Hypoglycemic?

[smurfangel182]

One of my older babies is acting weird at feeding time. He is roughly 6 weeks old maybe 7. Hes the smallest in his group at 120 grams. His brother and sister are 142 and 148. At feeding time he takes about 1.5 to 2 ccs then stops and starts opening and closing his mouth while stretching his arms straight out and he becomes so what stiff. Kind of looks like hes trying to catch his breath or choking. Sometimes he takes more formula after this and sometimes not. When he doesnt i just try to feed him in a couple hours rather than the 4 they normally go. I have a vet appointment on Tuesday for him mainly but to also check over my others just to make sure they are doing ok since im new at rehabbing. But is there anything i can do for him in the mean time? Also what is causing this. Is he hypoglycemic? Or is it something else? Other than this he is very active. Sleeps just as much as the others and is up moving around the same as them. Its just at feeding time. Ive tried feeding much slower. Tried making sure the formula isnt too hot or too cold. They all have been eatting 50/50 esbilac and fox valley with heavy whipping cream and all natural yogurt. Thanks for reading.

[Nancy in New York]

One of my older babies is acting weird at feesing time. He is roughly 6 weeks old maybe 7. Hes the smallest in his group at 120 grams. His brother and sister are 142 and 148. At feeding time he takes about q.5 to 2 ccs then stops and starts opening and closing his mouth while stretching his arms straight out and he becomes so what stiff. Kind of looks like hes trying to catch his breath or choking. I have a vet appointment for him mainly but to also check over my others just to make sure they are doing ok so im new at rehabbing. But is there anything i can do for him in the mean time? Also what is causing this. Is he hypoglycemic? Or is it something else? Other than this he is very active. Sleeps just as much as the others and is up moving around the same as them. Its just at feeding time. Ive tried feeding much slower. Tried making sure the formula isnt too hot or too cold. They all have been eatting 50/50 esbilac and fox valley with heavy whipping cream and all natural yogurt. Thanks for reading.

Let me find a video and tell us if this is what he appears to be doing.

edit: Here it is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E25ynfqQlZU

[smurfangel182]

Let me find a video and tell us if this is what he appears to be doing.

edit: Here it is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E25ynfqQlZU



Not quite. His mouth does that but he bends his head down and he completely stretches his whole body out and becomes stiff. Sometimes if i gently blow on his face he snaps out of it but this last feeding time really scared me, becayse he wasnt snapping out of it for a minute or two. He's been gaining weight like normal he was only 88 grams when i got him about a week ago.

EDIT: like i said everything else is normal about him. His sleeping activity level. When he does eat without this happening hes a little piggy. I weigh every morning before their first feeding and do the math for each one. They get no less than .05 and no more than .07 their body weight.

[Nancy in New York]

Not quite. His mouth does that but he bends his head down and he completely stretches his whole body out and becomes stiff. Sometimes if i gently blow on his face he snaps out of it but this last feeding time really scared me, becayse he wasnt snapping out of it for a minute or two. He's been gaining weight like normal he was only 88 grams when i got him about a week ago.

EDIT: like i said everything else is normal about him. His sleeping activity level. When he does eat without this happening hes a little piggy. I weigh every morning before their first feeding and do the math for each one. They get no less than .05 and no more than .07 their body weight.

It does sound like the guppy mouth/trace that we talk about. IF this only happens during feeding, not sure what else it could be.
I had one a couple of years ago that did this and I always saved him for last because he took so long, I didn't want to hold up the others. I tried taking the nipple off, and it worked like a charm for some reason. What nipple do you use?
IF your little ones are hungry after 7% you can increase it a little at each feeding.
I personally hate to stick so strictly to the feeding amount. The thing to remember is not
to increase it too quickly and to NOT let them bloat or have hard tummies. Their stomachs should
feel like a balloon, not hard but not soft.

edit: I will direct some others to this thread tomorrow to see if they have other thoughts on this. :glomp

[smurfangel182]

I usually save him for last too. Which sucks because when i reach in for one these guys hes always the first to come up me. Hes even grabbed my hand or climbed up on my hand and just sat there before. So i feel bad for having to set him back down and pick up another :(

Edit: i use the miracle nipples. I have the regular and minis. He does it no matter which one i use. Although this guy still prefers the minis.

[Nancy in New York]

I usually save him for last too. Which sucks because when i reach in for one these guys hes always the first to come up me. Hes even grabbed my hand or climbed up on my hand and just sat there before. So i feel bad for having to set him back down and pick up another :(

Akkkkkkkk I know.
You could always take him first, but you would probably have to start 1/2 hour ahead of time.
They take forever to feed. Mine too would sometimes want to be the first, and if that happened too often,
I would make the others wait a little (didn't want him to develop an inferiority complex :))
OR I would feed him a portion of the formula feed the others and then finish him up.
They have us trained SO well. :shakehead

[Mel1959]

Peepers still does the guppy mouth eating sometimes and he's 10 weeks Old. Sometimes he's too busy looking around and listening to every little thing that I can't get him to eat. It makes for a long eating session! Uuugh!

