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Both lost 100g in a week!

Even with my efforts of covering the cage and giving them snugglesafes which have gone untouched, Esme has lost another 5g 😞 I know this is my anxiety in full swing but I just can’t stop worrying that the vet has missed something even though he gave them a good check 😞
 
What temperature is your room reaching overnight? Also how do you know the snuggle safes are untouched?

I’m sorry you’re having a really stressful time with your girls right now, I know how worrying it is, especially when there’s no clear cause.

My boys live outside (in a garage), and we live in NE scotland so the highest the temperature has reached in the past month is 10-15 degrees. I actually bulk my boys up over winter, they get a little extra nuggets and a little extra veg during these months. I give my boys multiple options of heat pad, one snuggled under hay in one area (it’s best if it’s in an area where they can lay near the heat pad, but still in hay) and my old boy with arthritis gets one just sat in his cage and he loves to lie on it.

Do you provide a layer of hay in the areas where your girls sleep? I just wonder as most indoor cages don’t use hay as a bedding. As my boys are outdoors they have hay in every high use area and it’s a great insulator, even a layer under the tummies can be enough to keep the heat in, like a blanket/duvet for us. In the depths of winter I provide piles of hay, in which my boys can fully “submerge” themselves in hay, but I don’t imagine your girls will need that indoors.

Edit - I am also wondering how much does the temperature fluctuate from during the day with the heating on, to the early morning/overnight. This may not sound great, but atleast in my boys case they’re cold all the time so they know how to deal with it, whereas if your room is lovely and cozy during the day and then really cold, that can definitely have an affect on your girls.
 
piggl said:
What temperature is your room reaching overnight? Also how do you know the snuggle safes are untouched?

I’m sorry you’re having a really stressful time with your girls right now, I know how worrying it is, especially when there’s no clear cause.

My boys live outside (in a garage), and we live in NE scotland so the highest the temperature has reached in the past month is 10-15 degrees. I actually bulk my boys up over winter, they get a little extra nuggets and a little extra veg during these months. I give my boys multiple options of heat pad, one snuggled under hay in one area (it’s best if it’s in an area where they can lay near the heat pad, but still in hay) and my old boy with arthritis gets one just sat in his cage and he loves to lie on it.

Do you provide a layer of hay in the areas where your girls sleep? I just wonder as most indoor cages don’t use hay as a bedding. As my boys are outdoors they have hay in every high use area and it’s a great insulator, even a layer under the tummies can be enough to keep the heat in, like a blanket/duvet for us. In the depths of winter I provide piles of hay, in which my boys can fully “submerge” themselves in hay, but I don’t imagine your girls will need that indoors.

Edit - I am also wondering how much does the temperature fluctuate from during the day with the heating on, to the early morning/overnight. This may not sound great, but atleast in my boys case they’re cold all the time so they know how to deal with it, whereas if your room is lovely and cozy during the day and then really cold, that can definitely have an affect on your girls.
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Thank you I’m not sure what temperature the room reaches overnight to be honest, may be I should invest in a thermometer?

I think the snugglesafes were untouched as there was no shavings or hay on the fleecy covers. When I used to use snugglesafes for my outdoor piggies, there was always shavings and hay left on the fleecy covers from where they’d been laying but I guess I could be wrong? I put one snugglesafe in the hay and one in the bendy logs. Esme likes to be in the plastic dome but I didn’t put one in there as she’d have no choice but to lie on it and I want to give them the option.

They have hay in half the cage but I’m thinking I could provide more. I stopped giving them a lot as they had a few hay poke incidents.

I don’t have the heating on all day, just for short bursts when I’m home but I’m not sure how much the temperature fluctuates from day to overnight
 
I have a room thermometer, I've actually had mine since I had Comet and Blitzen and it's still going (albeit with replacement batteries). I find it invaluable because I really can't feel the cold properly and when I've thought it warm enough it's actually been 17C, which isn't enough for the goblins. You don't need a fancy one or anything, either, mine's fairly basic.
 
