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5 year old female guinea pig not eating and lethargic

Thecavycorner

Thecavycorner

New Born Pup
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Hi my little piggie Polly is suddenly not eating anything. i have tried her with all of her favourites, hay, lettuce, cucumber and nuggets. she sniffs them like she wants to eat them but then she doesn’t actually eat them. i took her to the vet about a month ago as i was worried she was feeling a bit thin but the vet said she just had muscle wastage. at this time she weighed 800g i have just weighed her and she weighs 725g :( so she has gone down! i have tried feeding her by a syringe of her nuggets mashed down and she won’t take it. i put a small dot of it on my finger and she nibbled a tiny bit but that was all. i am so so worried about her as she definitely isn’t acting like herself. normally when i rustle the hay she comes running today there was no reaction. i am going to try and get her a vets appointment but they are really busy and i need to get her to eat in the meantime. any help would be greatly appreciated thank you so much!
i am not sure how to add a photo but she just sits there head down, still and isn’t squeaking. she occasionally sticks her head up in the air and sniffs the air but that’s about it. :(
 
Aw bless her. She sounds quite poorly :( Sadly, the only way to get food in to her is by syringing her critical care or mushed up pellets. You really do have to be cruel to be kind. Please do try and get her a vet appointment as something clearly isn’t right x
 
Hi! thanks so much for your reply! i have made her a vets appointment now and she is going today! i am going to get some critical care too. i have since syringe fed her mushed up pellets, i had to gently force it but she took some in the end. she also took a bit of lettuce so hopefully the vet can get to the bottom of it! thanks so much for your help! :)
 
Keep syringe feeding her every couple of hours and start weighing her (once) daily at the same time. Hay is more important than veg so her eating a little lettuce isn’t much of a step forward.

Good luck with the vets and I hope you get some answers. Let us know how you get on 🤞🏾
 
Thecavycorner said:
Hi my little piggie Polly is suddenly not eating anything. i have tried her with all of her favourites, hay, lettuce, cucumber and nuggets. she sniffs them like she wants to eat them but then she doesn’t actually eat them. i took her to the vet about a month ago as i was worried she was feeling a bit thin but the vet said she just had muscle wastage. at this time she weighed 800g i have just weighed her and she weighs 725g :( so she has gone down! i have tried feeding her by a syringe of her nuggets mashed down and she won’t take it. i put a small dot of it on my finger and she nibbled a tiny bit but that was all. i am so so worried about her as she definitely isn’t acting like herself. normally when i rustle the hay she comes running today there was no reaction. i am going to try and get her a vets appointment but they are really busy and i need to get her to eat in the meantime. any help would be greatly appreciated thank you so much!
i am not sure how to add a photo but she just sits there head down, still and isn’t squeaking. she occasionally sticks her head up in the air and sniffs the air but that’s about it. :(
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Hi!

Good that you have booked her in at the vet's again.

Here is our emergency and bridging care advice, including what you can do for a guinea pig whose body is closing down in the last chapter if it comes to the worst.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Fingers very firmly crossed!
 
hi everyone! thanks so much for all the help and support! we took polly to the vets and she wasn’t too sure what the main issue was. she said it could be old age. but she gave her some metacam for pain relief and she gave us some fibreplex to give her. thankfully this seems to be working and she has began to eat and drink again slowly. i will continue to syringe feed her every few hours and give her the fibreplex and i will keep a close eye on her. hopefully she will get better! 🤞🏼🤍thank a lot again!
 
Thecavycorner said:
much for all the help and support! we took polly to the vets and she wasn’t too sure what the main issue was. she said it could be old age. but she gave her some metacam for pain relief and she gave us some fibreplex to give her. thankfully this seems to be working and she has began to eat and drink again slowly. i will continue to syringe feed her every few hours and give her the fibreplex and i will keep a close eye on her. hopefully she will get better! 🤞🏼🤍thank a lot again!
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:yahoo:Good luck!
 
hi everyone! polly is doing well today! i do have a quick question though. the vet did say as polly is getting older she has some muscle wastage and she does feel a bit slim but the vet said that this is nothing to worry about too much, i have to keep a close eye on her and keep on weighing her (which i do anyway) and i am feeding her separately at the moment to ensure she is eating and getting her fair amount of food. i have weighed her today and she has gone up from yesterday. yesterday she was 725g and today she is 775g. although my vet said this isn’t something to worry about too much, i am still a bit concerned with her weight being “that” low and would be happier is she was a little bit heavier. but i was wondering is there any way i could change or add something to her diet a bit to help and her gain a bit more weight? thank you! 😊😊
 
How old is she? And what weight was she at her prime? They do become more ‘lithe’ and bony when they are older. Some give their older piggies oats to help them ‘bulk up’. Hay is what will get her weight up. Veg is more of a snack and so doesn’t affect weight as much. It is harder for them to put weight on than to lose. Have you considered scatter feeding the veg?
 
Hi! she is 5! and her best weight was 1100g this was when she was 3-4. with the oats do i literally just give her oats on there own or do i mix them in with anything? i know she definitely eats her hay, she lovesssss it! if i scatter fed the veg instead of the bowl would that help too? thanks so much! 😊😊😊
 
Hi. Well done for getting Polly Sean too.
Old age does many thinks and most of them worry us.
I've give/gave my old piggies some porridge oats as a treat and this can beef them up a bit. . .
Polly you be a good piggie and munch away. Xx
 
okay thank you so much! i’ll give her some oats and see how it goes! how often can i give her them and how much at a time? thank you 😌
 
I mix raw oats with some grated carrot or sweet potato if I need to boost a piggy’s weight.
Mine also love a bit of banana mashed into the Critical Care.
I leave a little dish of the oats and the syringe feed in the cage to try and encourage eating.

Hope Polly recovers soon
 
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