Do I need to get her checked?

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Spang

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I just started weighing all my piggles every tuesday. Last week I was so happy that 2 of my pigs had finally gone over the 1kg mark. I had to check them several times as I couldn't beleive it.

Pebbles last week was 1013grams. Just weighed her and she is now 979grams. A loss of 34 grams. Is this something to worry about? Should I get her checked over by the vets? She appears completly healthy to me.
 
Generally Yes, that is a lot of weight to loose in a week for a guinea pig.
Guinea pigs are very good at hiding most problems with them and appear to be healthy and normal so I would take her to a vet ASAP
 
Generally Yes, that is a lot of weight to loose in a week for a guinea pig.
Guinea pigs are very good at hiding most problems with them and appear to be healthy and normal so I would take her to a vet ASAP
 
That isn't anything to worry about, the difference between a full and empty bladder can be about 30g, just keep an eye on her and monitor her weight more frequently.
 
Toffeewoffee said:
That isn't anything to worry about, the difference between a full and empty bladder can be about 30g, just keep an eye on her and monitor her weight more frequently.
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I agree with Toffeewoffee. Keep an eye on her weight and if it drops further then consult a vet. Is she eating ok?
 
She appears to be eating the same as ever, the first one there when anything is put in! I know 34grams don't seem a huge amount, but she had gone from being the heaviest, to now being the lightest, and I think thats what paniced me most!

I have got vets later for my cat Shadow, so I will try and remember to mention it then.

Thanks for the super quick reply!
 
One of my boys regularly fluctuates by about 40grams, like Chloe said, this can be the difference between full or empty bowels. If it continues to go down or drops dramatically then I'd see a vet. Weigh him every couple of days for a bit then weekly to get into a pattern if what's normal. I started doing this after I noticed flinn lost weight and now he is always between 1.400kg and 1.430kg.
So if he's otherwise healthy and has a good appetite and doesn't drop any more weight then I'd be inclined not to worry :)
 
gogoguineas said:
Sorry meant 'her' and 'she' lol boars on the brain here! rolleyes
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I am forever getting the sexes mixed up as all my other animals are boys! When I talk to them I keep saying, "Hope your being good boys for mummy!" I am forever having to check that when I post about them I don't get he and she mixed up!

I am gonna weigh her every day for a few days as if her weight is decreasing each day, I am going to take her to the vets. Just need to find someone to drive me as its too cold to be waiting around for a bus with her!
 
Just adding this here also as I am leaving very shortly to go to the vets. And I would rather know before then if Pebbles needs to go also.

Just wondering if this is normal breathing. With Pebbles right now, when you put your ear to her chest, you can hear the air flow going in and out of the lungs. However I can also hear this other noise. Not sure if its wheezing or not, but its like when you have a slightly blocked nose and you breath in and out through it. Can't hear nothing unless my ear is touching her chest.
 
If your are concerned take her with you to the vet. Hopefully they can give you some peace of mind x
 
Agree, particularly with potential respiratory problems, they can go downhill very quickly indeed. Best to be on the safe side :) Hope its all OK.
 
I have decided to take her to the vets. Also changed the appointment time for my cat so I had a chance to get her sorted. I did just weigh her again and shes lost another 9 grams. She has eaten some veggies, but not touched the dry food. Not sure if she has had the hay or not...

After panicing like mad on here, I decided to stick my ear to the other 2 piggles. I could only hear their heartbeat, not the air going in and out and the blocked up nose sound.
 
Always go with your gut instinct, I usually find its right and at the very least your mind will be put at rest :-) Well done for being so vigilant, if she is off colour then your prompt response will help a lot. Healing vibes sent if needed, let us know how you get on ? :)
 
I hope it goes well at the vets, your doing the right thing, hopefully you have caught it early and she will get better soon. Will be thinking of you x
 
Well I spent just over an hour in the vets with both animals! Lucky I got to see the one who sees all the small animals there, so hopefully what she has said is right!

When I left with Pebbles, I still couldn't hear the wheezing without putting my head to her chest. When we got her out, you could just about hear a wheeze, so it had clearly got worse during that time. She is breathing fine, its just fairly noisey. The vet noticed a slight discharge from her eye, which I didn't earlier, so I don't know if that was something new or not. Her temparture was normal. She has got baytril for 5 days.
 
Also got supreme recovery plus probiotics (thats what it says on the peice of paper, but not on the packaging). Is that an ok one to use? And is it actually a probiotic? How much do I give?

They baytril is 2.5%. 0.4ml once a day.
 
Ok, so I have just checked Pebbles over and weighed her. She has dropped to 952grams now. She was eating last night, but I wonder does she need any help to get more food in her?

Pebbles
7/2/12 - 1013grams
14/2/12 @12pm - 979 grams
@5pm - 970 grams
15/2/12 - 952 grams

Please help me!
 
