Bloat? Pregnant? Tumor?

[shawn.laz]

So i’ve had my guinea pig Lucy since January 11th 2024, and she’s been acting very normal and she’s actually pretty happy, though I went on a camping trip for about 6 days and I had my cousin provide them with vegetables, tbough i packed a lot more veggies than she and her sister should’ve eaten she had the ideal body type until i came back from camping and saw that she became pretty fat and her stomach was wide and it looked like she was bloated but that was 2 weeks ago and she still has the same bloated look. (attached)

The sides of her stomach also feel pretty hard, like there’s something solid there when she partially stretches out.

She’s been eating well and poops and pees as normal, but i’ve noticed that she and her sister have never drank water, so I provide them with a bunch of watery veggies to keep them hydrated as they do not drink water at all.

I’m considering taking her to a vet, but I’m thinking that it could just be her breed which is like that, making her built like that and I wouldn’t want to spend 50-100 dollars for nothing.


When I hold Lucy by her belly I can feel her stomach moving and swishing around and it’s very frequent and i’m not sure if it’s a concern or just how guinea pigs are, I couldn’t find anything.

I woukd also like to know how much vet checkups are for guinea pigs since i haven’t yet been to the vet
If anyone has any clue to this problem please advise me. Thank you

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m afraid we cannot tell you whether there is something going on.
We can only ever advise a vet check if you have any health concerns.
Please always treat potential bloat very seriously - it is a very painful condition which can kill.
With that said if she had untreated bloat for the last two weeks she would be very poorly.

However if she is a pet shop piggy or if there is any chance that had been with a boar prior to you getting her then there is always the chance she is pregnant. A pregnancy lasts around 10 weeks

Have you double checked that her sister is indeed a female?

Why-we-cannot-diagnose-a-pregnancy-from-a-picture.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
New Owners' Essential Information and Practical Tips Starter Collection
Surprise-babies-care-and-information-collection-incl-help-with-any-dads

Piggies will only ever drink what they need - the need to drink comes before the need to eat. The more watery veg you provide the less likelihood of them wanting to drink from a bottle

All About Drinking And Bottles

 

[Piggies&buns]

EDIT - I see you edited your post: it originally said you got her on 11 February but now I see you changed it to say January .
11 January is obviously over 10 weeks ago so if the sister is indeed female then it won’t be a pregnancy. Please see a vet if you are concerned.
Please double check the sex of the sister and separate immediately if you find she is in fact a he.

Have you been carrying out the routine weekly weight checks? Have they shown any unexpected weight gain?

 

[Wiebke]

So i’ve had my guinea pig Lucy since January 11th 2024, and she’s been acting very normal and she’s actually pretty happy, though I went on a camping trip for about 6 days and I had my cousin provide them with vegetables, tbough i packed a lot more veggies than she and her sister should’ve eaten she had the ideal body type until i came back from camping and saw that she became pretty fat and her stomach was wide and it looked like she was bloated but that was 2 weeks ago and she still has the same bloated look. (attached)

The sides of her stomach also feel pretty hard, like there’s something solid there when she partially stretches out.

She’s been eating well and poops and pees as normal, but i’ve noticed that she and her sister have never drank water, so I provide them with a bunch of watery veggies to keep them hydrated as they do not drink water at all.

I’m considering taking her to a vet, but I’m thinking that it could just be her breed which is like that, making her built like that and I wouldn’t want to spend 50-100 dollars for nothing.


When I hold Lucy by her belly I can feel her stomach moving and swishing around and it’s very frequent and i’m not sure if it’s a concern or just how guinea pigs are, I couldn’t find anything.

I woukd also like to know how much vet checkups are for guinea pigs since i haven’t yet been to the vet
If anyone has any clue to this problem please advise me. Thank you

Hi

Please double check the gender of the companion to be on the safe side. A pregnancy is about 10 weeks and you are now 13 weeks into your ownership so the only possibility would be a mis-sexed male companion.
You can find a guide to how to sex guinea pigs with lots of comparison pictures showing you exactly what to look for inside the slit and where to feel for) via this link here: Illustrated Sexing Guide
We do provide a second opinion if wished but ask for crisp and preferably day lit pictures.

What we cannot do is diagnosing from a picture what essentially requires a hands-on examination nor can we replace a vet visit; what we do is help during illness or unplanned birth with practical and moral home care support in conjunction with any necessary medical vet treatment. Please contact your vet and enquire about their fees. They can vary quite a lot from country to country and between a no frills general vets and an exotics clinic.
Please switch from the once weekly body onceover and weigh in health check on your kitchen scales to weighing daily first thing in the morning for best day to day comparison so you can monitor any weight loss. This is the best way to pick up any major weight loss or weight gain straight away.
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos)
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Could you please change your location to your country/state or UK county. Our forum is UK based but we are dealing with members and enquiries from all over the world. It makes it easier for us to give you advice that automatically takes in climate, vet acces, different brand names etc. into account. You access it via your account details when you click on your username on the top bar.

 

[shawn.laz]

Hi

Please double check the gender of the companion to be on the safe side. A pregnancy is about 10 weeks and you are now 13 weeks into your ownership so the only possibility would be a mis-sexed male companion.
You can find a guide to how to sex guinea pigs with lots of comparison pictures showing you exactly what to look for inside the slit and where to feel for) via this link here: Illustrated Sexing Guide
We do provide a second opinion if wished but ask for crisp and preferably day lit pictures.

What we cannot do is diagnosing from a picture what essentially requires a hands-on examination nor can we replace a vet visit; what we do is help during illness or unplanned birth with practical and moral home care support in conjunction with any necessary medical vet treatment. Please contact your vet and enquire about their fees. They can vary quite a lot from country to country and between a no frills general vets and an exotics clinic.
Please switch from the once weekly body onceover and weigh in health check on your kitchen scales to weighing daily first thing in the morning for best day to day comparison so you can monitor any weight loss. This is the best way to pick up any major weight loss or weight gain straight away.
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos)
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Could you please change your location to your country/state or UK county. Our forum is UK based but we are dealing with members and enquiries from all over the world. It makes it easier for us to give you advice that automatically takes in climate, vet acces, different brand names etc. into account. You access it via your account details when you click on your username on the top bar.

Hey I appreciate the responses from Wiebke and Piggies&buns. I just weighed Lucy and she is 720g, and her sister who is quite smaller is 520g. I have confirmed that her sister is indeed a female so she is not pregnant nor bloated. I'm still not sure if there even is anything wrong with Lucy, just a concern of mine.

 

[Wiebke]

Hey I appreciate the responses from Wiebke and Piggies&buns. I just weighed Lucy and she is 720g, and her sister who is quite smaller is 520g. I have confirmed that her sister is indeed a female so she is not pregnant nor bloated. I'm still not sure if there even is anything wrong with Lucy, just a concern of mine.

You may find our very practical information collection helpful. Coming up to 20 years of forum experience with hundreds of thousands of questions and owner experience going back as much as half a century have gone into our various guides which will help you to learn what is normal and what not, how to care best for your piggies and to understand them. The guides format allows us to update and add to whenever needed or whenever we have spare time.

You may want to bookmark the link, browse, read and re-read at need as you will take different things from the guides at different levels of experience: Getting Started - Essential Information for New Owners