Weight loss In a senior

[Clive&Norma]

Got my girl Clive around 4 years ago so I'm assuming her age is roughly 5 as she was an adoption pig not a new born at a shop.
I weight her and her sister as often as I can remember to keep an eye on them.
Norma who is about just over 1 now is a right porker... She weighs 1327g and has been slowly gaining weight since I first weighed her in November.
Clive on the other hand seems to be losing weight and I'm not sure why.....she eats as much hay as Norma and as much veggies and I see her at the bowl eating piggy nuggets often so I know it's not her teeth or appetite. Just wondered if it's normal for an older pig to slowly lose weight? She was 1158g back in March and today she weighed at 1105g. Not sure if that's a lot to have lost for a pig or not. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[DMS260820]

My old boar of 7 started to lose weight around 6 years old. He had arthritis which didn't help. The vet told me he had lost muscle mass because of aging. Same In humans. That's an idea.. But can't say there isn't an underlying health issue there at all.

The weight you say though that is lost. Isn't much more than weight fluctuation in guinea pigs anyway(which I'm told is max about 40g)It isn't much in that time frame.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Do you weigh them weekly as routine? I think that comparing the weight today with two months ago is not necessarily giving a full picture. That said, a significant downward trend would need looking into.

In any event, where you have concerns, then you should move from weekly routine weighing to weighing daily at the same time each day. It’s normal for there to be up to a 30g daily fluctuation as that is roughly the difference between a full/empty bladder and tummy. It will just make it easier to see exactly what is happening on a shorter term basis

You say she is eating the nuggets often? Does that mean you leave the pellet bowl full and in their cage at all times? If so, I would advise that you don’t. Pellets should be kept limited to one tablespoon per piggy per day. If you leave them with pellets constantly, then they are likely to not eat as much hay as you think.

 

[Wiebke]

Got my girl Clive around 4 years ago so I'm assuming her age is roughly 5 as she was an adoption pig not a new born at a shop.
I weight her and her sister as often as I can remember to keep an eye on them.
Norma who is about just over 1 now is a right porker... She weighs 1327g and has been slowly gaining weight since I first weighed her in November.
Clive on the other hand seems to be losing weight and I'm not sure why.....she eats as much hay as Norma and as much veggies and I see her at the bowl eating piggy nuggets often so I know it's not her teeth or appetite. Just wondered if it's normal for an older pig to slowly lose weight? She was 1158g back in March and today she weighed at 1105g. Not sure if that's a lot to have lost for a pig or not. Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi!

The weight loss is as yet not dramatic, but please see a vet if it continues.

Make sure that you feed in a way that doesn't allow Norma to hog the food and feed ca. 50g veg/1 bowl full and 1 tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day to ensure that your girls are eating as much hay as possible between meals; it should make aound 80% of the daily food intake. Grass is rich in vitamin C, and hay is not totally devoid on it so your girls are gaining more high quality fibre for good dental and gut health compared to pellets that contain a lot more fillers than fibre.

Please weigh healthy guinea pigs once weekly in conjuction with a weekly body check. Take the time to read these links here. You will find them both interesting and very helpful:
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Guinea pig body quirks - What is normal and what not?