Sick pig with poop like sausage links

[Cavy chaos]

Hi, This is first post and I am very worried about my sick pig (3yr old). Yesterday Morning was not moving and looked not himself, he wouldnt come out to eat. I took him as an emergency to the vet that morning and the vet said he was borderline dehydrated but could find nothing else wrong with him. Teeth were fine apparently. The vet gave injections to keep this gut going. I was sent home with emerald intensive to syringe feed 15ml every 2 hours. The stuff doesnt smell that good to me and in fact I found some fine grind critical care Oxbrow I gave a bit as well.

Today he is still not moving, he did bite a bit of cucumber but it didn’t take any off, I still wonder if it is teeth. He did make it to the water bottle but wasn’t very able to get much of a drink. I syringed a couple of ml of water now for him. I should have thought of that before and feel bad. When I feed him this morning he passed a lot of strange sausage link poops and what look like dry mucus covered air bubbles. It is great he has poop in some form now as nothing yesterday. Has anybody got any idea what could be wrong with and the strange poops? Has anybody experience with emerald? The vet I saw is not the usual one I see at the practice how I trust with my guinea’s, hamsters, dog etc. and I cant get an appt with the other vet today as he is so popular I only can go back to the same chap which I find concerning. could you suggest what the vet should be doing I have an appt at 4.20 this afternoon now. Many thanks x

 

[Hope4gem]

I'm not sure what could be causing this. Glad you have another vet appointment as a follow-up. In the meantime I would say keep syringe feeding. I don't have experience with Emerald. I've only used critical care. I've linked a few guides here that might be able to help you. Perhaps consider giving a probiotic as well. Are you weighing your piggy? Weighing them daily during an illness helps you know how much recovery food to give.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods, and Vitamin C
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring & Management

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, This is first post and I am very worried about my sick pig (3yr old). Yesterday Morning was not moving and looked not himself, he wouldnt come out to eat. I took him as an emergency to the vet that morning and the vet said he was borderline dehydrated but could find nothing else wrong with him. Teeth were fine apparently. The vet gave injections to keep this gut going. I was sent home with emerald intensive to syringe feed 15ml every 2 hours. The stuff doesnt smell that good to me and in fact I found some fine grind critical care Oxbrow I gave a bit as well.

Today he is still not moving, he did bite a bit of cucumber but it didn’t take any off, I still wonder if it is teeth. He did make it to the water bottle but wasn’t very able to get much of a drink. I syringed a couple of ml of water now for him. I should have thought of that before and feel bad. When I feed him this morning he passed a lot of strange sausage link poops and what look like dry mucus covered air bubbles. It is great he has poop in some form now as nothing yesterday. Has anybody got any idea what could be wrong with and the strange poops? Has anybody experience with emerald? The vet I saw is not the usual one I see at the practice how I trust with my guinea’s, hamsters, dog etc. and I cant get an appt with the other vet today as he is so popular I only can go back to the same chap which I find concerning. could you suggest what the vet should be doing I have an appt at 4.20 this afternoon now. Many thanks x

Hi!

Please keep on syringe feeding, whichever your boy likes best (both fine grind and emeraid are perfectly OK; some piggies prefer the taste of emeraid - which is a UK brand over that of Critical Care). I would recommed to offer any piggy as much water from the syringe during and after any feeding session as a matter of course; just as much as they are willing to take on board. Please do not force any water down.
I would also recommend to additionally supplement the syringe feed with probiotics and consider 'poo soup' (i.e. healthy live cavy gut microbiome transfer, which mimics natural behaviour) in order to help getting the gut back to normal. Rather than watching the poo output, you monitor the food intake by weighing daily at the same time on your kitchen scales and adjusting the feeding amount/frequency accordingly. Weight monitoring is one of your most important tools during a health crisis and also a good warning system for slowly developing health issues.

You can find more information in support care and products in these links here:
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

Weight - Monitoring and Management
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely

What is coming out of the bum is a reflection of what happened over the last couple of days. Dry mucus is a sign of major dehydration for which a subcutaneous fluid injection at the vet's is usually the best instant care measurement.
Stringy poos can also be an indication that the problem is not only affecting the need to eat but also the need to drink, which comes before the need to eat in terms of a tummy upset or another health issue causing a problem.

