• 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

Bonnie's Grieving Again

Status
Not open for further replies.
Amysmom

Amysmom

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Messages
979
Reaction score
86
Points
370
Location
West midlands
Our last girl Bonnie has lost weight since her sister Lottie passed away a week ago. She lost weight when her other cage mates passed but she did put it back on and was her hefty self again-until we lost Lottie. Bonnie has lost all 3 of her cage mates in 3 months

I know you will all suggest getting her a new friend but she is six and I really am at the point where I don't want the cycle to continue anymore, I have kept guineas for years and my husband and myself are now at the stage where we don't want the tie of animals anymore plus we want our room back! My daughter has 2 boys inside and Bonnie can hear them she is across the room from them.

Bonnie eats all her veg and I do see her eating hay but her pellets aren't going down. She has gone from 930g to 880. I know I should probably begin to syringe her but my reluctance is because I don't want to stress her, she's always been a nervous pig and I know she's not going to accept it well. Are we at the point where it just has to be done?
 
The weight loss could be just from aging. Muscle mass happens when they get older. It's time to worry when it's 50g a day. If she seems happy and bright and is eating then I would monitor the situation.

If she does seem to be missing her cagemates then there could be the possibilitly of long term fostering so you can break the cycle of rehoming. I'll be looking into it when I'm down to one pig.
 
being an old sow of course she is delicate and a vet's opinion is necessary. Anyway, if she weren't so old I would say that: she is eating regularly her daily vegs; she is eating hay (piggies are able to get nutriment from a poor food like hay). She only stopped eating pellets, made of a lot of carbohidrates, the only element able to absorb water and produce fat. When a pig (like mine for example) doesn't eat pellets, they look slim, but this does not mean they are ill. They can have less fat, but more muscles. Their body shape is different when they don't eat flours and concentrated foods... the same is for us humans (try to cut off flours and carbs and you will see what happens in only few days).
Bonnie might be only in the phase of old aging, when the fat mass naturally decreases and the appetite goes a bit down. I would do nothing, except a check up at the vet, some analysis and maybe some supplements, if necessary.
 
rome_italy said:
being an old sow of course she is delicate and a vet's opinion is necessary. Anyway, if she weren't so old I would say that: she is eating regularly her daily vegs; she is eating hay (piggies are able to get nutriment from a poor food like hay). She only stopped eating pellets, made of a lot of carbohidrates, the only element able to absorb water and produce fat. When a pig (like mine for example) doesn't eat pellets, they look slim, but this does not mean they are ill. They can have less fat, but more muscles. Their body shape is different when they don't eat flours and concentrated foods... the same is for us humans (try to cut off flours and carbs and you will see what happens in only few days).
Bonnie might be only in the phase of old aging, when the fat mass naturally decreases and the appetite goes a bit down. I would do nothing, except a check up at the vet, some analysis and maybe some supplements, if necessary.
Click to expand...

Thank you
I suppose the weight loss worries me because when her other cage mates passed away only 3 months ago she lost weight. She went from 900g to 800g but she did put it back on. She's always been quite a hefty sow, she has a very strong body-not 'squishy' like other pigs so I'm assuming this recent weight loss is to do with losing her sister. She was always a fan of her pellets too.
 
Amysmom said:
Thank you
I suppose the weight loss worries me because when her other cage mates passed away only 3 months ago she lost weight. She went from 900g to 800g but she did put it back on. She's always been quite a hefty sow, she has a very strong body-not 'squishy' like other pigs so I'm assuming this recent weight loss is to do with losing her sister. She was always a fan of her pellets too.
Click to expand...
Is it possible that she has something wrong into her mouth? pellets are hard...
Anyway, losing a sister can be stressful for a pig like her and stress always causes some bad hormonal change into the body. Here vets always advice for a daily supplement of vit C when there is some bad change in the air and the body needs having an efficient immunitary system. Here the most famous and trusted supplement is Cebion drops, I use it also for my piggies, considering that the eventual excess would simply go out with urine. It helps with immunitary system, deal with any stressful events. You could give it a try considering that each drop contains 6mg and the vit C requirement for an adult (healthy) pig is 30-40mg/kg and that the stress and some little desease always need a greater dose. Consider that vit C in vegs is very low nowadays as its level decreases after some day from the harvest because of the light, the temperature, the air. I give 2 drops (diluited with 0,3ml water) each pig (they eat a lot of fresh grass which is rich of vitamins).
The taste of Cabion is good and my piggies literally jump on me when I take the syringe in hand and they realise what is happening. And if your pig will refuse to take it, you could use it for yourself...:)) No wasted money!
I am not working for the firm producing those drops of course! :)):)):)) but that product is really good and appreciated by piggies and by vets... at least here. This is the bottle sold in UK
CEBION_0.1_g_1_ml_drops_30ml_oral_drops_contain_vitamin_C_ascorbic_acid_for_babies_grande.webp
At least you can help Bonnie's body...
 
rome_italy said:
Is it possible that she has something wrong into her mouth? pellets are hard...
Anyway, losing a sister can be stressful for a pig like her and stress always causes some bad hormonal change into the body. Here vets always advice for a daily supplement of vit C when there is some bad change in the air and the body needs having an efficient immunitary system. Here the most famous and trusted supplement is Cebion drops, I use it also for my piggies, considering that the eventual excess would simply go out with urine. It helps with immunitary system, deal with any stressful events. You could give it a try considering that each drop contains 6mg and the vit C requirement for an adult (healthy) pig is 30-40mg/kg and that the stress and some little desease always need a greater dose. Consider that vit C in vegs is very low nowadays as its level decreases after some day from the harvest because of the light, the temperature, the air. I give 2 drops (diluited with 0,3ml water) each pig (they eat a lot of fresh grass which is rich of vitamins).
The taste of Cabion is good and my piggies literally jump on me when I take the syringe in hand and they realise what is happening. And if your pig will refuse to take it, you could use it for yourself...:)) No wasted money!
I am not working for the firm producing those drops of course! :)):)):)) but that product is really good and appreciated by piggies and by vets... at least here. This is the bottle sold in UK
View attachment 64209
At least you can help Bonnie's body...
Click to expand...

Thank you, that is something I will consider when she's had a check up at the vets.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top