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Underweight skinny pig

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Nataliepaige

New Born Pup
Joined
Feb 13, 2021
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Location
Derbyshire
my skinny pig has become really thin recently, he eats and drinks really well and his friend is completely fine. Can anyone give advice how to help put his weight back on ? Thank you
 
Rapid weight loss is a common sign of sickness. Take him to the vet and they will guide you from there. I wish you luck.
 
betsandvtoppedwithsugar said:
Rapid weight loss is a common sign of sickness. Take him to the vet and they will guide you from there. I wish you luck.
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Thank you for your reply, his been to the vets they think he has problems due to his teeth but his eating and drinking like normal, could you suggest any food until we can get the problem sorted ? Thank you
 
Good job for being speedy for the vet. I would just make sure he has lots of hay and his favorite veggies. I am not an expert so I would wait for another members reply. :)
 
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:agr: With @Siikibam.

He needs to be syringe fed urgently - a piggy who is losing weight isn’t eating enough hay. You cannot judge hay intake by eye so it’s not possible to say he is eating well.
Syringe feeding won’t help go put lots of weight back on him though, but it will just stop him losing any more weight - it is an emergency measure to keep the guts functioning and literally keep them alive while they aren’t eating enough for themselves and the medical issue is being dealt with. Once his medical issues are dealt with then he can start to put weight back on, but regaining lost weight takes a lot longer.

You do also need to find a knowledge vet who can diagnose and treat him.
 
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I would always wonder in winter with a skinny pig losing weight if they are kept warm enough? It takes a lot of calories to keep a skinny pig warm (as well as an absolute fortune in heating bills and warm fleecy furniture!) so as well as the great advice given by @Siikibam and @Piggies&buns above I would make sure your piggy is always kept warm, for skinnies above 18 degrees- using fleecy tunnels and beds, snugglesafe microwaveable heat pads, a blanket over the cage to keep out drafts...
If it is too cold our skinny pig just wont come out of her fleecy bed to eat hay so much, so in the current UK cold snap I am keeping a thick fleecy blanket over the cage for most of the day, keeping the heating on, as well as providing 3 different choices of fleecy beds and a snugglesafe heatpad for her!
 
Thank you for all the replies. The vet is not entirely sure what’s wrong with his teeth or if it is even his teeth. I’ve found a specialist near by and have Booked an appointment, where do I get the syringe feeding from ? Thank you
 
Nataliepaige said:
Thank you for all the replies. The vet is not entirely sure what’s wrong with his teeth or if it is even his teeth. I’ve found a specialist near by and have Booked an appointment, where do I get the syringe feeding from ? Thank you
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You can buy recovery feed online and at pet shops. You’re looking for Oxbow Critical Care, Supreme Science Recovery or Emeraid
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

Without those/until you can get them, then you can mash his normal pellets with enough water to make it thin enough to go through a 1ml syringe. You will need to cut the end off the syringe.

Weighing him daily will be your guide to how much you need to give. The guides Siikibam linked in in the earlier reply gives further details on syringe feeding
 
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