Lorcan said:
I have a room thermometer, I've actually had mine since I had Comet and Blitzen and it's still going (albeit with replacement batteries). I find it invaluable because I really can't feel the cold properly and when I've thought it warm enough it's actually been 17C, which isn't enough for the goblins. You don't need a fancy one or anything, either, mine's fairly basic.
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What do you mean 17 degrees isn't warm enough? My house drops down to around 14 degrees overnight and despite having an oil filled radiator, in the guinea pig cabin, it drops below that. They are all absolutely fine!
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
What do you mean 17 degrees isn't warm enough? My house drops down to around 14 degrees overnight and despite having an oil filled radiator, in the guinea pig cabin, it drops below that. They are all absolutely fine!
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They're skinnies, and this house is hard to heat. Once it drops that low it's a struggle to get it back to around 18C, and that's during the day.
 
I have put the snugglesafes in the centre of the cage, in the hay area and in their favourite sleeping places but the guinea pigs refuse to use them and Esme has lost another 5g taking her down to 1100g 😞 Elizabeth has maintained and is still hovering around 1200g although if she didn’t have her big fatty lipoma she’d be around 1000g as vet estimates it weighs around 200g. I don’t know what else to do to keep them warm 😞 Had the heating on for most of the day just didn’t have it on overnight
 
Claire you are doing all you can.maybe provide hay in the dome without a snuggle safe.
I've skinny pigs in two different herds.its 15 to 16 degrees in the piggy room.,without heating....immersion heater in the room.i just put lots of hay in there hides,and snugglesafe.all the guinea pigs seem to maintain there weight.
It's difficult with anxiety,try and write your fears down,then next to that what measures you are taking,I believe you are doing your best.🙂
 
Betsy said:
My feeling on the matter is if they don't use it they must be warm enough. Do their feet feel cold? Do they feel cold? if not they are probably warm enough. Do Esme and Elizabeth use their hideys? Just trying to think things through....
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Elizabeth and Esme feel warm and so do their feet and ears. I put the snugglesafes in their hides and they refused to go in them. Elizabeth will sleep out in the open where as Esme likes the dome hide the best.

I just don’t understand why Esme especially is losing if she’s warm enough 😞
 
eileen said:
Claire you are doing all you can.maybe provide hay in the dome without a snuggle safe.
I've skinny pigs in two different herds.its 15 to 16 degrees in the piggy room.,without heating....immersion heater in the room.i just put lots of hay in there hides,and snugglesafe.all the guinea pigs seem to maintain there weight.
It's difficult with anxiety,try and write your fears down,then next to that what measures you are taking,I believe you are doing your best.🙂
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Thank you. I’ll put hay in the hides and see if that helps.

I’ve ordered a thermometer to see how cold it’s getting in the pigs room without the heating on.

I agree and anxiety is awful 😞
 
Piggies&buns said:
It sounds to me as if they are warm enough. They’d be on/near the snugglesafes if they were cold.
5g down from one day to the next is not concerning. That is a maintain, not a loss.
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I do appreciate that a 5g loss is classed as a maintain but it’s just the fact Esme seems to be on a downward spiral of losing weight 😞
 
Claire W said:
I do appreciate that a 5g loss is classed as a maintain but it’s just the fact Esme seems to be on a downward spiral of losing weight 😞
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She may have been losing but for the last two mornings (assuming I’m reading the thread timeline correctly) she has maintained.
I would stop weighing daily to be honest - it means you are seeing every single small and likely insignificant change which to be honest is probably not helpful at this point. I would only be weighing once a week now, but you could do it twice a week if it will help you feel a bit less anxious, I would not do it any more than that though. I’m just concerned that focusing on 5g drop is not doing you any good when actually the vet has confirmed a clean bill of health and Wiebke who knows your piggies says that they were only losing yellow fat which is not of concern (it’s actually a good thing).
 
