Older Guinea Pig, Rapid Weight Loss

[dflo1312]

Hi all!
I have a male guinea pig whos maybe about 5 or 6 (don't know his exact age as he is a rescue) so hes an older boy. I just came home from uni and my parents said he wasn't eating as much. I went to check on him and hed barely touched his veg, water or hay and he felt very skinny. Took him to the vets and the vet say he wasn't sure but we can blind treast him. He's now on baytril, metacam and critical care food as he lost a lot of weight and now only weights 850g when he used to weigh about a kilo. Noticed today that he looked impacted and managed to get a fair about of poop out - i know impaction is common in older piggies. Going to take him back to the vet to see if thats what they think it is, but in the mean time - anyone else who has experienced this, 1. Do you have any recommendations to get the weight back on? And 2. Do you have any recommedations on vitamin supplements to supplement for the missed nutrients in the caecal pellets that he isn't eating anymore?
Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance!

 

[Free Ranger]

My boy gets impacted and the vet said to offer him the poop ball to eat after you've removed it. Perhaps unsurprisingly he generally turns away - although every now and again he falls on it like it's the most delicious thing ever (you have to have kind of a strong stomach for this). But just because he's not eating that doesn't mean he's not eating any of his caecotrophs so I wouldn't be worrying too much yet.

George is 6 and has a bladder stone and arthritis as well as his impaction. The latter two he's had for over 2 years (the stone is a recent addition). He used to be unbunged once a day but now with the stone it's twice as he has enough pressure round that area. Did the vet mention arthritis for your boy? George has twice daily metacam but also a glucosamine supplement. We use oxbow joint support biccies (in a white and purple pack) and he crunches one every day. It took a couple of weeks before we saw any improvement (this is typical for glucosamine) but after 4 weeks he was much more mobile, and of course this helps with the impaction as well as making him happier! It's worth a try for our older pigs - and this is a food 'supplement' so you don't need a prescription - we just got them off amazon or something.

When my pigs have lost weight it's because they've stopped eating so much hay. 80% of their diet is usually hay and they munch round the clock, so although it's not especially 'fattening' it does seem to make the most difference. A pig losing weight isn't usually dodging veg or skipping pellets so much as not eating 24/7 hay. There are a few things to try. A pinch of oats is a popular option - just dry porridge oats. Some people use a bit of sweet potato or mashed banana. A little carrot can be useful but they also have a lot of sugar and you want to be a bit careful of overloading with veg and fruit as too much sugar can upset the digestion and cause gas and squishy poops - no good for impaction! They can also be a bit suspicious of new foods so don't force it if they won't eat something. If he is used to grass that is actually pretty good for weight gain (look at the size of cows!) but you have to be very careful introducing it from scratch... just a little at a time or you risk a bloat. There is also the ground recovery food that you have - it can either be fed with a syringe (such as when a pig is recovering from surgery and is struggling to get their strength back) or just served up on a little dish. Your vet will probably stock something - like Recovery / Critical Care / Emeraid etc. Mine like the papaya flavoured Critical Care 'fine grind' (I have to send off for it) rather than the aniseed flavour of standard CC. My poorly pigs might turn up their nose a bit but my healthy pigs fall on the slop and hoover it up so I know it's palatable! Soaking the normal food pellets will encourage them to eat more sometimes - especially if they are having trouble chewing.

Which brings me to the final bit - the underlying cause for the weight loss. If he had just been struggling with age and impaction he might pick up from this point - although the unbunging is going to be somebody's daily job from now on! If he has developed - say - some sort of dental issue then what and how he eats will be limiting for him. If this is the start of his gentle decline then it'll become your mission to make every day a happy one for as many as he has. If he has an underlying infection that the Baytril tackles you should see an improvement quite quickly as he gets back to normal. But generally speaking it's harder to get weight back on a piggy than it is for them to lose it so even if he's 'cured' it won't happen overnight. You'll be looking for a week-on-week sort of gain.

