Stopped eating main food

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Gizmomummy

Gizmomummy

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Hi there =)... My guinea pig has just been through a big UTI and is now cleared up he has had diarihia but thats cleared up too but he has lost alot of weight he went from 0.94 to 0.90 in about 3 weeks vet said to keep an eye on him he eating his carrots and vegs so its not like he starving himself but could this be due to boredem? ive been told that he could be bored and wants a friend what you think? thanks for helping me x
 
How old is Gizmo? That sounds like the weight of a baby. He may be lonely as guinea pigs always need a friend. Have you heard of boar dating? This is were you would take him into a rescue and he can choose his own friend. Is he eating hay? It is very important he has unlimited access to hay and it is the main of his diet.
 
piggyfan said:
How old is Gizmo? That sounds like the weight of a baby. He may be lonely as guinea pigs always need a friend. Have you heard of boar dating? This is were you would take him into a rescue and he can choose his own friend. Is he eating hay? It is very important he has unlimited access to hay and it is the main of his diet.
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Gizmo is 2 years old the vet said he is perfect weight but he seems to be losing weight easily since he had his Urine infection but ive been told he is bored... someone my mum knows has a female 18 month old so I'm going to take him to visit her see how he is around her befor i get her i just wondered if it was ok to? and also could he not be eating properly through boredom... thanks for answering =)
 
You cannot let him near the female or she will get pregnant. You must never put a male and female guinea pig together. I suggest you contact local rescues and take him boar dating like I mentioned earlier.
 
oh no i dont mind her getting pregnant i love guinea pigs and would love babies =) the women I'm getting her from said if i take gizmo to her and see hoe they react together first befor i bring her home =)
 
Please do not do this. Guinea pigs have very difficult pregnancies and births and many die during this time. There are so many unwanted guinea pigs in rescue. If you have the space for a few then please adopt as they are in urgent need of homes. To breed your guinea pig is very dangerous.
 
The female your thinking of would also be very prone to complications at her age. Breeding is dangerous and not to be discussed on this forum.
 
i totally understand it wasnt to actually breed her it was a friend for my guinea pig but seen as people think I'm a coward for doing this i am getting a male instead from a rescue place I'm sorry for any upset i caused and will only be posting if i need too sorry for anything i have caused i would not breed on purpose i just wanted a friend for gizmo i only wanted a girl so i had one of each I'm sorry
 
No need to be sorry. You did not know but you do now. A male friend will be so much better for him. If you do want a female you can get Gizmo neutered so the female will not be pregnant. Please do not feel you cannot ask for information on here as you will learn so much.
 
Please advise your friend that she is risking her girl's life by attempting to breed from her at that age. Apart from the obvious life threatening complications that older females encounter there are so many guinea pigs in rescue waiting for a forever home there is no reasonable excuse for adding to the numbers.

Please read this link so that you can give her solid advice as to the consequences of risking her sow.

http://cavyspirit.com/breeding.htm
 
I feel bit upset now cause i feel ive upset people on here I'm no good with words so i do sound my wording wrong but it wasnt intentially to breeed was just a friend thats alll thanks for telling me though means alot
 
You have not upset anybody. If we have managed to stop you from allowing this girl to get pregnant then that is great.
 
ITs ok, its understandable that you wanted gizmo to have a friend. Thats a very nice thing to do. Nobody thinks you are a coward, just sometimes its hard to explain all the bad things that can happen when you breed.

Hopefully gizmo will find a lovely new friend and you will be able to show us some nice pictures. :)
 
I'm not sure of your age but you seem quite young? This is a rescue-friendly forum & we don't discuss breeding here rolleyes

At 18 months old a female guinea pig could die whilst having babies, or her babies could be stillborn if she struggles with the birth. If she had babies it might seem cute or fun but in reality it is neither for the poor female piggy. There are many people who have come to this forum for advice because they have too many unwanted babies who they need to find homes for. This is why it is kinder to find your boy a male friend to keep him company. You say he has been unwell, so you may need money for vet's fees if he became unwell again, & if you have lots of baby piggies you may not be able to pay for any treatment. Please consider all this carefully & think about getting him a male friend instead?

Welcome to the forum, there are lots of nice people here who can advise you on your boy's care :)
 
Thanks guys I'm going to get him weighed again friday see how his weight is doing and if he has gone up we going to let him chose a friend on saturday hopefully =) and yes its a male friend =)
 
just one question will my male not fight with another male ive heard aslong as i get a younger male they will get on is that right?
 
Gizmomummy said:
just one question will my male not fight with another male ive heard aslong as i get a younger male they will get on is that right?
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He would probably get on better with a younger male, but it would be nicer for him to choose his own friend from a rescue. However I do know that there are few rescues in Lincolnshire. This thread shows some gorgeous boys needing homes, maybe he could choose one of them?

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=83328
 
Thank you very much =) i am going to a rescue centre in boston near me hopefully on saturday depending might be next monday depends if gizmo has put on weight lol cause he being real stubborn hehe
 
Hopefully the rescue will bond the boys for you, so you know they will get along nicely.
 
Hello

I think it is great that you want to get your guinea pig a friend. However, before you do so, I think it is important to make sure that he is 100% healthy. If he is unwell when you try to bond him with a new boy, he may not react how he would if he was feeling well (for example, he may submissive towards him at first, but later try to assert himself more when he is fully recovered).

Can I ask you to explain his health concerns in a little more detail? You say he has stopped eating his main food, but that he is still eating things like carrots (which is good). When you say main food, what exactly do you mean? Do you mean hay and nuggets?

