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Zoey, piggie is not well

Tiamolly123

Tiamolly123

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Zoey is on day 4 of a tummy bug. She is having very lose motions, she has detoriated, although this evening the signs are promising.
She is eating well & drinking fine. Although she still seems half starved, & seems to be eating very quickly. I wonder if topping her up with critical care would slow her down a bit & fill her up more. At first we thought it was the whole herd, all there toes & feet were clogged with
Poo. We also have her on fibreplex for rabbits. Should I give her anything else to help her.
 
How is her weight? Have you taken her off veggies?
Weight loss would be an indicator that critical care is needed more than how quickly she eats when you're watching.
If she's having tummy troubles and loose stool, she should be on a bland diet ... meaning no veggies. Normal pellets should be fine, but the goal is to pretty much have her on hay to try to get her system back to normal.
Maybe you can further explain "eating very quickly"? Is that hay, pellets, or veggies? As for slowing down and filling up, piggies pretty much constantly eat, and need to to keep things moving in their guts, so you want her eating a lot, but that lot should be hay for the most part, as that's the largest portion of a piggy's diet. If you mean that the food vanishes into the mouth quickly ... yeah, they do that.
 
Please remove veggies from the diet, switch to daily weight checks and step in with syringe feeding. Critical care won’t slow her down (although I’m not sure what you mean by that - piggies need to be eating constantly) but it will replace any reduced independent hay intake and stop weight loss. It’s essential she is syringe fed if there is any weight loss as it mean she isn’t getting enough hay (which you cannot judge by eye).
Please do give a probiotic.

Soft but formed poops suggest a gut disturbance and a few days off veggies and increased fibre intake, is often enough to resolve it (seeing a vet if the issue hasn’t resolved after a couple of days off veg), however, and importantly given you say ‘very loose motion’, If the poops are very wet, unformed and liquid like then please see a vet as an emergency. Severe diarrhoea is an urgent matter and needs immediate attention.

Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)
 
Poor Zoey. I’d take her off veg for a day or two and see if things improve. Has she seen a vet yet? If it is proper watery diarrhoea then this is classed as an emergency. hope Zoey is soon on the mend.
 
I think it's important to see a vet if there's a 'herd'. Because if this is something contagious it could get pretty bad. Stay strong Zoey x
 
If it is day 4 and no improvement I would see the vet in case she is dehydrated, no amount of drinking can replace the water and salt lost through 4 days of wet poops- especially the salts and potassium, the vet can give subcutaneous fluids like humans would have in a drip, to make sure her electrolyte balance and hydration levels are supported- and also take a poop sample to see what's causing the problem.
Electrolyte levels especially potassium s always the first thing to go seriously out of balance in any mamnal when fluid is lost through wet stools, and could cause kidney issues- once that is sorted for a while then probiotics and recovery food are the best way to go at home, but 4 days is a long time especially for an animal weighing about a kilo- 4 days fluid and electrolyte loss may well harm even a 50kg human- so best get to the vet just as a precaution, they can quickly pop 10mls of IV saline solution under her skin to keep her safe while they figure out what the problem is or she rides this out at home.
 
Poor Zoey! Thinking about her, her herd, and you. Hope she continues to improve. The advice you've been given is excellent; please get her off veggies and take her to the vet. You all are in my thoughts and prayers. 🙏🤞
 
Thanks for your concern, little Zoey (we call her the Diva) is well now. I kept her off veg & put her on biscuits. That took some thinking about, mine haven’t had nuggets for the last couple of years if not longer. Don’t know whether to wean them off again, or leave them alone. Also put her on the rabbit fibreplex. Brilliant stuff.
Hope your all well & thanks for the advice
 
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