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Done all I can - any advice appreciated.

Gadzy

Gadzy

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Hello,

I have a 5.5 year old sow currently with me, she was bonded with a friend, but she sadly passed not too long ago.

I took her to the vets because she was 1200 grams a few months ago and doing my weekly checks of weight I noticed her weight very slightly dropping, nothing major or much in it so I thought it’s all OK. Over the past few months she has dropped down to 1100, sometimes 1080 at lowest I’ve seen which fluctuates between that and 1100. I took her to the vets because she wasn’t eating much hay as she was and not ans many nuggets. They have checked everything, lungs, heart, ears, temperature, eyes, you name it. The vet suggested we lightly sedate her with some gas for 5-10 mins so he could have a proper look in her mouth for any overgrown teeth, fungus or ulcers and nothing. He said mouth is fine. We tried her on 0.25ml twice daily of Baytril for 7 days which didn’t do anything really and she’s on Metacam which again hasn’t done much as we don’t think she is in any pain, but could potentially increase that to see. She is now on the second day of Septrin so see how that goes. It’s all precautionary antibiotics because she’s showing no signs of infection etc anywhere. Whether she’s just showing typical signs now of old age and things shutting down, this could just be the unfortunate case? She’s sleeping a lot more and don’t see her out as much, but seems to be stabilised at this lower weight. I’m weighing her daily to make sure as she has some days where she is quite ropey! I haven’t stepped in with syringe feeding yet because it’s not drastic changes in the weight. I wouldn’t have any operations on her at this age either if they found something bad. If younger then yes.

Do you think this is just signs of old age or is there something I’ve missed? It’s a puzzling one. She seems to be really fussy with her hay and picks out only certain bits, but it’s not enough I don’t think hence why we thought it was dental, but it’s not. I thought I would write a thread as i feel I’ve done all I can. The vet did say if she continues to loose weight and be quiet it could be a case of calling it a day sadly. Thoughts?
 
Is she on her own now? Or does she have a neighbour? Loneliness is conceivable tho that shouldn't cause fussiness with hay.

I have had senior piggies who slept more and more and lost weight but there didn't seem to be anything particularly wrong. Older humans sometimes sleep a lot too.

Before calling it a day, I'd certainly try a different hay. But maybe you've done that already.
 
Please do offer her some top up feeds to support her.
50g of loss is the point at which you look to step in. As her weight loss has been gradual you certainly would want to be supporting her feeding now she is at 100g of loss.

Mystery weight loss is always a difficult one and unless and until symptoms appear all you can do is monitor, support feed and stay in touch with the vet.

What dosage of metacam is she on?
 
Mrs Tiggy Winkle said:
Is she on her own now? Or does she have a neighbour? Loneliness is conceivable tho that shouldn't cause fussiness with hay.

I have had senior piggies who slept more and more and lost weight but there didn't seem to be anything particularly wrong. Older humans sometimes sleep a lot too.

Before calling it a day, I'd certainly try a different hay. But maybe you've done that already.
Click to expand...
Yes, she’s on her own but in all fairness it’s not to do with that because she was a bundle of energy and loving life before something happened. I have tried every hay under the sun, you should see her room, it has about 6 different hay types and brands! I will check her weight and syringe feed a little bit :)




Piggies&buns said:
Please do offer her some top up feeds to support her.
50g of loss is the point at which you look to step in. As her weight loss has been gradual you certainly would want to be supporting her feeding now she is at 100g of loss.

Mystery weight loss is always a difficult one and unless and until symptoms appear all you can do is monitor, support feed and stay in touch with the vet.

What dosage of metacam is she on?
Click to expand...
Okay, I will give it a go :)

She was on 0.2 ml cat Metacam and now 0.2 dog metacam both I did twice daily
 
Do senior Guniea pigs tend to naturally loose more weight and not have such a strong appetite? All I can link it to is like older humans, they sleep a lot more and don’t have an appetite of a young teenager!
 
Piggies&buns said:
Yes they can start to lose mass and then start to maintain at a new lower normal.

This guide explains
Journey through a Lifetime: The Ages of Guinea Pigs
Click to expand...
It’s such a strange one, she’s eating her greens and pellets now a lot more, more so than she was, weight may have dropped a couple of grams the last day or so before feeding greens. She just doesn’t seem to get into her hay and it’s so strange. Whether she’s being super selective I don’t know? I’m not sure what other tests and that I can do for her really. I’m guessing an X-ray of some sort, but again depending on the situation I won’t have her operated on at her age. Never seen her get so fussy. Can hay upset their stomach? I’m not sure if she knows it’s hurting her in some way hence why I’m convinced it’s her mouth. I know poo is a few days behind or so but over the last few days they have been very good and big etc so maybe she is eating ok and I’m not realising?
 
