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Bony Butt

lexi468

lexi468

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
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Hello everybody,
I have a senior piggy who seems to have a pretty bony back end. He is having some issues with impaction as well which I know is due to old age. He’s eating well. I feel like it’s due to his old age but wanted to see if anybody else had more experience with this. Also, is there anything I can give him to help with the impaction?
Thanks!
 
Hello. Is he losing weight too? Some people give oats to their piggies to boost them up a bit. Also I used to have a piggy with impaction and I just had to clean it out every day. Smelly but quick and easy to do once you do it a lot. 👍🏻
 
I have no experience with impaction but my Edward is 6 in November and he too has a boney bum which my vet has said is just him ageing.How much does your boy weigh and is he losing weight at all?

If you’re concerned about him, I’d have him seen by a vet
 
Weight is the best indicator and it is normal for them to loose a little condition as they get older, but it should not be a steady downhill slope.

For example Ruby is 5 now.
In her prime she weighed between 1050 and 1100 grams.
She is now usually just below 1000 so 50 - 100 grams less than when she was younger, but steady a that weight.
 
lexi468 said:
Hello everybody,
I have a senior piggy who seems to have a pretty bony back end. He is having some issues with impaction as well which I know is due to old age. He’s eating well. I feel like it’s due to his old age but wanted to see if anybody else had more experience with this. Also, is there anything I can give him to help with the impaction?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Hi!

A bony end is normal of old piggies; hip bones and spine become more prominent as piggies age.

You measure whether they are still a good weight for their size around the ribcage ('feeling for the BMI'). While the very elderly generally lose muscle tone and gradually lose weight, please have your piggy vet checked if you have any concerns - the weight loss may be due to an underlying issue that can be stabilised or treated. Weighing once weekly is never more important than in old age. When the body is no longer able to process and absorb nutrients all that well, an elderly piggy can be very hungry in an attempt to make up in amount what their failing body is no longer able to achieve in quality; that is why judging weight just by eye can be deceptive.

Weight - Monitoring and Management (Includes a chapter on how weight changes over a life time, what exactly to look out for when feeling for the BMI around the ribs and when to see a vet re. weight loss or sudden weight gain, which can indicate a fluid build-up from congestive heart failure in the elderly).

Impaction - How To Help Your Guinea Pig.
Guide contains videos and practical care tips, including dietary ones that can help to ease impaction in the earlier stages. Please supplement an impacted boar with vitamin B as they can no longer process their caecotrophs (the poos that contain the digestible but not yet fully broken down fibre for the second run through the gut) but a very regular, hay based diet can help ease the build-up.
 
Thank you so much everybody! I will invest in a scale ASAP. I recently moved halfway across the country and before I did I took all of my animals to the vet. He has a clean bill of health, no significant weight loss. I figured the bony end was from old age. That being said, I actually have no idea how old he is. I have had him for about four and a half years, and I estimated him to be at least two when I got him due to how curled his nails were, but he could have been younger. He was not a baby though so at least a year. So that puts him at at least five and a half, so definitely getting up there!
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

A bony end is normal of old piggies; hip bones and spine become more prominent as piggies age.

You measure whether they are still a good weight for their size around the ribcage ('feeling for the BMI'). While the very elderly generally lose muscle tone and gradually lose weight, please have your piggy vet checked if you have any concerns - the weight loss may be due to an underlying issue that can be stabilised or treated. Weighing once weekly is never more important than in old age. When the body is no longer able to process and absorb nutrients all that well, an elderly piggy can be very hungry in an attempt to make up in amount what their failing body is no longer able to achieve in quality; that is why judging weight just by eye can be deceptive.

Weight - Monitoring and Management (Includes a chapter on how weight changes over a life time, what exactly to look out for when feeling for the BMI around the ribs and when to see a vet re. weight loss or sudden weight gain, which can indicate a fluid build-up from congestive heart failure in the elderly).

Impaction - How To Help Your Guinea Pig.
Guide contains videos and practical care tips, including dietary ones that can help to ease impaction in the earlier stages. Please supplement an impacted boar with vitamin B as they can no longer process their caecotrophs (the poos that contain the digestible but not yet fully broken down fibre for the second run through the gut) but a very regular, hay based diet can help ease the build-up.
Click to expand...
Which vitamin B do you recommend? I currently give Oxbows Multi-Vitamin. Is there something stronger I could give?
 
lexi468 said:
Which vitamin B do you recommend? I currently give Oxbows Multi-Vitamin. Is there something stronger I could give?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I don't have any personal experience with vitamin B supplements since impaction in older neutered boars (which is all I have ever had) is on a much smaller level; any full baby boars of mine have been neutered as soon as they were old enough.

I hope that another member with full boar experience can give you the currently up to date practical info.
 
Pigs do lose muscle mass as they are, just like humans, and many end up feeling bony on top without the same degree of muscle padding. At 6+, I could definitely feel more prominent bones in the pelvis. I would still keep on monitoring weight regularly, as any big weight loss needs checking out, but older pigs can and do feel bonier than younger ones.
 
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