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Very poorly piggy

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Kazza34

New Born Pup
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My youngest boy, he's 3 years and 10 months, is not recovering well from a dental procedure. Was off his food prior to this and vet reckoned it was his teeth causing it. He had the dental done on Wednesday and hasn't managed to eat on his own since. Not pooping on his own either. Hes lost so much weight and very lethargic. I've been syringe feeding pellets. Back at vets today and he has an upper respiratory infection too so now on antibiotics. I am also now giving him Oxbow critical care. So scared I'm going to lose him.😥😥😥
 
I'm so sorry to hear that your piggy is struggling. It's good you got him back to the vets. It can be a scary thing when our piggies are sick. It sounds like you're doing your best to take care of him. How's he doing with eating critical care? Are you syringing it to him?
 
How much does he weigh now and what was he before?

Did he get painkillers from the vet for after the procedure. Presumably metacam/loxicom? But was it the 0.5mg/ml cat type or the 1.5mg/ml dog type. How much is he given and is it twice per day - it should be. Sometimes the only thing stopping them eating is pain - having the back teeth ground can lead to a sore mouth. Control the pain and he might start to be interested again once his infection is under control.

Resp infections can be caused by the general anaesthetic procedure but also by syringing. It's important to only give a very little amount of mush each time (even as low as 0.1-0.3ml if he can't take more) as overloading the mouth can cause them to inhale some (yes - I found out the hard way). Don't syringe plain water... even easier to inhale - just make the mush thinner if he is not drinking. If he's got that too then he will be feeling poorly, and antibiotics can take a day or two to kick in so it's keeping him going until then really. The poop runs a little way behind the eating so if he's not pooping he's very empty. How much CC / pellet mush are you managing to get into him in 24 hours? I'm assuming he's not too keen on the syringing.
 
I’m sorry to hear about your boy’s struggles. Did the vet check for other things before carrying out the dental?

You will have to up the amount you are syringe feeding him. Lack of poop means he hasn’t been eating enough hay. Poo output is 1-2 days behind. How much have you been getting him to take in one sitting and how often?

Switch to weighing him once daily at the same time (mornings are best before feeding). As he’s not eating for himself, you will have to syringe feed a minimum of 60ml in a 24 hour period. So every two hours and see how much he can take. 5ml minimum but if he’ll eat more then even better!

You can also give him a probiotic either an hour before or after the antibiotics. Antibiotics can kill the appetite so you try and help it along. I hope he starts feeling better soon.

Was he prescribed metacam after his dental?
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
 
Sorry - that was a lot of questions when you are so upset about him. It was meant with love. Quite a few of us have been where you are at the minute. ❤️
 
So sorry for your situation, dental problems are the worst in my opinion, do keep up with the syringe feeding, weigh him daily, and try offering little bits of food like grass, try grating carrot or sweet potato, leave him a bowl of plain dry porridge oats. I used to travel with one of my piggies to see Simon Maddock at the Cat and Rabbit Clinic in Northampton (a 600 mile round trip) he was marvellous and does conscious dentals but I appreciate it would be an even longer journey for you
 
My piggie Dianna had a dental and wasn't eating after it. I had to force-feed her 5ml of critical care every 2 hours ( at night I fed at 12am and wore up at 4 am to feed and then 8 am) I found that she managed to bite bigger pieces of cucumber and pepper. Unfortunately, Dianna completely stopped chewing and swallowing the critical care and the vet said there wasn't much she could do as Dianna was very very lethargic and her mouth was full of critical care, so we made the hard decision to put her down. Praying that your piggie will make it! ❤️
 
Natalia_W_500 said:
My piggie Dianna had a dental and wasn't eating after it. I had to force-feed her 5ml of critical care every 2 hours ( at night I fed at 12am and wore up at 4 am to feed and then 8 am) I found that she managed to bite bigger pieces of cucumber and pepper. Unfortunately, Dianna completely stopped chewing and swallowing the critical care and the vet said there wasn't much she could do as Dianna was very very lethargic and her mouth was full of critical care, so we made the hard decision to put her down. Praying that your piggie will make it! ❤️
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So sorry you lost her x
 
Free Ranger said:
How much does he weigh now and what was he before?

Did he get painkillers from the vet for after the procedure. Presumably metacam/loxicom? But was it the 0.5mg/ml cat type or the 1.5mg/ml dog type. How much is he given and is it twice per day - it should be. Sometimes the only thing stopping them eating is pain - having the back teeth ground can lead to a sore mouth. Control the pain and he might start to be interested again once his infection is under control.

Resp infections can be caused by the general anaesthetic procedure but also by syringing. It's important to only give a very little amount of mush each time (even as low as 0.1-0.3ml if he can't take more) as overloading the mouth can cause them to inhale some (yes - I found out the hard way). Don't syringe plain water... even easier to inhale - just make the mush thinner if he is not drinking. If he's got that too then he will be feeling poorly, and antibiotics can take a day or two to kick in so it's keeping him going until then really. The poop runs a little way behind the eating so if he's not pooping he's very empty. How much CC / pellet mush are you managing to get into him in 24 hours? I'm assuming he's not too keen on the syringing.
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December he was 1236 gms, he is now 820 gms. He is on 0.4 loxicom twice daily. He is also on potassium and frugal as he had bladder stone surgery last year. Vet also put him on cystofan last week. That's as well as the antibiotics that started today. Vet said to try for 40 - 60 miles per day of rushed up pellets but now trying to get that amount of cc into him. Hes not pooping on his own but I'm having to clear his anal sack manually for now. Just hoping and praying now that he picks up over the weekend
 
Kazza34 said:
December he was 1236 gms, he is now 820 gms. He is on 0.4 loxicom twice daily. He is also on potassium and frugal as he had bladder stone surgery last year. Vet also put him on cystofan last week. That's as well as the antibiotics that started today. Vet said to try for 40 - 60 miles per day of rushed up pellets but now trying to get that amount of cc into him. Hes not pooping on his own but I'm having to clear his anal sack manually for now. Just hoping and praying now that he picks up over the weekend
Click to expand...
Sorry, that should be frusol not frugal. Just noticed how many spelling mistakes I've made!
 
