Gone off food

[Lauraspigs]

Hi, I have posted before but was hoping for some advice.

Luna has gone off her veg and I’m not sure how much she is eating for herself. I’m syringe feeding her and she’s taking a good bit each time 10mls plus.

She’s been on antibiotics for the past 4 weeks and is having a daily dose of metacam as we had some issues with her going off her food and the vet couldn’t find anything wrong but as she makes a noise (this has been on and off for the last year) started her on those incase it was a URI.

2 weeks ago we lost Saffie and I’m sure she is missing her but they were separated as she had a big falling out with her sisters last year and prefers her own space so not keen to get more and to be honest I don’t think I can keep having more as this past year has been so hard with losing saff and lex.

up to today she was eating some veg but she’s just refused parsley and took a long time to chew/eat her coriander. The recovery food is going down without an issue.

She doesn’t appear to be in pain, her eyes and nose are clear. He weight was down 20g this morning and has gone back up to normal after a few feeds. She’s pooping ok etc

could this be something else going on or just missing saff? If it’s that she’s missing saff will this get better or not?

I’ll be booking a vet appointment on Tuesday and will take her sooner if anything else changes. At the last appointment he checked her urine, listened to her heart etc and didn’t find anything.

 

[Viennese Furbabies]

If she has troubles chewing maybe the molars are causing troubles. When piggies are not eating normaly their molars can grow too long.
I hope you can see a vet soon.
Good luck!

 

[Swissgreys]

What is she on antibiotics for?

4 weeks is a long time so it could just be they are affecting her appetite.
Is she also taking a pro biotic? This is important as she is a single piggy and can't eat the bacteria rich poops of her cage mates.

Has she lost weight over time?
If you are concerned you should step in with daily weighing at the same time to monitor the situation.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Not eating veg isn’t on its own the major concern - veg is merely a snack. It’s not eating hay which is a problem as hay is their main food source. Any weight loss is due to reduced hay intake, not reduced veg intake.

Weigh her once a day and compare it to the previous days weight. If you weigh more than once a day then you pick up too much fluctuation so it’s less accurate.

A piggy who is lonely can off their food (acute pining) but health issues need to be checked first.

 

[Lauraspigs]

What is she on antibiotics for?

4 weeks is a long time so it could just be they are affecting her appetite.
Is she also taking a pro biotic? This is important as she is a single piggy and can't eat the bacteria rich poops of her cage mates.

Has she lost weight over time?
If you are concerned you should step in with daily weighing at the same time to monitor the situation.

She was on antibiotics (sulfatrim) for the noise she makes incase it was the start of a URI when they couldn’t find anything else wrong. She’s had a month course before at the end of last year and then we’ve been managing with metacam when required for any inflammation as it flares up every now and then. They think her nasal passages are damaged although she’s never had an obvious URI before.

ive been weighing her every morning for the last 2 weeks since we lost saff, today was the first loss and it was about 20g.

She’s been living separately since last year so hasn’t been eating any other poops but her own for a long time. I’ll look into a probiotic.

 

[Lauraspigs]

If she has troubles chewing maybe the molars are causing troubles. When piggies are not eating normaly their molars can grow too long.
I hope you can see a vet soon.
Good luck!

She was eating ok until today and the vet checked her teeth a month ago, do you think they would change in that amount of time? I’ll definitely ask them to check her teeth when I take her in.

 

[Lauraspigs]

Not eating veg isn’t on its own the major concern - veg is merely a snack. It’s not eating hay which is a problem as hay is their main food source. Any weight loss is due to reduced hay intake, not reduced veg intake.

Weigh her once a day and compare it to the previous days weight. If you weigh more than once a day then you pick up too much fluctuation so it’s less accurate.

A piggy who is lonely can off their food (acute pining) but health issues need to be checked first.

I’ve been weighing every morning for the last 2 weeks since we lost saff, today was the first reduction so I started on syringe feeding. She’s seemed quite happy and has been popcorning etc, it’s just today that she seems to be a bit off but she’s not roughed up/sitting in a corner etc so don’t think she’s in pain. Do they usually overcome pining? And would she start pining now 2 weeks after?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Antibiotics kill the good gut bacteria which can affect their appetite. A piggy on antibiotics and with an upset tummy will often try to eat their cagemates poops as they know it will help them. The cagemates poop contains the beneficial gut bacteria which will repopulate their own gut bacteria. So as she is a single piggy, probiotics can help do the same job. Definitely look to get her some.

As I said, health issues need to be looked into first, but the death of a friend (even if they did not live together), can cause other health issues to surface. It can also happen a while after the death of the friend - it doesn’t have to immediately
The best thing for a piggy in acute pining (and I am by no means saying that is what is the issue here) is to get them a new friend.

Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig

 

[Lauraspigs]

Antibiotics kill the good gut bacteria which can affect their appetite. A piggy on antibiotics and with an upset tummy will often try to eat their cagemates poops as they know it will help them. The cagemates poop contains the beneficial gut bacteria which will repopulate their own gut bacteria. So as she is a single piggy, probiotics can help do the same job. Definitely look to get her some.

As I said, health issues need to be looked into first, but the death of a friend (even if they did not live together), can cause other health issues to surface. It can also happen a while after the death of the friend - it doesn’t have to immediately
The best thing for a piggy in acute pining (and I am by no means saying that is what is the issue here) is to get them a new friend.

Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig

I don’t think she would tolerate another piggy in with her, she was much happier when they were separated and I don’t think it would be fair to get another one to keep separate. Saffie was happy with the arrangements and knew how close she could sit to the bars without Luna being able to reach her. I’m also a bit wary as I got the girls to keep my old girl Ivy company after her sister Holly died, sadly Ivy only outlived Holly by 2 weeks, also it’s been a rough year losing Lexie and Saffie, I tried everything to save them, Saffie was in the vets for 5 days. I don’t think I can go through all this again.

 

[Siikibam]

If you took her to a rescue (where they offer dating), they would hopefully be able to find her a suitable friend. It may be she just didn’t get on with previous piggy. Don’t write it off completely. And even if she doesn’t want to share her space, having a neighbour is better than nothing at all.

Hope she starts feeling better soon.