Not Eating Punkin's medical thread

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 3, 2019

Weekly weigh-ins are so important for guinea pigs.

My boys are weighed every Sunday morning, around 6-7 am.

Punkin normally hovers around the high 1500 gram to low 1600 gram area, whereas Scooter sits in the low to mid 1500s.

My little man Punkin has an issue, I fear. He will be three in just over a month. He seemed to have been slowing down a bit recently, and I noticed this more during the run up to the holiday weekend. Of course, my pigs always seem to fall ill on a holiday weekend.

Sunday, August 25th Punkin weighed around a normal 1585 grams. No concern there. THIS Sunday, however, he had dropped somewhat alarmingly to 1525 grams. He has had a week where he's lost 40 grams or a little more prior, so while concerned I tried not to think too much of it and observe. I gave him his daily pepper slice immediately after weighing, and while he picked it up and flipped it around several times he wasn't interested and didn't eat much. Same with a cucumber slice offered some time later. He was however interested in his hay and pellets, but I'd noticed that his output had dropped.

This morning, he has lost a further 31 grams in the last 48 hours. He didn't leave his pigloo at all when called for his pepper this morning, and didnt move when his hidey was lifted off of him. Nibbled at his pepper slice this morning but rather disinterested, and didn't go in his fresh hay pile to graze as he ALWAYS does. He also has a wet bottom, but I'm unsure of whether it's because of an issue or because he's simply lying in it.

So, will be calling his vet as soon as they open. I will post updates on the little man as I get them. Please keep your fingers crossed and keep him in your thoughts. I always get so terrified and anxious when theres an issue.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 3, 2019

His appointment is for 5pm today.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 3, 2019

I gave him a baby carrot as a treat, which he loves. Scooter gobbles his in about 5 mins, but Punkin.....seemed to have some trouble taking it from me. He spent about 15 minutes eating but couldnt finish. Hes eating hay now, but this does look like malocclusion again or a very sore mouth.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 3, 2019

Sadly, it is indeed malocclusion.

His molars are overgrown and are beginning to trap his tongue. Nowhere near as bad as Sly used to get, but it's the same issue. We believe it may be due to the hay poke he had in his mouth a couple of months ago. Only time will tell for sure if one surgery will do the trick.

He is booked in for surgery Sept 12th, and he will go in on an emergency basis if he continues to decline.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 3, 2019

Thank you so very much for the kind words, @spy9doc.

Long nine days, indeed. He is losing weight which we can supplement with Critical Care, which he loves. Scooter apparently loves it too, so he's going to be a pain in the butt about feeding time because he's going to want some.

Punkin's spirits are good, and since I've begun supplementing with Critical Care and some extra vitamin C this morning, he seems to be doing ok this evening. Running around the cage and babbling to himself. He was rather agitated at being examined at the vets, and he's usually the sweetest tempered pig in the world. At this point, he weight is still ok at 1494 grams so theres a little wiggle room and his hydration is good. Lungs and heart sound normal. Eyes were clear and free of discharge.

I truly hate this. Sometimes I swear it's just as hard on me, as it is on them.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 4, 2019

Thank you so much for the support, everyone.

I'm going to be calling the vet again this morning. Even though he is in great spirits and despite the critical care feedings, he lost a further 47 grams between yesterday morning and today. I don't think he can wait another 8 days.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 4, 2019

Punkin is now on his way for emergency surgery.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 4, 2019

Actually here at the vets office now waiting to speak with Dr Ker.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 4, 2019

So here we are.

Punkin is home resting. He did not require a full dental. His molars had grown into points, not trapping his tongue but stabbing it. Thats why he slid downward so fast.

He got SubQ fluids, and several syringes of Critical Care. He's come home, grumbled at and mounted his brother and munched some hay. He's pretty stoned, but all in all in good shape.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 4, 2019

spy9doc said:
Great news.......sounds as though he's going to be fine! Fortunately, you are so proactive that he should recover quickly. When I had a boy who required lots of Critical Care and a sow who didn't, I would put them side-by-side and feed him three mouthfuls to her one-half. Otherwise she would be overwrought with jealousy. You may have to do that for Scooter.

Scooter is already making it known that he goes bananas for Critical Care! His vet said it wont hurt him short term, so it's ok if he has some as long as Punkin gets the majority. Hes actually been running some laps chasing his brother around, dove into the hay pile several times and found his cozy, where he promptly burrowed all the way to the back and flopped. I'm sure the anesthetic is making him woozy, as hes doing all of this with wide, terrified looking eyes but his attitude seems anything but. He tried to eat some.of his evening salad but everytime he did, he ate some but kept making faces and making odd gestures with his mouth. All to be expected. Hes going to get a full syringe of critical care in about an hour, and hes had his metacam.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 5, 2019

Weight is actually up 10 grams from yesterday. I KNOW that's not significant, but it IS up instead of down. Hes not eating much at all on his own still. I think hes been munching some hay, but was unable to eat his pepper slice this morning despite being cut into strips. He had a full 15ml syringe of CC last night and another this morning. HATES being force fed lol.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 6, 2019

Morning update:

Punkin is still in great spirits, but really does not like being force fed. The "burrito" method of feeding helps tremendously.