She is happily eating lettuce, cucumber and corridander, however is not touching hay and pellets. I did make a mash and syringe feed her some, but she wasn't overly happy about it. She had 2.5mls of it. Her eyes are weeping slightly. Really not sure what to do and really need help...
 
Just bumping this for you Spang as there are forum experts in feeding poorly pigs.

Sometime veg puree can be good to get some nutrients in their system but am sure others will have ideas.
 
Will she eat banana? This will be good to keep her weight up. And if she likes it you could mash some and mix it with the science recovery. Sorry i dont know much about the science recovery so can't help on that one, try googling the info on the packet, like the name of it and see if it tells you anything.......
 
I know she likes banana skin. Will try her with piece shortly. She hasn't touched the pellets, either the soft or hard ones whilest I have been at work. I don't think she has touched the hay either. I fed her just before I left as much as she would take from me, and fed her some more when I got back. She did however eat all the veggies. The only thing right now is I am worrying about giving her too many, but if thats all shes eating when I am at work...

I am weighing her twice a day at the moment. She has put on 11 grams since this morning and has weed and pooed a load so I am really happy about that.

I feel a lot better keeping them seperate so I can moniter excatly what she is doing, but I am concerned about if they wont rebond. I have a metal run which the 2 healthy piggies are in and right next to it is a pop up ball pit that pebbles is in, so they can see and smell each other. When I am with them I have put them all together.

What I am thinking right now is shall I feed her during the night? I am thinking to be on the safe side yes...
 
You could try to tempt her appetite with mashed up banana, science selective made into soup (two of my piggies love this and the other two won't touch so it's a try and see one). Can you get hold of any grass at all? Parsley? If you chop up or mince veggies they smell stronger and more attractive.

You can leave various bits of food in overnight and simply check to see if any of it has been sampled. It's hard to tell if a piggie is eating enough fibre so please keep an eye on her poos. There should be regular poos, goodish shape, not soft etc etc. The colour can change if she's eating a higher amount of veg to hay than normal.

And you can always soften pellets in water to make a softer gloop that they eat. It's a very good sign if she's eating veggies. If her poos are ok then leave tempting food about in her pen and just maybe check in the night. Piggies don't really like being syringe fed much, so encourage independent eating as much as possible.

(I personally use lots of tiny melamine sauce dishes from a chinese set and put them around with various foods in. It's easy to see if anything has been eaten then as well.)

Oh yes, and a probiotic helps to resupply good bacteria in the gut that can be destroyed by an antibiotic. So it helps to keep her gut going and helps her to digest food properly. Baytril can cause a spot of appetite suppression anyway, consider how you feel with an eye problem and antibiotics, so do please tempt her appetite where possible. Continued eating is very important for piggies.

Poos from your other piggies will also contain probiotics and useful nutrients she will be able to digest. Is it possible to put her back with them for a time, observed by you if possible, to allow her to forage as she wishes? This will help to keep them a herd as well.

I hope all that helped a bit.
 
I didn't notice any difference in Pebbles behaviour, but WOW! I had seprated them again as I needed some time for me and the other animals. I went back in the kitchen, where they are tempory living and Pebbles had started popcorning around the ball pit when I turned the light on.

All but a tiny bit of the hay was gone (only gave her a little so I could see) and she had picked out her favourite bits of the food, (a mix of wagg musli and SS pellets), and all the veg was gone! I did give her what I could of that mix, and a few healthy poops mashed in it, only 1ml, just to help after the antibiotics she had earlier. She didn't take it as easily as before which I am taking to be a good sign! Her poos are slightly thinner than the others and a lot darker.

I decided to leave the 3 together for the night as I am happy that shes eating something. As soon as I put her in she tipped over the pellet dish, had 1, then dived into the hay and started munching away.

She will not touch the slightest soggy bit of food. I have left the tiny bit of mix left over to see if any of them touch it. I will give them a few veggies in the night and check her, but I think where shes shown that shes willing to eat, it will be a lot nicer to keep her with her sisters. When i left them, they had made a piggie pile in the hay!
 
Well this morning, Pebbles remained the same weight as last night, and that was just after doing a huge pee, so I am taking that to be excellent news! She has been the first one to all the veggies, and I have seen her still munching on hay. I haven't seen her eating pellets, but I am not worried about that.

Tonight after work, I weighed her. She had lost 6 grams, but I don't think thats anything to be concerned about. Her behaviour is excellent, a royal pain in the backside to give her the baytril! I am really happy about that as she wasn't fighting it before at all.

I am so happy with how she is doing now. I just hope she continues in that direction! She isn't wheezing no where near as much as she was. You can just about hear it when your head is against her chest, whereas yesterday, you could hear it when she was sitting on your lap!

I loved my little girl before, but I love her even more after this!

And thank you to those who have helped. I know I got really very panicy at times when people wern't answering instantly, I was so scared and didn't have a clue what to do! Sorry about that! Love to you all!
 
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