Midnight's Medical Topic

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AviN4
Supporter in '21

Post   » Sat Jun 18, 2022 8:02 am


Midnight was doing surprisingly well for around 9 months. But then, during a 5 day vacation during which I had a pet sitter feed them, his weight rapidly declined. He was stable for a week after I returned, but is now rapidly declining again.

Image
(Note: The Y-axis starts at 30 oz, not zero.)

In terms of his behavior, he seems to be spending more time in hiding, and expresses reduced enthusiasm for food. He is definitely eating sometimes though, including some hay.

I had previously stopped the meloxicam since he was doing fine. But after I saw his weight loss had resumed, I resumed the meloxicam at 0.15 mL daily of 1.5 mg/mL. A few days ago I increased it to 0.15 mL twice per day. As I understand it this is a low dose for guinea pigs, especially one that is reaching his end of life. So I plan to continue increasing every few days until I see improvement or reach the maximum safe dose.

I'm not sure if I should bother taking him to the vet, because unless it's a surprise new issue that is easily treatable, all a trip to the vet would do is add stress to everyone involved. I'm also in COVID-19 isolation right now and don't want to infect anyone unnecessarily. On the other hand, there is a small possibility of a new treatable issue.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Jun 18, 2022 10:10 pm


I am sorry about the weight loss. It does look significant. Changes can have unexpected consequences. I am hoping since you are back, his appetite picks up.

Have you considered doing any hand feeding? Getting things moving again (here, a motility drug could help if you are not seeing adequate poops) could help.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sun Jun 19, 2022 6:43 am


What is his actual weight? That dose for Metacam is not low, but I would agree that the need for good pain management should override the risks of higher NSAID use when they are in poor health/failing health and you want to keep them comfortable and eating well.

Is he staying well-hydrated?

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AviN4
Supporter in '21

Post   » Sun Jun 19, 2022 7:01 am


Lynx,

Midnight's weight stabilized for a week after I returned but then began rapidly declining again.

By hand feeding do you mean Critical Care via syringe? I haven't tried. A vet I spoke to last year suggested against it, since the goal was to make him comfortable and forcing him to eat would arguably make him uncomfortable. Do you think it's worthwhile anyway to "get things moving again"?

Relatedly, I have a bag of Critical Care in the fridge opened about a year ago. Is that safe to use until I get a new one in the mail (ETA 5 days) or should I toss it?

I've also tried some kind of pellet / carrot slurry, but on a tray, not via syringe. Moon was a little interested but Midnight was not.

How can I tell if his poops are adequate? He shares a cage with Moon so I can't tell who the poops belong to.

BTW, he's definitely eating at least some of the hay, pellets, and veggies that I feed them. But I think just less.

Sef,

Midnight was 889 grams this morning. I do see him drinking often, probably more than Moon. So I think he's drinking enough?

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AviN4
Supporter in '21

Post   » Sun Jun 19, 2022 7:27 am


Here's a photo of him (on the right) just now eating either pellets or oats. He still doesn't look underweight, though if his current weight loss keeps up for a few more weeks he will.

Image

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Jun 19, 2022 11:05 am


You ABSOLUTELY have to hand feed when there are significant weight loss issues (barring a blockage of the intestinal tract). I highly disagree with your vet. ("A vet I spoke to last year suggested against it, since the goal was to make him comfortable and forcing him to eat would arguably make him uncomfortable.")

Having food moving through the digestive tract is terribly important.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sun Jun 19, 2022 11:38 am


Ditto Lynx. And ditch that vet! Nothing will kill a pig quicker than not having food moving through its system.

Most pigs will adjust to regular syringe feeding, and even enjoy it. All of mine that were ever on extended syringe feeding quickly got to the point that I didn't have to hold their heads at all, and willingly took the syringe.

Make sure the pig is comfortable on a table in the crook of your arm. Hold the head firmly with one hand, and cover the eyes with that same hand. Put the syringe in the side of the pig's mouth, behind the front teeth and in front of the back teeth. Insert it about half an inch, then turn it to point toward the throat. Make sure it's far enough back for the food to get to the back teeth. If the pig chews, it's far enough back. If he spits it out, it's not.

Give about half to one cc at a time. You can give larger bites as the pig gets used to the process. Make sure the slurry is thin in the beginning. You can use a thicker mixture after a few feedings.

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AviN4
Supporter in '21

Post   » Sun Jun 19, 2022 12:58 pm


OK, thanks for the feedback. I'll start hand feeding ASAP.

The vet who told me this was not my normal vet, but they are supposed to have expertise in guinea pigs. So that is concerning.

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AviN4
Supporter in '21

Post   » Mon Jun 20, 2022 3:54 pm


With regard to:
Have you considered doing any hand feeding? Getting things moving again (here, a motility drug could help if you are not seeing adequate poops) could help.
I wanted to see how much Midnight was pooping, so I put him in a separate cage for 2 hours with a variety of tasty food and water. I counted 5 poops, and one of them looks more like 3 stuck together. Not sure if it's appropriate to extrapolate, but if I do, I get 60 to 84 in 24 hours. Based on some googling that seems like an okay amount?

I took a photo: https://snipboard.io/437XTw.jpg (CW: GUINEA PIG POOPS)

I've looked at various guinea pig poop charts and it's hard to fit them into a category. They are not mushy, especially dry, or especially small. But some of them are in some weird shapes.

I also tried hand feeding yesterday and it was a struggle for all involved. I got in about 3 mL of Critical Care and then gave up. Today I did better and got in 9 mL in one sitting. I'll try again later. Unfortunately the syringe I have is a 3 mL syringe which is too large, but I've ordered some 1 mL syringes which should arrive on 6/22. I'll try to manage with this 3 mL one until then.

I've also have an appointment scheduled with a vet on 6/24.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Jun 20, 2022 10:31 pm


How has his weight done the last couple of days?

Quite a variety of poop! A little bit of everything. Important thing is there appears to be no blockage.

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Tue Jun 21, 2022 1:49 am


If feeding is difficult, it may be the flavor. There are different flavors of Critical Care. I only have limited experience, but I found that mixing it with watermelon juice made it very palatable for my pig who loved watermelon. I also made smoothies with blended Critical Care, carrots, and hay. I used a Ninja smoothie blender. It was tasty enough that she ate it from a little plate, which is so much better than trying to syringe feed.

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AviN4
Supporter in '21

Post   » Tue Jun 21, 2022 8:04 am


Midnight was 890 grams this morning before any hand feeding. So roughly the same as 2 days ago.

I can try some experiments with different Critical Care recipes. But I suspect it's not that he doesn't like the taste, but just that he's not enthusiastic about eating. Also, the 3 mL syringe is hard to get into his mouth if he doesn't want to open it. I should be getting a shipment of 1 mL syringes tomorrow so hopefully that'll help.

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