He's not eating on his own yet, or if he is it's very little. Despite multiple feeding of Critical Care, he has still managed to lose 42 grams in 24 hours again. This morning he was at 1418, and this rate of weight loss is beginning to be concerning. I managed to get 22 grams of Critical Care into him at this mornings feeding.

He shows great interest in food, especially his favourites. We tried a baby carrot last night, shaved into strips. As was his morning pepper slice, yet he would pick them up and flip them over, and repeat. Almost as if he was trying to find the right angle to eat from. He tried some parsley last night and got some, but it was difficult. He IS on metacam for pain relief, And I'm just at a bit of a loss as to why he's still unable to eat on his own.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 6, 2019

All valid points, @spy9doc. I do know all of that, and perhaps I'm just a bit more upset about this than I realized and I'm forgetting things.

I've stepped up his feedings to every 4 hours. And I've just been told that he ate most of a baby carrot on his own a few hours ago, so theres some progress. I feel so bad for him especially because hes still so young.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 7, 2019

Morning update:

His weight has stabilized with a feeding schedule of a full 12CC syringe every 4 hours. He was 1418 grams both yesterday, and this morning. Still interested in his food and treats but unable to do much more than just turn them over and reposition them. Heartbreaking to watch and very frustrating. I know he wants to eat, and he's very enthusiastic when its treat or salad time. He just can't seem to do it. This morning, he seemed to have a slightly dark streak running from one nostril. It just wiped away. Anyone have this experience before?

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 7, 2019

MerryFriarTuck said:
I don't have any kind of expierance with this, but I just wondered ( if you're not already doing it ) if it would help to chop the veggies or greens in little tiny tiny bite sized pieces? It's possible some foods might sting his sore mouth, too--- I know bell pepper or orange juice will sting a cut on my own hand. Hopefully once his mouth heals it won't hurt to chew and stuff for him soon

It's possible the peppers might irritate him. I've tried cutting them into chunks, and also into strips. Same thing, he just picks them up and turns them over and over. He did eat some carrot yesterday but it took him awhile.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 7, 2019

Ok. I'm not sure 100 percent, but I believe his nose is dripping. It may have come fro. His mouth but I saw a clear droplet fall from his snout.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 7, 2019

He may have had a runny nose from diving in his hay, I'm not sure. His nose is dry now, and he's playing with his brother, and playing in his hay. Saw him washing his face a few minutes ago which he hasn't done all week, and he actually popcorned once too.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 7, 2019

Artista said:
Great to hear! Sounds like he's on the mend!

His spirits are good. Hes just unable to eat anything on his own. I've managed to keep his weight stable now at 1418 grams with a full syringe of CC every four hours, but as far as eating on his own theres been little to no improvement yet.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 8, 2019

At this point I'm not sure. He's super interested in food, he just can't seem to be able to get it in his mouth. I cut up some apple into matchsticks slices last night and he did pretty good with those, but eating things like a carrot or his pepper slice he just flips them up and down and can't get a bite out of them. His weight is still unchanged this morning so his feeding schedule is sufficient to maintain his body weight.

Guinea Pig Papa · Sep 8, 2019

Smileandnod said:
I just wanted to let you know @GuineaPigPapa that all my pigs and I are wishing you and Punkin well. I hope that he is on the mend and back to eating normally soon.

I actually used this opportunity to learn a bit about malocclusion myself, and something you mentioned about Punkin having a potential runny nose made me relook at the following information: https://www.guinealynx.info/malocclusion.html

You are much more knowledgeable than myself on this, but could be have a small abscess/sore in the mouth/tongue from the teeth poking it prior to surgery that perhaps is causing some irritation now (even though it may be on the mend also with the teeth no longer poking area)?

I would think the tongue would be needed more to move hard pieces of carrot and pepper to their proper place to avoid choking during chewing, whereas apple may be a bit softer and more management especially in thin matchstick slices?

Perhaps as the tongue heals he will be more brave in using it properly.

I also wanted to say that your gentle, consistently attentive care to your guinea pigs is inspirational and serves as a role model to new guinea pig owners who read the site. Thank you.

Thank you very much for the kind words and support, @Smileandnod. Myself and Punkin (and Scooter too) appreciate it very much.

It IS entirely possible that he has an abscess or sore on his tongue. Dr Ker did mention that his teeth were stabbing into it and in his words they would have been like, "little hacksaw blades cutting into it." It has only been four days since his molars were clipped, and it happened so fast that his incisors didn't even angle. There were no real indicators prior to this issue other than his laziness and weight loss, and he's kind of lazy sometimes anyway.

He is still, for lack of a better term, "chewing sideways" when he's given Critical Care. The greyish discharge happened again this morning, only once and only from his left nostril again. I picked a bowl of fresh grass for them this afternoon, and he worked harder to eat than he has in a week. Not sure how much he got but it appeared as though he did.

I tried the matchstick apple slices again today, some with skin and some without. Last night he had trouble with the ones that had skin, but still managed. The soft ones with no skin worked out better. Today, he wouldn't try at all. I have tried cutting baby carrots into strips this week for him as well and he's unable or unwilling to try those as well. Same with cucumber.

Again, thank you for the kind words. My piggies mean everything to me and I'll do whatever I can for them.

Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Not Eating Punkin's medical thread

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator

Similar threads

Share this Page

Newest members

Online statistics

Key Resources

Members online