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Weight Loss

StardustEcho

StardustEcho

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all.

Right after we lost Mylo, his best friend Tia started exhibiting similar symptoms. The vets diagnosed her with a URI and she’s been on metacam and antibiotics for a week. The wheezing died down and she seemed much more herself, but started losing a lot of weight. Went back to the vets on Tuesday and the vet was concerned with the weight loss, suggesting possible hyperthyroidism as she’s pretty old and had a fast heart rate. Tia got a chest xray to rule out anything sinister and now we’ve been sent home with thyronorm. I’ve looked at others experiences with the medication and am really hoping it’ll help her. The only thing I’m concerned about is the dose she’s been given. 0.75ml once a day. It’s considerably higher than I’ve seen others get, and while I trust my vet, I just wanted a to hear from other people as I worry about her.

Thanks!
 
Ahh, clearly I should not be reading about medication this late at night. The dose is 0.75 mg, so only 0.15 ml once a day. That makes much more sense. Time to sleep and stop stressing about Tia I think. 😂
 
I had a similar situation with my pet when he got sick! But the vet prescribed the right medications and put me at ease! Veterinarians better know the basics of curing our pets!
 
Update on Tia. She's been taking the medication since Friday, and still slowly losing weight, around 10g a day. So we started small amounts of critical care throughout the day and she stabilised at 800g. She ate hardly any last night, and had zero interest in the hay piles the other girls were going wild for. She still ate her veg fine thankfully, but I was worried, just hoped she'd eat hay throughout the night. She weighed in at 720g this morning (a loss of 80g from yesterday!) so off we went to the vet. Vet thinks it's possible her back teeth are slightly overgrown and might be causing her pain (on top of the thyroid issue), so she got an injection of metacam and I'm to try and tempt/syringe feed recovery food throughout the day. Got an appointment with the vet tomorrow morning to see if the metacam has helped any, as well as to get our regular vet (the most well-versed with pigs) to take another look at her teeth. She is still very bright thankfully and when placed in her carrier at the vet, leapt up into my arms 3 times, so I feel very loved. Just keeping my fingers crossed she eats well today.
 
You might find the syringe feeding guide helpful
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

As she is steadily loosing weight it is important to step in and be quite firm about it rather than just trying to tempt her.
I would also think about adding a probiotic as she has been on antibiotics and this can sometimes kill their appetite.
It sounds like you are doing everything right and hopefully one of the vets can find out the source of the problem.
 
Thanks for all the replies! And the syringe feeding guide was great. She was very unhappy about it. 😂

She lost another 20g this morning, and the vet was at a bit of a loss. She said the only thing she could really think of was to put her under a little sedation and check her teeth out. Been a very worrying day but thankfully she’s recovering very well!

However, the vet didn’t see any issues with her teeth at all, and further xrays revealed nothing. She did mention her stomach was a bit gassy, and when she was coming round she delivered a particularly impressive pile of poops. So possible she’s had a bit of tummy trouble the past few days that is hopefully resolved? She’s to keep taking the thyronorm as well as metacam and gabapentin now to help with any pain that we might have missed.

All we can really do is to keep at it with frequent feedings and hope she now starts eating more herself. I’m ever so glad she made it through the sedation though.
 
I don't know much about medication but I give my elderly girl oats to help keep her weight up since they are high in calories. Hope this helps.
 
How much syringe feed are you managing to get into her in each 24 hour period?
 
We've been managing around 30ml in 24 hours since she is eating now. I forgot to mention I've been using a probiotic as well.

Good news this morning, she's up 10g! She's also spending time out in the cage with the other girls rather than hiding and has been chomping down on hay multiple times throughout the day. It's by far the most I've seen her eat this week. She's also been thoroughly grooming herself (and begrudgingly accepting help from Berry) which makes her look so much healthier and is great to see. Still not out of the woods yet but I'm hopeful. The plan is to keep monitoring her weight and step in when necessary. Really hoping we've turned the corner now.

I'm heading out to grab oats as well, I bet she'll love them and she really needs to keep putting the weight on. Thanks for all the advice and I'll keep you updated on her progress! 🤞
 
Back down to 700g again. Oh Tia. Off to the vets in an hour.

She’s still herself, nosing round and eating all her food with gusto at least. She’s started the honky breathing again. Possibly another URI? We’ll have to wait and see. She’s been sneezing a lot too. And salivating, but that’s not new. Just more obvious.

She decided she didn’t enjoy the oats on their own, but mixed with critical care and pellets made for a scrumptious meal. So that’s something. And I even got a popcorn when giving them hay yesterday.

Hopeful the vet has an idea as none of the current medications seem to be doing much for her and I’m ever so worried about the constant weight loss. Fingers crossed.
 
Thanks. Still no answers and the vet is as stumped as I am. She still has a very fast heart rate that hasn’t slowed as expected with the medication, so there may be an issue there. It could also simply be a case of old age. Based on what we were told from the rescue she’d be around 4, though the vet thinks it possible she’s older.

Trying to get a urine sample now and we’re back for another check over on Tuesday. In the meantime I have to try my best to get her weight up. Contrary to normal vet advice I’ve been told to feed her much more pellets than usual and more treats. Anything that she’ll eat to put weight on. The vet is also concerned regarding stress and syringe feeding as she won’t take it on her own and she gets stressed when fed it. So keeping it to somewhat of a minimum. She is still eating hay, just not enough. So frustrating honestly. Just want her to get well.

