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Syringe feeding help

furryfriends (TEAS) said:
A couple of weeks, or maybe even a little longer! It felt like such a long time too! I agonised over whether I should let him go, as he was so miserable. The fungal spread to the outside of his mouth too and his lips and nose were scabby. Simon, my vet, kept telling me he was improving, even if I couldn't see the benefits yet. He was weighing just over 750g and he was a big piggy normally. When he started to improve it all happened fairly quickly. He is now HUGE! He weights around 1.3 kilos!
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That gives me a little more hope! I think Sweeties oral thrush happened a week or two before her operation, she was losing weight which I though was because she had a bladder stone and was sore to pee. But now I'm thinking it could have been thrush too.

Sweetie is small and usually weighs around 800- 900ish. She is 761 just now. I'm hoping the vet tomorrow will notice an improvement which will help. I know for sure she isn't spitting out loads of the syringe like she did a few days ago, she also isn't fighting me and my boyfriend every feed!
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Speak to the vet about the possibility of using itrafungol. It works so well and gets to it all. We’ve always had great results with it. I hope your girl is soon feeling very much better x
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Amazing news, she has started to eat a small piece of lettuce this morning! I can't wait to tell the vet today. I'm so proud of her 💞
 
@furryfriends (TEAS) @Wiebke

Sweetie is now starting to eat hay, veggies and nugs. Obviously I still need to syringe her quite a lot as what she is eat is just a small amount. How do you work out how much you need to syringe her? Or do I just carry on as I am, still syringing her every few hours?
 
rhimorrison said:
@furryfriends (TEAS) @Wiebke

Sweetie is now starting to eat hay, veggies and nugs. Obviously I still need to syringe her quite a lot as what she is eat is just a small amount. How do you work out how much you need to syringe her? Or do I just carry on as I am, still syringing her every few hours?
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As she is only just starting to eat hay and isn’t eating much, then keep syringing as much as you have been. The only way to know is to continue weighing her daily. As she starts to eat more and more, you can reduce feedings. Continue weighing her daily as you reduce feedings - if she holds her own, then she’s eating the right amount, if she loses again then you’ll need to increase feedings again.
 
Piggies&buns said:
As she is only just starting to eat hay and isn’t eating much, then keep syringing as much as you have been. The only way to know is to continue weighing her daily. As she starts to eat more and more, you can reduce feedings. Continue weighing her daily as you reduce feedings - if she holds her own, then she’s eating the right amount, if she loses again then you’ll need to increase feedings again.
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rhimorrison said:
@furryfriends (TEAS) @Wiebke

Sweetie is now starting to eat hay, veggies and nugs. Obviously I still need to syringe her quite a lot as what she is eat is just a small amount. How do you work out how much you need to syringe her? Or do I just carry on as I am, still syringing her every few hours?
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It is a great sign that she is starting to have an appetite again. Continue with the feeding support but try to offer some fresh herb, a little fresh grass (weather and dogs permitting) or a little of her favourites after a couple of syringes with feed. The syringe feed often helps to kick start the appetite and let her eat as much as she wants. Then finish off with allowing her to have as much feed as she will take.

You should find that she is willing to eat increasingly more with every feed, so you can gradually reduce the frequency and eventually offer the syringe feed/mushed up pellet mix as a 2-3 times daily extra in a bowl instead of a syringe - as a top up after her normal food.

You manage the transition by weighing regularly to make sure that the weight is stable and going up but never dropping any further. ;)
 
@Wiebke

Sweetie is getting better but we still have a lot to do to help her.
She has developed the start of bumblefoot, my vet has said to put sudocrem on the bottoms of her feet at laptime. How often and how much should I put on? How long before I pop her back in the pen?

I'm putting it on at the start of the syringe feed so it has time to sink in. Is that okay?
 
Unless Wiebke says any different you don't need to butter it on - if we use it it's just a thin layer, but if the pad is sore don't rub it in... just dab lightly on the surface. Not everyone likes to use this but we've never had a problem. We're rooting for you Sweetie!
 
Free Ranger said:
Unless Wiebke says any different you don't need to butter it on - if we use it it's just a thin layer, but if the pad is sore don't rub it in... just dab lightly on the surface. Not everyone likes to use this but we've never had a problem. We're rooting for you Sweetie!
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I've been patting it on, it doesn't seem to be too bad or sore for her. Looks like a blood blister, ill attach the photo I sent to my vet.

