So tired and frustrated.

[dandelion]

Well my guinea pig is doing really bad right now. I brought him to the vet because you all said I was being a bad owner and she put him on Baytril. Now my one gp Coco will not eat and is having diarehha. I brought him to the vet and she told me to stop giving him the antibiotics and I am feeding him through a syringe with Critical Care food. But he still is not eating. If I loose him now I dont know what I will do.

 

[Amanda]

I'm so sorry to hear that.

 

[lindsey's boys]

From personal experiance, I did the same thing when my guinea pig didn't eat and he is now 100 percent better. I'm sorry I can't help you with anything else.

 

[dagwellismypigy]

Try getting him 100% vitamin C pills.

 

[lindsey's boys]

Yes, that is what I did.

 

[dandelion]

I actually got some Vitamin C (Oxbow) from the Vet. How exactly do you put it in their water, will it just dissolve?

 

[dandelion]

Also they have a 16oz. water bottle how many pills would I put in?

 

[lindsey's boys]

Hmmm, not sure.

 

[dagwellismypigy]

do NOT put them in water, unless you are making a mash to go in a syringe.Its one pill per pig and they are chewable.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

you all said I was being a bad owner

NO one said you were a bad owner.

He was more than likely having side effects from the Baytril. As for the Vit. C, you don't put it in water, you hand feed the 50mg tablet to him. If he won't eat it then you can crush it up and add it to some water and syringe feed it to him.

Whatever you do, keep handfeeding him the critical care with the syringe. It is so important that you do this. You also need to go back to the same thread you posted before on GL and get more help there. There are some very very experienced people there that can help you and tell you how much CC to feed him.

 

[dandelion]

My piggies will not eat them, but the syringe mashed up sounds like a good idea thanks. Im going to go get back to them. I just needed a break because staring at him looking sick is just so stressfull. Ill let you guys know how it goes and thanks for your help.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

The longer you delay though will make it more worse in the end. Please go over to GL now dandelion. Just remember to find the same thread on your pig that you posted on before.

 

[dandelion]

I know this isn't a site to get medical care. But it seems like the people on guinealynx took the weekend off. I think I got food/water into Coco's lungs because the vet have me a 12cc syringe, which I know have found out is way to big and I shouldn't be using anything besides a 1cc syringe to feed him. Does anybody know of anything that will help this?

 

[carrotflavour]

Good luck with him.

You're not a bad owner. A bad owner wouldn't go to all this trouble

 

[critterlover]

I'm also syringe-feeding a sick pig right now. I'm using a 1CC syringe and cut the tip off and am feeding critical care. Yes, the 12CC syringe is way too big. Make sure you are only depressing the syringing when he is chewing (hence, swallowing), otherwise the food can get into his lungs. When I'm feeding my pig, I have him at an angle (not flat on his back) which also helps prevent fluid getting into the lungs.

Also very important is to make sure your pigs are not getting dehydrated. You can get a sub-cue done (an injection of saline under the skin) if it's too hard to get enough fluids in by the syringe method.

I don't know how often you are feeding them, but it's better to feed them small quantities more often, 6 feedings a day at least. I'm not sure if they can get dehydrated when they only get fluids every 4 hours so I'm going to see if I can get a sub-cue done on my pig every 24 hours.

You can syringe your pig 1/2 poop from a healthy pig to help restock the intestinal bacteria. Also, acidopholus power, I've heard is good.

Also, there are some injections to increase your pig's appetite. I've heard vitamin B is good for that, but I'm not sure because I'm still doing the research for my own pig.

 

[dandelion]

thanks critter lover! However, I think i've overfeed my guinea pig if thats possible. He keeps gagging every once and a while like he needs to throw up (although I've been informed they can't), and I havn't even given him half as much as it says on the Critical Care bag. I'm just leaving him be right now, he is resting and still continues to go to his water bottle for water. His poops are starting to become a little more formed but still very large and mushy. I hope everything goes okay with your own pig!

 

[Ly&Pigs]

I just looked at gl. I asked you to post on the same post you started before but you posted on the end of someone else's so that is partly why you haven't had much in the way of answers. Here you said your pig wouldn't eat at all and there you state "He will eat parsely, carrots, some of his pellets, but he wont eat any hay" If your pig is eating everything but hay, then he won't need much in the way of the Critical Care. He is eating something and he is drinking. He may not want the hay because he isn't feeling well. I was the one that told you on gl that pigs can't throw up. That's true. He may have been gagging because you were feeding him with too large a syringe.

I still think your pig didn't do well on the Baytril and thus it caused him to stop eating the hay and start having diarrhea. If his poops are starting to firm up that means he is starting to get better. I wouldn't worry as much about him not eating hay right now as long as he is eating veggies and pellets and drinking. He will start eating hay when he is ready.

I agree with critterlover that you should take a poo (whole poo) from your other pig and mash it up and mix it with a bit of water and syringe feed it to Coco to help restore his gut flora. His gut is probably so messed up from the AB's that he doesn't want the hay. Get some other veggies besides carrots and parsley and see if he will eat those, things like romaine or red/green leaf lettuce, bell pepper, and fresh grass. He may eat the grass even if he isn't eating the hay. The grass will be the fiber part he needs. If you need a smaller 1cc syringe, try the local pharmacy. Tell them what you need it for and at the most it should only cost a few cents to get one.

I would get some plain pedialyte too and put some in an extra water bottle and hang it from the cage. That will help with rehydration.

I just went and found that the people on gl gave you a lot of good advice. You should follow it because there are alot of experts over there when it comes to sick pigs.

What bedding do you have them on? If Coco has been sneezing for 2 months he may have allergies to the bedding.

 

[dandelion]

I said he wasnt eating before because he wasnt eating anything before, but throughout today he has been getting a little better. Just about 15 minutes ago he took some hay from me. I also have already given him the mashed up poo from the other pig twice, once last night and once today. I've realized now that he is not gaging but is making a kind of whimpering noise and raising his butt. As if he is having trouble going to the bathroom. I found a little blood in one of his mushy poo's but this was the only one that had it.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

I guess I didn't look at the times they were posted. It's been a very long day and I am so tired. Keep trying to handfeed him the hay if he doesn't eat much hay on his own. You might describe "making a kind of whimpering noise and raising his butt. As if he is having trouble going to the bathroom." on that thread at gl to see what they say about that.

I believe your vet is very incompetent if she wanted to give your piggie penicillin. She would have killed him. I know your trying to do everything you can, so don't give up hope yet. He is some better now and hopefully will continue to get better.

 

[dagwellismypigy]

Could he possibly be impacted?, you may need to clean him out (lucky you). I don't think it would hurt, even if he wasn't. Dagwell was having bathroom issues, like making a whimpering noise before he pooped. See this page https://www.guinealynx.info/impaction.html