Can someone Give me Information?

[DM2]

Hi, In the past 2-3 weeks I have been noticing some drastic weight loss in my Guinea pig. He was 1.2 now 0.78. I have took him to the vets but they haven’t been able to give any answers. His eyes are small and squinted and he looks weak and the veterinarian has given him fluid ( he thinks he’s dehydrated) but we have been giving him water, celery and cucumber (which obviously contain tons of water) and they get given clean hay, day and night. He is around 2 1/2 years old (human years) and he is eating fine yet loosing tons of weight for unknown reason, the vet also found out his lower abdominal area was painful for my Guinea pig (thinks it could be his bladder but said if it was there would be blood in the wee or something) and slight discharge from his nose. I am really worried because I have been told it’s either he gets better with the medicine he’s been prescribed and the liquid feed or he may pass away, and hearing your Guinea pig could die (it’s my first pet) is heartbreaking. We have been giving him antibiotics and liquid feed for the past week and there’s only been a slight difference which isn’t a lot. If anyone has any advice please can you tell me because I am scared because I don’t want to loose him x

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, In the past 2-3 weeks I have been noticing some drastic weight loss in my Guinea pig. He was 1.2 now 0.78. I have took him to the vets but they haven’t been able to give any answers. His eyes are small and squinted and he looks weak and the veterinarian has given him fluid ( he thinks he’s dehydrated) but we have been giving him water, celery and cucumber (which obviously contain tons of water) and they get given clean hay, day and night. He is around 2 1/2 years old (human years) and he is eating fine yet loosing tons of weight for unknown reason, the vet also found out his lower abdominal area was painful for my Guinea pig (thinks it could be his bladder but said if it was there would be blood in the wee or something) and slight discharge from his nose. I am really worried because I have been told it’s either he gets better with the medicine he’s been prescribed and the liquid feed or he may pass away, and hearing your Guinea pig could die (it’s my first pet) is heartbreaking. We have been giving him antibiotics and liquid feed for the past week and there’s only been a slight difference which isn’t a lot. If anyone has any advice please can you tell me because I am scared because I don’t want to loose him x

Hi and welcome

How experienced is your vet with guinea pigs? If your guinea pig is painful in the lower body, then a check for a potential bladder stone or bloating should be made as you are not mentioning any of the typical symptoms of urinary tract infection. Have you got painkiller for your poor boy? Most loss of appetite is due to pain.

Please syringe feed BOTH fibre and water. He needs the fibre as much as the water because over 80% of the food intake is hay, which keeps the guts working properly. Vegetables make only about 10% of what he is eating normally in a day. Only water and watery veg will make him feel very ill. He will become very weak from lack of food and will lose a lot of weight. His guts will start to slow down and then close down. Your boy needs about 40-90 ml of fibrous syringe feed in 24 hours just to stay alive. If he is very weak, you need to feed round the clock; every 2 hours during the day and at least one or twice during the night.
Make sure that you do not feed more than he can swallow. Don't just empty a syringe full into his mouth. It is very time consuming and draining feeding a guinea pig fighting for his life. And your boy sadly is!

Please take the time to read our guides and start feeding mushed up pellets ASAP if you are not already feeding fibrous recovery mix. You need to cut off the syringe tip as shown in our syringe feeding guide to allow the fibre to get through.
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Please see your vet as an emergency tomorrow. Your medical information is too vague for us to give you any further tips. Can you please tell us what medication brands and amounts he is on and how long he has been on his meds.
Fingers VERY firmly crossed!

 

[Freela]

I'm not sure from your post if he is eating a normal diet or if he's just eating water and vegetables right now. I know you say he's got hay, which is good, but is he able to eat it? It's important that he gets something more substantial than just food and vegetables to keep his gut working properly. Critical Care is a supplement for sick pigs that some vets carry as a recovery food. Barring that, you can soak some pellets in water and feed those via syringe. Unfortunately it's impossible to know for sure why he is refusing food. The abdominal pain could be any number of things (is he peeing normally? UTIs and bladder stones are both common in guinea pigs and can cause pain, which can put some guinea pigs right off their food.) Did the vet check his teeth (sometimes pigs can get overgrown molars or dental issues which prevent them from chewing the hay that makes up the bulk of their diet- this leads to weight loss and wasting, even if pigs are eating other, softer items.) Wiebke has linked you above to some good articles on syringe feeding. This is vitally important with a sick pig who can't or won't eat. Best of luck, and I hope your little guy does well.

