• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

New Rescued Piggy Very Skinny

Status
Not open for further replies.
CarolineRenee

CarolineRenee

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
May 11, 2017
Messages
15
Reaction score
31
Points
95
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Hi, I rescued a female piggy and her 6 week old pup a couple weeks ago. Her name is Harley and she's approx. 6 months old. The rescue has a great, established reputation and Harley was vet checked and cleared for adoption. She is very skinny. I can feel her ribs, pelvic bone and she's got skinny chicken back legs. I also noticed she has a hard time chewing veggies like carrots, she kind of grates them, it takes about 10 mins to eat a baby carrot-sized chunk. Her front upper teeth are a little wonky. I messaged the rescue regarding this and they said that she was even skinnier when she first had babies ( she lost 2 of them due to having the lethal gene) and that her molars are in great shape for chewing. Her wonky front teeth are most likely due to bad bloodlines ( we think she was the product of inbreeding as she is a beautiful Dalmatian and her previous owners were trying to breed her to another Dalmatian, which is why some of her babies had the lethal gene). I am supplementing her hay with alfalfa for weight gain, slowly trying to get enough veggies in her ( she's still really shy of people so its very easy to turn her off her food if you move or make a noise) and she has some pellets and vitamin c supplements to help strengthen the muscles around her teeth.
I still have concerns though and wonder if anyone has come across another piggy with such issues with breaking off pieces of veggies? I've tried cutting them up fine and she just shows zero interest when I do that. Also, any recommendations for putting weight on her? Should I supplement feeding with CC or pea flakes? Any suggestions would be appreciated!
 
What a very gorgeous piggie no wonder you couldn't resist adopting her! Although the Rescue Centre have said she's OK have you had her checked by your vet? Those wonky teeth don't sound good. They may be misaligned. If this is the case that may explain the difficulty in eating veg.
 
:agr:, I think she could do with a vet check .

Can you give us an idea of your location ? We have members all over the world and it helps us to have an idea of whether you are in the Uk / US / or elsewhere.
 
Awww she's beautiful! Such a shame she's had a bad start in life but luckily she's in your hands now- welcome to the forum! I've heard of giving piggies a mash to fatten them up or something oats?
 
HI and welcome to the forum. I wouldn't worry about attempting to force a weight gain as she should continue to gain weight steadily on a good healthy diet. Personally I would go to my own vet for a check over to put your mind at ease that all is ok or to catch it early if there is a problem. The molars might have been ok when the rescue checked but it doesn't take long for them to become overgrown if they are an issue.
 
Thank you all- she is super cute, isn't she?! And she's a great little mama too. Yes, we are going to do a vet check regardless of what the rescue said, I at first tried going along with what they were saying that she would be fine, but I'm worried about the little girl. It also doesn't help that my scale broke and I ordered another from Amazon, but its not here yet. And I've learned from our first guinea pig, Athena, that preventative care is key. Athena was also a rescue and we got her as a senior, and had her justshy of a year, and I'm convinced if she would have has the proper care before us she wouldn't have had such progressed medical issues that caused her death. So yes, I'm going to set up a vet check asap, but any recommendations for helping her out between now and then? Thanks everybody!
 
Lady Kelly said:
HI and welcome to the forum. I wouldn't worry about attempting to force a weight gain as she should continue to gain weight steadily on a good healthy diet. Personally I would go to my own vet for a check over to put your mind at ease that all is ok or to catch it early if there is a problem. The molars might have been ok when the rescue checked but it doesn't take long for them to become overgrown if they are an issue.
Click to expand...
Thanks- I'm definitely going to schedule a check. I agree, catching something early is super important with these little squeakers.
 
PiggyOwner said:
:agr:, I think she could do with a vet check .

Can you give us an idea of your location ? We have members all over the world and it helps us to have an idea of whether you are in the Uk / US / or elsewhere.
Click to expand...
I'm in the US- Washington state, near Seattle. Luckily I have a great vet very knowledgeable in guinea pigs. She has 7 herself, and the oldest one, Virigia, comes to work with her to watch over all her humans in the office. I'm definitely going to have her checked by my own vet rather than go along with what the rescue is saying. Thanks!
 
your piggie is amazing and does not seem in a poor shape... Also my Calipso is slim and when I adopted her (and they gave me her with a medical paper, plus poo analysis, which reported she was healthy) I could feel her bones.
My piggie eats a lot, but she does not like carrots (also the other one does not like carrots). Is it possible that your cute piggie just prefers eating other vegs? have you tried with normal grass which is extremely nutritious for them? I also add some drops of vit C supplement and I don't force any weight gain. Anyway, have also a talk with a vet.
 
