• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

advice on dramatic weight loss piggy please

  • Thread starter Thread starter SweetheartSkinnypigs
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

SweetheartSkinnypigs

Hi guys looking for some advice about rather dramatic weightloss? i have a girl that in the past 3 weeks is eating fine and in perfect health but is dramatically lost weight yet she is still eating loads! had her the vets and the vet cant find anything wrong with her and just gave me something to build her back up but I'm concerned what caused this. I was also told to seperate her to keep check on her eating habits and she is eating everything in sight but still all her bones are sticking out. I'm so worried!
 
I can't offer anything constructive, just wanted to reassure you we've got some guinea health experts on here so I'm sure someone will be able to offer some suggestions. Good luck :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Have you been weighing your guinea, or can you just feel she has lost weight? How old is she? Do you know what is was that the vet gave her to build her up? xx
 
Hi Sweeteheart

I can completely understand your worry and concern for your little lady...how old is she and how much weight has she lost recently? Who is she with? Also is she drinking more?

xx
 
I'm afraid I can offer no advice either.

Do you know how much weight your girl has lost? Do you weigh her?

Hope she bulks up again real soon for you x
 
On the 15/12/2009 she weighed 642g and just now she weighed 453g and all her bones are very sticky outy! She was in with two other females of same age but i have moved her on her own for past week to keep check of her intake. Worried she doesnt get lonely and i havent wanted to handle her too much as she seems so fragile. Drink wise i would **** say she is drinking same as usual. Vet gave us some repti boost powder stuff believe it or not...apparently the vitamin mix is the best thing for poorly animals (the vets even perscribe it for pups!) i was well peeved when i realised what it was when i got home as i have tubs full of the stuff and they charged £4 for a tiny bag of it.
 
I would leave her with her cagemates but just take her out each day and feed her away from them so you can monitor the amount she is eating. What foods does she seem to like best? Is she eating plenty of hay too as well as all the other foods?
 
You need to start manually feeding her critical care or Recovery every 2-3 hours- take her out and syringe it down her if she won;t eat it off a spoon. Is she pooing OK?

453g is very low weight for an adut piggie and you really do need to consider intervening to start building her up.

Is she eating anything (eg hay) at all?

xx
 
she hasnt been eating as much hay as usual. she munches all her veg and is devouring her dry food base...I'm at a loss how she is eating so much and still loosing. will do pictures tomorrow to show you.
 
You could make up some Critical Care and give it in a bowl and see if she will eat any of that. If not you will have to syringe it into her. Have you tried her with oats? I would try and get as much food into her as possible. Give her all the things she loves to eat and weigh her daily for now, just to make sure she isn't losing any more. I'm wondering if it would be worth treating her with Panacur too.
 
i use panacur 2.5 % for my pups could i use this on her? vet didnt mention worms as he poos are normal and a plenty. do you know the best place to buy the critical care from and get it fast?
 
Someone will be along with a doseage for the panacur soon I'm sure.

Start feeding her oats, sweetcorn, dried pea flakes for a start but there will of course be an underlying reason why she's losing.

Keep hanging on here - more advice and thoughts soon i'm sure.
 
its the underlying one I'm worried about as hate not knowing. think i will try another vet. the first thought it was because the stress of a new home but if that was the case then why is she eating the same!
 
Can you phone the CCT and speak to Vedra? - her contact details are on this page: http://www.britishassociationofrodentologists.co.uk/contact_us.html

If she doesn't answer the phone, then text your name, country of residence and details of your guineas symptoms to her on that same number; I sent her a query about the RHA course yesterday and received a prompt reply.

Also, check out this thread as I wonder if it may be a worm problem:

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=40044

I would try giving her oats though, as I've heard it can make a thin guinea put on weight very rapidly (which is what you want).
 
Last edited:
I've used the Panacur for rabbits at the dose of 1 x graduation a day. I've also used Panacur susp 10% Cat/Dog at a dose of 0.15 ml per day, but this was for a piggie who weighed 750g so the dose may need to be reduced for your pig.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top