[Gpdd] Health: Sid's loss of appetite / Syringe feeding strategies

Carla Martinez cmartinez36 at houston.rr.com
Sat Mar 18 09:10:49 EST 2006


Angela -- We are so sorry to hear of Sid's eating problems. As Debbie said,
it would be good to have blood tests to see if there is an underlying cause,
other than the tooth trim. My suggestion is about syringe-feeding
techniques. My thought is that maybe he needs to build up his strength so he
can go back to regular food.

For the last year my 3.7 year old gpig Snowball gets his molars and incisors
trimmed every month because he is no longer able to grind his teeth down on
his own. (Vets are not sure if it is a result of an injury or heredity.)
Every month we have gone through a cycle of gradually declining ability to
crunch his pellets and veggies. In the past after a tooth trim he has
experienced extreme difficulty eating on his own. The vet suggested that
perhaps they are sore, and then he has to work out how to use his "new
teeth". So I have a lot of experience syringe-feeding him.

I have a suggestion for syringe feeding Sid. Use a catheter syringe. You can
get it from your vet. The catheter syringes have a longer, wider, more
tapered tip than the other ones. They are well-suited to a guinea pig's
mouth. It is great! So much better for feeding than the regular
syringe-tips. I can't stress that enough.

I have a couple of syringes that hold 35 cc. I normally fill it with about
15 cc of Oxbow Critical Care for Herbivores, and sometimes mix it with the
children's electrolyte replacement called (in the US) Pedialyte.

Judi from the GPDD advised me to give Snowball between .5 - 1 cc per bite.
That works well for him.I let him chew and then give him some more. After
about 6 - 8 cc's we take a break. I am usually able to give him at least 30
cc per day. I can see him getting his strength back as he gets more
nutrition. Maybe if Sid gets a lot of Critical Care he will cheer up and
have more strength to try to eat regular food.

I also use a combination of two techniques for holding him and putting the
food behind his incisors. Something that works well for me is a technique I
saw on GuineaLynx.

At the same time when he is not able to eat more crunchy foods I offer him
small bits of soft fruits. You could do that with veggies too. You could cut
them in different shapes to see if he prefers one shape to another. I mean
does a long narrow slice go over Sid's tongue better than a thin coin shaped
slice? Snowball loves cantaloupe, banana, strawberries and sometimes gets in
the mood to eat orange slices. I understand it is not so good to give a pig
so much fruit, but during the days when he can't eat the other stuff I am
just happy he will eat anything on his own.

So while you are syring feeding continue to offer him little bits of real
food, whether in a dish or by hand. This is silly but I learned to only put
small bits of the food in his dish at first. When I put more food in, I
thought he got discouraged. Like overwhelmed.

Also give him some beneficial bacteria (Bene-Bac in the US) or acidophillus.
But I think if Sid can get back to eating once, he can do it again. Good
luck with your baby!~ Let us know how he is doing.

Carla, Snickers and Snowball









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