CarolineRenee said:
Hi, I rescued a female piggy and her 6 week old pup a couple weeks ago. Her name is Harley and she's approx. 6 months old. The rescue has a great, established reputation and Harley was vet checked and cleared for adoption. She is very skinny. I can feel her ribs, pelvic bone and she's got skinny chicken back legs. I also noticed she has a hard time chewing veggies like carrots, she kind of grates them, it takes about 10 mins to eat a baby carrot-sized chunk. Her front upper teeth are a little wonky. I messaged the rescue regarding this and they said that she was even skinnier when she first had babies ( she lost 2 of them due to having the lethal gene) and that her molars are in great shape for chewing. Her wonky front teeth are most likely due to bad bloodlines ( we think she was the product of inbreeding as she is a beautiful Dalmatian and her previous owners were trying to breed her to another Dalmatian, which is why some of her babies had the lethal gene). I am supplementing her hay with alfalfa for weight gain, slowly trying to get enough veggies in her ( she's still really shy of people so its very easy to turn her off her food if you move or make a noise) and she has some pellets and vitamin c supplements to help strengthen the muscles around her teeth.
I still have concerns though and wonder if anyone has come across another piggy with such issues with breaking off pieces of veggies? I've tried cutting them up fine and she just shows zero interest when I do that. Also, any recommendations for putting weight on her? Should I supplement feeding with CC or pea flakes? Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Click to expand...

Please top her up with syringe feed; if she has got loose incisors, she is not able to pick up food. If this has gone on longer, then her premolars and molars may likely be affected, too, and have started to overgrow, so she is unable to chew and may even struggle to swallow. She urgently needs to see a piggy savvy vet with experience in dentals.

Have you made sure with the rescue that she has had a vet check, and especially a check of her back teeth while in rescue? Generally, the rescues that we rate as good standard would never rehome a guinea pig until it has received any necessary medical care and has been brought back to a good weight and health. Guinea pigs with ongoing or long term medical issues stay on as permanent residents.
Please take the time to read our syringe feeding guide. It has a section about feeding dental guinea pigs:
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Since we have got members from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can tailor any advice and recommendations according to what is available and relevant where you are. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location; this makes it appear below your username in every post you make. thank you!
 
rome_italy said:
your piggie is amazing and does not seem in a poor shape... Also my Calipso is slim and when I adopted her (and they gave me her with a medical paper, plus poo analysis, which reported she was healthy) I could feel her bones.
My piggie eats a lot, but she does not like carrots (also the other one does not like carrots). Is it possible that your cute piggie just prefers eating other vegs? have you tried with normal grass which is extremely nutritious for them? I also add some drops of vit C supplement and I don't force any weight gain. Anyway, have also a talk with a vet.
Click to expand...
Yes, I offer different veggies all the time, usually 2 or 3 types per feeding for the herd, some mixture of bell pepper, green or red leaf lettuce, Brussels sprouts, spinach, carrots, zucchini, cucumber, celery and occasionally apple, strawberry, or watermelon, which they just tried for the first time a couple weeks ago. I also give a small piece of banana extremely rarely, like once a month. I also try forage like grasses and dandelion leaves. She actually seems most interested in carrots. I've tried softer veggies like zucchini and cucumber but she doesn't seem interested. And she also twists her head upside down when drinking. I thought it was a quirk but I also noticed drooling yesterday and that sealed it for me. I'm worried that her teeth need grinding down because they don't line up or something, sometimes drooling is a sign and if they don't get help their teeth will keep growing and pop out a cheek or something! Thanks for letting me know about your piggy, it makes me feel better that your skinny piggy was still healthy!
 
Wiebke said:
Please top her up with syringe feed; if she has got loose incisors, she is not able to pick up food. If this has gone on longer, then her premolars and molars may likely be affected, too, and have started to overgrow, so she is unable to chew and may even struggle to swallow. She urgently needs to see a piggy savvy vet with experience in dentals.