When it is syringe feeding time we pop it on her feet but then her back feet are resting on the fleece while we feed her. I'm thinking that it isn't having time to sink in, or will it still help?
 

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rhimorrison said:
@Wiebke

Sweetie is getting better but we still have a lot to do to help her.
She has developed the start of bumblefoot, my vet has said to put sudocrem on the bottoms of her feet at laptime. How often and how much should I put on? How long before I pop her back in the pen?

I'm putting it on at the start of the syringe feed so it has time to sink in. Is that okay?
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Hi!

Please only use sudocrem very, very thinly as it dries out the skin and can cause further cracks through which bugs can into the foot to cause infection.
More information on bumblefoot issues and creaming care/appropriate products in this guide here in the chapter on care (chapter IV): Looking after guinea pigs with limited or no mobility

I would recommend to gently wipe the underside of the body (including the underside of all feet) with rag dampened with baby warm water before applying any cream. Clean the area where Sweetie is sitting and make sure that it is dry before returning her to the cage. You can apply the cream during a feeding session.

Hang on in there; you will get there!
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Please only use sudocrem very, very thinly as it dries out the skin and can cause further cracks through which bugs can into the foot to cause infection.
More information on bumblefoot issues and creaming care/appropriate products in this guide here in the chapter on care (chapter IV): Looking after guinea pigs with limited or no mobility

I would recommend to gently wipe the underside of the body (including the underside of all feet) with rag dampened with baby warm water before applying any cream. Clean the area where Sweetie is sitting and make sure that it is dry before returning her to the cage. You can apply the cream during a feeding session.

Hang on in there; you will get there!
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Thank you so much! Just feel like as soon as we get 2 steps forward another 3 steps back.

Saw the vet this morning and we had to do an xray to see why sweetie is still showing discomfort while peeing. Nothing showed up on the xray but when the previous vet removed her bladder stone they did fine a mass in her bladder so we think that is now causing her issues.
We have upper her metacam and she is on antibiotics. She is gaining weight really well and starting to eat now her oral thrush has cleared up.
 
Unfortunately my little Sweetie got out down today.

Absolutely devastated. She had fallen really unwell yesterday evening/night with really bad diarrhoea. She didn't eat so was back to syringe feeding her every few hours. Was up at 4:30am and she was alert, took the feed. Got back up at 8am for another feed and it was a complete different story. She wasn't swallowing, she was pretty much all bone. The weight she had dropped rapidly, I called the vets and took her in. The vet said she is very ill with a gut infection - was given medication. Took her home give her antibiotics, and tried to syringe feed but nothing.
Called the emergency vet - took her in. They check her over. Said her body temperature was that low it wasn't even registering, she had lost a whole load of weight. She could hardly move, couldn't even support her head. Her breathing was very shallow. The rate of her recovering is around 10% the vet said. After a chat and discussing how bad she had gotten over the few hours and where she was. We decided the best thing was to put her down.

I am so heartbroken. My perfect little stinky butt. I feel like I should have done more for her. I just hope she knows how much I love her and I wanted to make things better. I'm going to miss her every day. Her sisters already notice something is up.
 
So sorry for your loss sometimes whatever we do to keep them here with us the call of The Rainbow Bridge is just too strong and they just have to go. She is out of pain and suffering now and having a lovely time at The Rainbow Bridge. I know just how you feel I lost 2 piggies within 4 days last week and I just feel so sad and bereft. You showed your piggy the last act of love you could to end her suffering she went to The Rainbow Bridge knowing she was loved. Piggies live for today and you gave her lots of happy todays and that is all a guinea pig wants and needs.
 
Betsy said:
So sorry for your loss sometimes whatever we do to keep them here with us the call of The Rainbow Bridge is just too strong and they just have to go. She is out of pain and suffering now and having a lovely time at The Rainbow Bridge. I know just how you feel I lost 2 piggies within 4 days last week and I just feel so sad and bereft. You showed your piggy the last act of love you could to end her suffering she went to The Rainbow Bridge knowing she was loved. Piggies live for today and you gave her lots of happy todays and that is all a guinea pig wants and needs.
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I'm sorry for your loss too! Thank you so much for the kind words, it is just hard.
 
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