Not Eating Home treatment for weight gain??

Rukke · Mar 5, 2013

Hi
My guinea pig, Futte, has stopped eating. He tries to but gives it up. First he stopped eating has pellets and stuff, but now he won’t even eat his veggies. He does drink water. I think there is a problem with his teeth, but since he lost a lot of weight, I’m scared to let him go through the surgery for his teeth before he gains a little weight (my last guinea pig died in the operation because he got too week). I’ve spoken to the vet and he said if a guinea pig drops 20 % of his body weight, he probably won’t make it. And my one might have dropped somewhere around that. I can’t remember what he weighed when I got him 8 months back. For some reason it never crossed my mind that there would be a problem with his teeth, so I haven’t acted on it till now.

He’s about 3 years and 3 months old and somewhat active. It seems as if he’s just really hungry, and not like he’s about to die of old age. I was successful in feeding him crushed pellets mixed with water, and he ate a lot. This also tells me that he wants to eat but just can’t.
I really need some advice on what to do. I’m scared he might die and I want to do everything I can to keep him alive. My plan is to feed him his crushed pellets every hour or so and then see if we can keep it up and maybe get him to gain some weight. Maybe mix in some veggies if he gets fed up of it

I know guinea pigs should have access to food and water all the time, and I plan to get up in the night to feed him too? I believe that is necessary?

I’m very concerned, and my overall questions are:
Is there anything else I can do for him to make him gain weight and stay alive?
I do want to spend the money to get his teeth fixed, but should I just go and do it, knowing he might not survive it or continue my home treatment and then make a decision in a day or so?

Any advice would be very helpful.

Thank you
Lykke

HannibalLecter · Mar 5, 2013

He will need to be handfed now like you just did about every 2 hours for a chance of survival, and he needs dental care from a good cavy savvy exotics vet. You will also need to figure out why his teeth are overgrown in the first place as there may be an underlying illness. You also need to and weigh him daily to ensure he gets enough food.
https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
https://www.guinealynx.info/malocclusion.html

Was he eating enough hay? Hay is what keeps their teeth ground down at a proper length.
To prevent this in the future & catch illnesses early, weigh your pigs weekly and don't wait with vet care if there's a sudden or gradual weight loss. Once the weight loss is visible, it's often too late.
https://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html

Rukke · Mar 5, 2013

Thanks, Great links. looks like I'll be getting up every two hours tonight.
He stopped eating hay some time back, but then I bought a new brand and he ate it happily. but that has now also stopped same time as the veggies.
I'll have a talk with the vet and get his food checked and find the reason for his teeth.

If I do this right, will it be possible to get his weight back up, so he can be strong enough to get his teeth fixed?

HannibalLecter · Mar 5, 2013

I would perhaps wait a day or two to ensure he gets enough strength from handfeeding, especially if he hasn't been eating properly for a long time.
A more experienced member will hopefully answer as well. But I wouldn't wait much longer as the molars can grow into the tongue causing a lot of pain.
I would also syringe him extra vitamin C. You can get childrens 100mg tablets & split them into 25mg pieces, dissolve it with a bit of water & syringe it or mix it with Critical Care/pellet mix.

Rukke · Mar 5, 2013

Okay, Thank you. I'll give it my best, I have vitamin C powder I can add to the mix.
I don't have a syringe. hopefully I can find a place to get it if he stops eating the mix off my hand. I don't recall seeing it at the local petstore.

HannibalLecter · Mar 5, 2013

Rukke said:
Okay, Thank you. I'll give it my best, I have vitamin C powder I can add to the mix.
I don't have a syringe. hopefully I can find a place to get it if he stops eating the mix off my hand. I don't recall seeing it at the local petstore.

I think needle-less syringes are available at some pharmacies, pet stores & most vets. The 1cc syringes with the tip cut off are easiest to work with for most, but will take longer to feed with as it's such a small amount. I got different sizes for free from my vet so I could test them all.

Please keep us updated on the little guy.

Razzle · Mar 5, 2013

Can you get Critical Care Feeding Formula? Some rescues sell it and it is available from the vets. He is starving. You are doing a great job and so is he if he is taking feeding from your hand. My thoughts are with you and your little one. Keep us updated.

