Personality change

[Bubble64]

Hi. I have 4 boars. They live in 2 separate pairs. One of my boars Jamie is 4 years old. He usually loves his nuggets and his hay. He is also quite confident and very vocal. He is also very sociable with me usually. For about a week I have noticed that he just seems really sad. He now isn't as interested or exciting when nuggets and food comes out. He still eats and drinks though. He just lounges about and isn't very sociable. His confidence seems to have just disappeared and I'm very worried about this sudden change. He no longer squeaks and gets excited. He is still walking fine too but doesn't walk as much. He hasnt gained or lost any weight and I haven't noticed any other health problems apart from him maybe having pea/fatty eye that seems to have come up. I'm really worried. Is this just older age or is it something that I should be concerned about. I'm just worried because it has come on really suddenly. I'd be grateful for any advice

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

Hi, sorry to hear Jamie's behaviour is worrying you. It's possibly just because he's getting older, but health issues should be ruled out first.

You could do some physical health checks yourself such as feeling for lumps or painful areas, but getting him seen by a piggy-savvy vet would be the best way to find out if anything is up, especially if he starts losing weight.

 

[Piggies&buns]

You know him best and if he doesn’t seem himself then best to keep a closer eye on him and increase weight checks to daily for a while, and see a vet if you notice any so specific or concerning symptoms. Do see a vet anyway if you are worried about him. You always need to rule health issues out first

As my two older boys got to 4 years old and beyond (one of them passed away two weeks ago at 6 years old) the only changes were that they didn’t show as much dominance and were more content with each other now the need for competition had passed. They popcorned less but largely were as active as they always had been however any periods of rest did last longer.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi. I have 4 boars. They live in 2 separate pairs. One of my boars Jamie is 4 years old. He usually loves his nuggets and his hay. He is also quite confident and very vocal. He is also very sociable with me usually. For about a week I have noticed that he just seems really sad. He now isn't as interested or exciting when nuggets and food comes out. He still eats and drinks though. He just lounges about and isn't very sociable. His confidence seems to have just disappeared and I'm very worried about this sudden change. He no longer squeaks and gets excited. He is still walking fine too but doesn't walk as much. He hasnt gained or lost any weight and I haven't noticed any other health problems apart from him maybe having pea/fatty eye that seems to have come up. I'm really worried. Is this just older age or is it something that I should be concerned about. I'm just worried because it has come on really suddenly. I'd be grateful for any advice

Hi

Please switch from the usual one weekly weigh-in and body onceover to weighing daily first thing in the morning on your kitchen scales for best day to day comparison so you get a better idea of what is going on.

Be aware that over three quarters what a guinea pig eats in a day is hay/grass and that you cannot control that by eye. Veg, fresh and dry forage, pellets and any treat all together only replace the supplementary role that wild forage used to have.

Please have our boy seen as soon after the weekend as possible and step in with improvised support feeding if he has already lost more than 50g. See an out-of-hours/Sunday vet if your boy is taking a turn for the worse before that. The support feeding (mushed up pellets until you can get hold of recovery formula) replaces the reduced hay intake and is vital to keep a piggy with reduced or total lack of appetite going.

Please take the time to read these links here. They tell you in very practical detail how to go about it and what to look out for:

Weight monitoring and feeding care, incl. how to improvise in an emergency: All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

 

[Bubble64]

Thank you for all the replies especially so quickly. I will definitely do some of the things you have mentioned and it has given me a bit more peace of mind.