I’m looking for some insight on what might be wrong with my piggie. I adopted him so his age is estimated to be 6 yrs. He has been losing weight and his today seem smaller than usual. This happened to a previous cage mate I had for him a few years ago. Vet ran blood panel and never found out what was wrong with him. He ended up passing a few months after but I never knew what was wrong. My current pig seems to be going down that road. I have a vet appointment scheduled, but I’m not sure if they be able to find out what’s wrong. Any ideas on what could be going on?
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Thin pig small poop
- Thread starter Mmeuns
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- skinny small poop
Hi and welcome
Is your piggy underweight or a hairless breed? Your title does not make that clear! Hairless skinnies (the breed) have a much faster metabolism, need to eat more (and as a result are pooping machines) and have a sightly shorter life span due to living on fast forward. A 6 year old skinny would be a VERY old one indeed!
Small poops mean a decreased food intake; please offer your boy syringe feed top and weigh daily at the same time so you get an idea of how much you offer and whether it is enough. Unlimited hay is making over 80% of the daily food intake, but it is generally the first food group impacted when your piggy is not feeling well. You cannot control hay intake by eye. Your care at home can make a real difference in quality of life and supporting your piggy through an illness - and sometimes make all the difference between life and death until medication can kick in!
Impaction - How To Help Your Guinea Pig.
6 years is right in the middle of the average life span of hairy piggies. How piggy savvy is your vet? Weight loss can have many reasons, usually caused by either a pain/discomfort issue or by an obstruction or problems with processing the nutrients, internal growths etc. Ask your vet to check for arthritis, organ problems (especially kidneys or heart; the others are much harder to diagnose).
Also check elderly boars for impaction. Some problems can be hard to find, but it is very good that you have already got an appointment booked.
Impaction - How To Help Your Guinea Pig.
Hi,
Thanks for you help. He’s a hairy piggie. His vet is an exotic vet, and they state they service guinea pigs. It’s supposed to be one of the better vets for pockets in my area, but after not finding out what was wrong with my other piggie I might have to search for a new one if they can’t find out what is wrong. Lately I’ve been feeding him critical care to see if he gains some weight. Hopefully they can figure out what is wrong with him. Is 6 year old an older piggie or middle aged? When I google lifespan I always get contradicting answers and not sure.
The average life span is 4-7 years, so 6 years means that he is an elderly piggy.
Please be aware that while veterinary knowledge has made huge strides in recent years, interest in small furries is still lagging behind; rabbits and even more so guinea pigs are terribly under-researched. Not being able to make a diagnosis doesn't mean that the next vet will be better; exotics or not. The more we push the boundaries, the more questions we and new problems come into our sight.
When you are from a generation that has grown up with expecting human medicine being able to solve pretty much everything, then you will inevitably fall short when you carry those expectations through to your small pets. Researchs requires money and wide interest, and that is just not there for what are still widely considered cheap and short-lived starter pets.
However, even if your old vet or any new vet may not be able to diagnose what is wrong, they can still prescibe medication to make your boy more comfy in himself.