I'm also a little confused by the weights you quoted - he went from 0.94 to 0.90 in about 3 weeks - do you mean 0.94 kilograms (kg) and 0.90 kilograms? If so, this this is 940 grams to 900 grams, which is not a very big weight loss - I believe a big wee can account for 30 grams... however, you may have meant something else?
 
that sounds great thank you so much for your help all of you and sorrrry to of worded everything wrong befor =(
 
Little Pig said:
Hello

I think it is great that you want to get your guinea pig a friend. However, before you do so, I think it is important to make sure that he is 100% healthy. If he is unwell when you try to bond him with a new boy, he may not react how he would if he was feeling well (for example, he may submissive towards him at first, but later try to assert himself more when he is fully recovered).

Can I ask you to explain his health concerns in a little more detail? You say he has stopped eating his main food, but that he is still eating things like carrots (which is good). When you say main food, what exactly do you mean? Do you mean hay and nuggets?

I'm also a little confused by the weights you quoted - he went from 0.94 to 0.90 in about 3 weeks - do you mean 0.94 kilograms (kg) and 0.90 kilograms? If so, this this is 940 grams to 900 grams, which is not a very big weight loss - I believe a big wee can account for 30 grams... however, you may have meant something else?
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i do apologise... erm... he had a urine infection and he was on painkillers and antobiotics and he finished them friday as it has cleared up he was 940grams when i first took him and he went to 910grams in 2 days when i took him back for a check up he went to 920grams which was brilliant but then when they gave me his painkiller he lost again and went to 900grams and they said to keep an eye on his weight so I'm getting him weighed again on friday but they said it could be his painkiller that stopped him eating he is currently on WAGG his fave food he just stopped eating altogether but now he only eats veg and not his WAGG food so I'm just keeping ann eye on his fooood intake but he has eaten quite abit of veg today and some carrots he loves his carrots =) and he has a honey stick that he nibbles on too... hope this helps abit to what i meant
 
Yes, this is helpful, thank you. What about hay, is he still eating this?
 
Does he have acess to hay? (Piggies need hay 24/7 as well as their pellets and veggies, because this helps their digestion and keeps their teeth down. Without it they can get very poorly)

Is he eating his hay?
 
oh yes he loves his hay =) i filled his cage other day was gone with in 2 days haha bless him I'm cleaning him out tomorrow so will be refilling with hay again =)
 
Ahh, well as long as he has fresh hay all day every day, and hes nomming it up along with his veggies, the pellets are not that important. And the weight loss isnt that great, so hopefull he is on the mend :)
 
Phew that he is still eating hay! This is the most important thing in his diet so it is great that he is still munching away on this.

While I'm not a vet and haven't seen your pig, it really doesn't sound to me like you have too much to be concerned about right now.

I don't think the current weight loss is anything to worry about - these are not large amounts at all, but monitoring his weight regularly is a really useful thing to do - I weigh all mine at least weekly using my kitchen scales.

Also, and not a huge issue, but those honey sticks aren't great for guinea pigs to be honest as they contain sugars (and I believe seeds) that are best avoided. If I want to treat my pigs I give them blueberries or grapes.
 
Little Pig said:
Phew that he is still eating hay! This is the most important thing in his diet so it is great that he is still munching away on this.

While I'm not a vet and haven't seen your pig, it really doesn't sound to me like you have too much to be concerned about right now.

I don't think the current weight loss is anything to worry about - these are not large amounts at all, but monitoring his weight regularly is a really useful thing to do - I weigh all mine at least weekly using my kitchen scales.

Also, and not a huge issue, but those honey sticks aren't great for guinea pigs to be honest as they contain sugars (and I believe seeds) that are best avoided. If I want to treat my pigs I give them blueberries or grapes.
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Yeah he loves his hay =)...
my boyfriend keeps telling me ive nothing to worrrrry about but it just goes through my head you know i know it shouldnt and i shouldnt let it but it does =(... can i ask one question is it normal for them to sit in corner of cage facing the cage itsself and licking the side of it? also he puffs up a little sometimes? what does that mean? sorrrry to be a pain....
he only has a honey stick every other month not very common really for him was just a treat from all the stuff he went through you know =0
 
Hmmm, I'm not sure what the licking the cage and puffing himself up means to be honest. Does he do it a lot?

Puffing their hair out can sometimes be a sign that they don't feel well, but I don't have any experience of this.

The licking could just be that he is being a bit of a weirdo - my Pig licks things all the time, but again, I have no idea what it means or if it is something to worry about.

Is he behaving normally other than this?

Sorry, this wasn't a helpful response! Perhaps mention it to your vet and see what they think?
 
Little Pig said:
Hmmm, I'm not sure what the licking the cage and puffing himself up means to be honest. Does he do it a lot?

Puffing their hair out can sometimes be a sign that they don't feel well, but I don't have any experience of this.

The licking could just be that he is being a bit of a weirdo - my Pig licks things all the time, but again, I have no idea what it means or if it is something to worry about.

Is he behaving normally other than this?

Sorry, this wasn't a helpful response! Perhaps mention it to your vet and see what they think?
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No that was fine =) i googled it and it said it can be a sign of pain or just protecting themselves but he has been ill so that could be just him getting better but ill mention it =) yeah my guinea pig can be a wierdo haha bless them :P... yeah he has gone back to his normal self squeeking when he hears a bag russel and stuff like that as he stopped that befor but he still in his corner which he never use to do soo i might re ring the vets tomorrow tbh
 
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