Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register
  • ONE THREAD per pig please!
    We really want your pig's history all in one place to help you. Please don't start a new thread for a new issue. Just reply to your old one. We can edit the title for you if needed.

Weight Loss Labored breathing and very skinny

Cambria

Member
Cavy Gazer
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Posts
3
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
3
Hello Everyone,

A few days ago I got two female guinea pigs. They are both still very shy so I have been giving them a little more privacy so they can get used to their new home. This evening I went to give them there veggies and move them to their new 2x5 cage and I noticed that Waldorf is not looking well at all. She is hunched over, is visibly breathing heavily, not very active and very thin. I plan on calling an exotic vet in the morning but they have already closed for the evening. The nearby pet store does not carry Critical Care. She ate some hay that I put next to her but wouldn't eat any veggies and I don't know if she has been drinking. Is there anything anyone could suggest to help care for her until I can get her to the vet? I am very worried about her. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,251
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,251
You can make a pellet slurry by pulverizing some pellets in a food processor or blender and syringe it to her. Make it a runny slurry, and grind the pellets very fine, or they'll just clog up the syringe. You can get a 20 cc needleless syringe free from most any pharmacy if you tell them it's for a sick pet.

Wrap the pig like a burrito and put it on a table, tucked into the crook of your non-dominant arm. Hold the pig's head firmly with that hand, and feed with the other hand. Insert the syringe into the side of the pig's jaw, behind the front teeth and in front of the back teeth. Turn the syringe so it point toward the throad.

Give the pig about 1/4 or 1/3 of a cc at a time, being very careful not to give too much as the pig can aspirate into its lungs. It's really much safer to do this with 1 cc syringes, but you have to cut them all off, remove the plungers, smooth the cut ends with a match, etc., and it takes too long to set up. But if you'd rather do that, see https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html for instructions on how to do it.

Also, get some pedialyte (unflavored, if you can get it, and the generic stuff is fine) and syringe some to her. Most pigs love it, and will readily drink it when they won't take water. Just put it quickly in the fridge after you open it, and watch it carefully. It molds really quickly.

If she's eating nothing else, she needs 60-100 cc of the slurry for every kilogram she weighs, every day, split into 6-8 feedings throughout the day and night. Guinea pigs are engineered to eat ALL the time, and if they're ill, going without food overnight can kill them.

If she makes it through the night, do take her to the vet tomorrow morning. I wouldn't bother calling if it were me, I'd just take her and go. She sounds very ill.

Good luck, and keep us posted on how she does.
 

Cambria

Member
Cavy Gazer
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Posts
3
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
3
Thank you very, very much. I'm getting ready to go get the pedialyte and a syringe right now. I am also worried that she won't make it through the night so I very much appreciate the advice! I will keep you posted.
 

magicpiggie

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 31, 2015
Posts
348
Joined
Mar 31, 2015
Messages
348
Good luck. Hope she gets better!
 

Cambria

Member
Cavy Gazer
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Posts
3
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
3
I am not sure how much to feed her at a time. I fed her about 6-7 cc of the slurry. You were right, she loved the pedialyte. She drank over 10cc of it. Is that enough food and pedialyte at one time? I plan to get up every couple of hours to check on her so I will keep you posted. Other than that she pooped once in the towel while I was feeding her(I am taking that as a very small victory) and she willingly ate a few pieces of hay. While feeding her I noticed she is making a quiet clicking noise when she breathes. :(
 

pinky

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Feb 11, 2010
Posts
10,837
Joined
Feb 11, 2010
Messages
10,837
I am not sure how much to feed her at a time. I fed her about 6-7 cc of the slurry. You were right, she loved the pedialyte. She drank over 10cc of it. Is that enough food and pedialyte at one time? I plan to get up every couple of hours to check on her so I will keep you posted. Other than that she pooped once in the towel while I was feeding her(I am taking that as a very small victory) and she willingly ate a few pieces of hay. While feeding her I noticed she is making a quiet clicking noise when she breathes. :(

I'd get her to a vet this morning. The clicking sound probably means a URI and possibly pneumonia which won't clear up by itself.
 

Soecara

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Posts
1,985
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Messages
1,985
If you can get more food into her in one feeding then do so. I normally aim for between 15-20mL of food per feeding, with feedings every 3-4 hours.

Some the pigs that I have force fed in the past preferred it if the mixture wasn't cold (as in straight out of the fridge cold), so for these pigs I would either use warm water to make a new mixture or microwave the mixture for between 10-20 seconds then stir and temperature test by dipping my finger in it to make sure it is only warm, not hot, before feeding.
 
Last edited:
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

M
Replies
2
Views
347
bpatters
bpatters
MyPigs=MyLife
Replies
3
Views
524
MyPigs=MyLife
MyPigs=MyLife
S
Replies
17
Views
1K
bpatters
bpatters
failur3byh3art
Replies
0
Views
204
failur3byh3art
failur3byh3art
Top