Weening off of recovery food

[Mildesley]

A bit of history before what I’m hoping someone can help us with.

Our little Biscuit who’s about 3 years old was unwell with crusty eyes 3-4 weeks back which cleared up after a week of eye drops and then she got a respiratory infection which seemed to clear up after a week of antibiotics and anti inflammatory but after a check up with the vets, they wanted to keep her on them for another week.

During that extra week Biscuit slowly stopped eating, so we had to give her recovery food with probiotic water for the past week and she’s still not eating by herself.

Does anyone know how we can ween her off the recovery food and get her to eat hay again? We were told before to keep her separate from her sister, by the vet, but I was wondering whether it might help her to introduce them again?

Thank you for any help
Kyle

 

[Piggies&buns]

First, welcome to the forum.

Is she still on the antibiotics, and if not, how long ago did she stop having them? Some antibiotics cause a bit of a tummy upset, hence probiotics being given, but it can still sometimes take a little while for them to perk back up and feel like eating.

Separating her for from her sister can be problematic and is generally not something we like to recommend. Whatever bacteria biscuit picked up, her sister would have already been exposed to, but exposure doesn’t mean that her sister would become ill . All of this generally renders separation completely unnecessary. Separation is in itself very stressful for them and piggies generally recover better when surrounded by their friends. Please do put them back together but you now must follow correct procedure for reintroduction. They need to be reintroduced on neutral territory with the cage they will live together in being completely cleaned down. I will add a guide in here on how to do it. Please do not just put them back in the same cage that one of them has been living in. It could be seen as territory invasion and dash the chances of a successful reintroduction. Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

You can’t stop giving her the syringe feeds until she eats for herself again. Being back with her sister and no longer exposed to the stress of being separated maybe encourage her to start eating again. I think that would be the first place I’d start - basically get them back together and see if she perks up and starts eating hay again for herself.

I would also try giving a variety of different hays, sometimes that helps. Also feeding grass can get them back to eating.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Guinea pigs don't need weaning from syringe feeds. They will instead start to eat less syringe feed or refuse it because they are full. Syringe feeding doesn't prevent them from eating hay.

It may be that the illness is still too strong, it can take a while to get on top of a URI. But it can also be that not eating enough hay for a period of time has meant the back teeth are overgrowing

 

[Mildesley]

Thank you both for your help

Shes off of the antibiotics since Wednesday, but she’s still on Loxicom as a pain killer then ranitidine and Metoclopromide syrups to move the gas from when she wasn’t eating.

We will begin the reintroduction today and on the hay, we have gotten 5 different types which she takes the odd nibble of, but we’ve not seen her properly eating hay yet.

Regarding her teeth, my other half, @Spoink, has been worrying about her teeth and noticed that her left teeth are a tiny bit shorter, where we think she’s been chewing on the syringe. What would you recommend we do?

 

[Piggies&buns]

If there are concerns about the teeth, then seeing a cavy savvy vet is the best course of action for a dental check. Issues with front teeth can occur due to the back teeth not wearing properly

 

[Merab]

Welcome to the forum.
I can’t add to the advice but offer support.
Caring for unwell piggies can be stressful

 

[Lady Kelly]

If the front teeth are uneven it's unlikely to be from chewing the syringe. This usually indicates a problem with the back teeth unfortunately so I would definitely be getting a vet to have a look as she will be struggling to eat by herself if this is the case. Where abouts are you based? There are just three known vets that can do conscious dentals now (with two of them recently learning from the most experienced) it would be worth trying to get to one of them

 

[Mildesley]

I know this also depends on the area, but how much does having her teeth mended usually cost?
We’ve just had to spend a lot of money with all the vet trips and medication already.

 

[Mildesley]

Thank you for the support.
We’re in the Manchester area

 

[Lady Kelly]

I know this also depends on the area, but how much does having her teeth mended usually cost?
We’ve just had to spend a lot of money with all the vet trips and medication already.

It really varies on the vet and whether it's an exotics practice or not and whether they need to use GA. A conscious dental at a general vet should be the cheapest option as you don't have all the costs involved in GA surgery and recovery. Any vets should be able to give an estimated cost before you proceed

 

[Lady Kelly]

Thank you for the support.
We’re in the Manchester area

Your closest is going to be Derbyshire where they have started very recently to offer conscious dentals. Post | Theguineapigvet here is their post explaining it. As they are a guinea pig vet they may be a bit more expensive but I've never used them so don't know. I have been to Northampton though and Simon there does so many dentals in a week that it's going to be a very long time before anyone can match his expertise

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you both for your help

Shes off of the antibiotics since Wednesday, but she’s still on Loxicom as a pain killer then ranitidine and Metoclopromide syrups to move the gas from when she wasn’t eating.

We will begin the reintroduction today and on the hay, we have gotten 5 different types which she takes the odd nibble of, but we’ve not seen her properly eating hay yet.

Regarding her teeth, my other half, @Spoink, has been worrying about her teeth and noticed that her left teeth are a tiny bit shorter, where we think she’s been chewing on the syringe. What would you recommend we do?

Hi!

Slanted teeth are either a sign of the teeth on the longer side overgrowing due to a pain issue and the piggy mostly chewing on the other side; the problem can sit in the molars or premolars or be located in an incisor (which is a bout 4 cm long, runs along the jaw and his its roots just in front of the back teeth). It is not caused by syringe biting.

Please keep in mind that it is the very abrasive silica in hay and grass against which the guinea pigs have evolved. The self-sharpening front teeth are there for cutting while the crucial back teeth are used for chewing and breaking down the fibre. If the chewing is not even for some reason (most usually pain), then overgrowth can happen. If your piggy is chewing too little for too long, then the back teeth will also overgrow and the premolars will grow spurs that trap the tongue; in this case you are more likely seeing jagged and eventually inward pointing if they no longer meet to abrade against each other.

Here is our syringe feeding guide, which covers recovery and also contains a chapter on dental piggies. See whether your girl is willing to dig into a bowl of mushed pellets and grated/finely sliced soft veg - in this case the not eating is caused by a dental issue.
However, sometimes appetite doesn't come back immediately after an antibiotic has wiped out the gut microbiome that is essential for digesting the food. That takes time to rebuild.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links (properly poo soup if necessary coupled with fibreplex is the most effective way to restart a wipe out gut in my own experience)

My Dylan need both round the clock syringe feeding help AND a quick dental for a one-sided overgrow when he completely lost his appetite while on a strong antibiotic for a brewing jaw abscess over the Christmas holidays. He was back to eating normally within 24 hours after a check-up visit to the Cat & Rabbit in Northampton - and, fingers crossed - his toothache from hell has been staying put for the last month!

All the best!

 

[Merab]

I know this also depends on the area, but how much does having her teeth mended usually cost?
We’ve just had to spend a lot of money with all the vet trips and medication already.

If it’s any help I’ve just spent a little over £100 to have Jemimah’s teeth checked and the incisors sorted. This was under a GA. The initial diagnostic appointment plus pain relief came to a little under £50.

Hope you can find a good vet who really is good with piggies to help