[smurfangel182]

Peepers still does the guppy mouth eating sometimes and he's 10 weeks Old. Sometimes he's too busy looking around and listening to every little thing that I can't get him to eat. It makes for a long eating session! Uuugh!

Does he stretch his arms and legs out and become really stiff? Thats what worries me. Chester acts like hes not getting air or something. Hes not chocking on anything that i can see and he usually snaps out of it 15 to 30 seconds later. Earlier it went on for awhile.

[island rehabber]

smurfangel, some babies are serious gapers and they just have to outgrow it. Try, as Nancy suggested, taking the nipple off altogether. Try having the formula a bit cooler for him -- I guess feeding him last would kind of solve that problem -- because I did notice that very warm formula sometimes triggered the gapers that I've had. Blowing in the face is good; so is a light tap on the head or backside. Nomatter what, when you get a world-class guppy-mouther sometimes NOTHING works. Just make sure they are getting enough nourishment in that mouth and bear with it. :grin3

[Nancy in New York]

At feeding time he takes about 1.5 to 2 ccs then stops and starts opening and closing his mouth while stretching his arms straight out and he becomes so what stiff. Kind of looks like hes trying to catch his breath or choking. Sometimes he takes more formula after this and sometimes not.


Just another suggestion and we "touched on this".
If he starts this after ~ 1.5-2 ccs, put him back and feed another.
Then take him out and try again. If you can get in 1.5 - 2 everytime you take him out
without him doing this, you can get in a full feeding in one shot, (eventually).


If you are feeding him again in 2 hours to make up for what he
didn't take the first time, he may not actually be that hungry at the
next feeding. :dono

[smurfangel182]

It hasnt been as bad with the past few feedings. It just got really bad that one time and scared me. Their henrys blacks came today so they are actually playing with them now. And thanks. Ill for sure try without a nipple.

[Nancy in New York]

It hasnt been as bad with the past few feedings. It just got really bad that one time and scared me. Their henrys blacks came today so they are actually playing with them now. And thanks. Ill for sure try without a nipple.

CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:klunk
Oh that is scary for sure. I have had gappers periodically and I swear, sometime
you just don't think this can only be a "feeding trance" or "guppy mouth" or whatever,
but they snap out of it, and it's ONLY when they are being fed, so what else could it be? :)

[stepnstone]

Try having the formula a bit cooler for him -- I guess feeding him last would kind of solve that problem -- because I did notice that very warm formula sometimes triggered the gapers that I've had.

I have noticed this as well with the results that they stop the "guppy imitation"
when the formula is a degree or so cooler for them.

[Spanky]

I had an pair that when they got older older pair and the one was easily distracted. Specifically by his brother in the cage.... if brother made any noise at all, rattled the cage or anything he'd stop eating and stare off at brother in the cage. "I saw a squirrel!" syndrome?!?!? :grin2 He did not do the guppy mouth thing, maybe more a busy body always needing to know what is happening in the cage?

I started taking him into separate room where there were no distractions, no noises and no brother. That seemed to help a lot but it took a few feedings for him to get comfortable in the new room and realize this was going to be his new "routine". In the end, feeding was much improved all around (time required to feed, amount of formula taken, etc.). Maybe worth a try? :dono

[smurfangel182]

Ive been feeding him last so by time i get to him the others are all fed and sleeping. And it doesnt happen everytime. Most but not all. Vet appointment is tomorrow so his afternoon feeding im going to do there so the vet can actually see it and maybe tell me whats going on. He did it again bad this morning and nothing snapped him out of it. I had to just let it ride out. Looks almost like hes choking but i checked and there was nothing i saw he could have been choking on. Hes gaining weight but still the smallest of his group. He weighed 132 this morning and his brother and sister were 160 and 170

[smurfangel182]

Forgot to post yesterday but the vet thinks its just the guppy mouth thing. Took a huge weight off my shoulders cause i was super worried. Told me to keep an ear out for gurgling when he does this to make sure hes not choking.

Also had her look at Saber and Sandy. Saber has what kind of looks like a boil on the side of her belly. Vet tried to pop it but nothing was coming out. We are just keeping an eye on it for now. And Sandy is my little baby that lost 3 finger nails on her right hand. Not swollen anymore and all healed up. She will most like be a keeper. We will see when she gets older and well she does with climbing.