Not eating

[matilda_remi]

Please don't feel we are ganging up on you @matilda_remi we just want what's best for your piggies! There are many member of this forum who have huge amounts of experience and knowledge in guinea pigs, and we try our best to improve the lives of guinea pigs everywhere by spreading that knowledge

i do myself have lots of knowledge
we are all different people, we care for our pigs in different ways, at the end of the day my pigs are healthy, thats all i care about.

 

[matilda_remi]

I literally just realised that, sorry
Good luck to Buggie, hope she is on the mend soon
I do agree with what @matilda_remi has said though regarding trying to hand feed fresh grass, it can often tempt a guinea pig to eat if you hand feed it nice and fresh a blade at a time. Herbs like basil, coriander and parsley are also popular, along with dandelions.

yes sometimes with my tiny tiny babies that might not be getting as much milk as the rest, i go out there a couple times during the day and handfeed it grass

 

[Wheekallweek]

thankyou for all the information you have given me, i am still going to continue keeping straw as their bedding, and will look into getting bales of hay and feeding that to them. thankyou

That's great news, and a good decision, your piggies will thank you for it!

 

[weepweeps]

try and hand feed her grass, i have 16 guinea pigs, and have lost 1 to poor eating, a lot ive learnt is that keeping them in a safe carrier with plenty of straw and regular grass helps a lot with weight gain

Just to clarify they need hay not straw.

EDIT Sorry I hadn’t read all the messages before I posted.

 

[weepweeps]

Buggie is not eating. My parents say we will go to the vet tomorrow, they want her euthanized.
We think it’s the teeth and that there’s not much to do.

I just want her to eat. Any tips?

I hope Buggie is ok? Did you manage to see the vet for a diagnosis? Fingers crossed everything is ok.

 

[Siikibam]

Any news @4pigsies

 

[Wheekallweek]

Come on Buggie, hope the vet can help x

 

[eileen]

You can used chopped straw,such as raviera,macanthus bedding,primarily used for horses.Barley straw I personally would not use.equestrain hay in small bales can be used.ive used puppy pads with hay over them,it's has worked.

 

[4pigsies]

Can Guinea pigs get mentalt ill? We have been to the vet they say he is just fine. The only symptoms he has is poor eating, so he came home again until tomorrow.
I’m very sorry to say this. But he won’t be making it.
He still doesn’t eat no matter what we do.
I think he will have so much peace soon.
Although I am still very curious of his diagnosis.

 

[4pigsies]

Just have a question.
Can guinea pigs have mental illnesses?

I love my piggy Buggie, but he is dying.
He has no symptoms except poor eating- and no reason to not eat.
And he also pays attention to the food, but it’s like he is starving himself.
I think I have wrapped my mind around him dying tomorrow-going to the vet-

But I am very curious why he is acting this way.
Can he feel it’s time to go, or is he stressed or depressed.

Tomorrow I will be left with 3 pigs out of 5()
I love them and I want to take care of their mental health.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this.

There will be a reason for him not eating - pain, gut illness, mouth issue etc, it won’t be because he has bad mental health and he won’t be deliberately starving himself but he may now be too far gone to be saved and his body is shutting down.
You mentioned he couldn’t close his mouth. Was he sedated for his teeth to be properly checked for any spurs, abscesses or other mouth issues?

Was he ever given any pain relief?

A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs

 

[SarahO]

Hi. I’m so sorry to hear this about your poor piggy… my Cookie had an operation to remove a wart and it has taken more than 3 weeks to eat like he used to. So I believe they can suffer with mental illness. I have had to ‘force‘ cookie to eat by putting him in the right position and he then starts eating. It took a few days to do this as he would just hide all day unless I interacted with him. The last couple of days he has got into his litter tray to eat the hay without me encouraging him too.

 

[Siikibam]

It is beat not to put human emotions on guinea pigs. They work in an entirely different way that is often foreign to us.

Is he going to the vet for assessment or to be put to sleep tomorrow? I ask because you’re saying he’s going to die tomorrow. Please do not dismiss him before he has had the once over by a vet. You need to find out why it is that he is not eating. A guinea pug is unlikely to starve itself intentionally.