 

[DM2]

Hi and welcome

How experienced is your vet with guinea pigs? If your guinea pig is painful in the lower body, then a check for a potential bladder stone or bloating should be made as you are not mentioning any of the typical symptoms of urinary tract infection. Have you got painkiller for your poor boy? Most loss of appetite is due to pain.

Please syringe feed BOTH fibre and water. He needs the fibre as much as the water because over 80% of the food intake is hay, which keeps the guts working properly. Vegetables make only about 10% of what he is eating normally in a day. Only water and watery veg will make him feel very ill. He will become very weak from lack of food and will lose a lot of weight. His guts will start to slow down and then close down. Your boy needs about 40-90 ml of fibrous syringe feed in 24 hours just to stay alive. If he is very weak, you need to feed round the clock; every 2 hours during the day and at least one or twice during the night.
Make sure that you do not feed more than he can swallow. Don't just empty a syringe full into his mouth. It is very time consuming and draining feeding a guinea pig fighting for his life. And your boy sadly is!

Please take the time to read our guides and start feeding mushed up pellets ASAP if you are not already feeding fibrous recovery mix. You need to cut off the syringe tip as shown in our syringe feeding guide to allow the fibre to get through.
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Please see your vet as an emergency tomorrow. Your medical information is too vague for us to give you any further tips. Can you please tell us what medication brands and amounts he is on and how long he has been on his meds.
Fingers VERY firmly crossed!

Hi and thank you. We have been feeding him 30ml day and night so (60ml a day) we do syringe feed his medicine and his liquid feed. I am not to sure of the brand of medicine (it just says the vets building name) and I will post a picture of the food. He goes to the vet weekly just to check how hes doing and if hes improved. The vets are just local vets. The vets have said they are going to start giving bim fluid on a needle when we go back because they think hes dyhydrated x I'm just really worried as i dont want to loose my first pet. x
And his medicines are called: Loxicom oral - 0.15ml
Encrocare oral - 0.4ml x

 

[DM2]

I'm not sure from your post if he is eating a normal diet or if he's just eating water and vegetables right now. I know you say he's got hay, which is good, but is he able to eat it? It's important that he gets something more substantial than just food and vegetables to keep his gut working properly. Critical Care is a supplement for sick pigs that some vets carry as a recovery food. Barring that, you can soak some pellets in water and feed those via syringe. Unfortunately it's impossible to know for sure why he is refusing food. The abdominal pain could be any number of things (is he peeing normally? UTIs and bladder stones are both common in guinea pigs and can cause pain, which can put some guinea pigs right off their food.) Did the vet check his teeth (sometimes pigs can get overgrown molars or dental issues which prevent them from chewing the hay that makes up the bulk of their diet- this leads to weight loss and wasting, even if pigs are eating other, softer items.) Wiebke has linked you above to some good articles on syringe feeding. This is vitally important with a sick pig who can't or won't eat. Best of luck, and I hope your little guy does well.

Hi x his teeth are fine x We give them flavoured toys to naw down on like wooden carrots but we have given them these sicnce we first got them when they were 9wks old and they are now 2yrs old x the veterinarian has given us some liquid feed and pellets which you soak in warm water and give to him with a syringe. The vet said because the pain is in his lower abdomen, he said it could be bladder stones or an infection or something but there’s no signs that his bladder is bad, (there’s no blood and the wees are normal: like a pale yellow) so he doesn’t think it’s that. We do think it’s down to pain why he’s lost weight but he’s eating perfectly normal, he’s eating his nuggets and he’s eating his cucumber and spinach and things like that, he’s eating his hay and drinking his water. He’s always hiding which isn’t like him, he usually is running around trying to play with his cage mate. (The other Guineas pig is fine) and the vet told us that his teeth are perfect for a Guineas pig. So it’s really hard to see what’s wrong with him. We’ve been told to just make him comftable and lots of snuggles in case he does pass away. Thank you for your advice x

 

[Merrypigs Sanctuary]

Aw poor you, you must be worried sick! Is he still pooping? Xx

 

[PiggyPoo]

Sounds like you’re trying your best. Fingers crossed he gets well soon xx

 

[DM2]

Sounds like you’re trying your best. Fingers crossed he gets well soon xx

We are I’ve been crying my eyes out. It’s so sad because he has become very tame with me and he knows I’m his “mother” and it breaks my heart that I don’t know when my last cuddle with him is
We have all got our fingers crossed and thank you so much!

 

[DM2]

Aw poor you, you must be worried sick! Is he still pooping? Xx

Yes but his poops are different colours , sometimes there grey and hard, sometimes there dark and soft and sometimes there really short! & I am , hopefully he will get better though!