I agree Claire, if I were you I'd stop weighing so often. They can drop pick up 5gms in 10 minutes and you are just worrying yourself. You are doing all you can the vet can't find anything wrong. As they get older they do have a tendency to lose weight, they lose muscle which weighs more than fat.
 
Piggies&buns said:
She may have been losing but for the last two mornings (assuming I’m reading the thread timeline correctly) she has maintained.
I would stop weighing daily to be honest - it means you are seeing every single small and likely insignificant change which to be honest is probably not helpful at this point. I would only be weighing once a week now, but you could do it twice a week if it will help you feel a bit less anxious, I would not do it any more than that though. I’m just concerned that focusing on 5g drop is not doing you any good when actually the vet has confirmed a clean bill of health and Wiebke who knows your piggies says that they were only losing yellow fat which is not of concern (it’s actually a good thing).
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piggieminder said:
I agree Claire, if I were you I'd stop weighing so often. They can drop pick up 5gms in 10 minutes and you are just worrying yourself. You are doing all you can the vet can't find anything wrong. As they get older they do have a tendency to lose weight, they lose muscle which weighs more than fat.
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Thank you and I understand what you’re all saying I’m just worried that if I stop weighing daily that I’m going to miss a massive drop like I did with Enoch, Edward and Ella when they all had dental problems 😞

Esme has been losing around 5g a day since I started weighing daily

Sorry for getting so anxious. But I’ll try and stop weighing them daily x
 
Claire W said:
Thank you and I understand what you’re all saying I’m just worried that if I stop weighing daily that I’m going to miss a massive drop like I did with Enoch, Edward and Ella when they all had dental problems 😞

Esme has been losing around 5g a day since I started weighing daily

Sorry for getting so anxious. But I’ll try and stop weighing them daily x
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We all understand the worry, Claire.
You aren’t going to miss something by not weighing daily, but weighing daily is most likely creating an issue in itself - an issue for you.
Perhaps try not to weigh them again until the weekend.
Wiebke has suggested giving a few extra pellets. I give my two old boys (turning 6 in February) a spoonful of porridge oats to help give them a boost now they don’t hold their weight like they used to (they are 200g and 300g lighter than when they were in the prime).
 
Piggies&buns said:
We all understand the worry, Claire.
You aren’t going to miss something by not weighing daily, but weighing daily is most likely creating an issue in itself - an issue for you.
Perhaps try not to weigh them again until the weekend.
Wiebke has suggested giving a few extra pellets. I give my two old boys (turning 6 in February) a spoonful of porridge oats to help give them a boost now they don’t hold their weight like they used to (they are 200g and 300g lighter than when they were in the prime).
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Thank you, it is certainly causing an issue for me as I feel sick with worry.

I haven’t weighed them this morning and will leave it now until the weekend. I just feel so anxious.

Thank you. I’ve given them a few more extra pellets. I tried them with porridge oats but they didn’t touch them

I guess they don’t hold their weight as much as they get older. I’m just worried as Esme only turned 3 in July so isn’t an elderly pig.

I’m glad your boys are doing well despite the weight loss x
 
I’ve just weighed the girls and they’ve both had a very small gain over the last few days.

I bought a thermometer and it was 21C in their room yesterday afternoon with the heating on and 18C at 10pm when the heating had gone off and the house was cooling down. It’s been -3 outside overnight and their room was 16C at 6am this morning. I’m not sure what the coldest their room got to but their cage was covered and they had snugglesafes overnight.

Are these fluctuations ok? Is it too cold for them?

Thank you @furryfriends (TEAS) I’ll leave the bowl of oats in their cage for longer x
 
So they are now maintaining. Everything now sounds to be ok.

The temperatures are absolutely fine.
 
Sounds fine to me Claire, our central heating goes off at 9.30 pm and back on at 7.30 am I’ve never checked the temperature in any of the rooms but my lot all hunker down in their tunnels or hay
 
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