Barry Jenkins, AKA BJ

[renonvsparky]

BJ is all white with red eyes. He's unique for sure. Still no change in his appetite. I'm trying to get in touch with the vet, but they haven't called me back yet.

[renonvsparky]

Spoke with the vet about BJ. Turns out that she did take a full x-ray with 2 views. She couldn't see anything wrong with his teeth. They're actually in pretty good shape. Perfect alignment and not overgrown. No cavities or anything out of place. As I said before, he did have a small amount of gas, but nothing else to explain why he doesn't want to eat.

It could be just a matter of his age catching up with him. We're going to give him the motility medication twice a day through the weekend. We're also going to hand feed him, but not on schedule. We're going to make him wait 1-2 hours past his normal feeding and give him a chance to get hungry enough to eat on his own. I'm supposed to check back with the vet on Monday and we'll go from there.

[pigjes]

Glad that his teeth are fine, that's one worry less. Keep us updated!

[renonvsparky]

I cut back on the hand fed critical care. BJ still wouldn't eat much. It was so hard to not feed him. I guess I just suck at tough love. I was only hand feeding him once a day. Throughout that time, I noticed him nibbling on his hay so he wasn't completely starving, although it wasn't nearly as much as he should be eating. I really hate seeing this.

Today was bedding change day and I decided to switch BJ cages with Gilligan and Skipper. He had the 4 by 2 foot cage to himself and barely ever went to the back part of it. 2 square feet less isn't really a big deal for him. Gilligan and Skipper are getting big enough to where they need more room. The other thing on my mind was that the bigger cage he was in sits next to Sammy and Dean, but it's about 6 inches lower than theirs, so he had a hard time seeing them. Plus the half that he hardly ever went to is partially boxed in by a book shelf. It made for a lonely situation for BJ and he likes to be where he can see other guinea pigs.

His new location is a 2 by 3 foot cage that sits right against Oreo's cage where they can see each other and socialize. It's smaller, but not by much. Still plenty of room for him given the amount he moves around. The positive effect was almost immediate. He wasted no time calling on Oreo and Oreo responded right away. He also started eating his hay. Still not as much as he should be eating, but quite a bit more than he has been eating. I'm hoping he gets fully back to eating as much as he should now. If I knew that is what it would take, I would have done it a week ago.

So what of Gilligan and Skipper? The partially secluded cage doesn't really affect them since they have each other. They run around the whole cage, so it doesn't matter. The other thing their new and bigger cage has that their other one doesn't, besides more room is a hammock. BJ never used it because he didn't like it, so it was pulled up through the top of the cage out of the way. These two love it. They play in it and have a real good time doing it. It's a win-win. BJ just looks so much better and happier being more in the open and where he can touch noses with Oreo.

[pigjes]

Glad you discovered that!

[janlovingcavies]

Glad he is feeling better, hoping it continues. Wish Jill's situation was as easy. Might get culture results back today. But I am really happy that you found out BJ was lonely. Also happy Oreo is happy too and that Gilligan and Skipper score a hammock to play in!

[renonvsparky]

Still lacking in the food intake department. On another note, has anyone else used the fine grind critical care with the Papaya flavor? I just used up the last of the apple and banana flavor and opened that one. It actually smells really good. I was dreading trying to get BJ to take it, but it turns out that he loves it and licks it from the sides of the bowl. All of the guinea pigs went crazy for it. Even Mr Bubbles, who would rather poop on critical care much less eat it licked it right off of my finger. I tried to get creative with BJ and sprinkled it on his veggies, hoping to get him to eat more of them. He outsmarted me though and licked it off. One good thing is that I don't have to work as hard to get the syringe in his mouth now. Take the wins when they come; however small they may be.

[pigjes]

Cool! I once had the apple and banana, but they stopped selling it here. I thought it tasted absolutely vile and artificial. That said, I never liked the taste of CC. Yep, I try ALL piggie food, seriously, not joking. I'm lucky that they sell JR Farm breifutter in Europe, which tastes A LOT better, even I lick the spoon when I prepare Binky's weekly extra food session. It actually tastes like grass.

