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Help Needed!

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spudnik

I'm becoming increasingly worried about my little sow meeka, shes 1 year old today and i just weighed her again as i thought she looked a little frail.. i weighed her on october 20th and she was 600g, ive just weighed her again today and she's 500g.. which is a significant loss in weight in such a short time, she eats up all her veg eagerly, they have a constant supple of water/dry food/ mixture of different hay and they also have hay in with them in their sleeping area during the day and i top it up at night to keep them warm.

she lives in a stone outhouse/shed and in there to sleep in they have a big wooden house, which i cover with two layers of folded blankets (so are quite thick) and i put their big fiddle stic at the entrance so its extended as there are 5 girls who all live together that is covered by the blankets too, i put hay in the house and and under the ramp and night and during the day.

Me and my mum think maybe she is using up all her energy keeping warm.. but saying that lola who is 3 months younger than meeka is a lot fatter, all my other girls ahave a good layer of fat on them and keep warmj easily, but meeka is just skin and bones and I'm really worried. i just gave her some baby food just so she has something warm in her tummy as its really cold here today, she took that then had a bit of brocolli stalk, she eats her veg with no problems..but I'm just wondering what else i can give her to try and bulk her up a bit and keep her warm? as all my other girls are coping fine.

I'm not sure if she'd going the same way shakey did, shes a lot like him in looks/personality/shape and size he lost a lot of weight and became withdrawn and wouldnt eat.. but meeka is still eating fine and is very much her lively little self, I'm just worried and need to get her to gain weight, please help me!
 
Oooh I'm not really sure about how to help her gain more weight but I think you should move her inside for the time being, so you could keep her under close supervision 24/7. But if you are really worried about the weight loss, maybe you should see a vet and he/she could recommend something. :-\
Best of luck,
Irene
 
yeah i just said maybe we should bring her in to my mum who agreed, luckily my mum cares for them as much as i do, tbh my vets are useless, i know more about guinea pigs than they do.. they couldnt give me any answers about pregnancy when i asked so they would prob just say more food.. but she eats plenty as is it.. thanks for your reply though :)
 
Sometimes they eat, but eat less at the beginning of dental problems.

Sometimes just worming them helps, I've had a few pigs with worms this year (rescues). Worming


Weigh her more frequently now eg every other day and see if there is still weightloss, I don't think the cold causes them to lose weight but if she's kept warm then she won't have to worry so much about energy for keeping warm. Can you bring a friend in with her to keep her company? Itake it she's in all the time and not just nights :)
 
karenrgpr said:
Sometimes they eat, but eat less at the beginning of dental problems.

Sometimes just worming them helps, I've had a few pigs with worms this year (rescues). Worming


Weigh her more frequently now eg every other day and see if there is still weightloss, I don't think the cold causes them to lose weight but if she's kept warm then she won't have to worry so much about energy for keeping warm. Can you bring a friend in with her to keep her company? Itake it she's in all the time and not just nights :)
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hi yeah i can bring someone in with her shes good friends with lola :) or dixie her mum, and yeah i can keep her in all the time too..

i never thought of worms actually, she has always been a skinny thing since she was born and never gone above 600g in weight, its just her going down to 500g I'm really worrying, shes as light as a feather when i hold her.. do you think i should give her any other foods or give her veggies a few times a day and see if that helps? atm i feed them once a day, but they get a lot of food..and my mum gives them odd bits throughout the day if shes cooking with veg
 
Mine get fed veg 2x daily, constant supply of hay, and Readigrass/Just Grass once a day and a small amount of dry food.

Worming with the herbal wormer won't do any harm and doesn't have many/any chemicals.

I'd also try feeding her some probiotic (by syringe) too but at a different time to the wormer (at least 48 hours apart), it may help it may not but its something I'd give mine. Bio Lapis from Thistle Cavies or Avipro from SPH Supplies are good.

Can you post a pigture of her please?

Yes to varying the veg, :)
 
ok thanks, i'll get a pigture of her in a little while, ive just brought her and lola in ive got a temp set up in the box that i use when i clean them out, it will be fine until i get to a shop for something bigger tomorrow :)

they get a good variation of veg each day, i'll start feeding twice a day, and i'll get some wormer too :)

thanks for your help!
 
I had a bad night, meeka decided she would beat up lola all night long, i had no sleep at all! so ive had to put lola back in with my other girls.. so meeka is now on her own inside, I'm unsure what is best for her, as i dont want her to be lonely which she will be if she keeps beating her friends up, but i also dont want her to be too cold as she is very thin :-\ ive given her plenty of fresh food this morning and offered her some rolled oats which she seemed keen on munching into..i know they can help to gain a litle weight over time, shes not big on dry food but does eat a good amount of hay :)
 
I know you want Meeka to have company but personally I would leave her on her own until a true diagnosis has been reached - you don't want any others getting ill if it is something contagious. I'd try looking for another Vet too. Good luck O0
 
she seems healthy enough, shes still bright eyed and bushy tailed! lol just the weight loss issue thats bothering me, I'm gunna get some herbal wormer in a sec so i can try worming her, its not as easy as just finding another vet where i live, I'm in a small town and its one big company that uses the same vets in each practise like the town next to me is the same vet company as mine..there is one other vet company but they are just as useless!
 
Oh you've really got problems with Vets then. Fingers crossed she's on the mend soon. SPH Supplies do a pellet food (sorry forgotten name) for bulking up guineas after illness and weightloss - maybe that's worth a try. O0
 
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