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Traumatized after CT scan

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Gemstar

New Born Pup
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I need some advice. My guinea pig had a CT scan about a week ago and since coming home has been off his food and sleeping alot. He's on antibiotics and anti inflammatory drugs.
What can I do to get him back to his old self? I'm worried.
 
I’m sorry your piggy is unwell. What is he being treated for? And what antibiotic is he on? Please step in with syringe feeding if he’s not eating himself. Also switch from weekly weighing to daily at the same time. You can then adjust the syringe feeding accordingly. You are aiming for 60-90ml in a 24 hour period - this equates to 5ml every two hours. Have you weighed him recently?

Remember that some antibiotics can rid the gut of the good bacteria, so you should also give him a probiotic either one hour before or one hour after his antibiotics.

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
 
He's being treated for a lymph node infection and is on azithromycin 1 dose every 24 hours.
I will have to call the vet and get some liquid food for him.
 
Azithromycin is a brilliant antibiotic. I’ve never had piggies react badly to it, but I know of some that have lost their appetites. Definitely up the syringe feeding (as mentioned above) and perhaps supplement with probiotics as @Siikibam said. Hope your boy starts to feel better
 
You don’t need to get the liquid feed from the vet. As an emergency measure you can simply use his normal pellets and mash them up with water and syringe feed that to him. You can get a recovery feed tomorrow, but your piggy needs syringe feeding now if he isn’t eating properly.

you will need to weigh him every day (at the same time each day) to ensure you are getting enough syringe feed into him to stop weight loss.
 
Gemstar said:
He's being treated for a lymph node infection and is on azithromycin 1 dose every 24 hours.
I will have to call the vet and get some liquid food for him.
Click to expand...

Azithromycin/zithromax is a great last ditch antibiotic. Most piggies cope well but when it wipes out the gut, it truly wipes it out.

It is not the CT scan but the antibiotic that has killed the appetite so you need to step in with syringing 60-90 ml of fibrous support feed in 24 hours in order to keep your piggy going as well as offering water (as much as they will take from a syringe).

You can use mushed up pellets in a pinch but you need to cut off the syringe tip just below where it widens in this case as otherwise the fibre won't be able to pass through. it is going to be a fight to get the food in as I know from my own piggies - but all three zithromax piggies I had to nurse through two full courses of courses of it did keep their badly injured eyes (they were both too old/frail for a removal operation) and the third did make it through the Christmas weeks last year without his dental root abscess blowing up while the specialist vets were closed; in fact the abscess went down completely and hasn't come up again afterwards. It was definitely worth it battling through even though feeding every two hours during the day and once in the night was really exhausting by week two.

You will find these guides here very helpful:
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

The whole crisis care information (including how to improvise with what you have easily at home or available in shops at a time like this can be found in this guide here: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
 
In addition to all the great advice above I would have him checked by your vet for bloat. I have had pigs react to azithromycin before and get bloat, it has always been remedied successfully with gut motility drug such as metocloprimide.
 
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