[Sef]

I haven't used that formula, but think I might order a package of it to try. Glad BJ and the others like it!

[renonvsparky]

The Papaya flavor is better in more ways than just the flavor. Being fine grind, it is so much easier to mix. It is also easier to draw into the syringe and to get into his mouth. It's also smoother and that makes it easier for guinea pigs with teeth problems to get down. I highly recommend it. It's available on Amazon.

[Sef]

It sounds like the housing changes are a good arrangement for all.

I just looked for it on Amazon and have added it to my cart. It's a little pricier than the original (anise) flavor, but will be worth it if they take more readily to it. I had to try to handfeed Albert when we first noticed dental issues, and it was a nightmare (found the CC literally tooth and nail).

Thanks for the tip!

[renonvsparky]

Still having trouble getting BJ to eat on his own. He eats a little bit of carrot and cucumber. Won't touch lettuce, parsley or wheat grass. What kind of guinea pig doesn't eat wheat grass? Guys, I really think this is getting serious. Even in his worst condition, Scruffy still ate wheat grass. He's eating little bits of hay and a pellet here and there but not much else on his own. The thing that makes this so confusing is that he'll take between 10 and 15 ml of critical care per feeding. I don't have to force it. He takes the syringe totally on his own. In fact, he reaches out for it the same way guinea pigs do for hand fed treats. Is it just laziness? Has he gotten to the point where I have to hand feed him for the rest of his life? I don't mind doing that and I'll keep it up for as long as he needs. Just wondering if any of you have had a guinea pig like this.

[janlovingcavies]

What kind of guinea pig doesn't eat wheat grass?

Jill ate wheat grass for a month or two and now won't touch it. I think it is due to fact it is narrow, hard to pick up and sticks to the bowl. I now feed her the normal grass(couch I think) she loves it.

As long as not losing weight I would just keep up hand feeding or you can take to vet and get dental X-Rays. Good luck with him!

[renonvsparky]

He's had X-rays of his digestive tract and his teeth. His digestive tract showed a little bit of gas, which has passed. His teeth are in really good shape. They are not overgrown and the occlusion is perfect. He doesn't have any trouble picking up and chewing pellets; he bites off bits of his carrot and cucumber and has no trouble chewing them up and swallowing them down.

When I come up to his cage to give them to him, he gets excited for them. He nibbles on the cage as he always has. He shows interest in them. He even nudges and scratches them to spread them out. After he sniffs through them and takes a few bites, he's done with them. He does the same thing with his hay. Something new he's doing is burrowing into the hay and making himself a nice little bed. Syringe feeding him is beyond easy. All I have to do is draw the critical care and put the syringe in front of him. He takes it into his mouth far enough so all I have to do is press the plunger. He'll go through at least 10-15 mL before he gets full and climbs up my chest to be picked up and put back in his cage. I guess this is what he needs to get enough food, at least for now.

[Sef]

It's obviously not normal for him, though, and I think you are right to be concerned at this point. It's great that he readily takes CC from the syringe, but it doesn't address whatever the underlying problem is. A healthy guinea pig shouldn't be lazy about eating---they are 'eating and pooping' machines.

Is your vet very experienced in reading small animal dental x-rays? I ask because our vet told us that Albert's teeth looked fine when in fact we have since learned from another vet that his molars are quite overgrown. A willingness and interest in eating but then walking away from it still makes me think something dental could be going on. Do you have a copy of the images that you could post on GL? Pinta is the resident expert on dental issues there, and you could send her a PM or email to ask if she'll look at them once they are posted.

How do his poops look?

Also, how is his weight and his water consumption? One thing that I noticed in the very early stages of renal failure with a couple of our older pigs, was a lack of interest in food. When the kidneys aren't filtering properly, the build-up of uremia can cause nausea and greatly affect appetite. I suspect that certain foods just don't "taste right." It might be something else to consider.

Sending all good thoughts for BJ that you can figure out what's going on with that sweet boy.