Any advice or ideas about an underweight piggy?

[lauryn1289]

One of my piggies Kip is over 6 now and he’s very skinny. He was never a chubby pig to begin with but I’ve noticed his weight dwindle as he’s aged and I’m just wondering if anyone has tips or advice or even experience with older pigs? His cagemate died from bloat around 6-7 years old last October and he was my first pig so I don’t have a huge amount of experience with older pigs.

He has no health issues I know of apart from a pretty long lasting hematoma on his neck (it’s been regularly tested by vets) and some issues with his eyes being crusty which I’ve been told is an old piggie thing, and he in the past did have an issue with hair loss but Ivermectin treated it.

He’s gone to the vets every few months to keep an eye on his hematoma and he went from 800g down to 750g and this visit is was 690g if i remember correctly. He’s very small in size compared to my other two boys so perhaps that’s a factor but I’m just concerned about his weight.

For context he has a very good appetite and is constantly begging for treats, he eats meadow hay and local Timothy hay and the pellets he eats are Versele Laga Cavia Complete and he never turns down some green pepper or banana or any veggie at all actually. So I’m just wondering if anyone would have any idea why he’s losing weight even thought his appetite is great? Any advice or experience at all is welcome!

Just added some photos so you can hopefully gauge his size in general because he is a very small piggy even beyond his weight

 

[Freela]

I have noticed that older pigs tend to lose muscle mass and slim out. After 5.5 or so, most of my pigs lost muscle mass on top of their bodies, making it easier to feel the shoulder blades and hips/pelvis. This resulted in them weighing consistently less than they did when they were younger adults in their prime. Since he's still consistently losing weight, however, your vet may want to check obvious things that could be causing it. Have his teeth been checked, including his molars in the back? Difficulty with teeth can mean that although pigs look like they're eating, they're not eating the same volume as usual and can lose weight. At his age there could also be underlying issues that aren't immediately apparent, anything from diabetes to heart disease to underlying malignancy. How much time and energy you want to spend investigating these things at his age (and depending on how stressful the process it to him) is really up to you. If you want a place to start, I would suggest a good look at his teeth and perhaps some basic blood and urine to rule out diabetes, kidney failure, and things of that nature. Again, how badly you want to pursue systemic options is really a judgment call, as some of these issues really don't have many good treatment options anyhow, unfortunately.

 

[lauryn1289]

Thank you so much, he’s going back to the vet in a week for a checkup because he was given an antibiotic eye cream so I’ll discuss this with the vet. Unfortunately there’s no exotic vets within a few hours of me so I have to rely on what I know about guinea pigs sometimes to help my vet out but I’ll definitely ask about some standard bloodwork and I’ll get them to check his molars but I’ll check his front teeth myself too because I haven’t . I just want to make sure he’s as healthy as he can be at his age and happy and I won’t do anything that would put him under a lot of stress, I have been suggested surgery for the hematoma on his neck but I wouldn’t want to put him through that for something that doesn’t even bother him. Thank you so much again!

 

[Engel]

His eyes do look sore, is the antibiotic cream working? He hasn't got anything rubbing against his eye causing it to weep and become crusty has he?

I agree with @Freela regarding weight though. Older piggies lose muscle mass live every other animal, including people so I wouldn't necessarily be too worried about him feeling more bony, however if he's continuously losing weight I'd try syringe feeding to top him up to see if that makes a difference. It could be his molars are a bit overgrown making it difficult to consume the quantity of food he needs.

 

[lauryn1289]

His eyes do look sore, is the antibiotic cream working? He hasn't got anything rubbing against his eye causing it to weep and become crusty has he?

I agree with @Freela regarding weight though. Older piggies lose muscle mass live every other animal, including people so I wouldn't necessarily be too worried about him feeling more bony, however if he's continuously losing weight I'd try syringe feeding to top him up to see if that makes a difference. It could be his molars are a bit overgrown making it difficult to consume the quantity of food he needs.

I honestly have no idea what’s going on with his eyes, I switched his bedding from all hay to fleece (much to his disdain) because I was concerned maybe he was getting eye pokes from burrowing in the hay but that hasn’t stopped it. It’s actually both of his eyes that get crusty and weepy so I’m really at a loss for what it could be, this is his first day on anitbiotic cream so I’m hoping it’ll stop his eyes bothering him.

I have critical care so I’ll start giving him some syringes of it to make sure he is getting enough, I didn’t really think about his molars because he eats so much but I’ll definitely get them checked out. Thank you so much!

 

[Engel]

It's difficult because sometimes it looks like they're eating, but they can be picking it up, readjusting it in their mouths, then dropping it again.

Did the vet use a stain on his eyes to see if there was any lesions? Have you been given an eye lubricant to use alongside the antibiotic? As animals age they can develop dry eye. They essentially don't produce enough tears to keep the eye lubricated. The 'tears' can become very thick and mucus like and create this crustiness too. If you choose to use a eye lubricant leave at least 1hr between that and the antibiotic eye cream or they'll just wash each other out.

If you stick to using just the antibiotic eye cream on its own you should notice a difference by day 3. If you finish the course of eye drops and the problem still remains, speak to your vet about the schirmer test. This tests how much tears they produce in a set time. Hopefully that will help you and him.

 

[Siikibam]

It’s good you’re getting him back in for a checkup. Due to the continual downward trend with his weight, I would switch to weighing once daily (mornings may be better) to keep an eye on it. As above, step in with some critical care and syringe feed him to help him maintain his weight. Weight loss (in general) is down to not eating enough hay - something you can’t judge by eye. Hay makes up 80% while veg and pellets only 20%. So you can see how it’s down to not enough hay being consumed.

They do lose condition when older. However, for any downward trend, it’s a good idea to rule out any medical cause for weight loss. Hopefully there will be nothing. Do let us know how you get on. We’re rooting for your boy.

 

[lauryn1289]

Honestly I have thought to myself maybe he isn’t eating enough hay. He loves his pellets so much that he tends to beg for them first and foremost and I throw a couple in throughout the day but I don’t actively see him eat hay a lot but I know he is but maybe not as much as he needs to be. I feed him timothy and meadow for variety but maybe I’ll try a different brand of hay and try to get him excited about it a new one! Thank you so much