Caring for an elderly guinea pig

[Catgirlyn]

Hello everyone, I'm new and came across your forum while searching for help and advice online.

We have a guinea pig called Elsa who will be 7 in February. Over the last couple of weeks she has started to eat and drink less and less. I took her to the vet straight away and they thought she may have had an ovarian cyst as her left side was quite distended. They gave her some pain relief and advised me to consider surgery and try to get her eating again.

We took her home, gave her some recovery food through a syringe and she perked up for a few days and started eating and drinking more again. Then suddenly deteriorated again so back to the vets. They said her tummy wasnt as swollen this time but after a thorough check they believe she is just aging and that's why she is being picky with certain foods.

She is getting lots of attention from my children, lots of hay and veg and I'm still feeding her mashed up pellets when I need to along with loxicom which the vet prescribed. Is there anything else you can suggest I do?

She now weighs 747g, she was 798g 2 weeks ago but her weight has been up and down over this time

 

[Siikibam]

What a fabulous age to be! Unfortunately as they age they can start losing body condition and weight. I would up the syringe feeding and weigh her daily at the same time as well. Hopefully the syringe feeding can help with keeping her weight rather than losing. Some on here recommend feeding oats, grated sweet potato and something else I can’t remember. I’ll also tag @Wiebke @PigglePuggle @Piggies&buns

 

[David Piggie Lover]

Hello. . Welcome to the forum.
Cracking age for piggie. . On this forum is advise and suggestions on all subjects includin helping a older piggie.
Pls check them out.
Well done for taking her to vets. Shows you care and I wish you all the best. .
I've given my older piggie oats just a little on food as a way putting weight and it sometimes helps a little. X

 

[Catgirlyn]

Thank you very much. We have had her since she was 3 months old and she has never been ill (we have been so lucky) and now she is aging I just didnt know what to expect. Her sister died 18 months ago and my little girl has been so close to Elsa since then. I just want to do all I can so she is comfortable and happy as she ages.

 

[Catgirlyn]

Hello. . Welcome to the forum.
Cracking age for piggie. . On this forum is advise and suggestions on all subjects includin helping a older piggie.
Pls check them out.
Well done for taking her to vets. Shows you care and I wish you all the best. .
I've given my older piggie oats just a little on food as a way putting weight and it sometimes helps a little. X

Thank you, I will try oats on her food. I got some good quality hay today with dandelion and something else in and she has shown some interest in that.

I'll have a read through the other posts. Thank you x

 

[Wiebke]

Hello everyone, I'm new and came across your forum while searching for help and advice online.

We have a guinea pig called Elsa who will be 7 in February. Over the last couple of weeks she has started to eat and drink less and less. I took her to the vet straight away and they thought she may have had an ovarian cyst as her left side was quite distended. They gave her some pain relief and advised me to consider surgery and try to get her eating again.

We took her home, gave her some recovery food through a syringe and she perked up for a few days and started eating and drinking more again. Then suddenly deteriorated again so back to the vets. They said her tummy wasnt as swollen this time but after a thorough check they believe she is just aging and that's why she is being picky with certain foods.

She is getting lots of attention from my children, lots of hay and veg and I'm still feeding her mashed up pellets when I need to along with loxicom which the vet prescribed. Is there anything else you can suggest I do?

She now weighs 747g, she was 798g 2 weeks ago but her weight has been up and down over this time

Hi!

Here is our information on bloating. Please take the time to read it. It can be a symptom of an underlying problem of some sort whether that is ovarian cysts, an internal growth, arthritis or something else.
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets (includes a chapter on guinea pigs with digestive problems)
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Please do not overfeed on veg, especially not during bloating. Hay should be making 80% of the daily food intake while veg should be more in the way of an afternoon snack; veg high in sugar should only be an occasional special treat . Most people are not aware of is that fresh growing grass is high in vitamin C and that good quality hay in large enough quantities will also provide enough vitamin C to prevent scurvy - their main food source is the reason in the first place why piggies never had the need to make their own vitamin C. Please don't feed more than 1 tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day; compared to hay it is full of filler and contains much less nutritious fibre than you think.

All the best!

 

[VickiA]

She sounds to have lived a wonderful life and has reached a ripe old age. You’ve been given the links to our helpful guides.

 

[Catgirlyn]

Thank you very much, I will have a read through the links now. She is eating just not as much as before, lots of normal looking poos (although slightly smaller in size than normal).

 

[David Piggie Lover]

You know age is not always reached by these little loves as nature makes them subject to many ills.
You doing great visiting a vet and looking on here. . I've never had a piggie of which I could say never been ill. Lol.
You got a fantastic loved piggie. X

 

[Catgirlyn]

Good evening everyone. I keep meaning to come online to say thank you for your help and articles that you shared when I posted wanting advice. I really dont know what was wrong with our guinea pig but she has made a complete recovery.
Shortly after I posted on here despite syringe feeding her, her weight dropped below 700g and she would only nibble cucumber. Now 2 weeks later she weighs 812g and is back eating her hay and pellets with no syringe feeding. It's a mystery but I am so so happy that she is back to herself. She turns 7 in a few weeks and my 6 year old intends to give her a little party

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

Thanks for the update, glad your senior lady seems to have recovered from whatever it was.
Hope she enjoys her birthday

 

[alpacasqueak]

Good evening everyone. I keep meaning to come online to say thank you for your help and articles that you shared when I posted wanting advice. I really dont know what was wrong with our guinea pig but she has made a complete recovery.
Shortly after I posted on here despite syringe feeding her, her weight dropped below 700g and she would only nibble cucumber. Now 2 weeks later she weighs 812g and is back eating her hay and pellets with no syringe feeding. It's a mystery but I am so so happy that she is back to herself. She turns 7 in a few weeks and my 6 year old intends to give her a little party

Aw that’s great news, so glad she’s improved! Hope she has a lovely birthday party and gets spoilt rotten!

 

[Merab]

Great news.
Thanks for the update.

 

[Claire W]

Brilliant news Thank you for the update x

 

[cococookie]

Hello everyone, I'm new and came across your forum while searching for help and advice online.

We have a guinea pig called Elsa who will be 7 in February. Over the last couple of weeks she has started to eat and drink less and less. I took her to the vet straight away and they thought she may have had an ovarian cyst as her left side was quite distended. They gave her some pain relief and advised me to consider surgery and try to get her eating again.

We took her home, gave her some recovery food through a syringe and she perked up for a few days and started eating and drinking more again. Then suddenly deteriorated again so back to the vets. They said her tummy wasnt as swollen this time but after a thorough check they believe she is just aging and that's why she is being picky with certain foods.

She is getting lots of attention from my children, lots of hay and veg and I'm still feeding her mashed up pellets when I need to along with loxicom which the vet prescribed. Is there anything else you can suggest I do?

She now weighs 747g, she was 798g 2 weeks ago but her weight has been up and down over this time

it may just be that she’s aging and maybe becoming picky with food? i am not too sure but maybe try and give her new foods and see if she wants those.

 

[Catgirlyn]

it may just be that she’s aging and maybe becoming picky with food? i am not too sure but maybe try and give her new foods and see if she wants those.

Thank you. We did wonder that and tried lots of new things but she even stopped eating cabbage, cucumber and carrots so we took her swiftly to the vets. She is like a new piggy now I am baffled as to what was wrong