Won't Eat Force-Feeding Nightmare...almost in tears

[sierralj97]

My new boy Cocoa hasn't been eating. I took him to the vet today and they told me to give him critical care...I'm trying to syringe feed him and he's just not having it. I've been at it for over 25 minutes and I've only gotten halfway through the batch and I'm pretty sure half of what HAS been used has ended up all over me or his face...There's nobody around right now that could help me hold him. I've tried pinning him down, but I feel like such a monster forcing him to eat, even though I know it's for his best...I just don't know what to do, I just want my baby to be okay

 

[ciaraelise]

When Chester was sick I had to syringe him his medicine and a NASTY vitamin mix. He was little enough to squirm away and big enough where i couldn't hold him with just one hand and be able to get the worst of the medicine in him.

Patience is definitely key here. Maybe set up a good space for floor time and sit with your baby. That way you can hold him and love on him and when you have a good moment, feed him. If it becomes too much or you or both of you guys become too stressed out, all you have to do is put him down.

Making sure he is eating is way more important than feeling like a monster for a few days, though I know it absolutely sucks. Thankfully I bring good news. Even if you become his least favorite person this week, a treat of veggies every time you say hi will win his heart back over!! I thought Chester was going to hate me forever but it only took about a day or two after his antibiotics were done for him to trust me again.

You're doing the right thing, good luck getting Cocoa to cooperate!!

 

[Soecara]

It sounds like you might have to make a piggy burrito. What that entails is simply a towel and the guinea pig who is being difficult, simply wrap him up in the towel so that his head is exposed but there is no way for him to reverse his way out. If the unwilling patient is properly secured in a guinea pig burrito force feeding can become much easier as it is harder to squirm away.

Yes I know how difficult it is with a difficult pig and how horrible you feel, but it is better than how horrible you would feel if he starved. While he might act like you are killing him you are actually saving him.

On a side note did the vet have any idea as to the underlying cause of his anorexia?

 

[Icarus_Hermes]

I second the piggie burrito. Hermes fought me hard on the syringe. The best technique for us was him in the piggie burrito on my chest with me laying flat on the ground (it gave me a better view of his mouth). He still fought, so I gently but firmly held his cheeks where the top jaw bone was. It sucked, but Hermes is healthy now and after a few days, I didn't have to hold his jaw anymore. Good luck!

 

[sierralj97]

Sort of good news!

For some reason, the problem was that Cocoa accepted veggies, and then rejected them. So while I thought he was sick, he just wanted his old "crap" food :/ So I guess I'll have to wean him off of it the slow way, but that's okay, as long as he's healthy