Have you made sure with the rescue that she has had a vet check, and especially a check of her back teeth while in rescue? Generally, the rescues that we rate as good standard would never rehome a guinea pig until it has received any necessary medical care and has been brought back to a good weight and health. Guinea pigs with ongoing or long term medical issues stay on as permanent residents.
Please take the time to read our syringe feeding guide. It has a section about feeding dental guinea pigs:
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Since we have got members from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can tailor any advice and recommendations according to what is available and relevant where you are. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location; this makes it appear below your username in every post you make. thank you!
Click to expand...
OK I will add my location. The rescue did say that her molars were in good shape for chewing and that she was even skinnier when she first had her babies. They said she was medically cleared for adoption, the have a great reputation and offer to pay for vet bills if something pops up within the first 14 days. But I also noticed drooling yesterday, so we made an appt for Saturday. I did order some Critcare but it won't be here till Monday, I can't find it in a store anywhere remotely near. Is there something else I could offers in a syringe to help between now and then? Thanks for all your help!
 
Wiebke said:
Please top her up with syringe feed; if she has got loose incisors, she is not able to pick up food. If this has gone on longer, then her premolars and molars may likely be affected, too, and have started to overgrow, so she is unable to chew and may even struggle to swallow. She urgently needs to see a piggy savvy vet with experience in dentals.

Have you made sure with the rescue that she has had a vet check, and especially a check of her back teeth while in rescue? Generally, the rescues that we rate as good standard would never rehome a guinea pig until it has received any necessary medical care and has been brought back to a good weight and health. Guinea pigs with ongoing or long term medical issues stay on as permanent residents.
Please take the time to read our syringe feeding guide. It has a section about feeding dental guinea pigs:
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Since we have got members from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can tailor any advice and recommendations according to what is available and relevant where you are. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location; this makes it appear below your username in every post you make. thank you![/QUO
I just read the syringe feeding guide. That helps. Setting it up now!
Click to expand...
 
CarolineRenee said:
OK I will add my location. The rescue did say that her molars were in good shape for chewing and that she was even skinnier when she first had her babies. They said she was medically cleared for adoption, the have a great reputation and offer to pay for vet bills if something pops up within the first 14 days. But I also noticed drooling yesterday, so we made an appt for Saturday. I did order some Critcare but it won't be here till Monday, I can't find it in a store anywhere remotely near. Is there something else I could offers in a syringe to help between now and then? Thanks for all your help!
Click to expand...

Use mushed up pellets instead; you can find how to prep a syringe etc. in our syringe feeding guide. Drooling is always a bad sign as it means that a piggy struggles to swallow or has a blockage somewhere in the whole digestive system.
 
Wiebke said:
Use mushed up pellets instead; you can find how to prep a syringe etc. in our syringe feeding guide. Drooling is always a bad sign as it means that a piggy struggles to swallow.
Click to expand...
I just finished reading the syringe feeding guide. That helps. Setting it up now! I will post an update on her after her appt Saturday. Thanks so much!
 
So, just to give an update about Harley. After hearing the suggestion regarding syringe feeding I set it up with some mashed pellets, and she ate like a champ. I'm talking almost 20 ml. I didn't even have to try, she loved it. So she ate until her little tummy was distended and passed out in my arms. When she woke up I found out I also awoke a fierce appetite in her! And don't forget, I've only had her about 3 weeks and she is very shy, I usually only hear her talk when she's separated from her baby. Not anymore. If she see's me or if she gets hungry she wheeks like a champ. This is also having a side benefit of forming trust between us. Now she waddles right to my hand when I reach for her and loves to cuddle after she eats.
Monday we went to the vet and she did have malocclusion so she got her teeth clipped. But unfortunately that's not all. She either has a broken jaw, dislocated jaw, TMJ or a birth defect. The vet didn't have an xray machine on site as it is a second location for him that just opened, so he called the main clinic which is about an hour away and made us an appt for Monday, and sent us home with antibiotics and pain meds and instructions to let her eat on her own as much as she wants and continue to top her off with the syringe. If it is a birth defect and I'm willing to supplement syringe feed her the rest of her life (which I am) that her quality of life should still be high, but we are hoping its something we can repair or heal and put it in her rearview mirror. I am contacting the rescue because we were told she had a clean bill of health but it was clear the issue with her jaw has been going on awhile, and if it is an injury than maybe they can use the info to keep it from happening to another squeaker.
Anyways, thank you for your kind thoughts and help with Harley, I'm sure they helped. Please send her positive vibes for her vwuy visit Monday, I will post an update.
thanks again,
Caroline and Harley
 
I am so relieved to hear that your girl has been enjoying your TLC. You do get a very special bond with piggies that understand they need your help and are willing to let you help. The syringe feeding was vital to her health and wellbeing and may remain so. She is lucky to have landed with a slave who has done her research and is willing to help her in this way. Poor little girl. I hope that her X-ray goes well on Monday
 
Oh my goodness, poor Harley. Hope its something fixable for both of you
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top