SqueakyPig · Mar 5, 2013

I second syringe feeding him and weighing him to make sure he is gaining weight. Malocclusion can be genetic, or linked with heart problems or infection. The link HannibalLecter gave you should have more information on that. Please keep us updated.

bpatters · Mar 5, 2013

He's undoubtedly not going to gain wait before he gets his teeth fixed, so if you wait, you're only going to be making the problem worse.

And it's not really surgery for the teeth if all he needs is his molars planed. They don't put them under the anesthetic as deeply, and they don't stay under as long. If he were mine, I'd get him to an exotic vet that knows something about rodent dentistry as quickly as I could get there. Do NOT let a dog-and-cat vet just trim his incisors -- that won't fix the problem. They may need a bit of trimming if he's had the molar problem for a while, but if the molars don't get fixed, he still isn't going to eat, and the incisors will just overgrow again.

By the way, it's a good idea to weigh your pigs weekly and record their weights. Often weight loss is the first sign that something is going wrong, and you can address it before the pig gets sicker and/or it costs more for you to fix the problem.

Rukke · Mar 5, 2013

sounds like I'll have to call the vet tomorrow. He seems alright, I think he's a vet, but specializes in guinea pig dental. or something like that. and it's an animal hospital if that makes any difference ? my only worry is if he is strong enough. ( I called it teeth surgery because I didn't know what it was called in english

but you understood it and that's perfect )

I don't know where I can get that critical care in my country. I guess I have to buy it online. and then it's no use. it will take too long for it to reach me. I need to do my own thing.

He didn't want to eat off my hand the second time. but I got syringes now. and we are going to use them now and through the night. I'm getting a scale tomorrow and keeping an eye on him. it seems after I feed him, and he returns to his cage, he tried to eat his normal food ? is there a reason, didn't I give him enough, or is he frustrated that he can't eat on his own?

I'm wondering if I should take him with me when I go out tomorrow, and keep him in his transportation cage and feed him when he needs to be fed? will that stress him ? I'm a student and I have lectures and then some work with my project group members. but that would be really silly and unhealthy for him right ?

HannibalLecter · Mar 5, 2013

Rukke said:
sounds like I'll have to call the vet tomorrow. He seems alright, I think he's a vet, but specializes in guinea pig dental. or something like that. and it's an animal hospital if that makes any difference ? my only worry is if he is strong enough. ( I called it teeth surgery because I didn't know what it was called in english but you understood it and that's perfect )

I don't know where I can get that critical care in my country. I guess I have to buy it online. and then it's no use. it will take too long for it to reach me. I need to do my own thing.

He didn't want to eat off my hand the second time. but I got syringes now. and we are going to use them now and through the night. I'm getting a scale tomorrow and keeping an eye on him. it seems after I feed him, and he returns to his cage, he tried to eat his normal food ? is there a reason, didn't I give him enough, or is he frustrated that he can't eat on his own?

I'm wondering if I should take him with me when I go out tomorrow, and keep him in his transportation cage and feed him when he needs to be fed? will that stress him ? I'm a student and I have lectures and then some work with my project group members. but that would be really silly and unhealthy for him right ?

Where do you live? No I wouldn't bring him out like that, his appetite will probably drop when stressed.

Rukke · Mar 5, 2013

HannibalLecter said:
Where do you live? No I wouldn't bring him out like that, his appetite will probably drop when stressed.

I live in Denmark. I've been checking the danish guinea pig forums. and they say that this critical care is bought from online shops mostly.
yeah, I'm keeping him in his cage tomorrow, I think that's the best for him. then I have to go home during the day.

HannibalLecter · Mar 5, 2013

Rukke said:
I live in Denmark. I've been checking the danish guinea pig forums. and they say that this critical care is bought from online shops mostly.
yeah, I'm keeping him in his cage tomorrow, I think that's the best for him. then I have to go home during the day.

It's good to have a bag of Critical Care in the freezer regardless as they always seem to get ill on weekends and holidays.
And as he's lost such a large amount of weight you'll probably need to handfeed after his teeth are fixed as well, until his weight is stable and safe.

Quite a few vets in Sweden sell Oxbow products, it may be the same in your area.

Rukke · Mar 5, 2013

hmm. thanks. I'll check it with the vet. probably they know what I should do and where to get that food

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