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

How Much? Critical Care Question

Guineapigs32

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Posts
92
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Messages
92
My guinea pig weighs 913g. I need to know how much critical care to give her per day. She is not eating or drinking on her own. How many tablespoons per day of critical care(dry)??
 

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 12, 2015
Posts
387
Joined
May 12, 2015
Messages
387
My guinea pig weighs 913g. I need to know how much critical care to give her per day. She is not eating or drinking on her own. How many tablespoons per day of critical care(dry)??

My boar Scooter is not much higher. He gets about 30 grams of dry food 5 times a day, from 5am to 9pm. He doesn't eat through the night.

So basically he gets two and a half Monoject 412 syringes full, every 4 hours. I believe the little scoop is 2 tablespoons each feeding.
 

Guineapigs32

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Posts
92
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Messages
92
I have been giving my guinea pig 15-16ml each feeding and feed her every 3-4 hrs. Sometimes she barely finishes that amount. I feed her 4-5 times a day.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 12, 2015
Posts
387
Joined
May 12, 2015
Messages
387
I have been giving my guinea pig 15-16ml each feeding and feed her every 3-4 hrs. Sometimes she barely finishes that amount. I feed her 4-5 times a day.

Are you weighing her regularly? If she's not eating on her own, personally I would weigh her every morning before her first feeding. If you weigh her every morning and she's losing weight steadily, she isn't eating enough.

Can you tell us why she isn't eating on her own? That may help us help you.
 

Guineapigs32

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Posts
92
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Messages
92
I weight her before and after each feeding. Just got bloodwork and xrays back from vet. Her bloodwork came back fine and her xrays Of her mouth show overgrowth of her molar roots. What is done for this????
 

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 12, 2015
Posts
387
Joined
May 12, 2015
Messages
387
I weight her before and after each feeding. Just got bloodwork and xrays back from vet. Her bloodwork came back fine and her xrays Of her mouth show overgrowth of her molar roots. What is done for this????

She has elongated roots. They'll likely have to plane her molars, and she'll likely need regular molar planings from now on.

They can stop the roots from overgrowing further by keeping the molars planed down, but there is no reversing the process. She will definitely need her molars done ASAP if she's unable to eat on her own. You didn't mention, is her weight staying fairly stable or is she losing?

Once her molars have been planed, she absolutely must have fresh good quality hay all of the time along with pellets as those are the most important things to keep her teeth ground down. But in all likelihood she will need regular procedures to keep her teeth ground down.
 

Guineapigs32

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Posts
92
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Messages
92
Her weight is stable sometimes it goes higher but doesn’t decrease much. How much does that procedure cost?
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,251
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,251
You'll have to ask the vet about the cost. Procedure costs vary widely across the country, and even within the same city. But some vets do lower the costs when a pig will require repeated planings.

FYI, there's no point in weighing her after she's been fed. You're just weighing pig and food, and it doesn't tell you anything about the pig's weight. Unless she's very ill, weighing first thing in the morning before she's been fed gives you the most accurate weight.
 

Guineapigs32

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Posts
92
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Messages
92
So vet said that radiologist would like to do a full X-ray series to get a better view and understanding of how severe her dental issue is. She said in order to do this X-ray series she would need anesthesia gas... isn’t this risky?? Also, if the molar procedure is done she said it may or may not help her eat. Any suggestions or recommendations would be great... I don’t know what to do. My guinea pig currently has no problem eating cucumbers, bell peppers, or lettuce and eats pellets that I found to a softer texture. She eats the pellets slow though but still eats them. She however will not drink from bottle or bowl on her own.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 12, 2015
Posts
387
Joined
May 12, 2015
Messages
387
So vet said that radiologist would like to do a full X-ray series to get a better view and understanding of how severe her dental issue is. She said in order to do this X-ray series she would need anesthesia gas... isn’t this risky?? Also, if the molar procedure is done she said it may or may not help her eat. Any suggestions or recommendations would be great... I don’t know what to do. My guinea pig currently has no problem eating cucumbers, bell peppers, or lettuce and eats pellets that I found to a softer texture. She eats the pellets slow though but still eats them. She however will not drink from bottle or bowl on her own.