Well done on looking after your old fellow. I bet he was pleased to see you again!

 

[dflo1312]

Hi Free Ranger!
Thanks so much for your reply!
I've moved back home for just now as I can drive to uni and it just means I can look after my boy better. I've been giving him the recovery brand food that the vet gave us - poor soul hates it but I've had to just get it in him because his weight is falling off - might try the critical care stuff youve mentioned. Vet didn't mention anything about arthritis (or even impaction which i came to the conclusion of myself) but I will keep an eye on him. Thanks for recommending the oats too! I have some in the cupboard so I'll be sure to start trying that tomorrow. He has pretty much stopped eating and drinking - but I might remove veggies for a bit just so he's more likely to opt for the hay and get more fibre in him if he does have a wee munch. Thank you so so much for all the advice, I really appreciate it! Hope your wee boy is doing well x

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all!
I have a male guinea pig whos maybe about 5 or 6 (don't know his exact age as he is a rescue) so hes an older boy. I just came home from uni and my parents said he wasn't eating as much. I went to check on him and hed barely touched his veg, water or hay and he felt very skinny. Took him to the vets and the vet say he wasn't sure but we can blind treast him. He's now on baytril, metacam and critical care food as he lost a lot of weight and now only weights 850g when he used to weigh about a kilo. Noticed today that he looked impacted and managed to get a fair about of poop out - i know impaction is common in older piggies. Going to take him back to the vet to see if thats what they think it is, but in the mean time - anyone else who has experienced this, 1. Do you have any recommendations to get the weight back on? And 2. Do you have any recommedations on vitamin supplements to supplement for the missed nutrients in the caecal pellets that he isn't eating anymore?
Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance!

Hi and welcome
Please step in with full-on feeding support. It mainly replaces the over three quarters of hay fibre that make the bulk of the daily food intake. You manage the daily feeding regime by weighing first thing in the morning on your kitchen scales for best day-to-day comparison since you can never measure the hay intake just by eye and the poo output is running 1-2 days behind. Keep in mind that older guinea pig eat generally a bit less than piggies in their prime but aim for 60-90 ml in 24 hours plus added water (about 1 ml for every 5 ml), as much as your piggy is willing to take - never force water into a piggy because it can very easily go up the nose or - worse - into the lungs.
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Please accept that it can be tricky to work out what is wrong with an elderly guinea pig. Once one of the organs is packing in, then the rest of the body will follow. It is not a process you can reverse. The impaction is likely caused by the bladder stone pain radiating into the gut. Inceased pain management may be key in your case for managing both the impaction and loss of appetite.

Please take the time to read our information pack on looking after elderly guinea pigs in addition to the impaction guide. You can add a very little vitamin B to the diet of an impacted guinea pig but feeding mainly hay fibre and very regularly is usually working well for mild impaction and can even lead to temporary reversal of symptoms; please keep in mind that the actual amounts needed are minute.
Impaction - How To Help Your Guinea Pig.
Caring for Older Piggies and Facing the End - A practical and supportive information collection

Please accept that the weight will never come back on fully in older guinea pigs; your main aim is to firstly stabilising him. Can you please tell us what pain med at which dosage and strength he is on?

 

[Free Ranger]

Hi again @dflo1312, if you take the veggies away he probably won't go back on hay instead. So you might as well give him his veggies as he'll be enjoying them and they help very much to get moisture into a piggy and to keep the gut moving. A healthy pig will eat both veggies and hay but a poorly boy might not be able to tackle the hay so well. If he's not keen on the Recovery it might be because it's new to him. They won't go from never having eaten something to 60ml in a day. They resist a bit, so little and often at first. He'll realise that he feels better after 5 ml or so and then hopefully will be keen to take larger amounts. If he's housed on his own you can leave a mix in a dish overnight - if he has a pal they'll probably scoff it though! But don't separate a pig from a friend in times of trouble - they can be a great comfort to each other

And George says thanks for your good wishes - he's still rumbling along!