but when i put the plate down he came over and ate about 40% of it again. and this time he managed some cabbage which is great as he had been struggling with that and giving up. it did take him a while but he did manage two pieces of cabbage. the rest was lettuce, spinach, red chard and he ate those.

he's moving around a bit more aswell, going through their tunnels. he is resting alot though. earlier today he didn't want to move. now it seems like he eats a bit and walks round and then chooses to rest.. if that makes sense.

tiny steps hey. he's doing well. x
 
You could try syringe feeding him baby food. Sounds weird but you can get ones that are pure vegetables. Its very smooth so easy to get into a syringe and my sisters had a lot of success feeding up her ill pets with baby food. Obviously got to make sure all the ingedients are suitable for guinea pigs.
Hope this helps. Best of luck with chesney.
 
CandyFloss said:
Hi,
How is Chesney this morning ? Hope he's feeling better
x
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thanks for asking. he's looking brighter in himself and his eyes are a bit brighter aswell but he has dropped to his lowest weight - 1149g (previous lowest was 1158g) but i was expecting it really as his eating slowed down alot yesterday.

yesterday he carried on the same really, tiny bits here and there. i tried to syringe feed him last night and decided to use his normal pellets (oxbow cavy cuisine) as he has previously liked them mashed. the syringe kept getting blocked though and i tried to cut the end off like i've read about but i couldn't do it without leaving sharp edges so any tips on that welcome. he wasn't interested in it anyway to be honest and doesn't like the pellet mash anymore either.

he had his meds no problems and i have been managing to get some water in aswell.

this morning he actually came over for his veg and i think he is sick of the sight of lettuce now so he chose to eat the pak choi and savoy cabbage instead. he managed well though with those. slowly obviously but better than yesterday.

some good news though - i had been giving him dried dandelion as he usually loves that but i thought i'd give the dandelion with green oat for a change and he loved it and ate loads! more of it than hay for the whole of yesterday! :<> so he can eat hay but maybe he wants something different than his usual hay.. so we have a bag of that left anyway and o/h is going to stock up on more and i've just done a hayexperts order and ordered green oat hay, western timothy hay, orchard grass (as he wants grass but it's raining outside) and a taster selection pack aswell! just so he has more choice.

i don't usually feed fruit but last night i offered a cube of apple and he grabbed that off me! so he had another before bed aswell.

i know he's lost weight but this green oat hay i gave him earlier he was eating so much compared to what he has been so i am still hoping he is on the right track, although he does seem to not want his normal foods so i'll try some new things and see if that helps. the green oat hay proves he can eat hay which is good.

he's not interested in pellets at all though and won't drink from the bowl or bottles so i'm wetting their veg and also syringing him water aswell.

i'm a bit worried about him having new foods as usually i would introduce them slowly over a week or so. but he seems ok so far.

x
 
scpiggy said:
You could try syringe feeding him baby food. Sounds weird but you can get ones that are pure vegetables. Its very smooth so easy to get into a syringe and my sisters had a lot of success feeding up her ill pets with baby food. Obviously got to make sure all the ingedients are suitable for guinea pigs.
Hope this helps. Best of luck with chesney.
Click to expand...

thanks. i might get some in just so we have that option aswell. o/h is going to look when he goes to the shops. i might even offer it in a bowl to ches and see if he likes that. x
 
Don't forget to weigh him daily - it took my Fred 4 days to start eating hay again after his dental! xx
 
flintstones said:
Don't forget to weigh him daily - it took my Fred 4 days to start eating hay again after his dental! xx
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ches is not doing too badly then as he was eating bits of hay the night of the dental. i don't know what happened yesterday as he was doing well and then just stopped :{

i'm weighing him daily. he was 1163g yesterday and 1149g today.

i might start syringing the critical care today as i don't think he likes the cavy cuisine anymore. he seems to be going off his normal foods. if i make up one packet of cc, can i then store it in the fridge and re-heat it later by adding some more boiled water? x
 
biscandmatt said:
i might start syringing the critical care today as i don't think he likes the cavy cuisine anymore. he seems to be going off his normal foods. if i make up one packet of cc, can i then store it in the fridge and re-heat it later by adding some more boiled water? x
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I make it up and then just heat in the microwave adding some water if needed. Initially Fred lost weight for the first 3 days and then on Day 4 he was back to normal I remember phoning the vet panicking rolleyes!
 
flintstones said:
I make it up and then just heat in the microwave adding some water if needed. Initially Fred lost weight for the first 3 days and then on Day 4 he was back to normal I remember phoning the vet panicking rolleyes!
Click to expand...

:)) oh the many times i've harrassed the vets! :red :))

do you keep the cc in the fridge until you need it? :)
 
Re the syringe, just cut the end off a 1 ml syringe (smallest one) then file the rough edges down with a nail file until it is completely smooth. Hope that helps :)
 
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