So last night, Rose stopped eating and didn’t want any of her favorite snacks. With some simethicone (baby gas drops) and regular critical care feedings, she’s now eating on her own again! 🎉 I’m not sure we’re completely out of the woods yet. We have an appointment next week for her to just to make sure everything ok with her (in addition to giving her critical care 2x day).

It’s important to be familiar with your guinea pigs’ habits, so you know when something is off. They’re prey animals so they’ll try to be very stealthy about any problems they have, until it’s too late. A few preventative things you can do before things get rough:

• Weigh them weekly – You can use a kitchen scale for this. Track the weights of each pig in a notebook or Excel sheet.
• Have Critical Care on hand – You can get this at Amazon, Chewy or some vets even (look for Oxbow Critical Care). When handfeeding, be sure to make it really soupy so you can get it into the syringe easily. In a pinch, you can soak pellets in water if you don’t have any at the moment.
• Have a vet fund – Make sure you have some money set aside for vet bills. At the first sign of illness, get them to the vet as soon as possible, so it’s more treatable.

(Btw, I’ve asked what was wrong, but she wouldn’t tell me! 😐 We’ve been roommates for how long now?)