I'm so sorry to hear he isnt well.

In a piggy who isnt eating enough/anything for themselves, you give as much critical care as is necessary to keep their weight stable - this could mean in excess of 60ml per day. You use his daily weight checks as your guide as to how much to give and you can adjust his feeding accordingly.

I would recommend you give a probiotic alongside the antibiotic (leaving at least an hour gap between them) as it can help settle the tummy. Better still, if he has a healthy companion, giving poop soup is best as it directly replaces the gut microbiome. Use incredibly fresh poops (within five minutes of being produced) - pop the companion in a box and feed favourite snack - wait for poop to come. Immediately put poop in water and soak for a few minutes. Then syringe the water to the poorly piggy.

Fingers crossed for him. Keep us posted
 
I have to clear out my George and he's about the same age as your boy... if there's something there to clear at least his gut is still working. It sounds like your vet knows what they are doing. Poor lad, I hope he picks up over the weekend. Does he have friends to look after him?

Did the vet spot something definite with his teeth? Like spurs or lop-sided wear, or front teeth too long for back teeth to meet properly? I ask because I lost a girl last year and we think there was an underlying issue - although we don't know what. She stopped eating and had a dental because her teeth looked as if they had overgrown a bit, and I was monitoring her chewing after to satisfy myself that she could actually chew. She didn't want the syringe but we reached a tolerable compromise. I found that if I rested my finger and thumb lightly behind her ears I could feel the vibrations of her chewing without disturbing her jaw action. A few days after the op this was pretty smooth, regular and rapid as you might expect for a piggy. We think there was a swallowing issue because she would chew a tiny amount of thin mush for an age. She'd had various antibiotics for the URI she developed so if there was infection anywhere else - like a painful abscess in the gum or anything - we hoped that would have been addressed by those. She cleared the URI - and then another - but in the end, well... she woke up one day and she'd had enough 😪 You could perhaps try and feel his chewing action to reassure yourself that his dental problem has been sorted. If chewing is irregular or slow, or stops and starts, you could discuss with the vet. Mine was very kind and would arrange a follow-up phone appointment if there were any issues with ongoing care.

I have one of those nutribullet blenders to make smoothies and I found that by blitzing raw carrot to a pulp she could be tempted to take a little. I can tell you grass makes a bit of a mess but you can get a sort of green water to mix up with the mush to interest them. Ditto parsley, if he's allowed any after his bladder troubles. Be brave little fellow and kazza34, we'll be praying for you down here x
 
Kazza34 said:
Sorry, that should be frusol not frugal. Just noticed how many spelling mistakes I've made!
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Don’t worry about spelling mistakes, it’s often autocorrect, we all do it x Fingers crossed 🤞 for your little man x
 
Kazza34 said:
My youngest boy, he's 3 years and 10 months, is not recovering well from a dental procedure. Was off his food prior to this and vet reckoned it was his teeth causing it. He had the dental done on Wednesday and hasn't managed to eat on his own since. Not pooping on his own either. Hes lost so much weight and very lethargic. I've been syringe feeding pellets. Back at vets today and he has an upper respiratory infection too so now on antibiotics. I am also now giving him Oxbow critical care. So scared I'm going to lose him.😥😥😥
Click to expand...

Hi!

I am ever so sorry. Please feed every two hours during the day and once during the night of your boy is struggling to eat and you can only get 5-10 ml into him in each session. Please make sure that you do not just quirt the syringe content into the mouth but only about 0.1-0.3 ml (depending on how much strength he has to swallow). Always wait with giving more until the last lost has gone down. Aim for ideally around 60 ml but a minimun of 40 ml in 24 hours to keep him going. Also offer him water from the syringe with each session. Keep in mind that you are not replacing the 20% of veg and pellets combined but the 80% of hay that makes the bulk of the daily food intake in a guinea pig.

The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. Guinea pigs are also not good mouth breathers. This means that a serious respiratory infection does kill the appetite - the poo output reflects what has gone into him over the last few days. Please weigh him daily at the same time (I prefer first thing in the morning because that is when the weight is at its lowest so I can then adapt my feeding regime for the day accordingly).

All you can do is hang in there and hope that your own good care will make the crucial difference until any antibiotic can kick in fully, which can take a few days although you may hopefully see the start of an improvement in a day or two. It is very draining and exhausting.

- Practical crisis care tips: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
- Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
- Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links (probiotics may help with the feeding support as the antibiotic can also affect the gut microbiome; just add some into the syringe feed)

All the best!
 
I send you and your piggie lots of healing vibes. I have just been through a lot of worry with one of my piggies and tried giving him poop soup from his friend. Please try it, I am sure it helped mine.x
 
Free Ranger said:
Sorry - that was a lot of questions when you are so upset about him. It was meant with love. Quite a few of us have been where you are at the minute. ❤️
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Had to take my little munchkin to the vet today and have him put to sleep. Heartbroken right now. Night night my wee Kovu. Love you baby boy.💔💔💔
 
I am so very sorry to read your update. Huge hugs to you. Sleep tight, little one x
 
I’m so sorry for your loss. Take care of yourself.
 
I’m so sorry you lost him, you gave him lots of love and care and he will have known just how much you loved him x
Sleep tight little Kovu 🌈
 
Oh no. I’m so sorry for your loss. He had a life full of love and that’s what is important. Take care of yourself.
 
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