Sick Skinnie Needing Advice Asap

[Barnyard Boars]

Hello, I'm new to owning piggies and have 2 right now. I have a skinnie named Melvin and a guinea pig named Harvey...

I got Melvin close to a year ago, and felt he was lonely and needed a pal so I got Harvey, Harvey has been around probably close to half a year and is still coming around to people and is very shy, but my piggies seemed to get along great! I was super pleased, they're always playing and talking, and purring and being goofy! Until very recently like this past week I've been noticing hostility and dominating from Harvey and my Mel squeaking lots, I examined him and he has scratches all over his little body and wasn't keen on being picked up... They've been happy until just now, I was even thinking my Mel was a bit overweight, but looking at him today I noticed he looked dramatically underweight all of a sudden, and yes shame on me I didn't really believe weighing my piggies was a huge deal, how stupid of me... I weighed my skinnie this morning and he was only 699grams... I read what a male should weigh and was absolutely mortified... this weight loss is drastic and recent but have no access to a vet at this very moment, Mel went in not too long ago as I got paranoid and thought he had fly strike (summer time we get flies in my area like crazy and had set up at least 10 fly traps in house to prevent them getting to my piggies and cleaned their cage more often) he didn't have fly strike, and was put on antibiotics. Only this last week have I been noticing lathargy and weight loss from Mel and dominating from Harvey which is so out of character! I'm worried I'll have to remove Harvey from my house and give him to a great home, it makes me so sad but I can't leave my Mel sick in this environment... now I know skinnies need a lot more warmth because of their hairless little bodies and it's winter so I've been struggling with my house getting chilly, and he appears to maybe be cold... could this be another factor to the weight loss and lathargy? I've got him away from Harvey at the moment and he's warming up and has some veg with him, and he's not eating it much... which is also extremely out of character as he's a little chunkster and never stops eating! I'm so worried about my baby... any advice other than to take to the vet would mean the world. I'm getting him to the vet as soon as I can, thanks in advance!

 

[Wiebke]

Hello, I'm new to owning piggies and have 2 right now. I have a skinnie named Melvin and a guinea pig named Harvey...

I got Melvin close to a year ago, and felt he was lonely and needed a pal so I got Harvey, Harvey has been around probably close to half a year and is still coming around to people and is very shy, but my piggies seemed to get along great! I was super pleased, they're always playing and talking, and purring and being goofy! Until very recently like this past week I've been noticing hostility and dominating from Harvey and my Mel squeaking lots, I examined him and he has scratches all over his little body and wasn't keen on being picked up... They've been happy until just now, I was even thinking my Mel was a bit overweight, but looking at him today I noticed he looked dramatically underweight all of a sudden, and yes shame on me I didn't really believe weighing my piggies was a huge deal, how stupid of me... I weighed my skinnie this morning and he was only 699grams... I read what a male should weigh and was absolutely mortified... this weight loss is drastic and recent but have no access to a vet at this very moment, Mel went in not too long ago as I got paranoid and thought he had fly strike (summer time we get flies in my area like crazy and had set up at least 10 fly traps in house to prevent them getting to my piggies and cleaned their cage more often) he didn't have fly strike, and was put on antibiotics. Only this last week have I been noticing lathargy and weight loss from Mel and dominating from Harvey which is so out of character! I'm worried I'll have to remove Harvey from my house and give him to a great home, it makes me so sad but I can't leave my Mel sick in this environment... now I know skinnies need a lot more warmth because of their hairless little bodies and it's winter so I've been struggling with my house getting chilly, and he appears to maybe be cold... could this be another factor to the weight loss and lathargy? I've got him away from Harvey at the moment and he's warming up and has some veg with him, and he's not eating it much... which is also extremely out of character as he's a little chunkster and never stops eating! I'm so worried about my baby... any advice other than to take to the vet would mean the world. I'm getting him to the vet as soon as I can, thanks in advance!

