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Swollen bottom?

When should I give him another feed? His one this morning was around 10 though I wish I'd done it earlier.
Sorry for constantly asking questions
 
Give him another one maybe at 1? Did he eat the critical care you left in the cage? And have you weighed him yet?
 
Unfortunately I'm not sure he ate much or any of the critical care left in the cage ☹️
Yes I weighed him before I fed him he was 1040 yesterday before the operation and 1022 this morning
 
How much did your dad put in and how much was left? I think you’ll have to syringe feed more regularly (including in the night) because he may not be eating enough hay. Why do your parents not want you to wake in the night, are you noisy? 😁
 
It does take a little while to recover from an op - piggy or human.
Keep asking questions - it’s how we learn and we all want to give our piggies the best possible care.
I can’t add anything more to all the advice but will control hold you in my thoughts
 
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This was how much was left this morning and my dad says that looks like about how much he put in. Eddie didn't eat any either though I thought he would. I suppose they wanted me to get a good night's sleep since it had been a long day. I'll try to make sure I convince them we need to feed him properly in the night tonight.
 
When I fed him this morning I made j thinner so it would go into the syringe better so maybe it was too thick? None of us have ever made critical care before so we're still working out how best to give it to him
 
That would be my suggestion too.
It can be a bit trial and error with finding what a piggy will accept.
What recovery food are you using?
Mine love Oxbow but aren’t fussed about Science Selective
 
So the next feed will be at 1pm. Please can you give me an idea of times in the day and night to feed Elvis that would be good to follow until he eats enough for himself ?
 
I would usually aim to syringe feed every few hours (little and often), say every 4 hours or so.
I do one at bedtime (around 11pm). Then again at 3 am, then at breakfast (7am), mid morning (around 11 am), then again around 3pm, then 7pm and so on. It’s tiring, but it’s only for a few days until he’s fully eating for himself again.
 
I haven't seen Elvis drink from the water bottle so I'm a about worried he's not getting enough fluids. He had some veg which will have some fluids but will this be enough.
 
VickiA said:
I would usually aim to syringe feed every few hours (little and often), say every 4 hours or so.
I do one at bedtime (around 11pm). Then again at 3 am, then at breakfast (7am), mid morning (around 11 am), then again around 3pm, then 7pm and so on. It’s tiring, but it’s only for a few days until he’s fully eating for himself again.
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We had a phone consultation with the vet earlier and since he's a lot less sleepy now and eating veggies and at least some hay by himself she said we don't need to get up and syringe feed him in the night we can just leave a bowl in there so he has the choice. This time I'll make it thinner so hopefully he likes that more. I'm still going to give him some critical care this evening.
 
If he’s not maintaining or putting on you’ll have to review that. Hopefully he will though.
 
I'll weigh him again tomorrow morning and then decide if he needs more feeds of critical care or if what I've done today is enough
 
I’d give him a little feed before you go to bed and then one around 7.00am tomorrow if you can. Monitor how Elvis is eating tomorrow, if he is eating fine and back to normal then let him eat normally, check his weight and make a note or record on a spreadsheet, if it‘s gone down then you must step in and give some little support feeds until he is gaining weight again and he is able to eat normally x
 
If you are worried about Elvis not drinking enough you could add a little more water to your Oxbow too, my boys always prefer it quite runny
 
Bill & Ted said:
I’d give him a little feed before you go to bed and then one around 7.00am tomorrow if you can. Monitor how Elvis is eating tomorrow, if he is eating fine and back to normal then let him eat normally, check his weight and make a note or record on a spreadsheet, if it‘s gone down then you must step in and give some little support feeds until he is gaining weight again and he is able to eat normally x
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I have a little notebook with my piggies' weights and the date so I'll keep refering to that when I weigh him each day and feed critical care more or less when necessary. I'll do a feed this evening and one tomorrow as soon as I can.
 
I weighed Elvis earlier this morning and he has dropped down 23 grams. Yesterday he was 2022 grams and today he was 999 grams. Since I've had him he's never been less than a thousand so I'm a bit worried about that. I'm going to give a couple more feeds today than yesterday which hopefully will make sure he's maintaining or even better gaining some weight again. Other than the drop in weight he seems pretty much like himself now but just resting more.
 
At 1:30 I made some critical care for Elvis and I put it in a shallow dish rather than feeding it to him off a spoon. He ate a bit then a few mouthfuls of hay and now he's gone to sleep. Is it ok to leave a bowl for him at this stage or is it better to get him out and feed him off a spoon like I did yesterday? I want him to eat for himself as much as possible. I want to do the best I can for him but I don't really know what is best. I'd really appreciate any advice or instructions you can give me.
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
At 1:30 I made some critical care for Elvis and I put it in a shallow dish rather than feeding it to him off a spoon. He ate a bit then a few mouthfuls of hay and now he's gone to sleep. Is it ok to leave a bowl for him at this stage or is it better to get him out and feed him off a spoon like I did yesterday? I want him to eat for himself as much as possible. I want to do the best I can for him but I don't really know what is best. I'd really appreciate any advice or instructions you can give me.
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See if he will eat some more once he’s awake. Are you giving him more feeds?
 
I would be inclined to see what he eats when he wakes up, other veggies and a bit of grass or dandelion leaf too if you can. Depending on what he eats, then top up with syringe feed if you won’t think it’s his regular amount to avoid weight loss X
 
He woke up so I put the dish in front of him but I didn't want Eddie eating it all so then I offered it on a spoon. Yes I gave him one at 10am (ideally I should have done it much earlier but I woke up at 9 😬), one at 1:20, I'll give him another one at 5, one before I go to bed and I'll leave some more in the cage for him to eat during the night.
 
Bill & Ted said:
I would be inclined to see what he eats when he wakes up, other veggies and a bit of grass or dandelion leaf too if you can. Depending on what he eats, then top up with syringe feed if you won’t think it’s his regular amount to avoid weight loss X
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Good idea I'll cut some grass when I give them veggies later.
 
I think you need to syringe feed him regularly to keep him topped up eg every 4 hours or so. I always finish a syringe feed with a herb, a bit of grass or similar to help encourage them to eat again for themselves.
 
That's what I tried to do today since he still lost a bit of weight. Would just leaving a bowl of critical care in the cage for the night be good enough?
 
You can leave some in there yes. Ideally give him a syringe feed just before you go to bed and set an alarm for 8.00 am and give him his breakfast and top up with syringe fwe’d. He should not go too long between feeds if at all possible.
 
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