Potato not eating for 2 weeks

[Andy33335]

Hello piggy lovers,

I got a boy of my own that decided to stop eating himself 2 weeks and 2 days ago. Since then i am feeding him with the syringe and went to the doctor.
Doctor checked on him and took xrays and said she does not seems anything out of the extraordinary. He does have some gas (which i believe at some extent every pig has) but nothing else and his back teeth are fine.
However he has days and days. Days when we eats by himself hay and days when he is puffed up and sad and i have to force him critical care.
It's been like this for two weeks, bad days followed by good days when i think i can stop force feed because he is eating himself but then next day he is all puffed up again. I cut his veggies 2 weeks ago.he took medicinal charcoal but now not anymore. We just finished the metronidazol.
Any idea what could be with him? So i can tell my dr to try. It's exausting to force him eat for 2 weeks and hates the syringe already

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m afraid finding out what is wrong is going to take a vet to find out. It could be any number of things.

Are you weighing him every day so you can be sure you are syringe feeding him enough?
You say he is puffed up - that can be a sign of pain. Is he on any painkillers?

 

[Andy33335]

I am not giving him metacam everyday, only if i see him puffed up. I am also afraid he is in pain but i don't know what other exams to suggest the vet to take of him. She said he seems fine and there are no other guinea pig specialised vet in my town. She suggested i give him a drop of CBD oil to help him gain his appetite

 

[weepweeps]

I hope you can find out what is going on with your piggy.

 

[Piggies&buns]

One of the first things would be to get any pain managed - a piggy in pain will not eat - that is with painkillers consistently twice a day. He perhaps does need some gut stimulants - we cannot comment on CBD though.
Its difficult if you don’t have access to other vets though .

Are you weighing him daily?

 

[Andy33335]

My vet said that i should give him 0.7 ml of cat metacam/day. My metacam is for cats 0.5mg/ml. I am afraid that he does not get enough and thus a bad pain management

 

[Piggies&buns]

My vet said that i should give him 0.7 ml of cat metacam/day. My metacam is for cats 0.5mg/ml. I am afraid that he does not get enough and thus a bad pain management

The dosage depends on his weight.
Piggies have fast metabolisms and need painkillers twice a day - they metabolise pain meds in around 12 hours.

Again, are you weighing him daily? This is the only way to know he is getting enough food

 

[Andy33335]

No, i do not weight him. I am not sure what exactly i should be keeping an eye on or how much i should feed him to make sure he is ok. He is around 850g

 

[Piggies&buns]

No, i do not weight him. I am not sure what exactly i should be keeping an eye on or how much i should feed him to make sure he is ok. He is around 850g

Hay is the most important part of the diet but you cannot know they are eating enough without weighing them routinely. Piggies need to be weighed every week as part of that ongoing routine care.
If you then see any drops in weight beyond 50g then you need to step in with support.
Often the earliest sign of an illness is a reduction in hay but you will only notice it with the weight checks (as you cannot judge hay intake by eye). Having those weight checks done regularly ensures you notice issues sometimes before any other symptoms become evident And consequently can step in with help and vet care sooner.

You then switch to weighing every day when they are unwell, or if you notice any weight drops or when you are are syringe feeding . This enables you to more closely monitor what is going on with independent hay intake but also with syringe feeding. It’s essential you make sure he doesn’t drop any weight.

You need to syringe feed as much as is necessary to keep his weight stable and stop any weight loss.
Weigh him today (because ‘around 850g‘ isn’t quite accurate enough) so you know exactly what his weight today is and then weigh him again tomorrow at the same time of day so you can see what has happened. If his weight tomorrow is stable and pretty similar to todays weight check, then he has eaten enough. If the weight is less than he hasn’t been syringe fed enough and you need to increase the amount you give him.
The amount you need to syringe feed is directly linked to those daily weight checks which is why they are so important. You can’t know he is getting enough without weighing him.
You could need to syringe feed anywhere from 40-100ml per day, feeding every two hours.

The guides below detail further.

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[Andy33335]

So i come back because we ran into another problem. At a 2nd vet check and xray it was discovered that he has elongated roots which most probably prevent him from eating. So i decided to go back, a3rd time, and have his molars shortened so they don't put so much pressure on his roots. But yesterday when i picked him up and fed him critical care, i could feel that his tummy was hard.
After the vet checked him, she said that his stomach is congested (i think this is the word) and that the critical became pretty solid in his tummy because we was not drinking enough water (and i did not give him because i am stupid and though we would drink himself if needed). So now he is in intensive care, with perfision with liquids to help him pass that critical care in his tummy. She said he pooped a little bit but his stomach is still hard.
Do any of you have experinced this before? I offered to take him home and give him water but she said that these perfusions are going into his stomach anyway

 

[Andy33335]

And here is the xray