Can guinea pigs get diabetes?

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gorgeous piggies

gorgeous piggies

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I am slightly worried about my aby guinea pig, Finn (my avatar pic) He is a big 1.5kg and drinks a lot. I seem to be filling his water bottle up constantly and I am worried in case he may have diabetes. Do guinea pigs get this? ?/ He is eating as normal and is active, and his cage mate (and brother) Logan (also 1.5kg) also drinks a fair amount although not as much as Finn. I am taking him to the vets for a check up as I am really concerned. Any advice or comments would be much appreciated, even if it's just to put my mind at rest! Thanks x>>
 
Hi there, I'm sure piggies can get diabetes but I dont know much about it, hopefully someone who knows will be along soon. Hope your little piggie is ok. :)
 
Hi There -

Yes piggies can get diabetes, sadly I lost my Bette to the disease as she was undiagnosed for so long the strain of the illness sent her into Kidney failure.

Generally it's not the diabetes it's self that kills them, in fact animals and humans can cope well with the disease but after a period time it takes it's toll on the internal organ's if left untreated.

Firstly, you should remove any sweet vegetables from there diet along with fruit as they can result in a false positive (should be done for 2 weeks), as you are concerned I wouldn't worry to much about this and just not give any sugary food's before your vet appointment.

The vet firstly will do a urine test, if glucose is present then they should immediately follow this with a blood test (pin prick behind the ear is all that is needed). If glucose is also present in this sample then you can almost say 99.5% your pig has diabetes.

Many pigs do get insulin but a lot can also be controlled by diet, please be aware it's not only diabetes that causes excess drinking and you are doing the right thing having your boy checked.

X
 
Thank you for your replies. I will let you know the outcome of the vet visit. I hope it's nothing serious and that he just needs to be a bit slimmer! rolleyes My piggies are everything to me and it breaks my heart to think that any of them are hurting. :(
 
You sound like you really love them. Its ok, it will be ok. Please just take note that if your vet is worried about diabetes then they may do a urine sample test for glucose (sugars) in the urine. If your piggie is fed any diet with E colourants in then they will have glucose in their urine which is due to the colourants. This will result in a false diagnoses of diabetes.

x.
 
I also put up the same thread as this last week.
I am also experiencing a simlar thing with my Geoffrey. He guzzles water like its going out of fashion, but the other 2 drink in more moderate amounts.

My piggies tend to mostly live off nuggets (as I found muesli used to really affect their behaviour for the worst).
 
How old is your guinea pig ? Wasting disease is a problem some guinea pigs from 18months can get a problem with. Presents as excessive drinking and weight loss. The guinea pig appears well and eats normally. I have had 3 piggies pass away from this. This is a form of guinea pig diabetes. The guineapig lopedia book has a very good article on this.
 
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