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Guinea Pig sick but not sick?

G

guinea pig silkie

New Born Pup
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Location
Derby, KS, USA
This is my first post but I have two piggies and one of them has always been smaller, but these past few months she'd dropped to a dangerously low weight. we took her to the vet a while ago and she had a URI but we gave her the medicine for that and she doesn't have the infection anymore. Now she has a good squeaker, eats well, drinks well, and poops well, but she just won't gain any weight. I give her critical care 2-3 times a day and she loves taking it but it's not seeming to help.
Being underweight is the only symptom of illness she has, but I have been noticing her back is slightly curved and she won't lay as flat as my other pig. she can still walk and when she does she kinda rocks back and forth taking steps on the ends of her toes. If she wants to go really fast she'll hop, but my other pig just runs. I just have no idea why she won't gain any weight. Anybody else have something like this before? Or have any idea what it is?
 
My dear departed pig Buttercup had all those synmtoms before she died, except she slept a lot. I fed my pig a wide variety of fruits and veggis and took her out for clover every morning and evening and that helped her gain a few ounces, but she died in her sleep about 2 months after we took her to the vet. I really hope your pig gets better!
 
I would suggest a chat with the vet.
We’re not qualified to diagnose here so we always advise seeing a vet.
Our health experts may be able to offer more advice.

I’m glad the infection has cleared but there maybe another issue.

For weight boosts I use banana mashed into syringe feed,
scattered raw oats, gated sweet potato or carrots.

Welcome to the forum.
Hope you find a solution for your girl.
Keep us posted
 
Regaining lost weight takes a lot longer than it does to lose it. Is she losing Any weight at this point?
Ensure you weigh her daily so you can closely monitor her.
Ensure she has unlimited access to hay and top up syringe feeds. You can also leave critical care in a bowl for her to eat for herself or a small bowl of plain porridge oats can help.

Do see a vet to have her back checked out if you are concerned.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Regaining lost weight takes a lot longer than it does to lose it. Is she losing Any weight at this point?
Ensure you weigh her daily so you can closely monitor her.
Ensure she has unlimited access to hay and top up syringe feeds. You can also leave critical care in a bowl for her to eat for herself or a small bowl of plain porridge oats can help.

Do see a vet to have her back checked out if you are concerned.
Click to expand...
she fluxuates between 560g and 590g but hasn't dropped lower than that in a few weeks
 
So her weight is stable and she's not losing anymore? If so, then that's a good thing. 30g fluctuation is not concerning. She is very small though!
As I said, weight gain takes a lot longer so ensuring she has access to lots of fresh hay and supplementary feeding is important. You may need to syringe feed more often
 
Is she eating hay? It needs to make up 80% of their daily food intake. A good amount of hay intake is the best way to put weight back on them with supplementary syringe feeds for support.

Alfalfa pellets and alfalfa shouldn’t be given to adult guinea pigs - they are only suitable to be used for baby guinea pigs. Alfalfa is too high in calcium and too much calcium intake can cause health issues.
One tablespoon per day of timothy or grass based pellets are best.
 
Vegetable_Monster said:
Any hay atall? Just a tip , i would definitely change your pellets to a Timothy based one . Even better a Timothy based grain free one . Look up science select grain free . Alfalfa is pretty high in the calcium , I prefer not to feed it Incase of bladder stones.

You need to have a pile of either meadow hay or Timothy hay in the cage 24/7 . They can't run out , guineas are grazers , like rabbits , sheep ,cows etc etc .they need the fiber to wear the teeth and keep the gut moving all the time . No hay is heading for trouble
Click to expand...
yes she does have a pile of timothy hay and she grazes it a lot
 
So I've been watching my guinea pig all day and I've noticed she has two spots one by her food and one under her canopy and whenever she moves from one to the other she kind of squeals a little bit like it hurts her to walk. I think she might have a problem with her hips.
 
Have you managed to book an appointment?
 
I think that should be a priority. All the best.
 
Would recommend that you ask your veterinarian to perform an X-ray, to rule out any orthopaedic issues.
 
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