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can i have vibes for chesney please (piggy) u/d - :-)

biscandmatt1

Wise Old Thumper
after his dental on thursday he was doing well but today he is struggling to eat and not managing much. he looks quite sad aswell. :(

he's trying bless him but struggling. :(
 
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the vibes seem to be working. he's looking a bit brighter than he did before and he's gradually eating a bit more. he's really trying.

i've been picking grass and dandelions for him. and he likes lettuce in small pieces and parsley in small pieces aswell.

he's also managing a bit more hay aswell. short, thin strands.

he was just sat in the corner all day and wouldn't come over for food. but i've just been to get some grass and he came over for it. :D i also moved their tunnels around and he went and explored them.

he's not there yet but gradually improving i think. keep those vibes coming. xxx
 
just done their tea and usually they both run over and stand up at the bars and maisie wheeks. she did but he didn't.. but when i put the plate down he came over and ate about 40% of it again. and this time he managed some cabbage which is great as he had been struggling with that and giving up. it did take him a while but he did manage two pieces of cabbage. the rest was lettuce, spinach, red chard and he ate those.

he's moving around a bit more aswell, going through their tunnels. he is resting alot though. earlier today he didn't want to move. now it seems like he eats a bit and walks round and then chooses to rest.. if that makes sense.

tiny steps hey. he's doing well. x
 
ches is looking brighter in himself and his eyes are a bit brighter aswell but he has dropped to his lowest weight - 1149g (previous lowest was 1158g) but i was expecting it really as his eating slowed down alot yesterday.

yesterday he carried on the same really, tiny bits here and there. i tried to syringe feed him last night and decided to use his normal pellets (oxbow cavy cuisine) as he has previously liked them mashed. the syringe kept getting blocked though and i tried to cut the end off like i've read about but i couldn't do it without leaving sharp edges so any tips on that welcome. he wasn't interested in it anyway to be honest and doesn't like the pellet mash anymore either.

he had his meds no problems and i have been managing to get some water in aswell.

this morning he actually came over for his veg and i think he is sick of the sight of lettuce now so he chose to eat the pak choi and savoy cabbage instead. he managed well though with those. slowly obviously but better than yesterday.

some good news though - i had been giving him dried dandelion as he usually loves that but i thought i'd give the dandelion with green oat for a change and he loved it and ate loads! more of it than hay for the whole of yesterday! so he can eat hay but maybe he wants something different than his usual hay.. so we have a bag of that left anyway and o/h is going to stock up on more and i've just done a hayexperts order and ordered green oat hay, western timothy hay, orchard grass (as he wants grass but it's raining outside) and a taster selection pack aswell! just so he has more choice.

i don't usually feed fruit but last night i offered a cube of apple and he grabbed that off me! so he had another before bed aswell.

i know he's lost weight but this green oat hay i gave him earlier he was eating so much compared to what he has been so i am still hoping he is on the right track, although he does seem to not want his normal foods so i'll try some new things and see if that helps. the green oat hay proves he can eat hay which is good.

he's not interested in pellets at all though and won't drink from the bowl or bottles so i'm wetting their veg and also syringing him water aswell.

i'm a bit worried about him having new foods as usually i would introduce them slowly over a week or so. but he seems ok so far.

xxx
 
After cutting off the end of the syringe, use a nail file to take off the sharp edges, that always works for me.

It can take guinea pigs quite a while to recover properly from having a GA. Please try to persevere with the syringe feeding it really will help. If Chesney hasn't been syringe fed before it will be a bit strange for him and may take a while for him to realise what you are trying to do. Also, make the feed quite wet as this also provides water as well as the fibre he needs

Did your vet say anything about having thrush (a white coating) in Chesney's mouth, dental issues are often a secondary symptom of something else.

If he isn't back to normal soon you might want to contact the Cambridge Cavy Trust to see if there is a rodentologist in your area who can have a look at Chesney for you.

I hope Chesney is back to normal soon.
 
i don't think i'll be needing to syringe feed! ches has eaten hay all afternoon! he's eaten more this afternoon then the last two days put together! :D

and.... he's been drinking from his bottle! :D

just gave them their tea and he actually ran over with maisie to wait! :D and then he was doing so much better eating it! :D

he's also spending more time moving round the cage than resting now! :D

the green oat hay has got him eating hay lots again, and that made him want a drink.. the first time he's drank by himself since the dental! so i was so happy when i saw him drinking!! :love:

yay! so happy. lets hope he continues to do well :D:D:D

thumpinbun -

he doesn't have any thrush in his mouth. he always had perfect teeth but the xrays showed changes had happened at the root level and bent the teeth and caused gaps between them. two of the gaps were 'significant' and had infections between them. i'm not sure what would cause the roots to change.

thanks for the tip about the nail file! someone just said the same thing on the piggy forum! :) i made the syringe feed as watery as possible but because i couldn't get it into the syringe and didn't want to risk using the syringe with cut off tip because of the sharp edges.

:)
 
guess who's eating and drinking normally! :D

he ran over for his veg this morning, ate 50% of it! he's eating a fraction slower than maisie when he chews but that's all. he even licked the crumbs off the plate! :roll::lol:

he went to the pellets last night almost like second nature and then looked as though he remembered he hasn't been doing that lately! he didn't eat any (think my pellet mash has put him off for life :shock:) but he's preferring to eat hay, dried herbs and veg so that's better for him. :D

he's eating lots of the green oat hay aswell and he looks so much more like his usual self. :D

he was 1149g yesterday and he's 1171g today :)
 
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