nbhalla19
New Born Pup
A guinea pig fluctuating 40-50 grams higher or lower is normal right?
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Normal right?
- Thread starter nbhalla19
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Princess Dustmop
Adult Guinea Pig
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It's a slightly large fluctuation. Normal tummy/bladder fullness fluctuation is about 30g. 50g is beginning into the realm of significant. If you're seeing a fluctuation that large, I'd be watching more carefully, but it's probably not time to call the vet, yet. If there's a definitive trend or happening repeatedly, then it's becoming more concerning.
nbhalla19
New Born Pup
The thing is she's on antibiotics for URI so vet said it is normal for that case. If it gets higher than call the vet. You're talking about if she wasn't on antibiotics right?
Weight loss of 50g is the point at which you become concerned and you go on alert and go to daily weight checks. If more weight is lost the next day and weight loss goes more than 50g then you start syringe feeding to stop weight loss - this is whether a piggy is on antibiotics or not.
It’s not ok to lose weight and rule it because of antibiotics. 50g or more is still significant.
Some antibiotics can cause digestive issues. Not all have this effect though - baytril for example is usually very well tolerated, it can sometimes cause a piggy to have soft poops but not usually more than that - but other stronger antibiotics can suppress appetite and make them feel quite off. (Sometimes to the point that a vet may decide to stop using that particular antibiotic).
It’s always the case that syringe feeding would need to be carried out as soon as 50g of weight loss occurs.
We also recommend to give a probiotic whenever a piggy is in antibiotics to help combat the effects of the antibiotic on the gut.
The illness itself can/will cause a piggy to lose their appetite and drop hay intake which will cause weight loss. Hence the importance of helping them a poorly piggy by syringe feeding.
The need to breathe comes before the need to eat so if a piggy has a URI they can really struggle to eat enough while they are struggling to breathe.
Both these reasons are why it’s important to weigh a piggy daily (at the same time each day so that you are weighing at the same time within the feeding schedule) while a piggy is unwell so you can get syringe feeding started quickly if weight loss occurs. The home care of syringe feeding is just as important as medication, the medication can’t work if piggy doesn’t eat enough to remain strong and otherwise well.
Weight Monitoring and Management
It’s not ok to lose weight and rule it because of antibiotics. 50g or more is still significant.
Some antibiotics can cause digestive issues. Not all have this effect though - baytril for example is usually very well tolerated, it can sometimes cause a piggy to have soft poops but not usually more than that - but other stronger antibiotics can suppress appetite and make them feel quite off. (Sometimes to the point that a vet may decide to stop using that particular antibiotic).
It’s always the case that syringe feeding would need to be carried out as soon as 50g of weight loss occurs.
We also recommend to give a probiotic whenever a piggy is in antibiotics to help combat the effects of the antibiotic on the gut.
The illness itself can/will cause a piggy to lose their appetite and drop hay intake which will cause weight loss. Hence the importance of helping them a poorly piggy by syringe feeding.
The need to breathe comes before the need to eat so if a piggy has a URI they can really struggle to eat enough while they are struggling to breathe.
Both these reasons are why it’s important to weigh a piggy daily (at the same time each day so that you are weighing at the same time within the feeding schedule) while a piggy is unwell so you can get syringe feeding started quickly if weight loss occurs. The home care of syringe feeding is just as important as medication, the medication can’t work if piggy doesn’t eat enough to remain strong and otherwise well.
Weight Monitoring and Management