If your piggy is not recovering or if problems persist, please see a vet again for a more thorough investigation. One of my piggies that presented with similar symptoms took two trips to be found to have a badly bloated and distended stomach but no gassing in the gut but as it is all very tightly packed, a surprisingly large number of things can impact directly or indirectly on the gut. The gut meds you have been given are not just helping with the gut movement but also any bloating, by the way.

All the best!

 

[Cavy chaos]

Many thanks for your reply very helpful and the links. Bumble picked up a bit yesterday and is coming out to me when I call. He is trying to eat lettuce but slow, I also saw him at his water bottle. He is putting up a fight to syringe feeding lifting his head and turning away I dont want to hold him firmly when he is fighting (it is very distressing). He isnt getting much syringe feeding, just a few mls. The guide is 3 tbs a day, is that dry powder made up or once made up? It doesnt indicate on the packet and I couldn’t get hiim to take all that. He will take the water quite readily, no effort at all.

I have decided to try and get an appointment with the other vet, he is brilliant with small furries and has talked about the webinars he attends (even late at night international ones) on guinea pig care.

Do you know how they look at the molars, do they just use an scope type thing or do they have to open the jaw to get a clearer look? The vetI saw yesterday said he just looked in the back of the mouth with a scope..

could you help with syringe feeding struggle advice and whether I should ask for a proper teeth examination?

Many thanks

 

[Piggies&buns]

His daily weight checks are your guide as to how much syringe feed to give him (not the instructions on the packet). If he loses weight at each daily weight check, then you need to get more syringe feed into him in each 24 hour.
Your syringe feeding is replacing the hay he is not eating for himself and keeping his gut functioning

 

[Wiebke]

Many thanks for your reply very helpful and the links. Bumble picked up a bit yesterday and is coming out to me when I call. He is trying to eat lettuce but slow, I also saw him at his water bottle. He is putting up a fight to syringe feeding lifting his head and turning away I dont want to hold him firmly when he is fighting (it is very distressing). He isnt getting much syringe feeding, just a few mls. The guide is 3 tbs a day, is that dry powder made up or once made up? It doesnt indicate on the packet and I couldn’t get hiim to take all that. He will take the water quite readily, no effort at all.

I have decided to try and get an appointment with the other vet, he is brilliant with small furries and has talked about the webinars he attends (even late at night international ones) on guinea pig care.

Do you know how they look at the molars, do they just use an scope type thing or do they have to open the jaw to get a clearer look? The vetI saw yesterday said he just looked in the back of the mouth with a scope..

could you help with syringe feeding struggle advice and whether I should ask for a proper teeth examination?

Many thanks

The tablespoons are the amount of mix you need to make up. The daily weighing tells you how much he needs. Your first aim is to stabilise the weight loss.

You can be as loving and kind around the feeding but the food needs to go in. A piggy cannot survive on love alone; they need to keep eating. It is really as simple as that. Getting food into a piggy that is unwilling to eat means you need to be tough to get them through the crisis and give the medication time to do their trick.
Your piggy will not hate you when the result is that they will be still there to feel better again thanks to your determination; in fact, they will come to trust you more. Your home care is as vital as any medical care, and there is nothing kind about it if your kindness means that your piggy's body will start to close down from lack of energy.

Sorry for my plain speaking but I'd really would rather that you get your piggy through the crisis and keep them alive to enjoy more time for you to love them and spoil them. Now is not the time to be squeamish and gentle; now is the time to push through the wall and get to the other side. It is a hard lesson to learn for every loving owner but I would rather it didn't came at price of a life and with some life-long regret to bear for you.

All the best! Your piggy is getting better but you need to give that decisive push over the finish line.

 

[Scooter Pie]

No advice but just sending support and hope your little guy improves soon

 

[weepweeps]

Good luck. I hope the feeding gets easier for you. Keep going with it. The more you do it the easier it will get. Sending healing vibes your way.

 

[Cavy chaos]

I took me little bumble to the vet late today and he has put on 100g by syringe feeding and remedying his dehydration. He ate grass today but not keen on hay yet. He feels much stronger and brighter now but he needs to pick up his eating a bit more. Do they all take a long time to pick up after illness? The vet gave him an injection to keep his gut moving and I will keep feeding him until he is up to the hay pile.

By the way vets seem to be very busy and our vet isnt taking on any more clients. I am very lucky they do 24 hr care as well.

Many thanks

 

[Scooter Pie]

He is beautiful! Hope he continues to improve. Sounds like you're doing a great job, hang in there