Please help my old guy is poorly 😢

[6guineapigs:)]

Hi all, I’ll be taking my guinea pig to the vet hopefully tomorrow, will call in the morning. But I’m wondering if anyone can give me an idea of what might be wrong

Daisy (he’s a boy !)is a neutered male. He’s 7 years old. He’s always been super healthy no problems. In the last month he has lost 170g! He’s completely skin and bones now (you can’t see it at all as he’s Abyssinian) but can feel totally his spine, ribs, hips etc. I’d put this down to old age but now it seems quite extreme. I also checked his teeth today as he has in the last couple of days had a wet chin… he’s broken/lost one top tooth and the bottom are quite long. He is eating still it appears .
What’s really worried me today is he’s breathing fast down in his belly and then every minute or so seems to heave a bit. There is no sign of uri that I can see and no snuffling /raspy breathing.
Only other thing to note is for the last month or so he’s started sort of walking up higher … almost like he’s on tip toes . Why would he do this? He doesn’t have sore feet.
He’s drinking more I think.

What can I do tonight to make him comfortable/help him?

And what might this be ? Heart problems?


Thanks for any ideas x

 

[Siikibam]

I’m afraid your best bet is to have him seen by the vet. That amount of weight loss is something to put you on alert. Anything over 50g a week is too much.

Please step in and start topping him up as well as weighing once daily. Below are the guides for syringe feeding. You can use his pellets if you don’t have any of the recommended recovery foods. You can offer it on a spoon, in a bowl or use a syringe. With the latter, you’d have to cut the tip off so it can pass through.

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

I hope you can get him seen soon. It’s a bank holiday though so you may have to go with the emergency vet if things take a turn for the worse.

Keep up posted and good luck.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi
Please step in with feeding support NOW. The massive weight loss means that he is not eating enough, especially hay (which makes at least three quarters of what a guinea pig eats in a day and which you cannot control by eye). Just nibbling on a little veg can be very deceptive. Your feeding care can make all the difference as to whether your boy can hang on in there for any medical treatment to kick in and work and for pulling through; he needs that fighting strength from the hay/grass fibre based feed.


Here is the link to our one stop emergency/crisis care tips and information, which also includes tips on how to improvise in an emergency, as does our syringe feeding guide link.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

 

[weepweeps]

Good luck I hope you managed to make a vets appointment.

 

[6guineapigs:)]

Hi all, right we discovered the problem was with his teeth! He only has one front tooth left which now needs very regular trimming. The other front teeth are completely gone, not growing back at all. I’m having to syringe feed Daisy every day as he can’t eat enough to keep his weight up. Even with daily syringing with critical care and mushed pellets (which he loves) he’s losing weight still. He’s still alert when veg comes out (can only eat a tiny amount of very chopped up) but sleeps a lot and is obviously very very old acting. He’s skin and bones and has arthritis. I’m really surprised he’s still going. I don’t know if this is kind to keep him going but then I can’t believe he hasn’t passed yet ! Can guinea pigs thrive without front teeth or is this really a death sentence? Also I’m not sure why he’s still losing weight when I’m syringing a good amount of food in to him daily and hes happily eating it. His weight has gone from 768g last year to 568g today! The fastest loss has occurred since April this year .

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all, right we discovered the problem was with his teeth! He only has one front tooth left which now needs very regular trimming. The other front teeth are completely gone, not growing back at all. I’m having to syringe feed Daisy every day as he can’t eat enough to keep his weight up. Even with daily syringing with critical care and mushed pellets (which he loves) he’s losing weight still. He’s still alert when veg comes out (can only eat a tiny amount of very chopped up) but sleeps a lot and is obviously very very old acting. He’s skin and bones and has arthritis. I’m really surprised he’s still going. I don’t know if this is kind to keep him going but then I can’t believe he hasn’t passed yet ! Can guinea pigs thrive without front teeth or is this really a death sentence? Also I’m not sure why he’s still losing weight when I’m syringing a good amount of food in to him daily and hes happily eating it. His weight has gone from 768g last year to 568g today! The fastest loss has occurred since April this year .

Hi

I would think that something else is going on if you are feeding about 60 ml of ideally hay fibre based feed a day to replace the missing hay/grass fibre that makes at least three quarters of what a piggy eats in a day.

Is your vet also checking the back teeth for overgrowth because they are not ground down as much by the silica that is in the hay/grass and against which the dental growth rate has evolved?
Try to feed as much fresh grass - dental piggies can eat it more easily once their gut has accustomed to it (too much at once can cause bloar or diarrhea).

You can find more helpful information on caring for older piggies and end of life care/decisions (includuing how to spot when your piggy is crossing the line of no return) as well as our new practical syringe feeding and medicating guide:
- All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
- Caring for Older Piggies and Facing the End - A practical and supportive information collection
- A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs
- Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Fingers very firmly crossed!

 

[6guineapigs:)]

Thank you I will look at all this carefully x

 

[Claire W]

If he is interested in veg, try cutting it up in to small strips. My old boy, Edward is currently suffering from some sort of dental problem and he is managing to eat veg cut in to small strips although it’s taking him a while to eat. I’m phoning my vet first thing tomorrow as he’s lost 65g since Thursday and am going to insist that they check his gums and back teeth