My Guinea Pig Won't Keep Down Food.

[Winni&Storm]

Hai, I have a guinea pig named Storm, and I guess she's always been a picky eater. I remember when I first got her (Will be a year on Dec. 10th) and I wasn't educated enough. We bought her the food with the colored shapes, and she'd only eat those, not the brown pellets. So, I changed up her diet. I started giving her just pellet food, and I've noticed lately that she just chews it, then spits it out. I feel like she's getting skinnier. And I know she's spitting it, cause I went into my room one day, and there was spit out guinea pig food stuck to my wall. So she's launching it out of her mouth. My mom is SUPER lazy when it comes to making appointments, even with me. So I don't know. I'm hoping my mom will remember to schedule her an appointment. In the mean time, I guess I could just use some advice.

 

[Freela]

This is a pretty urgent situation, since guinea pigs need to eat consistently to keep their digestive process moving along. She really does need to be seen by a vet to be assessed. Rodents do not throw up, so she likely is not able to swallow food and hence it is dropping out of her mouth. Guinea pigs have teeth which constantly grow throughout their lives... if not worn down properly, they can overgrow and trap the tongue or grow into the side of their mouth, which can lead to difficulty chewing and swallowing. This is very hard to check for a person without veterinary equipment, as sometimes the front teeth that are visible can look fine, while the back molars (which can't be seen without a scope of some kind) are overgrown. The best thing to do is to see a vet that is knowledgeable in guinea pig teeth as soon as you possibly can (depending on where you are living, some forum members may be able to recommend someone.) Is she able to eat hay or anything that isn't the pellets? Is she able to drink? Is she peeing and pooping normally? This would indicate that she is getting some food and water in.

 

[Winni&Storm]

She'll eat anything else, just not the pellets. I'll be sure to DEFENITLY tell my mom when she gets home at 2:00am. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Swissgreys]

I agree with Freela - she really does need to see a vet as soon as possible, because this is not normal guinea pig behaviour.
It does sound like she is struggling for some reason, and a vet is the only person who can properly diagnose the problem.
Guinea pigs are good at hiding illness and even if the situation does not appear to be serious if she is loosing weight then it is.
I hope you can convince your Mum to get her to a vet soon.

 

[Winni&Storm]

Thank you all for your help! I'll try to get her to a vet as soon as possible.

 

[Reenie]

Your first priority is to have her seen by a vet. If she isn't eating, her guts will shut down and that is fatal for guinea pigs.
When you say that she'll eat anything else, what else do you feed her along with the pellets? 80%of her diet should be hay, about a cup of veggies daily, and about a small handful of pellets. The pellets are not essential if she's getting a good balance, so if she is just spitting them out because she doesn't like them, it would be the weight loss I'd be worried about. If she's losing weight though, she does need to see a vet as an emergency.