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Old piggie and bloat

DannyNiamh

DannyNiamh

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Hi all!
My old man (Tyler) is 7 years old and very recently he has started becoming bloated after eating pretty much any veg so he is currently on hay, pellets and water (and some critical care) just to sort of factory reset his tum. I'm making him walk around the house to get the gas moving, giving belly massages and some gripe water which seem to do the trick but it has been two days of back to back on/off bloating. Is there anything else I could be doing to help him out?

He's on 0.3 ml metacam daily and I have seen different amounts of gripe water to give online so if anyone could give me recommendations on the crrect amount to give that would be brill! Because he's older he tends to sit in one spot for larger amounts of time and that is when the gas builds up but when he does move he eats hay and still drinks from the water bottle which gives me hope and he is also still pooping and peeing (he wee'd under the christmas tree yesterday thanks for the gift tyler) he does get impacted time to time but i'm a pro at keeping on top of that.

so main questions:
What else can I do to help him?
how much gripe water can I give?
Should I reintroduce veg eventually or should I take him off it til the bloating subsides?
 
I’m sorry to hear this.

At his age the system just doesn’t function as well and bloating can become more of an issue.
I would first advise that you switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him daily (each morning) so you can more closely monitor hay intake.

Has he seen a vet for this episode of bloat?
Gripe water can help with very mild bloating but won’t be enough for all cases of bloat where prescribed medication may be needed.

He cannot be given any veg at all until the bloat passes and then even for a further 48 hours after. Bloat can come in waves so even once you think it is over, it might not be.
It also may be that his system won’t be able to handle it any more and he may have to be off veg for longer.

The guides below will also help further

Wiebke

Thread 'Caring for Older Piggies and Facing the End - A practical and supportive information collection'

1 Caring for Older and Frailer Piggies
- Overview of old age and its particular challenges (Guinea Pig Magazine article)
- In-depth care information
- The importance of regular health/weight monitoring and saving up for euthanasia/vet access
- Signs of illness/pain, emergency and hot weather care
- Common old age issues and practical care advice
2 Facing the End and Dealing with Dying and Loss
- Overview of the challenges and practical approaches...
  • Like
Wiebke

Thread 'Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)'

1 Not eating (anorexia) and the importance of syringe feeding fibre
2 Soft poos and runny diarrhea
3 Acute bloat (severe dysbiosis) - blockage - twisted gut - persistent milder bloating
4 GI stasis (no gut movement)


Severe runny diarrhea, bloat, blockage or a twisted gut, GI stasis and excessive salivating in guinea pigs that are not eating are absolute life and death emergencies that need to be seen ASAP by an out-of-hours vet at any time of the day or night or that should be seen by a vet as soon as you can get an appointment outside the UK...
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry to hear this.

At his age the system just doesn’t function as well and bloating can become more of an issue.
I would first advise that you switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him daily (each morning) so you can more closely monitor hay intake.

Has he seen a vet for this episode of bloat?
Gripe water can help with very mild bloating but won’t be enough for all cases of bloat where prescribed medication may be needed.

He cannot be given any veg at all until the bloat passes and then even for a further 48 hours after. Bloat can come in waves so even once you think it is over, it might not be.
It also may be that his system won’t be able to handle it any more and he may have to be off veg for longer.

The guides below will also help further

Wiebke

Thread 'Caring for Older Piggies and Facing the End - A practical and supportive information collection'

1 Caring for Older and Frailer Piggies
- Overview of old age and its particular challenges (Guinea Pig Magazine article)
- In-depth care information
- The importance of regular health/weight monitoring and saving up for euthanasia/vet access
- Signs of illness/pain, emergency and hot weather care
- Common old age issues and practical care advice
2 Facing the End and Dealing with Dying and Loss
- Overview of the challenges and practical approaches...
  • Like
Wiebke

Thread 'Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)'

1 Not eating (anorexia) and the importance of syringe feeding fibre
2 Soft poos and runny diarrhea
3 Acute bloat (severe dysbiosis) - blockage - twisted gut - persistent milder bloating
4 GI stasis (no gut movement)


Severe runny diarrhea, bloat, blockage or a twisted gut, GI stasis and excessive salivating in guinea pigs that are not eating are absolute life and death emergencies that need to be seen ASAP by an out-of-hours vet at any time of the day or night or that should be seen by a vet as soon as you can get an appointment outside the UK...
Click to expand...
thanks for the help! he recently had a bit of an MOT at the vet earlier this month and I had mentioned it but she just said keep and eye on it. His bloat has seemed to completely pass yesterday and today i’ve also kept to just hay, pellets, critical care and water but he seems to hate the critical care.
how can I best start introducing veg slowly back into his diet/ what veg should I use because he loves tomatoes and dill but i’m worried the dill will cause bloat so should i try some butterhead lettuce and tomato or is there a ‘kinder to the stomach’ veg I could use?
He could smell an apple I ate yesterday and he was searching for it and wheeking like crazy and I felt so bad 😭
 
DannyNiamh said:
thanks for the help! he recently had a bit of an MOT at the vet earlier this month and I had mentioned it but she just said keep and eye on it. His bloat has seemed to completely pass yesterday and today i’ve also kept to just hay, pellets, critical care and water but he seems to hate the critical care.
how can I best start introducing veg slowly back into his diet/ what veg should I use because he loves tomatoes and dill but i’m worried the dill will cause bloat so should i try some butterhead lettuce and tomato or is there a ‘kinder to the stomach’ veg I could use?
He could smell an apple I ate yesterday and he was searching for it and wheeking like crazy and I felt so bad 😭
Click to expand...

Tomatoes shouldn’t be fed often - they are too acidic so are only a very small amount and very occasional treat.

We recommend you start with a herb as they tend to be milder on the digestion: coriander is a safe herb for them to eat daily
Start with one sprig of a herb. Leave it at one sprig for a few days and see if he is ok. Then add in another sprig or two for a few days and monitor.
You can then add in something else like a slice of pepper, and again monitor for a few days. Add in a small amount of something else for a few days
It really is a case of very small amounts and very slowly to see how he is copes with it

If he bloats or has any soft poops then immediately remove veg again
 
A particular herb you could try is real chamomile (matricaria recutita) tho wild chamomile aka pineapple weed may work too. In humans they help with digestive problems, including bloat, usually taken as tea. Chamomile tea (luke-warm) is even given to human babies, so it's mild on the stomach. Or you could dilute for piggies and syringe-feed. Equally you can give wild chamomile fresh or dried to piggies. Real chamomile certainly dried, I'm not sure if guineas take it fresh, never had it in the garden to try fresh.

Note: I'm not any kind of medical or herbal specialist!
 
Piggies&buns said:
Tomatoes shouldn’t be fed often - they are too acidic so are only a very small amount and very occasional treat.

We recommend you start with a herb as they tend to be milder on the digestion: coriander is a safe herb for them to eat daily
Start with one sprig of a herb. Leave it at one sprig for a few days and see if he is ok. Then add in another sprig or two for a few days and monitor.
You can then add in something else like a slice of pepper, and again monitor for a few days. Add in a small amount of something else for a few days
It really is a case of very small amounts and very slowly to see how he is copes with it

If he bloats or has any soft poops then immediately remove veg again
Click to expand...
Lol, was wondering why you didn't say "an" herb, but then realized you must be pronouncing the h.

Hope your pig gets over bloat for good!
 
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