Any guinea pig that is lethargic and off its food needs to see a vet ASAP as an emergency!
List Of Life And Death Out-of-hours Emergencies

Please start syringe feeding him mushes up pellets and hand warm water asap (prep the syringe tip as shown in the guide) in order to get the fibre through. You can get a needle-less 1 ml syringe from your vet or a pharmacy in a pinch. Your vet may hopefully be able to fix you up with some recovery formula powder. You need to aim for as close to 60 ml in 24 hours as you can, if necessary round the clock.
You need to start NOW as soon as you have made a vet a appointment with a 24 hour vet clinic if you live in an urban UK area or otherwise with an out-of-hours vet service. Please google or listen to your regular vet's answering phone message.
Not Eating And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Switch from the regular weekly weigh-in and health check to a daily in order to control the food intake. Over 80% of that is unlinited hay with veg making only about 15% and pellets only about 5%, so you can't judge what is going in by watching your piggy nibbling on a little veg. Skinnies definitely need syringe feeding support even more than normal guinea pigs because they have a higher metabolism.

Skinnies have a faster metabolism than normal guinea pigs to compensate for their hair loss. They do not need extra warmth as a rule (although they prefer a steady temperature like all guinea pigs; in the same range that humans are comfortable with) as they have their internal high efficiency heating, but as he must have lost weight from not eating, please keep him warm, but not hot. Order some snugglesafes to keep your guinea pigs warm when you are not there and keep the house temperature up during cold spells.

Only a vet can tell what is wrong with your piggy. Syringe feeding helps to keep it alive, but it does not cure the underlying problem. Your other guinea pig is not the problem, it is just reacting to the illness.

 

[Barnyard Boars]

do I just put boiling water in pellets like you would puppy chow for example? I still have syringes from the last vet visit, could I use those? I don't feed him as much veg as I should be but he eats tons and tons of Timothy constant, and a fair bit of pellets, I'll weigh him again in morning, i have the piggies separated for now and am trying to keep my skinnie warm through the night as it's kind of chilly, he should at a nice temperature now. Do you think my piggie will stop trying to dominate once my skinny is better? I keep noticing him trying to mount my skinny, only these last few days and right now he's doing a low purr so I'm confused I can't tell if he's unhappy or not... I'm snowed in ATM so I'm worried I won't be able to get him to a vet in time, I literally cannot drive anywhere at this time and I'm worried the snow isn't letting up. Worst time...

 

[Wiebke]

do I just put boiling water in pellets like you would puppy chow for example? I still have syringes from the last vet visit, could I use those? I don't feed him as much veg as I should be but he eats tons and tons of Timothy constant, and a fair bit of pellets, I'll weigh him again in morning, i have the piggies separated for now and am trying to keep my skinnie warm through the night as it's kind of chilly, he should at a nice temperature now. Do you think my piggie will stop trying to dominate once my skinny is better? I keep noticing him trying to mount my skinny, only these last few days and right now he's doing a low purr so I'm confused I can't tell if he's unhappy or not... I'm snowed in ATM so I'm worried I won't be able to get him to a vet in time, I literally cannot drive anywhere at this time and I'm worried the snow isn't letting up. Worst time...

Please ring up a vet clinic and ask for their advice. Yes, you can soak the pellets in a little hot water, but do not feed them until they are hand warm. You need to cut off the tip of the syringe as shown or only water will pass through.
Take the time to read our guide.

How your piggies behave together when they are back again depends on their age and relationship. Rumblestrutting and mounting is both mild dominance/social interactive behaviour and very common in boars.

It is not a worry for you right now; keeping your skinny alive until he can see a vet and until the meds can kick in, is!
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

 

[Barnyard Boars]

Agreed just was curious if that was the reason he was acting like this, thank you I've got my pellets mushed and just waiting for them to cool and have my syringe clipped and ready, I'll call a vet as soon as one opens in a couple hours, thanks so much xx