Help! Poorly pig losing weight

[Harry'sMumma]

Hi all,

I was wondering if you could help me please! My poor piggy Harry has been poorly now for around a month and I am at a loss as to what to do for him. He's a 6 year old fella.

4 weeks ago he had a snotty nose, some shortness of breath and a little drop in weight (from around 1.15kg to 1.1kg). Took to the vets and given antibiotics, metacam and home saline nebulisers for a respiratory problem

5 days later he seemed no better so went back to the vets swapped onto baytril and Doxycycline with the metacam and nebulisers. Appetite was reduced to syringe fed critical care multiple times a day and gave probiotics.

About a week later his respiratory symptoms were better, but his weight was dropping further (around 950g) despite syringe feeds, probiotics and giving him free reign to eat literally anything I had in the house.

So I went back to the vets again. Advised likely teeth overgrowing (he had this before) so we can try and sort those. Harry is feisty so no chance of doing it without a GA sadly.

He survived the GA, and gained some appetite back, but even with syringe feeds and constant supply of pellets and hay he is losing so much weight. Vets aren't sure and have checked him thoroughly multiple times and don't what to do and neither do I. He is still eating, drinking, weeing and pooping normal poops. But his weight is dropping still. He's now 770g, skinny, much quieter, eyes seem smaller and all he wants to do is cuddle.

Can anyone help me please? I don't want him to suffer

 

[T&A]

Hi, so sorry to hear this.

Is your guinea pig eating voluntarily? Is your guinea pig being fed veggies? And how are you syringe feeding him and what are your syringe feeding him?

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m so sorry to hear this.

Regaining lost weight takes a lot longer than it does for them to lose it and older piggies will particularly struggle.
Obviously if he is still losing weight then something isn’t right - Have any other checks been done?
Is the vet cavy savvy, perhaps they are one on our recommended list?

 

[T&A]

Antibiotics can really mess up some guinea pigs! My guinea pig lost his appetite, became moody, more angry, less happy, less active whilst on them and these side affects have taken a while to get back to normal. Could this be a possibility for yours?

 

[Siikibam]

Sorry to hear your boy has been unwell. As said above, it does take time to regain lost weight.

What keeps their weight on is hay. Hence syringe feeding to replace that fibre. However, loss of appetite is common with antibiotics. How much are you able to syringe feed him in a 24 hour period? He needs minimum 40-60ml in a 24 hour period. I don’t know how well he would be if he had it in his cage during the night as well.

One thing I noticed is the constant supply of pellets. Please do be careful with this as eating them may prevent him eating as much hay as he could.

I hope you can get to the bottom of what’s troubling him. Mysterious weight loss is one of the more difficult things to deal with.

Wishing him all the best and do let us know what they say.

 

[piggl]

Sorry to hear you are having such a tough time with your wee boy.

Has he had an x-ray? Or have you thought of an x-ray to rule out anything internal?

I cant add onto what has already been said but I will wish you and your boy all the best x

 

[Harry'sMumma]

Hi, so sorry to hear this.

Is your guinea pig eating voluntarily? Is your guinea pig being fed veggies? And how are you syringe feeding him and what are your syringe feeding him?

Thank you, it breaks my heart seeing him like this!

Yes he is eating pellets, hay and veggies voluntarily, though his appetite is less than usual. I am syringing 15mls critical care multiple times per day

 

[Harry'sMumma]

Sorry to hear your boy has been unwell. As said above, it does take time to regain lost weight.

What keeps their weight on is hay. Hence syringe feeding to replace that fibre. However, loss of appetite is common with antibiotics. How much are you able to syringe feed him in a 24 hour period? He needs minimum 40-60ml in a 24 hour period. I don’t know how well he would be if he had it in his cage during the night as well.

One thing I noticed is the constant supply of pellets. Please do be careful with this as eating them may prevent him eating as much hay as he could.

I hope you can get to the bottom of what’s troubling him. Mysterious weight loss is one of the more difficult things to deal with.

Wishing him all the best and do let us know what they say.

Thank you for the advice, I really appreciate it

He is having 15mls critical car 3-4 times per day spread out as evenly as I can

I've been weighing his pellets to see how much he is eating and it seems like 5-10g pellets a day - he definitely prefers the hay over everything else so I keep topping that up

Thank you, I will have to keep going with the love and feeding for now I think

 

[Harry'sMumma]

Sorry to hear you are having such a tough time with your wee boy.

Has he had an x-ray? Or have you thought of an x-ray to rule out anything internal?

I cant add onto what has already been said but I will wish you and your boy all the best x

Thank you

I haven't had him have an x-ray yet no, it's a good thought though thank you! I will call the vet in the morning and suggest this. It's so tricky when they can't tell you what's wrong!

 

[Harry'sMumma]

I’m so sorry to hear this.

Regaining lost weight takes a lot longer than it does for them to lose it and older piggies will particularly struggle.
Obviously if he is still losing weight then something isn’t right - Have any other checks been done?
Is the vet cavy savvy, perhaps they are one on our recommended list?

Thank you!

It certainly is a battle trying to get him chunky again!

