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Bubbles Lost Weight.

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piggie smitten

piggie smitten

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Hi, my 15 month old piggie Bubble has lost weight for no apparent reason. He was 1354g on sunday and when I weighed him yesterday he was 1310g. This morning before veg he was 1277. I thought maybe it was a case of empty bladder or empty stomach as he'd been asleep for a while prior to weighing so weighed him again later and he was 1301g. He's eating well and pooing fine, not withdrawn at all,in fact hes just had his morning veggies which he was biting the bars for as usual. He doesn't feel any thinner, if I hadn't weighed him yesterday I'd have had no idea. I dont think theres a problem with the scales as Squeaks weight was consistent. I am going to ring the vet today but any opinions on what I should ask would be helpful
 
Sorry i can't advise on what the right things is to do, although i agree with you that a vet trip is definitely in order. I hope everything is ok!
 
Thanks, just noticed my post got a bit jumbled up. It should have read that he was 1301g on his last weigh in last night and 1277g this morning. I've just weighed him and hes 1327g but he has just polished off a big pile of veg.
 
I wouldn't worry tooo much at this stage, just continue to keep an eye on things and try weigh him at the same time everyday. He's not losing vast amounts and his weight is spiking back up again every time it drops so I would say you're just experiencing the difference between feeds and piggy output! If you weigh him at the same time everyday you should get a more accurate idea of how he's doing. If he starts to lose over 100g thats when I'd say you need to start getting things looked at.
My piggies are always 30-40g lighter if i weigh them in the morning than they are if I weigh them at the end of the day after they've had their treats.
 
I agree that you need to weigh him at the same time every day. It is good that he sounds ok in himself but it would not hurt to get him checked out if you are concerned. The weights do fluctuate a lot throughout the day though.
 
I normally only weigh them mid aftetnoon on weds and sunday but as he had a 44g loss I kept weighing him again. This morning he did go back up but he had had a pile of veg beforehand. About an hour later he'd lost 10g of it.
 
I have to admit until i found this website i didn't weigh my piggies at all. I know my oldest on Peri is on the porky side but my others all seem a good weight. I'm going to look up the weighing techniques this weekend and then i can keep a record.
 
I always find my pigs have lost a little bit of weight in the summer, I'm not sure if its because they feel the heat the same way as we do and don't want to eat as many pellets, if its because they get more exercise or if its because there hair changes slightly to allow for cooler weather making them lighter. I will just say that You know your pig best and a check-up by a Guinea Pig friendly vet will certainly not hurt. It will also put your mind at rest. It's always good to remember that Guinea Pigs are prey animals-meaning they don't show illness as it would make them look weaker to predators and weight is usually a good indication when something is wrong, but try not to obsess over it (believe me, I know how easy it is to do that). I wouldn't worry too much at this stage but if you notice a massive difference when weighing your pig at the same time each day then perhaps some reassurance from the Vet would help. :)

Hope your Piggies ok :)
 
Thanks for all your replies. I went home in my lunch hour and weighed him and hes 26g more than when I got up this morning but less than he was just after veg. I noticed he hadn't really eaten any nuggets since last night so I was thinking dental but then he ate some. My partner is going to weigh him about 4 so we'll see how he is then. Did loads of popcorning lunchtime though!
 
His weight seems to be stable now. I did have a vet appointment booked for 6.30 last night but have postponed it till same time tonight as he seems to be stable and I dont want antibiotics thrown at the problem if theres no need, with all the problems they can bring. He's eating well, he's full of beans with lots of popcorning but he just weighs about 50g less than he usually does, although he's still a good weight. He did seem to go off nuggets for a day or so though eating them again now. Would that cause weight loss? If no further drop today I think I will hold off on vet visit and see how he goes as he doesn't like the car and I don't see the point of stressing him out for no reason. What do others think.
 
It could be, maybe he was feeling a bit off colour that day, they can get gassy and it can make them feel poorly.

I agree on him not having antibiotics if they aren't needed.
 
helen105281 said:
It could be, maybe he was feeling a bit off colour that day, they can get gassy and it can make them feel poorly.

I agree on him not having antibiotics if they aren't needed.
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His tummy was a bit gurgly when he was having lap time a couple of days ago but not bloated so you could be right Helen.
 
Flutterby said:
I have to admit until i found this website i didn't weigh my piggies at all. I know my oldest on Peri is on the porky side but my others all seem a good weight. I'm going to look up the weighing techniques this weekend and then i can keep a record.
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I would advise watching him as you are doing and stick to a weighing time. We weigh ours every Sunday 1 hour after tea. If something seems amiss we will weigh daily for a few days. With weight loss you are looking for a trend so losing 30g a day every day would sound alarm bills but fluctuations of 30g up and down are often quite natural.
 
Thanks everyone, He seems to be stable now so will calm down a bit! He is still fine in himself so think it was just a blip. 44g just seemed a lot to lose in just a couple of days, most its been before is about 30g which has always gone straight back on. Maybe he got a bit self conscious as we did call him Chubby Bubby sometimes! @sport_billy your piggies are lovely!
 
Hi all, just a quick update. Bubble is still hovering around the 1300g mark one month on, with it varying 20g either way of this figure. He's eating well and playing and popcorning just as much as ever but I'm still curious as to why he weighs less than he used to. I must admit I did used to think maybe he was a bit overweight as he was like a little barrel so maybe he's just settled into the weight he should be. Has anyone heard of them losing puppyfat as they reach adulthood without any change in diet?
 
Pigs can lose weight as they get older. 1300g is still a good weight though. Mine all lost weight recently but that was due to a change in diet.
 
Thanks Helen. I have heard they can lose weight as they get older but I thought that meant much older, not 15 months! Still, he's been stable for about a month now and seems fine. Just was curious to know if anyone had had similiar experiences with theirs. I suppose if anything its better for his long term health not to be such a porker! He was always much fatter than Squeak but I would say they are fairly even now although Bubble is the bigger pig. Now I just need to follow his lead and lose my own blubber!
 
Frank lost weight when he went from being a teenager/young pig in his prime to a more grown up pig with responsibilities, however he was still huge and was put on a diet he's now stable at 1.8 kg
 
I can't tell a lie he does scare next doors cat!
 
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