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How to gain weight on senior sow before spay?

Dilly's Piggies

Dilly's Piggies

Teenage Guinea Pig
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My almost 6 year old sow Melody has quite aggressive ovarian cysts symptoms, she has seen the vet twice already, once for a check up and then again today for an ultrasound.

The ultrasound showed that she has abnormal growths on her ovaries, however it doesn't look like the usual ovarian cysts. The vet said she either has a rare form of ovarian cysts not commonly seen in piggies (luteal cysts) or she has tumourous growths. We won't know which one she has until it's removed and tested.

A spay surgery is the route we are going down, however both me and my vet are reluctant to do it right now. Melody has lost quite a bit of weight and is dehydrated, she weighs 910g which isn't a bad number, but her body condition score is quite low, she looks small and feels bony. The vet would prefer her to be closer to 1000g if possible before surgery.

Melody appears to have a normal appetite, she isn't picky at all, so the weight loss is confusing, unless she takes what I give her by hand, but then when I'm not around she isn't eating enough despite unlimited food. She seems to be more interested in chasing/mounting her friends than eating. My question I guess is, what is the best way to rehydrate her and gain weight relatively quickly?

I'm already syringe feeding critical care, water and giving more veggies, but if anyone has extra tips and tricks I can try to help even more I would greatly appreciate it. I want to get this surgery done ASAP before she gets any other issues. Thanks!
 
When Kanga was suffering from ovarian cysts she lost a lot of weight - the vet said to me that the less fat she had to get through in the op, the better. I worried that she didn't have enough 'in reserve' to get her through a surgery but she was absolutely fine and started eating again almost right away. Once her hormones settled (this took a while) she gradually regained the weight she had lost. I did give extra nuggets and some oats in the weeks following her op, until she started feeling plump once more.
 
Oats are generally good for weight gain and maintaining weight in older piggies. Emeraid is also a good high calorie supplement (higher in calories than critical care) and I’ve not yet met a piggy who didn’t like it, so I would suggest giving it a try.
 
VickiA said:
Oats are generally good for weight gain and maintaining weight in older piggies. Emeraid is also a good high calorie supplement (higher in calories than critical care) and I’ve not yet met a piggy who didn’t like it, so I would suggest giving it a try.
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Thank you, I'll try this as Melody is already bored of critical care, she used to eat 20ml willingly by herself, but now after a few mls she is turning her nose up so I have to force it 😂 don't suppose you've tried the apple and banana critical care too? Wonder if piggies prefer it or the regular anise flavour
 
CavyConnoisseur said:
Thank you, I'll try this as Melody is already bored of critical care, she used to eat 20ml willingly by herself, but now after a few mls she is turning her nose up so I have to force it 😂 don't suppose you've tried the apple and banana critical care too? Wonder if piggies prefer it or the regular anise flavour
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I’ve tried it but to be honest I have never had much luck with getting any of mine to eat it. The Emeraid always goes down so well that I don’t buy anything else these days.
 
VickiA said:
I’ve tried it but to be honest I have never had much luck with getting any of mine to eat it. The Emeraid always goes down so well that I don’t buy anything else these days.
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Hey Vicki just wanted to ask you if I was supposed to buy the emeraid sustain or intensive care? I bought the intensive care herbivore as I assumed it would be better, but it looks totally different than I expected, its like milk powder with a strong meaty scent, like chicken, it put me off and Melody won't take it so not sure if I made a mistake and got the wrong one lol! Is this one OK to give?
 
CavyConnoisseur said:
Hey Vicki just wanted to ask you if I was supposed to buy the emeraid sustain or intensive care? I bought the intensive care herbivore as I assumed it would be better, but it looks totally different than I expected, its like milk powder with a strong meaty scent, like chicken, it put me off and Melody won't take it so not sure if I made a mistake and got the wrong one lol! Is this one OK to give?
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As a short term measure, Emeraid herbivore intensive care is what I use. It’s the white one. I’ve never noticed a meaty smell to it. All of my piggies love it. It’s packed with calories so great for weight gain. However if it’s for longer term support, the Emeraid Sustain is the one you need as it’s higher in fibre.
 
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