syringe feeding and gas-advice

hi all
this is infact for my guinea pig so hope you don't mind me posting here but i thought it would be helpful for rabbits too.
i am syringe feeding my guinea pig but she keeps getting gas. I am giving her science recovery but have ordered some critical care as i have heard this is better. I have started giving her 1 ml infacol after food and tummy rubs which does seem to help and you can hear the bubbles popping when i do the tummy rubs.

am i syringing wrong and causing the gas?

i do it into the side of the mouth and try not to do it too fast. I give her anyhting from 5 ml to 10ml..however much she'll have and plenty of water. I was told that 50ml a day is needed so i try and feed her 5 to 6 times a day.

the gas may also be a factor of her illness which we are not sure what it is!

any advice on the feeding would be great!

Ive no idea Lisa just wanted to send some vibes for her. Hope she feels a bit better soon xXx

Are you sure its gas ?
What symptoms is she exhibiting ?

she has had a bladder stone which was removed 2 weeks ago and also has a lump in her intestine which my vet thinks may be a tumour but doesn't want to remove it because of where it is. She has been off her food and has been losing weight for sometime even before the appetite went off.
The last few days her belly has felt bloated and she stops eating less and gets very fluffed up and when i do the massage i can feel the bubbles popping and the belly does seem to get smaller. her appetite does then seem to pick up a little. She is on baytril and has also been getting metacam but have stopped that today as we have tried giving her steroid.

We have the same problem at the moment with Poppet our Dutch rabbit, she has a tumor or abscess in her tummy but the vet can't do anything because of where it is, she has bouts of eating then not eating and when she doesn't eat we syringe feed her some 'Critical Care' (we prefer this make as it's easier to give) and we give her 1-2ml of Infacol and tummy rubs. Her tummy rumbles so loudly all the time.
Some days she look's so round and other day's so thin, today she has ate well and has been running round her play area like mad, tomorrow she may not eat again for a couple of days and this is how it is, good days and bad.

thanks maysie, that helps alot!! Is poppet on antibiotics? is so what kind?

nel is much perkier this morning and eating on her own which she hasn't done in over a week! so i do think the steroids has helped alot. She has now started making noise when breathing so i am going to get that checked tomorrow as it may be a respitory problem although i did wonder if that could have been caused from the feeding..maybe gone down the wrong way?

bunny mad lisa said:

thanks maysie, that helps alot!! Is poppet on antibiotics? is so what kind?

nel is much perkier this morning and eating on her own which she hasn't done in over a week! so i do think the steroids has helped alot. She has now started making noise when breathing so i am going to get that checked tomorrow as it may be a respitory problem although i did wonder if that could have been caused from the feeding..maybe gone down the wrong way?

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The vets have told us they can't really do anything for her and we give her metacam and baytril, she hasn't eaten at all this morning apart from some hay and I've just put some cold nettle and peppermint tea in with her in hope that it may help.

I find baby food good for mixing with recovery or CC. It doesn't clog the syringe like mixing it with water. I use Ella's Kitchen stage 1 broccoli and pea which is available from all the major supermarkets. You can use any brand, but it needs to be very pureed with no lumps in it.

Thumper had the steroids injections too (he was a rabbit) & they were for giving him an appetite, he would eat quite alot in 2 days then hardly anything, unfortunatly the vet said its not good to keep them on injections for long period of times, theyre like a pick me up, to help them eat/drink & regain strength
sending vibes to your little pet...

thanks for the info everyone!
she is doing much better today and was out and about this morning rumaging for food for the first time in a week.
I'm also happy to say that the noise she was making has almost stopped!
she has eaten much better today and quite alot on her own so i hvaen't syringe fed as much so i don't give her too much gas. luckily she seems to quite like the tummy rubs so that makes life easier unlike the wriggles she gives me when i go near her with the infacol!