If anybody has any ideas on what a fussy pig would eat, I’d welcome them. She’ll only nibble oats and won’t eat many more pellets than the usual amount. Extra pea flakes are a hit though. I’m worried about giving too much sugar but wondering if any fruit would be good for weight gain? Just wish she’d eat more hay!
 
I'm sorry you are no further forward. It's so difficult when they won't eat enough hay. I've never had one that would eat critical care when they needed it other than syringed. I know some people have success with it on a spoon or a dish. My vet has suggested bran is better than oats for them. I've not tried it as it was out of stock at the supermarket when I needed it. I do hope you can find an answer for Tia.
 
Thanks. I'm just so frustrated that she won't have the critical care when she's eaten it happily before. I've discovered she harbours a massive love for banana puree, so the critical care is getting mixed with that in a dish and she'll eat some of it. Not ideal, but I'm taking what I can get. She was down another 20g yesterday, but back up 10g today.

I might give bran a go, thanks! We've got 3 different brands of hay in the cage now (2 timothy and 1 meadow) in the hope she'll have some. She has been sniffing the meadow hay and nibbling a bit of all. Fingers crossed she'll eat some overnight. I've tried small amounts of oat hay and readigrass too but she has no interest.

At such a loss of what to do. Her weight isn't sustainable and she won't eat more without it being forced down, but she's still so happy and bright in herself. And happy to eat endless lettuce and pea flakes! She'll snuggle me, she'll groom the others and zooms round. If she seemed in pain or unhappy I'd be likely to consider pts at this point, but she just seems so healthy otherwise. It's entirely possible she'll pass on her own at this point too as she's just skin and bones.

Urine sample is at the vets, an answer from that would be amazing but unlikely. So I'm just wishing against all odds she'll start eating more hay.
 
Piggies can be annoyingly fussy and go off things they've liked before... Critical care has an aniseed smell and some of my pigs haven't liked it at all. You could try a different recovery food, such as Science Selective or Emeraid.

My 2 are on a tablespoon or two of CC a day to try to build them up a bit. I started off mixing it with a bit of apple juice to disguise the aniseed, but then found they would eat it without that :roll: I usually put a pinch of oats in the dish too.

If she is still happily zooming around maybe it is a thyroid thing - did your vet say how long it takes for thyronorm to work?
 
She's been on the thyronorm for 2 weeks now, which the vet thinks is long enough that there should be a difference, especially in regards to her heart rate. I have swapped to science selective recovery food, she does tolerate that a little bit better. Will probably order emeraid too, see if she prefers that at all.

I've also found she'll eat a little in the dish but will eat quite a bit if I put tiny bits on a tiny spoon and let her eat on my lap. Takes forever, but I like getting to spend the time with her (even if I inevitably get peed on through a lap pad). She ate the most she has in a few days just there, so I'm chuffed. Will give her a couple hours then back at it again. I just hope she'll keep it up. Every time I get some hope, she just stops eating again. Poor little Tia.

I'm knackered after quite a while at this though. Got a very important week at work and debating how much I'd be looked down upon if I take some last minute leave. She's worth it though.
 
Tia still not eating much in the way of hay. She's noticeably slowed down with other foods as well. Still managing to get some recovery food down her but she's slowly losing weight. Only 600g now. She's a frequent fixture in my meetings as I tempt her with every food under the sun and get precious snuggles in all the time. She's still acting like herself, but she is slower now. Planning to try and get an appointment with the vet this week to discuss things. She does feel like she's withering away and I want to be sure she isn't in pain. I wish there was more I could do. Feels so helpless. My poor baby. <3
 
Thought I'd pop back in with an update on Tia. She's fairly steady on 700g currently. Far from ideal, but I'll take what I can get. She's just been on metacam and thyronorm for the past month or so, we did have to decrease the thyronorm dose as the vet thinks it was the cause of new hair loss on her stomach.
Thankfully she's still acting like her sassy self. She's learned how to get my attention and fully uses this to her advantage for snuggles. We've got a routine down now, she gets her meds, recovery food (still with banana puree) and extra pea flakes on the couch with me, then she snuggles on my lap and naps for ages. If I dare move her before she so chooses, I get a very disgruntled pig. And should I dare be late she lets me know very loudly and persistently that she desires food and snuggles. It's gotten to the point she gets more time on the couch than my partner! 😂
She's definitely slowing down still but I'm trying my hardest to give her the best quality of life I can for however much longer she chooses to stay.

Here she is stretching in her new bed that she's fiercely protective over, the other girls stand no chance!
IMG_8619.webp
 
The update I never wanted to have to write. Tia left us for the rainbow bridge this morning. She was fine last night, then when I went in to feed the pigs this morning she was huddled tightly in a corner and I could see what an effort it was to pull herself forward to me. Her legs had given out and she had no energy left. She was cradled in her favourite bed all the way to the vet and got so many precious snuggles. She was still fighting, with tiny little head lifts to look at me, but her body had just given out. I know the vet and I did everything we could over the past few months and though my heart is breaking, I'm glad she doesn't have to suffer any more and she can be reunited with her best friend Mylo over the rainbow bridge. ❤️🌈
Sleep tight baby girl. Know that I loved you more than anything.
 
So very sorry to hear that your little Tia has left you for the rainbow bridge. Reunited with Mylo. Sleep tight little one 🌈❤️
 
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