Sick Piggy-Eating but not pooping
I have a 7 year old, female piggy named Marlowe. Up until 2 days ago she was healthy, eating plenty of hay and pellets, drinking regularly, and eating her normal fruits and veggies twice daily. This has been her routine her whole life.
Yesterday I came home at 3pm and saw she was curled up in a corner-not in a bed or a hut which is very unlike her-she had a puffy coat, her eyes looked sick, not crusty but just dull, she was listless, very sleepy, and wouldn't even touch her favorite foods- a first for her! She also had not pooped much. Also very unusual!
I got her right into the vets at 3:40. He said she seemed ok, no obvious blockage. Teeth were ok, eyes and bottom alright, no significant weight loss. He said to give her some Timothy hay formula concoction he gave me with a syringe if she didn't eat that night. He also gave me meds for bloat if she seemed uncomfortable.
We got her home and she seemed significantly better! Puffy coat was gone, eyes looked normal. She was tied out from the vets, but so was I. She ate spinach, a bite of kale and some strawberry stems. No hay or pellets. But she did poop a bit. Not like normal, though.
This morning, she had pooped some, but again, not her normal output. And the poops aren't normal-a tad stringy, others kind of crushed-just not normal. Not dry, though, either.
She had all her fruits and veggies available to her but she only ate the greens. Because she wasn't eating hay or pellets i put together that formula from the doc and gave her half a Syringe full.
After that she went back to eating hay, pellets and drinking water! I was pumped. As I went to work, my husband gave her more formula at lunch. She seems normal but not pooping much still.I also can't tell if she is peeing much! Oh, also, this morning I checked her bum and she had a drop or so of pee in it, but just sitting there! So strange. I emailed my vet but haven't heard back yet.
What now?
Yesterday I came home at 3pm and saw she was curled up in a corner-not in a bed or a hut which is very unlike her-she had a puffy coat, her eyes looked sick, not crusty but just dull, she was listless, very sleepy, and wouldn't even touch her favorite foods- a first for her! She also had not pooped much. Also very unusual!
I got her right into the vets at 3:40. He said she seemed ok, no obvious blockage. Teeth were ok, eyes and bottom alright, no significant weight loss. He said to give her some Timothy hay formula concoction he gave me with a syringe if she didn't eat that night. He also gave me meds for bloat if she seemed uncomfortable.
We got her home and she seemed significantly better! Puffy coat was gone, eyes looked normal. She was tied out from the vets, but so was I. She ate spinach, a bite of kale and some strawberry stems. No hay or pellets. But she did poop a bit. Not like normal, though.
This morning, she had pooped some, but again, not her normal output. And the poops aren't normal-a tad stringy, others kind of crushed-just not normal. Not dry, though, either.
She had all her fruits and veggies available to her but she only ate the greens. Because she wasn't eating hay or pellets i put together that formula from the doc and gave her half a Syringe full.
After that she went back to eating hay, pellets and drinking water! I was pumped. As I went to work, my husband gave her more formula at lunch. She seems normal but not pooping much still.I also can't tell if she is peeing much! Oh, also, this morning I checked her bum and she had a drop or so of pee in it, but just sitting there! So strange. I emailed my vet but haven't heard back yet.
What now?
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- And got the T-shirt
You need to be giving her much more than half a syringe of the stuff your vet gave you. I'm assuming it's Critical Care, or something similar. A pig that's not eating anything at all needs 100+ cc. of Critical Care or pellet slurry for every kilogram it weighs, every day, divided into 6-8 feedings around the clock. Adjust that amount up or down depending on how much the pig weighs, and down if it's eating some on its own. But spinach, a bite and kale and strawberry stems is definitely not much, and if she were my pig, I'd be aiming for the full 100 cc. per day.
Keep hand feeding her until she's eating normally -- you can taper the mixture off as she begins to eat more food.
Many people don't realize how important it is to keep food moving through a pig. It's absolutely crucial, and as the saying goes, "a guinea pig that's not eating is a guinea pig that's dying." The ONLY time they shouldn't be force-fed if they're not eating is if there's some blockage in the digestive tract.
Keep hand feeding her until she's eating normally -- you can taper the mixture off as she begins to eat more food.
Many people don't realize how important it is to keep food moving through a pig. It's absolutely crucial, and as the saying goes, "a guinea pig that's not eating is a guinea pig that's dying." The ONLY time they shouldn't be force-fed if they're not eating is if there's some blockage in the digestive tract.
Thank you, yes I think it is critical care, ok we will do more! She was eating more today but we will keep up the critical care. Do you think she will start pooping if we keep up with that routine? I just don't want to do more damage.
- Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
And weigh her daily right now so you can tell if she is getting enough food.
As bpatters explains, getting enough food into her is vital.
www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
As bpatters explains, getting enough food into her is vital.
www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
Update, we kept up with the formula as you suggested, and woke up this morning to a famished piggy who ate hay, pellets, spoke, and her favorite-tomato! More importantly, the pen was full of healthy looking poops! I've never been more happy to see stool!
Thanks for your advice! It's such a relief to come here for advice. I think we're on the up and up!
Thanks for your advice! It's such a relief to come here for advice. I think we're on the up and up!
- PooksiedAnimals
- Supporting my GL Habit
It's ridiculous, but one of the best feeling in the world is seeing pig poo after there hasn't been any in a while! I hope she keeps that up!