I haven't had much luck convincing them to do things other than physical examinations, observation and fixing his teeth. I'm unsure what other testing can be done on guinea pigs, and I don't want the vets immediate instinct to be putting him to sleep if there's something I can do for him to help him not suffer.

The vet I was seeing was recommended by a friend, but I will check if they are on the recommended list. Thank you for the advice

 

[Free Ranger]

It sounds to me like your vet knows what they are doing - some vets don't have a plan B or C like yours did! And they took your pig seriously x

My George (RIP) lost weight on antibiotics last year. He ended up at 950g in December when the course finished. I assumed he'd put some weight back on quite quickly as he started hoovering up everything in sight and also get topped up with syringe CC but he didn't gain. In the end we just let him maintain himself at the lower weight. He also carried a bladder stone - maybe it was that - but maybe it was because like your Harry he was 6, and that's pretty good in pig terms. He had his stone removed - promptly formed another - but just stayed tootling round with the ladies at 950 until he had to have more AB. then... well

If they have problems or pain we often see that hay is the first thing they stop eating because it's flipping hard work. If teeth overgrow a bit it's often because they've been eating less hay for a while and we hadn't noticed. George seemed to nibble at it just enough to keep his teeth down when on his AB because I could compare him to his cage mates. Does Harry have one you can compare him too? It's good that you've seen poops are still normal too.

I hate to say it but it could just be that he's a lovely old boy who's slowing down? By all means ask for an x-ray - especially if they can do a conscious one. I'd also as if I could keep him on metacam twice a day just in case there's aches and pains of old age that might be eased. Some pigs enjoy a pinch of oats (just dry) which can help maintain weight. I actually tried to encourage old George to eat more pellets than usual by offering him ones that had been soaked in water which he slurped up very easily. Enjoy life together. You might be able to get to the bottom of this, or it might just be that his time is approaching, but you know to take each day gently, step by step, and guided by love x

 

[Harry'sMumma]

It sounds to me like your vet knows what they are doing - some vets don't have a plan B or C like yours did! And they took your pig seriously x

My George (RIP) lost weight on antibiotics last year. He ended up at 950g in December when the course finished. I assumed he'd put some weight back on quite quickly as he started hoovering up everything in sight and also get topped up with syringe CC but he didn't gain. In the end we just let him maintain himself at the lower weight. He also carried a bladder stone - maybe it was that - but maybe it was because like your Harry he was 6, and that's pretty good in pig terms. He had his stone removed - promptly formed another - but just stayed tootling round with the ladies at 950 until he had to have more AB. then... well

If they have problems or pain we often see that hay is the first thing they stop eating because it's flipping hard work. If teeth overgrow a bit it's often because they've been eating less hay for a while and we hadn't noticed. George seemed to nibble at it just enough to keep his teeth down when on his AB because I could compare him to his cage mates. Does Harry have one you can compare him too? It's good that you've seen poops are still normal too.

I hate to say it but it could just be that he's a lovely old boy who's slowing down? By all means ask for an x-ray - especially if they can do a conscious one. I'd also as if I could keep him on metacam twice a day just in case there's aches and pains of old age that might be eased. Some pigs enjoy a pinch of oats (just dry) which can help maintain weight. I actually tried to encourage old George to eat more pellets than usual by offering him ones that had been soaked in water which he slurped up very easily. Enjoy life together. You might be able to get to the bottom of this, or it might just be that his time is approaching, but you know to take each day gently, step by step, and guided by love x

Thank you for your kind words and advice

Sadly Harry passed away overnight. I am not sure what was wrong or if it was just his time, but either way he was curled up in his pigloo, and is now at peace.

I am broken, but all that matters is he is comfortable now x

 

[Free Ranger]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Rest in peace lovely boy x
I think when you look back at this you'll judge it as a gentle decline, with it's associated ups and downs, as he reached his natural end. Much like people our older piggies can ebb and flow, which is a rollercoaster for our human hearts as we try to help them manage their old age. He knew he was loved, and he was ready. Take lots of care of yourself, parting from beloved piggy is never easy. I told my George that we're all on the same journey but some of us just take a little longer to get there. We're all part of something unimaginably big and wonderful

 

[Harry'sMumma]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Rest in peace lovely boy x
I think when you look back at this you'll judge it as a gentle decline, with it's associated ups and downs, as he reached his natural end. Much like people our older piggies can ebb and flow, which is a rollercoaster for our human hearts as we try to help them manage their old age. He knew he was loved, and he was ready. Take lots of care of yourself, parting from beloved piggy is never easy. I told my George that we're all on the same journey but some of us just take a little longer to get there. We're all part of something unimaginably big and wonderful

Thank you for your beautiful words

 

[weepweeps]

I’m so sorry Harry has passed. You were doing everything you could. Sometimes the call to the bridge is just too strong. Take care

 

[Harry'sMumma]

I’m so sorry Harry has passed. You were doing everything you could. Sometimes the call to the bridge is just too strong. Take care

Thank you

 

[Claire W]

Aw I am so sorry that Harry has made his way to the rainbow bridge You did everything you could ((hugs))) x

 

[Harry'sMumma]

Aw I am so sorry that Harry has made his way to the rainbow bridge You did everything you could ((hugs))) x

Thank you hugs x