So my nearly-5-year-old boar has been having some health issues over the last year or so. He has these episodes where his appetite suddenly disappears and he either stops pooing or only passes very small pellets, though he’s never stopped eating completely. Between August 2019 (the first time this happened) and January 2020 he was getting ill around once a month. The vet would sometimes medicate him but sometimes they wouldn’t and he’d get better on his own. In December he had bloods and x-rays done but nothing conclusive was found. The vet was a bit concerned about the sludge in his kidneys and told me to start syringe feeding him a bit of water every day to flush them out. I’m still doing this, but I’m not convinced it makes a difference as he’s always drunk a lot compared to other pigs I’ve had (and he dribbles out most of what I give him anyway). Other than that he’s not got any specific care requirements. After January he was fine for several months but in May and June he had three episodes within a few weeks of each other. The last one was a fortnight ago but only lasted a day.
Before the pandemic me and my family had been planning to stay with my grandparents for a week in August. After lockdown started we thought we wouldn't be able to go but recently my dad booked places in boarding for piggy and our other pets, just in case we do go. I’m worried because I’m not sure it’s fair on the boarder for me to leave a guinea pig in their care, knowing that there’s a reasonable chance he’ll get ill. But I also don’t want to put him to sleep because the good days still outweigh the bad ones and it doesn’t feel like it’s time yet. I'm not even sure the vet would be able to put him to sleep because they're only treating emergencies at the moment. I want to do what’s best for him but I don’t know what that is right now.
I’m also worried about what will happen if he is well enough to go, because he always loses weight when he’s in boarding. He’s already been losing weight gradually over the last 15 months and I’m worried about the impact further loss will have on his health. I want to try sending him to a different boarder (if he’s well enough to go at all) but I’m not sure where. The one I currently use gets good reviews, so how can I tell a good boarder from a bad one? Is there even a problem at all or is weight loss in boarding normal?
So basically I have three questions:
How do I know if my guinea pig well enough to go into boarding?
Is it normal for guinea pigs to lose weight when they’re in boarding?
If it isn't normal, how do I find a trusted guinea pig boarder?
(Thanks for reading. Sorry, I know it was really long)
Before the pandemic me and my family had been planning to stay with my grandparents for a week in August. After lockdown started we thought we wouldn't be able to go but recently my dad booked places in boarding for piggy and our other pets, just in case we do go. I’m worried because I’m not sure it’s fair on the boarder for me to leave a guinea pig in their care, knowing that there’s a reasonable chance he’ll get ill. But I also don’t want to put him to sleep because the good days still outweigh the bad ones and it doesn’t feel like it’s time yet. I'm not even sure the vet would be able to put him to sleep because they're only treating emergencies at the moment. I want to do what’s best for him but I don’t know what that is right now.
I’m also worried about what will happen if he is well enough to go, because he always loses weight when he’s in boarding. He’s already been losing weight gradually over the last 15 months and I’m worried about the impact further loss will have on his health. I want to try sending him to a different boarder (if he’s well enough to go at all) but I’m not sure where. The one I currently use gets good reviews, so how can I tell a good boarder from a bad one? Is there even a problem at all or is weight loss in boarding normal?
So basically I have three questions:
How do I know if my guinea pig well enough to go into boarding?
Is it normal for guinea pigs to lose weight when they’re in boarding?
If it isn't normal, how do I find a trusted guinea pig boarder?
(Thanks for reading. Sorry, I know it was really long)