Soft droppings

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Yuugi

Post   » Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:03 pm


The vet prescibed 2 drops of Metacam/day when Momo was having a bad day.
I smelled it and it seems like it will be bitter. Is there any type of juice i can mix it with so she'll take it more willingly?

Also i wanted to increase her fluids intake,but i can't seem to find any unsweetened cranberry juice here in Finland.

Is there any other type of unsweetened juice i can give to her,orange,apple,etc? This way i could make her drink 5 cc's of water and a bit of juice 4 times a day, every 3 weeks.

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:10 pm


Our Metacam is sweet and sticky.

I've found that things don't necessarily have to be sweetened for guinea pigs.

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Bugs Mom

Post   » Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:25 pm


My Metacam is also sweet and sticky and the little one loves it. She wishes I'd give her more!

Ditto Mum on the meds not having to be sweet for GP's to like it. My Benazapril is bitter and LB loves it as well.

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Yuugi

Post   » Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:54 pm


I can mix it a bit in water then? Because i'm still not sure how to put 2 drops of Metacam in the syringe.

Also if i can't find cranberry juice can i use unsweetened raspberry juice? I saw it's an everyday fruit on the list, so i was wondering if a bit of that dissolved in water would help me increase her fluids intake.
Raspberry is very common here in Finland but cranberry is not.

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snowflakey
E's Moriarity

Post   » Wed Aug 20, 2008 1:05 pm


Cranberry juice should be diluted pure juice, without any sweeteners or other juices. Pigs often get used to it and love it. It sounds like Momo has an irritated bladder and more liquids will help. The "stones diet" (paying attention to calcium: phosphorus ratio) also sounds like a good idea since you are witnessing her pain after she eats calcium-rich foods.

Best of luck. If you can give subq injections of lactated ringers solution yourself, you can keep the fluids moving through her without trying to force her to drink (always a challenge!)

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Bugs Mom

Post   » Wed Aug 20, 2008 1:06 pm


"Two drops" is a very imprecise measurement. Can you ask your vet for a 1ml syringe, then have them tell you how to measure on it? Not that Meticam is a dangerous med but there's always "too much of a good thing" sometimes.

For example, Lady Bug gets 0.15ml of Metacam every morning. That's the kind of measurement you want.

I would think that raspberry juice in moderation would be fine.

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Yuugi

Post   » Sun Aug 31, 2008 12:35 pm


Momo's behaviour has changed a bit these last few weeks. She used to like lap-time alot,to the point of even falling asleep but now she just constantly tugs at the towel wich used to be her "i need to pee" sign. I guess i understand since i have the same disease as her and i always feel like i need to pee as well.

On her bad days(i call it that when she cries when she pees) i notice there's alot of white gritty substance on her vagina and i have to clean it. I guess she has alot of sludge on the days it flares up.

Pain medication for these days,increased fluids and a diet low in calcium is all i can do for her,right?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Aug 31, 2008 12:37 pm


Syringing extra fluids or giving subcutaneous fluids a couple times a week would help a great deal. The sludge can cause pain and irritation.

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Yuugi

Post   » Sun Aug 31, 2008 1:00 pm


Would 20 ccs of fluids twice a week be sufficient?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Aug 31, 2008 3:01 pm


How large is your guinea pig again? I think people generally give more to an average adult guinea pig when they are doing subcues. Maybe 30cc. Keep in mind you can also syringe lots of liquids but it is lots of work. On days you didn't do subcues, you could syringe some.

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Trick

Post   » Sun Aug 31, 2008 3:10 pm


I give Rosie around +15cc daily of syringed fluids and found that I could build the amount up slowly. I started with just a couple of ccs a few times throughout the day and then built it up until she was happy to take 5cc in one go. If you are careful you can use a 5cc syringe, just don't slip or you will have one very damp and very grumpy piggie!

If you have any health shops then they might have cranberry concentrate, that's where I have to hunt down mine :)

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Yuugi

Post   » Mon Sep 01, 2008 12:11 am


I tried hunting for some 100% natural juices everywhere, but all i could find was carrot one and i don't want to give her too much of that. So i'll be getting my hands on a juice machine and making Momo some juice(strawberry or so) to mix in with the water.

I thought i'd syringe the fluid to her like Trick is doing. Maybe 10 cc's of it everyday? And maybe on some days 20.

It worked well when i gave her some water with the carrot juice but i dropped that idea because i thought it would be too much carrot.

PS: Momo is 1.150kgs

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