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Sick Stopped eating syringe food

Luka Dadiani

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Our small shelty gunieapig has had tooth issues for over a year now. we have been taking him to the vet quite frequently to trim his teeth.


But about six months ago he stopped eating solid foods almost completely and we begun syringe fooding him. Instead of feeding him recovery mixes, we mostly fed him freshly blended mixes i.e. cucumber + bell peppers + basil or lettuce, as well as some porridge


However, just under a week ago he stopped eating from the syringe, once we took him to the vet, we were told that the pig was suffering from oral thrush and he was given some anti-inflammatory and other medications and the pig was kept with the vet for the next 4 days who attempted to keep feeding him recovery mixes and other mixes,


Now that we got him, the vet said that the situation is quite bad and we should give him oral decterine and syringe feed him. But he is completely refusing to eat anything from the syringe.


I decided to take him back because maybe he was refusing to eat critical care food only because he had been spoiled by blended/ fresh liquid food?


Do you have any suggestions?
 

bpatters

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If he were mine, I would NOT take him back to the vet unless it's a 24-hour vet staffed for emergencies and someone will agree to feed him every three hours or so.

The only suggestion that I have is that you force feed him. It's called that for a reason -- he hates it, and you have to force him to eat. But it's necessary -- a guinea pig that's not eating is a guinea pig that's dying. They're engineered to require food moving through their digestive tracts at all times, else they'll develop painful, sometimes fatal stomach ulcers and GI stasis/bloat.

So, you have to tell yourself that you're not killing him, no matter what he thinks, you're actually saving him. Wrap him in a towel or a cuddle cup so he can't back away from you. Put him on a table in the crook of your arm, so he's backed into your elbow, and you can hold his head with that hand. Get a pet feeding syringe from a pet store or a 20 cc needleless syringe from a pharmacy (they'll usually give you one if you tell them it's for a sick animal), make a wet, sloppy slurry of the Critical Care, and load it into the syringe. Hold his head FIRMLY, and insert the tip of the syringe behind his front teeth and in front of his back teeth. Put it in about half an inch. Then turn the barrel so the tip is pointing toward his throat. Push the plunger so that he gets about .2 cc at a time. If he's chewing, he's swallowing. Don't take the syringe out of his mouth. Just leave it there so it's easier for the next bite.

You can do this. He's a two-pound rodent, and you're a sizeable human. You're equipped to win this battle, and if you don't, you'll lose him.

See https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html for more tips on how to do it.

I have no idea what decterine is, and can't google up anything about it. Does it go by another name, maybe?

Good luck, and let us know how you get along.
 

pigmommy89

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I am having a difficult time handfeeding my pig Duchess as well. She takes the Critical Care better if I mix a little bit of baby food in it. Two days ago she was refusing to chew even the Critical Care. Today she ate 20cc in one sitting. I am giving her a vitamin C supplement, a vitamin B12 supplement, acidophilus until I can get some Benebac, and she's on meloxicam and Reglan. We're 3 1/2 weeks in and she still won't eat much on her own. Just work with him and see what he likes best. The important thing is to keep him eating something.
 

bpatters

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A lot of pigs like plain pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling) mixed with Critical Care. You might try that as well.
 
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