Hi! My little pig was diagnosed with pneumonia and has 2 medications: baytril and another. She refuses to eat any pellets, and her normal salad but, she will eat some hay. How do I help her increase appetite? She’s on the medication for 28 days and it’s only been 6 days so far. We also give her a bit of benebac an hour after antibiotics. Thanks!
-
Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement
URI Antibiotics and Appetite
- Thread starter Michellek
- Start date
Hi and welcome!
You need to weigh her daily at the same time in order to monitor the food intake - 'some' hay is a very deceptive amount.
Then you adjust the support feeding amount accordingly. In a pinch, you can use mushed pellets but in this case you need to cut off the tip of the syringe just below where it widens in order to allow the rougher pellet fibre to pass through but still hold the syringe plunger inside.
Your feeding support is crucial in getting a piggy through the crisis. A healthy piggy at the height of its life is eating about the equivalent of 120 ml in 24 hours; most of that is hay. You are generally aiming at 60-90 ml per 24 hours, with you topping up what your piggy is not eating by themselves. Also offer water in between feeds, but only as much as your piggy is willing to take.
Only the scales will tell you the truth and allow you to feed as much as necessary to hopefully slow and stabilise the weight loss. Cheap kitchen scales from a supermarket are perfect OK for the job.
The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. Add to that the fact that antibiotics (baytril especially) also affect the bacteria and other gut microbiome that are responsible for the digestive process, respiratory illnesses are a double whammy for appetite and loss of it is rather common. You will have to push through it with round the clock feeding support if necessary. The antibiotics cannot work if the piggy is not getting the constant supply of food to keep it going. Unlike cats or dogs, guinea pigs with their much faster metabolism cannot fast; they need to keep eating in order to keep the gut and the body going.
Please take the time to carefully read these very helpful guides that talk you through the process with all the necessary information and practical tips:
Tips on how to care for a guinea pig in crisis when you have to improvise: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Our step-by-step illustrated syringe feeding guide (including how often you have to feed, depending on howlittle/much your piggy is taking. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely
All the best! It is tough nursing a piggy through a potentially life-threatening illness but with persistence you can do it and buy your piggy more time to live a happy and healthy life.
