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My guinea pig is losing weight!

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xMotherofPigsx

New Born Pup
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Sep 14, 2021
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Location
Woodland Hills, ca
She's lost over 1lb! I've called all vets I can reach and the soonest she can be seen is September 28. It's going to be 3 days today. There are no available ER slots. I'm srynge feeding her. She seems to have an abcess on her right jaw. I'm giving her CBD to ease any pain she may be enduring. Is there absolutely ANYTHING that I can do to help her stay strong and alive until her appointment on the 28 of September?
 
How much weight has she lost (in grams is best rather than lbs and oz)?
Weigh her daily and adjust your syringe feeding to ensure she stops losing weight

I know it’s not easy to get vet care in the US but if you can keep calling around to see if there is a vet who can see her sooner or if the vet you are booked with has a cancellation. Two weeks without treatment for a potential abscess really is such a long time to have to wait

Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management
 
Piggies&buns said:
How much weight has she lost (in grams is best rather than lbs and oz)?
Weigh her daily and adjust your syringe feeding to ensure she stops losing weight

I know it’s not easy to get vet care in the US but if you can keep calling around to see if there is a vet who can see her sooner or if the vet you are booked with has a cancellation. Two weeks without treatment for a potential abscess really is such a long time to have to wait

Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Click to expand...
1lb 7oz to be exact. I was happy to see she gained 1oz yesterday.
 
So she has lost 1lb 7oz over three days?
When using a converter to calculate it in grams this seems to be 650 grams. If that is what you mean, is an absolutely huge amount of weight to have lost?
That amount of weight loss would be considered an emergency. Weight loss of 50g or more in a 24 hour period is concerning, 100g in 24 hours requires emergency measures.
 
I would contact LA Guinea pig rescue asap. They should be able to help direct you to a vet who can see you sooner.
The good news is that there are quite a lot of vets in your area who see guinea pigs (Yelp is a good place to start).

If your guinea pig does have a jaw abscess then she really does need to be seen asap.
In the meantime it is great you have stepped in with syringe feeding as this will help until you can see a vet.
 
She lost 1lb 7oz over the course of possibly a week or more. It's been 3 days since I caught her acting strange and began srynge feeding. I contacted every vet they recommend, but they have nothing available now. LAGPR is itself booked until the beginning of October.
 
Piggies&buns said:
So she has lost 1lb 7oz over three days?
When using a converter to calculate it in grams this seems to be 650 grams. If that is what you mean, is an absolutely huge amount of weight to have lost?
That amount of weight loss would be considered an emergency. Weight loss of 50g or more in a 24 hour period is concerning, 100g in 24 hours requires emergency measures.
Click to expand...
I've been trying daily to get her to an ER but nothing is available. I'm willing to spend ANY AMOUNT of money just to know she'll be better.
 
Are you able to travel a little further afield? I understand that getting to see a vet in the US is more difficult than it is here in the U.K. I’m sorry for the situation you’re in :(
 
I'm getting more help here than on the LAGPR or ScottysAnimals channel on YouTube (Saskia and Scotty haven't responded, the YouTube commenters are rude). Everyone wants to demonize me for having a sick guinea pig. I have 10 others and they are happy and healthy! I'm hoping for other compassionate guinea owners to offer maybe some helpful knowledge...
 
Did you ask LAGPR for vet recommendations? I think you may need to call rather than post on YouTube. Sorry you’re in such a difficult situation.

1lb 7oz is equivalent to roughly 652g. Is that how much she has lost or is that how much she weighs now?
 
The emergency measure is to weigh daily and syringe feed as much as is necessary in each 24 hour period to stop the weight loss. This is vital to keep your piggy alive, but of course a vet is needed. Its an awful situation to be in ans that a vet can’t squeeze you in given the amount of weight that has been lost.

how much does your piggy weigh now?
 
If that's 1lb 7oz converted to grams, then yes. LAGPR hasn't answered my phone calls, their website has a list of vets which I already called.
 
Piggies&buns said:
The emergency measure is to weigh daily and syringe feed as much as is necessary in each 24 hour period to stop the weight loss. This is vital to keep your piggy alive, but of course a vet is needed. Its an awful situation to be in ans that a vet can’t squeeze you in given the amount of weight that has been lost.

how much does your piggy weigh now?
Click to expand...
Yes I am being sure to do that. She's 1lb 11oz. She's gained an ounce since yesterday.
 
Swissgreys said:
I would contact LA Guinea pig rescue asap. They should be able to help direct you to a vet who can see you sooner.
The good news is that there are quite a lot of vets in your area who see guinea pigs (Yelp is a good place to start).

If your guinea pig does have a jaw abscess then she really does need to be seen asap.
In the meantime it is great you have stepped in with syringe feeding as this will help until you can see a vet.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I'm doing everything I can. I'm not giving up until she is able to be seen.
 
So her weight now stands at 765g so she has lost pretty much half her body weight.
All you can do is keep syringe feeding and keep trying vets. Hopefully somebody will have a cancellation and she can be seen. So sad that the vets aren't seeing this as an emergency
 
I hope you can get her seen. Offer her as much syringe feed as you can every two hours. You can also put some on a bowl overnight in her cage perhaps. Hopefully she would eat it overnight…if it’s not wolfed up by her companions!

How much did she weigh before she fell ill? And how old is she?

🤞🏾
 
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