Older pig (nearly 2yo) always whining when baby (8 weeks) walks near him!

Teeth have worsened since last time but not enough to warrant a dental, the vet did not think his teeth are the problem, but could not find anything wrong with him clinically. Does not seem underweight or in pain. Prescribed more loxicom and cisapride. Advised to try different hay as he might just be extremely picky and waiting for his nightly veggies. Even though I reduced them to half a cup now. I was accused of feeding too much veggies and pellets and causing him to be spoiled. He's never had more than a cup in a day, every evening, so I know that's not the case. Pellets are strict tablespoon split in two feedings (morning and 2 hours after veggies).

Will be coming in for a check up on Friday, if it doesn't improve, will have to do a dental. However I think the teeth are a symptom rather than a cause!
 
I’m sorry to hear that. So his teeth were fine last time but have since slightly overgrown? I assume because his tongue isn’t (nearly) trapped hence not having to do a dental now?

Sorry the news isn’t what you wanted to hear. As for the veggies, a cup of veg and tablespoon of pellets isn’t spoiling them. Strictly speaking, pellets are the least important part of their diet and so can be pretty limited - as long as they’re getting a well varied diet.

Do weigh him daily at the same time and try to top up feed every two hours. Fingers crossed he turns the corner and starts to perk up soon.
 
I was told that it's on the cusp of needing a dental and if I can get him to eat more hay soon (new one arriving tomorrow that he sorta liked), then he might be able to fix it himself, either way Friday is the next check up and if he needs dental I will be leaving him there. Tongue is not trapped yet but the molars were not as nice as 'perfect' as last visit. No ulceration or laceration was found, but more loxicom was prescribed in case he is uncomfortable.
 
I cant help to think he simply doesnt like any hay, because this started happening when I ran out of old Hay Box batch and offered new Hay Box batch. This was a day after the baby arrived.

As in, before there were any scuffles between these two, before he started hiding more, he did not eat much hay. But I can't seem to figure out what hay he wants? I've tried all the best hays, even worse quality hays, but he only picks 2 pieces from a huge pile and rest is apparently inedible. At this point I am not sure what I am doing wrong. Why would he rather starve than eat hay that is perfectly fine? I've seen guinea pigs survive and live long lives on brown pet shop hay. I've even tried Oxbow Timothy which is so expensive. Is it normal to go through 15+ different hays before finding hay guinea pigs like? These are not my first guinea pigs and I've never had this issue. This is honestly so stressful.
 
I've tried a lot of different types and have actually just settled on P@H meadow/timothy mix as our main hay. One of my pigs seems to snuffle through for the finest strands and ignores the chunkier timothy strands. It's strange to see her nibbling at one dainty bit at a time because she's an absolute heifer. Maybe finer strands would be easier for him at the minute?

Can you find any sources of fresh grass nearby that aren't near roads and haven't been peed on by dogs? And where the grass hasn't been fried in the heat. I know that might be a challenge in Warrington! At a pinch I try graveyards (churches are often 'eco' and don't spray things) or allotments. Grass also keeps the teeth down like hay and if you get a good source they can put weight back on with it.

Your sensitive boy sounds lovely x
 
I did try all p@h branded hays already, all the hays they sell actually, even the camomile smelling one - no luck. I've tried looking for some grass but it's all parched everywhere. I planted a few pots on Sunday so waiting for a yield
 
Again 0 poops overnight and somehow has gained 40g overnight, so off to the vets again. I think he was better off alone, wanting a friend for him has emptied my wallet and apparently nearly killed him
 
Remember that poo output is 1-2 days behind. So 1-2 days ago he wasn’t eating enough. How much (roughly) syringe topup are you getting into him in a 24 hour period?

All the best with the vets hope it’s better news.
 
So what happened, I arrived at my appointment 2 minutes late due to traffic. I checked in and waited 20 minutes. Then the nurse came and said we won't be seen because we were 15 minutes late. I argued with her telling her how is that possible when I checked in 2 minutes late. She said she can't argue with the doctor. Honestly never stepping a foot in that place again. After 2 visits he has no had a diagnosis and I am £200 lighter. This was Ashleigh vets in Chorlton, and not the first time I had bad experience.
 
Not to mention every time I've gone there, I waited 45 minutes at the very least. But God forbid I am 2 minutes late. Absolutely horrific.
 
He's not doing terrible, poops are on the firmer side, but now I am looking for a pet nearby as I have no car. There is a vet at a nearby P@H but honestly I doubt they're that experienced with guinea pigs so it would be a waste of money.
 
