I'm sorry to hear this
Please urgently step in with syringe feeding his normal pellets mushed with water as the emergency measure and in the absence of a proper recovery feed (such as oxbow critical care or emeraid).
He sounds to be very sick and trying to keep his gut moving by syringe feeding fibre is essential. Water isn’t enough as it won’t keep the gut functioning.
Not pooping is usually a sign that they haven’t eaten enough/properly for up to 2 days (there is a 1-2 day delay between food intake and poop output).
In a very sick piggy with a total loss of appetite you aim for 40-60ml per 24 hours as the minimum to keep them going.
Switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him every morning as this is the only way to know you are getting enough syringe feed into him in each 24 hour period to stop him from losing weight.
Hay makes up three quarters of the daily food intake but you cannot gauge it by the hence the need for weight checks.
Is there an emergency vet you can get to (I know it’s not as easy in the US as it is here in the UK) but he does sound like he needs help and may be in pain.
There are many reasons why rabbits and piggies should not share an area - one of them being that rabbits can carry illnesses harmlessly to them which can make piggies very poorly. Of course; that may not be what has occurred here on this occasion but you should let the vet know he has been in contact with a rabbit.
(I keep rabbits and piggies also and ensure there is never any risk of any cross contamination or any sharing of airspace).
The guides below explain the emergency steps you need to take immediately
1 Statement
2 Emergency assessment and accessing vets
- How urgent is my guinea pig's problem?
- Finding an emergency vet
- Seeing a vet not familiar with guinea pigs (including lists of safe and dangerous medications)
3 First Aid care and easily available products
- General 'always have at home' stuff and comfort measures for very ill guinea pigs
- Improvising support feed; recovery formulas...
1 Feed
- Important crisis management resources
- When is improvising necessary?
- Which food group am I replacing with my feeding support?
- How much and how often should I feed and water?
- What can I use that I have already got at home?
- Other possible easily available foods with their pros and cons
- How do I prep a syringe for rougher pellet fibre?
- What can I do without a syringe?
- The role of lukewarm water
2 Probiotics
- Probiotic products...
1 Weight and Weight Loss
- Why regular weight monitoring matters
- How weight changes over a lifetime
- How to weigh on your kitchen scales (with video)
- The weight loss rules
- How critical is the weight loss for my piggy?
- Possible causes for weight loss
2 Body Mass Index (BMI) or 'Heft'
- Why is understanding your piggy's weight so important?
- 'Average' weight vs. individual weight - the big trip up
- How to check for the BMI
3 The...
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...
Introduction
1 Choosing the right place to medicate/feed your piggy
2 Guinea pig whispering and asserting your authority
3 Recovery products and emergency improvisation
4 Syringe recommendations
5 Weight monitoring: your biggest ally
6 Weight loss guidelines and when to step in with feeding
7 Syringe feeding amounts/frequency advice
8 Practical medication and syringing tips
9 Medicating and feeding cooperative guinea pigs (videos)
10 Medicating and feeding uncooperative guinea pigs (hold pictures and tips)
11 The line between life and...
You need to contact and ideally see a vet at any time of the day or night as a potentially life or death emergency if your guinea pig has got these symptoms:
- Heavy or heaving breathing, this can include a visible effort with your piggy’s breathing (usually the abdomen sucking in and out showing they are using their abdominal muscles to breath) and any kind of open mouth breathing, these are signs of respiratory distress
- Seizures or loss of consciousness. For any fit which lasts more than around 2 minutes the vet should be called...
