Arthritis?

[GuineaPig24]

My little piggy is now about three years old. A couple weeks ago he stopped going up his slide where his food bowl was placed. I noticed his lack of eating because the bowl was always full and he was losing weight. I moved the bowl back down and he continued eating fine. I'm concerned about him and have a couple things to say before I can theorize:

• Sprite is about three years old, as stated before. He weighs about three pounds and is a lazy, yet playful and happy guinea pig.
• He has regular guinea pig food, and lots of timothy hay. He is always supplied fresh water and is in a medium-sized cage with a hut.
• We pet him and love him every day at least once or twice and he "talks" to us non-stop when we rub him.

Now that the basics are settled, I have three possible theories as to why he stopped going up. The first theory is that he's too lazy to jump up to go eat, but he wouldn't starve himself because he's lazy, so that's knocked out. The second thing is that he's obese and can't jump, however I have realized that with how much he can waddle around, that only has a very small chance. The last reason and most logical one is that he's getting arthritis in his hips. This one, however, makes me upset because Sprite is still young and he's a great friend and I love him.

My mother and I have spoken about the arthritis together and we both concluded that he probably has it in his hips, if he does have it.

Thanks for the help and support!

 

[Freela]

I would first rule out a more minor illness. Some pigs are unwilling to make any effort if they feel unwell... Linney will get dehydrated when she is ill because she will not walk over to the water bottle (and it's all on the same level.) If she feels lousy, she will not do anything but lay in the corner, and this isn't for major health issues, this is for minor things like low-grade urinary tract infections. Once that is ruled out, helping him to lose weight might help his mobility (and if he does have arthritis or hip pain, being overweight will only make that worse.) What kind of pellet is he on? If it's alfalfa based, you may do better to switch him to a timothy-based pellet (better for his bladder health too!) I don't know the stats offhand, but I know there is info here about what is the maximum amount of food a guinea pig should eat to maintain a healthy weight.

Lots of luck and I hope you figure out the issue!

 

[GuineaPig24]

I would first rule out a more minor illness. Some pigs are unwilling to make any effort if they feel unwell... Linney will get dehydrated when she is ill because she will not walk over to the water bottle (and it's all on the same level.) If she feels lousy, she will not do anything but lay in the corner, and this isn't for major health issues, this is for minor things like low-grade urinary tract infections. Once that is ruled out, helping him to lose weight might help his mobility (and if he does have arthritis or hip pain, being overweight will only make that worse.) What kind of pellet is he on? If it's alfalfa based, you may do better to switch him to a timothy-based pellet (better for his bladder health too!) I don't know the stats offhand, but I know there is info here about what is the maximum amount of food a guinea pig should eat to maintain a healthy weight.

Lots of luck and I hope you figure out the issue!

He has been acting the same and is just as sweet and still is pooping and peeing regularly. I can feel nothing wrong with him. His food pellets, I believe, are timothy hey based. And before summer I checked his weight and it was 2.8 lbs. The doctor said to feed him less, but Sprite eats only about a third of his bowl a day which is around 2 tablespoons. :3

 

[Wiebke]

You can check whether Sprite is overweight for his size by feeling his ribs. if you can't feel them, he is too fat. In a healthy piggy, you should be able to feel the bones without them standing out. He is at the peak of his life when he will naturally be at his heaviest, but overweight can massively impact on his mobility.
Please make sure that he is getting only minimal pellets (10g per day), no treats (including rich readigrass) and only limited veg (ca. 50g/1cupful); hay should make the bulk of his diet.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...or-a-balanced-general-guinea-pig-diet.116460/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...ght-checks-and-overfeeding-guinea-pigs.38805/

While arthritis in younger piggies can happen, it is relatively rare. Overweight can put more pressure on any joints, so it is really important that he loses weight; he will also become more active again once he is carrying less weight around! You can have him checked for arthritis by your vet; an x-ray should bring clarity on that issue.

 

[GuineaPig24]

I can easily feel his bones and ribs when I pet him. I usually also give him lots of hay and that's his main meal of each day. But I forgot that when he was a year old, he broke his ankle and now tries to bite me when I touch his feet. Maybe his paw hurt when he used to jump up the slide?

 

[Wiebke]

I can easily feel his bones and ribs when I pet him. I usually also give him lots of hay and that's his main meal of each day. But I forgot that when he was a year old, he broke his ankle and now tries to bite me when I touch his feet. Maybe his paw hurt when he used to jump up the slide?

It may be possible that he is developing arthritis in the break and that this is hurting him. Your vet should be able to check it. However, his changed behaviour can be due to other health issues or even simply to a fright he took upstaris for some reason. I would strongly advise you to have him health checked by a vet to see whether there is a medical reason.