Post-parasite diarrhea and weight loss

[laurens758]

Hi. My guinea pigs - Gus and Moe - are both 4 years old. They’ve been lifelong mates. Around 2 months ago, Gus feel seriously ill with weight loss, diarrhea, and bloating. He was tested for parasites at the local emergency vet and it came back positive. They had us send in a sample for Moe, too, which also came back positive (though he had no visible symptoms).

Gus has gone through 2 rounds of heavy antibiotics because it wouldn’t go away. Moe only went through 1. They have both since tested negative for any parasitic infection. The issue is that they are both now having diarrhea/soft poops and aren’t putting on weight. Gus is particularly small, but Moe has always been slightly chunky and to be able to feel some of his spinal structure is frightening to me. We have been limiting vegetables and fiber and giving them pellets and hay because they are constantly hungry, but can’t keep on the weight. If anyone has had a similar experience, please let me know. They’ve also been taking probiotic supplements. Thanks.

 

[Piggies&buns]

It takes a lot longer for them to regain lost weight, then it does for them to lose it.
Hay is fibre and is essential for them to have it. A good healthy hay based diet with 80% for the daily food intake being hay , one cup/50g of veg and one tablespoon of pellets is what is needed to help regain lost weight.

Its often recommended to feed a very small amount of dry, plain porridge oats as that can help weight gain, but, as mentioned, the best way to regain weight is through a lot of hay intake.

The fact you say can’t keep weight on, then it would be recommended that you step in with syringe feeding a fibre rich recovery feed or mushed up pellets. You can leave some of it in a bowl in the cage so they can eat it independently as well as plenty of hay. Ensure you weigh them both daily so you can more closely monitor what is going on with their food intake. If they lose weight daily, then they aren’t eating enough and you would need to provide more hay and syringe feed more to keep their weight stable.

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[PigglePuggle]

I agree with @Piggies&buns that support feeding with a syringe, Critical Care or Science Selective Recovery Plus, is important. Also some probiotics are better than others... we recently had a piggy whose appetite was completely wiped out by doxycycline antibiotics she needed for a nasty pneumonia, and Fibreplex mixed with SS Recovery Plus really helped her get over the gut disturbances. And yes extra calories in the form of porridge oats with some grated high calorie veg can also boost appetite and weight gain after illness. But the recovery foods that contain the essential hay fibre, and a good probiotic, are the most important things to restore normal gut fuction!
There is another very high calorie recovery food too that people often mention, is it Emeraid? Not tried this with my piggies but I believe it is tasty and very nutritious and has brought many sick piggies back from a low weight!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi. My guinea pigs - Gus and Moe - are both 4 years old. They’ve been lifelong mates. Around 2 months ago, Gus feel seriously ill with weight loss, diarrhea, and bloating. He was tested for parasites at the local emergency vet and it came back positive. They had us send in a sample for Moe, too, which also came back positive (though he had no visible symptoms).

Gus has gone through 2 rounds of heavy antibiotics because it wouldn’t go away. Moe only went through 1. They have both since tested negative for any parasitic infection. The issue is that they are both now having diarrhea/soft poops and aren’t putting on weight. Gus is particularly small, but Moe has always been slightly chunky and to be able to feel some of his spinal structure is frightening to me. We have been limiting vegetables and fiber and giving them pellets and hay because they are constantly hungry, but can’t keep on the weight. If anyone has had a similar experience, please let me know. They’ve also been taking probiotic supplements. Thanks.

Hi!

Try mixing some fibreplex (UK) or Bene Bac (USA) into their top-up recovery food as piggies usually don't like the taste of it; it is very likely that the antibiotics have wiped the gut microbiome, which is taking some time to rebuild. Fibreplex contains more additional gut support than plain probiotics and it can help with tender tummies, especially in older piggies. Unfortunately, with both of your piggies affected, 'poo soup' (i.e. live healthy gut microbiome transfer) is not an option for you.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

PS: If they are eating normally, serve any supplementary mushed food mixes in a bowl instead of syringing them.

It can take piggies sometimes quite a while to regain weight and they may never do so fully once they are no longer young.