Have you been offering him regular top up feeds to keep his guts going? This is really important.

Please have him assessed first. Be guides by the vet on how to proceed.

 

[Wiebke]

Just have a question.
Can guinea pigs have mental illnesses?

I love my piggy Buggie, but he is dying.
He has no symptoms except poor eating- and no reason to not eat.
And he also pays attention to the food, but it’s like he is starving himself.
I think I have wrapped my mind around him dying tomorrow-going to the vet-

But I am very curious why he is acting this way.
Can he feel it’s time to go, or is he stressed or depressed.

Tomorrow I will be left with 3 pigs out of 5()
I love them and I want to take care of their mental health.

Hi

Guinea pigs that do not eat are either in too much pain/too ill to eat or they are not able to process food for
some reason or other. Guinea pigs have a much stronger survival instinct than humans; they do not intentional starve themselves to death just like that. You cannot transfer human mental health issues onto guinea pigs; it doesn't work like that.

Please step in with syringe feeding support asap. Here is the link to our step-by-step guide, which will take you through the whole issue in more practical how-to detail (including how to improvise in an emergency and how can you when your piggy is crossing the line of no return) than we can in a single post. Over 15 years of forum experience with all sorts of questions have gone into the guide link and it is very comprehensive and looking at all possible aspects with illness support, including how to spot when your piggy has passed the line of no return.
Please take the time to read it; you should find it very helpful. It could make the difference between death and life.
Here is the link: All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Before you give up on your piggy you always need to make sure that they are still able to take on food and water. Your feeding support is as important as any medication a vet can prescribe.

I am keeping my fingers firmly crossed.

 

[Deleted member 151640]

I am so sorry you are having a really tough time, as said above it will be a physical issue. Please remember to also take care of yourself at such time, so you can bring your best for your girls.

Have you and the vet looked into a medical issue, this is clearly quite serious so stepping in with critical care and getting the vet to find the issue will be as said life or death. Yes sometimes it is a pigs time to go, but I do not think putting down a pig is the first step, please give your girl a chance.

Wishing you the best of luck tomorrow at the vets.

 

[weepweeps]

I will be thinking of you tomorrow.

 

[Wheekallweek]

Don't give up on your piggy yet! The vet should really be assessing him and trying to find out what is wrong so it can hopefully be corrected. Don't go straight for PTS, it might not be necessary!

 

[Princess Dustmop]

we tried feeding him with critical care, but he won’t take it.
We got a few drops of water in, but what we know of, he haven’t eaten in 4 days.

Can you try a different flavor? How about his pellets made into a paste? Maybe a different person can try? I find it can be easier if one person holds and one person feeds if the piggy isn't being cooperative, as it allows for easier adjustment of the syringe (second person can see better due to being in front of the piggy instead of behind/to the side).

Have you been weighing him? Does he poo? Maybe he's eating when you're not watching? (Long shot, I know.)

We had a piggy named Bumle. He was the sweetest little angel. However, of what we think, he had a dental issue and we did everything we could to help him survive.
It didn’t work we just caused him a lot of pain and stress.
All of my piggies, except for one, has dental issues. And it looks like Buggie can’t close his mouth.
My parents don’t want him to get stressed or be in pain.

Try not to project another piggy's situation/circumstances onto Buggie. Buggie may be experiencing something total different.
Does the food fall back out of his mouth? Or does he just seem to keep it open all the time? Is this new? How long has it been going on?

I love my piggy Buggie, but he is dying.
He has no symptoms except poor eating- and no reason to not eat.
And he also pays attention to the food, but it’s like he is starving himself.
I think I have wrapped my mind around him dying tomorrow-going to the vet-
[...]
Tomorrow I will be left with 3 pigs out of 5()
I love them and I want to take care of their mental health.

The vet will be able to tell you more about what's going on with Buggie, so try not to make decisions/conclusions (emotional or planning) before you have all the information.

 

[Siikibam]

All the best for today. I hope the vet can figure out what is going on with your piggy.