As you will know hay is their main food intake - three quarters of what they need to eat in a day.
Veg and pellets only make around 15-20% of the daily food intake - it is not (and should not) be enough to maintain weight.
If weight is stable; then enough hay is going in.

In the case is illness or issue Hay intake usually drops first. It’s finding that reason though, and it’s not always easy!
A owner can see them still eating veg and pellets and think they are eating but without hay, or without enough hay, a lot of food intake has been lost hence weight loss.

A sudden change in hay to one which is richer than they are used to certainly can cause a digestive upset. For example, we see it occur with soft cut Timothy hays, it’s fine to give it but it’s a lot of rich leaf and in some piggies can cause issues if fed as the main hay
 
Piggies&buns said:
As you will know hay is their main food intake - three quarters of what they need to eat in a day.
Veg and pellets only make around 15-20% of the daily food intake - it is not (and should not) be enough to maintain weight.
If weight is stable; then enough hay is going in.

In the case is illness or issue Hay intake usually drops first. It’s finding that reason though, and it’s not always easy!
A owner can see them still eating veg and pellets and think they are eating but without hay, or without enough hay, a lot of food intake has been lost hence weight loss.

A sudden change in hay to one which is richer than they are used to certainly can cause a digestive upset. For example, we see it occur with soft cut Timothy hays, it’s fine to give it but it’s a lot of rich leaf and in some piggies can cause issues if fed as the main hay
Click to expand...
Thankyou, is 0.2 ml twice a day ok for her? She’s on the dog one
 
Hi everyone again,

I have a bit more of an update/progress if you’d call it that and needed some advice…. I didn’t want to make a new thread yet on it with this one active(ish) She is now eating her greens and some pellets at certain times of the day. I have slowly introduced her to fresh handpicked grass which she absolutely BOLTS down. She is still looking at her hay pile and picking certain bits out then stopping. The vet has checked her teeth under sedation. I wonder if asking to check again would work?

So my question is, can guinea pigs live off grass once their guts are used to it? I read it contains fibre and the right stuff to grind teeth down. I read in the forum that the oxbow orchard hay is good for dental pigs, so will also try that. It’s so strange that she is bolting greens and pellets and fresh grass but seems reluctant with the hay. I know they drop hay first, but I wonder if she is being super picky? I don’t want to drop greens and pellets with the worry she might not even eat anything much at all then? It’s all so strange. I might be able to speak to the vet and try come up with a special diet if she’s reluctant on the hay?

Can guinea pigs make themselves that Ill just from being fussy and picky!? I’m being a little more optimistic, but perhaps it’s just the beginning of the end to put it bluntly but she’s definitely more alert and active… thoughts? I will try starting syringe feeding a bit also… if she had dental issues I don’t think she would eat the hard nuggets?
 
If a piggy has dental issues often they can and do still eat pellets while refuse hay.
This is because pellets break apart and go to mush and are much easier to eat than hay which has to be chewed.

Yes they can be picky and can go off their normal hay but generally speaking, if a piggy stops eating hay then it is because there is a problem somewhere

Grass is their natural diet so yes it is fine for them to have lots when their gut is used to it The difficulty comes from being able to provide enough of it everyday - we generally cannot do that which is why hay is used instead.
The only special diet and way to replace the hay intake is with sufficient grass and recovery feed every day
 
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Hmm, I don’t know! I’m lucky I have a paddock thing which grows unlimited grass so it’s not hard to grab a shed load of clean fresh grass daily if it helps her. Perhaps a second opinion on her mouth, but this vet I’ve used who is very good is pretty adamant it’s fine hence why I didn’t know if the hay was upsetting her stomach stupidly etc.

you’re correct, my last Guniea pig who had cancer was eating greens and pellets and minimal hay up until she passed in her cage. I will just have to monitor her daily with weight and activity etc, but I know deep down the time is coming. Thankyou so much for your time and advice, I very much appreciate it :)
 
I’ve noticed she gets this popping noise in her stomach? Is that gas related? You can literally hear it across the room, how long would it take for them to get used to the grass? @Piggies&buns
 
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