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Pig with diabetes?

Freela

Freela

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Has anyone had a pig with diabetes? What were the symptoms? What was the treatment/outcome? I've been concerned about Tomie... she drinks a lot and has had really gradual weight loss over the past few months despite being very active and perky and having a great appetite. I'm wondering about the potential of diabetes. I cut out anything with sugar a month or so ago but don't see much difference... right now she eats unlimited timothy hay, a timothy hay-based pellet, and basically leafy greens and cucumbers and parsley/cilantro and occasional peppers. I cut out carrots and anything sweet. I'm booking her for a vet check, but I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with this. Also, should I try to get a urine sample to take to the vet even if I know it won't be sterile? Or will they have to do blood work instead to check her sugars? Thanks in advance!
 
Freela said:
Has anyone had a pig with diabetes? What were the symptoms? What was the treatment/outcome? I've been concerned about Tomie... she drinks a lot and has had really gradual weight loss over the past few months despite being very active and perky and having a great appetite. I'm wondering about the potential of diabetes. I cut out anything with sugar a month or so ago but don't see much difference... right now she eats unlimited timothy hay, a timothy hay-based pellet, and basically leafy greens and cucumbers and parsley/cilantro and occasional peppers. I cut out carrots and anything sweet. I'm booking her for a vet check, but I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with this. Also, should I try to get a urine sample to take to the vet even if I know it won't be sterile? Or will they have to do blood work instead to check her sugars? Thanks in advance!
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Hi

Increased thirst and a gradual weight loss could be a sign of kidney problems, which are a more common issue especially in older guinea pigs although the kidneys can go wrong in younger piggies, too. Diabetes often comes with a more marked initial weight loss. Very watery urine can be an indicator for kidney trouble.

Diabetes is now usually diagnosed by bloods rather than urine; after the initial fad when it became first known as an illness that can actually affect guinea pigs about a dozen years ago and an initial over-diagnosing wave, it has faded into the background more and with a general reduction of feeding dry mixes (piggies will make a beeline for the sugary bits), a move towards less sugary veg and fruit and a much reduced pellet intake, it has become less common.
The first step is generally to get it back under control with diet. Unless you are very, very unlucky to have a piggy with an extreme genetic form (which you haven't), outcomes are good. But you can take a urine sample if you wish to.

All About Drinking And Bottles (includes a chapter on drinking changes related health issues)
Glucosuria in Guinea Pigs | Vetlexicon

All the best. It very much depends on your vet's findings.
 
Kidney issues crossed my mind too, though I hope not as she's only turning three years old and I know there's not much to do about kidneys sometimes. She has a vet appointment tomorrow so fingers crossed it's something we can treat or manage!
 
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My late Ellen had diabetes. She lost weight and glucose in her urine is what alerted me. The vet tested her blood by a pin prick to her ear which showed a high level of glucose in her blood as well as her urine. We limited her pellets and removed all sugary / high carbohydrate veg and dry forage from her diet and she was in remission a month later when her blood was tested again. She couldn’t have sugary / high carbohydrate veg for the rest of her life but she managed just fine on a diet of all but red pepper which contains the most sugar, cucumber, lettuce and fresh grass. She was 6 months old when she was diagnosed

I have also had a piggy with kidney failure. Eleanor lost a lot of weight, had increased thirst and very dilute urine and blood. She was 5. Apart from the weight loss, we didn’t really notice anything was wrong until the day she was pts as she was living with 3 other girls and it wasn’t until after she died that we noticed the water bottles wasn’t being emptied

I am wishing you and Tomie all the best x
 
Freela said:
Kidney issues crossed my mind too, though I hope not as she's only turning three years old and I know there's not much to do about kidneys sometimes. She has a vet appointment tomorrow so fingers crossed it's something we can treat or manage!
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Fingers very firmly crossed!
 
Larry had diabetes. He was always slim, and the diabetes caused issues with his eyes. His body was attacking the cataracts that formed due to the diabetes as a foreign body and one of his eyes ended up being removed.
He also had urinary issues due to the imbalance of glucose in his urine.
He also had arthritis.
He drank a reasonable amount but not a huge amount.
His treatment was all diet related, cutting him back to a very restricted diet which helped bring the diabetes in check. The vet didn't recommend insulin as apparently it is very difficult to get the right dosage for such a little animal, and overdose could be extremely dangerous.
He unfortunately crossed the Rainbow Bridge with the help of the vet at 3.5 years old due to an extremely thickened bladder lining causing terrible pain, and spondylosis of his lower spine.
His diabetes didn't bring him down though! He was a happy little chap until the end.

IMG-20210922-WA0002.jpg
 
I appreciate this thread and everyone’s experiences, as I too am wondering if my Maude has diabetes or a kidney condition. She’s around 5 years old, and has lost quite a bit of weight. She’s sitting around a lot more recently but still has a huge appetite and wheeks wheeeks all the time, she’s active and happy when not looking Sorry for herself. She drinks a hell of a lot and produces a LOT of urine.
I have also noticed her eyes look different lately.. perhaps cataracts looking?
She’s going to the vet on Tuesday.
 
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If you're worried about diabetes in your pig, see a vet for advice; signs like drinking a lot, losing weight slowly, and changes in urination habits need attention.
 
We saw the vet today, who gave her a full exam and didn't find anything particularly wrong on a surface look. She is on the small side but she always has been. We sent a urine sample for analysis and if anything seems amiss there we will proceed to blood work to get a clearer picture of what's going on. Tomie was a very good girl and miraculously did not bite the vet- Tomie tweaks things with her teeth if she's stressed out, if you're lucky it's her blanket but if you're unlucky it's your skin! Luckily for the vet she bit her own paw through most of the physical instead of biting the vet. So fingers crossed and we'll see how the lab work goes.
 
Freela said:
We saw the vet today, who gave her a full exam and didn't find anything particularly wrong on a surface look. She is on the small side but she always has been. We sent a urine sample for analysis and if anything seems amiss there we will proceed to blood work to get a clearer picture of what's going on. Tomie was a very good girl and miraculously did not bite the vet- Tomie tweaks things with her teeth if she's stressed out, if you're lucky it's her blanket but if you're unlucky it's your skin! Luckily for the vet she bit her own paw through most of the physical instead of biting the vet. So fingers crossed and we'll see how the lab work goes.
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All the best for Tomie. I hope that you can get to the bottom of it.
 
Good news, Tomie's lab work all came back normal. Apparently she just really, REALLY loves water! We're keeping an eye on her weight but it has been steady so far. I'm feeling very much relieved!
 
Freela said:
Good news, Tomie's lab work all came back normal. Apparently she just really, REALLY loves water! We're keeping an eye on her weight but it has been steady so far. I'm feeling very much relieved!
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Wonderful news and what a relief for you!
 
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