Pigjes' Pigs Piggadice part Pee ... oops, Three!
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- And got the T-shirt
Pigjes, I respectfully disagree that handfeeding twice a day is all that's needed, or that sick pigs will get hungry enough to eat on their own.
Guinea pigs secrete gastric acid (hydrochloric) all the time. They need frequent amounts of food going through the stomach to keep that acid from digesting the stomach wall and forming fatal ulcerations. Having lost my Flourish to that condition, I wouldn't dare let a pig that's not eating anything else go with only two feedings during the day.
I now feed 10 cc of Critical Care with every dose of oral antibiotic. If the pig is eating nothing else, and will take more CC, I feed it. A pig that's not eating on its own gets 6-8 feedings a day, at least 10 cc at a time, and more if it will willingly take it.
My Patty is in her third week of treatment for pneumonia. The first week, I couldn't tempt her to eat anything, so she got about 100 cc of Critical Care per day, 10-15 cc at a time, every 3-4 hours. By the end of the first week, she was eating small amounts of hay and lettuce on her own, and I started cutting the amount of CC. She's now eating more, but still not normally, and only gets the CC when she gets her oral Baytril.
Incidentally, she's the only pig I've followed this regimen with, and she's the only one I ever had that didn't have problems with Baytril. She also gets a dose of Bene-Bac an hour after each antibiotic administration.
Guinea pigs secrete gastric acid (hydrochloric) all the time. They need frequent amounts of food going through the stomach to keep that acid from digesting the stomach wall and forming fatal ulcerations. Having lost my Flourish to that condition, I wouldn't dare let a pig that's not eating anything else go with only two feedings during the day.
I now feed 10 cc of Critical Care with every dose of oral antibiotic. If the pig is eating nothing else, and will take more CC, I feed it. A pig that's not eating on its own gets 6-8 feedings a day, at least 10 cc at a time, and more if it will willingly take it.
My Patty is in her third week of treatment for pneumonia. The first week, I couldn't tempt her to eat anything, so she got about 100 cc of Critical Care per day, 10-15 cc at a time, every 3-4 hours. By the end of the first week, she was eating small amounts of hay and lettuce on her own, and I started cutting the amount of CC. She's now eating more, but still not normally, and only gets the CC when she gets her oral Baytril.
Incidentally, she's the only pig I've followed this regimen with, and she's the only one I ever had that didn't have problems with Baytril. She also gets a dose of Bene-Bac an hour after each antibiotic administration.
- pigjes
- Cavy Comic
I always force fed pigs as much as possible every 4 hours. I usually have large pigs, Rex or Swiss Teddies are tall, so they eat more. I am not too pleased by feeding a pig as he says, can't be good for anything. Will go back to my old routine of every 4 hours. He laid a guilt trip on me. It takes a while to digest, excuse the pun, Yuyu.
- pigjes
- Cavy Comic
Well, since she's been out of heart meds, she's getting worse. Not hungry at all, she just stays in her house. No happy popcorning, no interaction with other pigs. Vet said that she should be OK by tomorrow, or she needs a heart scan. Unless a miracle happens, she will need one.