Hi everyone. I went to the Ashleigh vets again because I could not find another vet experienced in exotics. His molars are not in a state for a dental yet apparently. He has some ouchies in his mouth but apparently dental would be the last resort. I was accused of not feeding correct hay, as if it was an anatomical issue rather than caused by diet, he would have issues sooner than this. I told that he has always had stalky fibrous timothy as well as thinner pieces and was eating all of it until this all started, but now he only eats the thinner flatter pieces of timothy. I have also explained that I have since tried 16 different meadow, timothy and orchards hays to see whether he's simply bored. He was prescribed more loxicom and more cisapride. I was also told not to feed emeraid because it won't help his issue. I was only doing 20-30ml last few days anyway as he is not completely off hay and other food.

I am not sure how to make him eat pieces of hay that are better for his teeth. I can poke some in his mouth but that's not gonna help much as it's not enough. He is eating some grass daily but again that won't be enough cause I don't have access to unlimited grass. Any tips?
 
All hay will work on their teeth and so is fresh grass - both will wear his teeth. Nothing wrong with thin meadow hay or soft Timothy. Mine flatly refuse to eat stalky Timothy and only have meadow and soft Timothy.

If he is maintaining his weight then he is getting the right amount.
Syringe feeding won’t do anything for his teeth but if he isn’t eating enough hay and is losing weight then he absolutely needs to be syringe fed.

So he’s got spurs but the vet doesn’t think they are bad enough to need to deal with them?
Any spur can be digging into his cheeks and making him reluctant to eat

You may have said earlier but is he on a decent dose of pain killer?
 
Yes, he said that the teeth are still not bad enough for a dental and to come again in a week for a check up. In the meantime I was told to offer more fibrous hay... As if I haven't offered all the hay possible 😂

But the thing is, his teeth were perfect on the very first vet visit. And he was already not eating hay. So it's only natural the teeth will overgrow if he starts eating drastically less hay. What I am saying is, the teeth are a symptom of something, rather than the cause of all this.

He has a 3rd cut timothy from Small pet select coming, but I am not sure if that is a viable long term option because it's £50 for 9kg, and probably too rich?

He's not losing weight currently but that could be due to the syringe top ups.

He's on dog Loxicom 0.5ml every 12 hrs (and the cisapride)
 
The timothy hay is fine, not too rich. Many members on here use haybox. There’s also hay & straw, timothy hay and happy hay. I’m sure there are some others but I can’t remember them off the top of my head.

Hope he picks up soon.
 
Sadly I've tried all the listed (by sample boxes or buying full size) apart from hay & straw, but their hays don't seem too different from the 16 hays we have here already :/
 
Heya, so he's had a dental on Wednesday, but sadly still not eating. Now he's eating no hay at all, only pellets and veg. Any tips?
 
Yes he is on Loxicom 0.75ml twice a day for a week post dental as well as cisapride.
Yes its a vet from the vet list here.
 
You will have to continue with regular top ups and weighing daily to check. Sorry he seems to have gotten worse. Hopefully the pain relief will help him start to eat.

Have you got him booked in for a review?
 
Somehow his weight is stable, yet he is pooping very little and I only feed 40g emeraid every day. If his weight starts dropping, I will feed more. But he is definitely not touching the hay at all, I recorded him overnight and he only came out twice out of his hidey to drink
 
Sorry, yes he is going to the vet next Thursday. I must say this has been a very expensive attempt at getting him a friend, I am £500 down just for trying to get him a friend he did not end up getting along with, but they were together only for a few days. But I guess it stressed him so much he decided not to eat hay.
 
Please do try again. I know it’s difficult as sometimes there aren’t any rescues nearby. Alternative is to find him a friend he can live alongside as neighbours. That would stave off the loneliness and he would have his own space. Something to consider perhaps.
 
I am afraid I don't have enough room to pull off side by side long term as I can only fit one 2x5, plus every time I had guinea pigs living together but separated, one of them was very destructive and trying to get to the other, chewing up fleece liners, trying to jump over and all the bars had to be covered by smaller bars so he couldn't chew. And considering that a non-aggressive baby stressed him out so much he stopped eating, I don't know, really. What if I get him eating, try him with another and he stops eating again? At that point I will have to rob a bank to afford the constant vet visits/dentals. He seemed much better on his own. At least he was eating then...
 
Puckerfish said:
Somehow his weight is stable, yet he is pooping very little and I only feed 40g emeraid every day. If his weight starts dropping, I will feed more. But he is definitely not touching the hay at all, I recorded him overnight and he only came out twice out of his hidey to drink
Click to expand...

It may be enough to keep his weight stable but a healthy piggy will eat the equivalent of 100-120ml per day so If he isn’t pooping then I wonder if he is only just getting enough to keep him ticking over as it were but that he actually needs more - particularly if he isn’t eating hay for himself. I would increase his syringe feed to see if that helps him (it won’t immediately though because poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake).
 
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