How old is your girl, to start with?

All anesthesia comes with a risk. Anesthesia is cumulative with a pig, meaning over time the effects do build up.

That said, I have had one pig who had regular molar planings just like the one your girl needs. There was almost six months between the first and second, but they grew with frequency until they were required every 6 weeks or so. Sly was 5 years old when his molar problems started, and when he was so ill I had to put him down he was almost 7. He had, I believe it was either 11 or 13 molar planings.

My little guy Scooter has now had I think 3 planings. He has a different issue than your girl, and we are still working through his treatment and what we need to do for him. Scooter will also not drink on his own at the time being.

There's no way to know for sure if it will help her eat. What I can tell you is that if you don't do it, she will gradually become worse until things become critical.
 

Guineapigs32

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Posts
92
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Messages
92
The anesthesia really scares me. She is 6... but healthy otherwise. Her blood work was all good. How much does the procedure cost??
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,251
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,251
You'll have to ask the vet about the costs. Costs of any procedure vary widely across the country, and even within the same city.

They're won't put her under deeply because they're not working on anything that's painful, she won't be under long, and she'll come around as soon as they stop the anesthesia. It's not the same kind of anesthesia they'd have to use for abdominal surgery. I wouldn't worry about it myself.
 

Guineapigs32

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Posts
92
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Messages
92
Ok that’s good to know. It’s going to be expensive but I don’t care she is worth helping obviously. She’s in great shape for a 6 year old guinea pig. She’s never had any health issues at all not even respiratory infections or anything. This is her first issue in the 6 years I’ve had her. I just hope all goes well and she goes back to eating and drinking on her own.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 12, 2015
Posts
387
Joined
May 12, 2015
Messages
387
Do keep us posted on her progress. Good luck to both of you, I'm sure she's going to be fine!
 

Guineapigs32

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Posts
92
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Messages
92
I’m so worried about bringing my guinea pig in for the dental planing. The anesthesia part is scaring the hell out of me. I’ve read horror stories about the piggy not making it through. It’s making me think twice about taking her. I don’t know what to do. She needs the problem treated but I’m so scared for her.
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,251
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,251
I've been active on this and other boards for years, and I've never heard of a guinea pig dying from anesthesia during a tooth planing.

Did you read my post above where I explained that it's not the kind of anesthesia that can give pigs problems?
 

Guineapigs32

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Posts
92
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Messages
92
No. I didn’t know there was different kinds of anesthesia.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 12, 2015
Posts
387
Joined
May 12, 2015
Messages
387
@Guineapigs32, let me put your mind at ease.

My little man Scooter has been having some serious dental issues. He had exactly the same surgery your girl needs two weeks ago.

For reasons unknown, Thursday night he began having problems again and had another emergency procedure yesterday. The same kind of anesthesia your girl will have.

He was in and out of anesthesia within minutes. The problem does not take long to correct and while he was a little groggy yesterday, as we speak right now he's sitting on the couch next to my wife munching his evening salad.


Your little girl will be just fine. Don't delay any longer.
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,251
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,251
@Guineapigs32, you need to actually read your thread. All of it. People take the time to answer your questions, and then you post the same issue again. That's not quite fair to the people who are donating their time to try to help you.
 

Guineapigs32

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Posts
92
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Messages
92
Vet did more xrays to get a better view of her back molars etc. she said there is some mild overgrowth of molar roots and some molar points and she needs some crown reduction of cheek teeth. They also said there is evidence of Gastrointestinal Stasis which she says is from not eating her usual diet etc. she said she can dispense some metoclopramide... is this medication safe?? Is crown reduction and smoothing molar points a difficult procedure for guinea pig? Vet says the procedure would take 30-60 minutes and she would need to be on anesthesia for that time.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

Top