 

[laurens758]

It takes a lot longer for them to regain lost weight, then it does for them to lose it.
Hay is fibre and is essential for them to have it. A good healthy hay based diet with 80% for the daily food intake being hay , one cup/50g of veg and one tablespoon of pellets is what is needed to help regain lost weight.

Its often recommended to feed a very small amount of dry, plain porridge oats as that can help weight gain, but, as mentioned, the best way to regain weight is through a lot of hay intake.

The fact you say can’t keep weight on, then it would be recommended that you step in with syringe feeding a fibre rich recovery feed or mushed up pellets. You can leave some of it in a bowl in the cage so they can eat it independently as well as plenty of hay. Ensure you weigh them both daily so you can more closely monitor what is going on with their food intake. If they lose weight daily, then they aren’t eating enough and you would need to provide more hay and syringe feed more to keep their weight stable.

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Hello, thank you for your reply. I will definitely start weighing him daily and I’d like to get the porridge oats. He eats plenty of hay daily and is good about drinking his water, too. We have been giving him critical care, which he loves - I was worried at first that it was contributing to the diarrhea, but even after stopping, he continues to have it. The worst part is that it cakes onto his behind and he doesn’t like having to soak his lower half in order to get it off, but I can tell it is uncomfortable for him. Right now he is hiding away, as of the past hour or so, and I finally was able to get him up to the side of the cage to give him critical care, which he consumed eagerly. I am taking him to the emergency vet in the morning because I’m unable to go now. Thank you so much for the advice.

 

[laurens758]

I agree with @Piggies&buns that support feeding with a syringe, Critical Care or Science Selective Recovery Plus, is important. Also some probiotics are better than others... we recently had a piggy whose appetite was completely wiped out by doxycycline antibiotics she needed for a nasty pneumonia, and Fibreplex mixed with SS Recovery Plus really helped her get over the gut disturbances. And yes extra calories in the form of porridge oats with some grated high calorie veg can also boost appetite and weight gain after illness. But the recovery foods that contain the essential hay fibre, and a good probiotic, are the most important things to restore normal gut fuction!
There is another very high calorie recovery food too that people often mention, is it Emeraid? Not tried this with my piggies but I believe it is tasty and very nutritious and has brought many sick piggies back from a low weight

I agree with @Piggies&buns that support feeding with a syringe, Critical Care or Science Selective Recovery Plus, is important. Also some probiotics are better than others... we recently had a piggy whose appetite was completely wiped out by doxycycline antibiotics she needed for a nasty pneumonia, and Fibreplex mixed with SS Recovery Plus really helped her get over the gut disturbances. And yes extra calories in the form of porridge oats with some grated high calorie veg can also boost appetite and weight gain after illness. But the recovery foods that contain the essential hay fibre, and a good probiotic, are the most important things to restore normal gut fuction!
There is another very high calorie recovery food too that people often mention, is it Emeraid? Not tried this with my piggies but I believe it is tasty and very nutritious and has brought many sick piggies back from a low weight!

Thank you! I am going to look into these probiotics. I can’t remember the current brand off the top of my head, but they are little biscuits that my vet recommended and may be geared more towards maintaining the microbiome of already-healthy piggies. I am going to look into the high-calorie recovery food, too. All I want is for him to put on a bit of weight and feel better.

 

[laurens758]

Hi!

Try mixing some fibreplex (UK) or Bene Bac (USA) into their top-up recovery food as piggies usually don't like the taste of it; it is very likely that the antibiotics have wiped the gut microbiome, which is taking some time to rebuild. Fibreplex contains more additional gut support than plain probiotics and it can help with tender tummies, especially in older piggies. Unfortunately, with both of your piggies affected, 'poo soup' (i.e. live healthy gut microbiome transfer) is not an option for you.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

PS: If they are eating normally, serve any supplementary mushed food mixes in a bowl instead of syringing them.

It can take piggies sometimes quite a while to regain weight and they may never do so fully once they are no longer young.

I will have to get more of the Bene Bac - my vet gave us a few doses after the antibiotics, but maybe it wasn’t quite enough. I was thinking the same about a lack of good bacteria being enough to give him continual diarrhea. After the vet tomorrow, I am going to follow all of the suggestions I’ve been given and hope that it will help him recover fully. The sisters I had before Gus and Moe lived a long and happy life, and I want nothing less for my boys. I am so thankful for this forum.