Elderly guinea pig not eating

[Orion]

PLEASE HELP!
My elderly guinea pig Ham has stopped eating pellets entirely. He is 7 years old. I believe he has bloat, and I have been giving him baby gas relief. It seemed to help, but I noticed that every time he pooped, he turned around and ate it. I know guinea pigs eat poops sometimes, but he ate 11 in a row. That feels odd. He hasn’t eaten any of the pellets I gave him last night and barely any from yesterday morning. He chewed off a chunk of his hair. He didn’t pull it out, but chewed it off. Could that be a sign of pain? His breathing seems a little hard to me but my family, who has helped take care of them since I got them, says it looks normal to them. He’s still eating hay. He’s drinking, but less than usual. He’s been hiding so much. I rarely see him anymore, which I know can be a sign of pain. I called a vet this morning and they said they wouldn’t be able to see him until Tuesday. What should I do?

 

[Merab]

We always recommend a vet visit.
Can you call your vet back and ask for an emergency appointments.
If he’s in pain that will stop him wanting to eat and if it is bloat that does need an emergency appointment.
Holding you in my thoughts

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

He doesn't need pellets, guinea pigs don't. It's great that he's eating hay. But I agree with @Merab that an emergency vet appt would be best. He has quite a lot of different symptoms

 

[Piggies&buns]

I also agree - an emergency vet appointment is needed with the symptoms you are describing.

Pellets are not needed but the fact he isn’t eating them can suggest that he is also not eating enough hay. He may still be nibbling at some but it does not mean he is eating enough - this is why watching hay intake is not reliable.
Hay is 75-80% of daily food intake and the only way to know they are eating enough is with the routine weekly weight checks. You then need to switch to daily weight checks (each morning ) when there are health concerns to be able to more closely monitor hay intake and step in accordingly.

Weight loss of 50g requires you to step in with emergency syringe feeding;
100g of loss in 24-28 hours is an emergency and means stasis has occurred.

You will need to syringe feed at least 60ml per 24 hours. That can mean feeding every 2 hours and is entirely dependent upon how much he takes per feed. The less he eats per feed, the more often you will need to feed to get enough in.
40ml is the absolute minimum necessary to keep the gut functioning but may not be enough to maintain weight

Baby gas drops will not be able to cut through acute bloat.
In fact some drops can actually make things worse - drops containing simethicone (such as in infacol) gather gas into one big bubble which is fine for human babies but piggy guts are longer and thinner and one big bubble makes things considerably more painful for them. To that end, infacol or any drop containing simethicone is not recommended.
Bloat is incredibly painful.
He will need prescribed gut stimulating meds and painkillers.

Eating poop is normal. It is his way of trying to settle his digestive system (the issue is that if his digestion is out of balance then his poops will not contain the microbiome needed to help. Assuming he has a companion, It’s better for you to make poop soup from a companion’s poops)

Please do ensure you weigh him every morning, step in with syringe feeding and see a vet asap.

I have added some emergency guides below to explain the importance of weight checks and how to syringe feed

I hope he is ok

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
How to Improvise Feeding Support in an Emergency
Wiebke's Guide to Tummy Trouble
Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

@Piggies&buns

Could either of you link Wiebke's appropriate guides, like the Poo one and maybe Syringe feeding and that kind of thing? In case the guinea isn't eating enough hay. And isn't the baby gas relief thing actually bad for guineas? I think I learnt that in my early days on the forum.
Whenever I link, it has to wait for Mod Approval anyway.

Sorry, you've jsut done it I see.

 

[Orion]

We always recommend a vet visit.
Can you call your vet back and ask for an emergency appointments.
If he’s in pain that will stop him wanting to eat and if it is bloat that does need an emergency appointment.
Holding you in my thoughts

Thank you so much. I’m going to call more vets, but I don’t have a car. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get him in today, hopefully tomorrow. I’m so worried I’m going to lose him.

 

[Orion]

I also agree - an emergency vet appointment is needed with the symptoms you are describing.

Pellets are not needed but the fact he isn’t eating them can suggest that he is also not eating enough hay. He may still be nibbling at some but it does not mean he is eating enough - this is why watching hay intake is not reliable.
Hay is 75-80% of daily food intake and the only way to know they are eating enough is with the routine weekly weight checks. You then need to switch to daily weight checks (each morning ) when there are health concerns to be able to more closely monitor hay intake and step in accordingly.

Weight loss of 50g requires you to step in with emergency syringe feeding;
100g of loss in 24-28 hours is an emergency and means stasis has occurred.

You will need to syringe feed at least 60ml per 24 hours. That can mean feeding every 2 hours and is entirely dependent upon how much he takes per feed. The less he eats per feed, the more often you will need to feed to get enough in.
40ml is the absolute minimum necessary to keep the gut functioning but may not be enough to maintain weight

Baby gas drops will not be able to cut through acute bloat.
In fact some drops can actually make things worse - drops containing simethicone (such as in infacol) gather gas into one big bubble which is fine for human babies but piggy guts are longer and thinner and one big bubble makes things considerably more painful for them. To that end, infacol or any drop containing simethicone is not recommended.
Bloat is incredibly painful.
He will need prescribed gut stimulating meds and painkillers.

Eating poop is normal. It is his way of trying to settle his digestive system (the issue is that if his digestion is out of balance then his poops will not contain the microbiome needed to help. Assuming he has a companion, It’s better for you to make poop soup from a companion’s poops)

Please do ensure you weigh him every morning, step in with syringe feeding and see a vet asap.

I have added some emergency guides below to explain the importance of weight checks and how to syringe feed

I hope he is ok

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
How to Improvise Feeding Support in an Emergency
Wiebke's Guide to Tummy Trouble
Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)

Thank you so much. I have been weighing him and he hasn’t lost anything, which is a very good sign. I did some research on giving them baby gas relief and everything I saw told me that was the best course of action. I should have looked more. I’ll never forgive myself if it made him worse.

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

but I don’t have a car

Taxi? I don't have a car either, never have had, so I understand. Occasionally I went to the vet's by taxi despite being a little hard up.

Keeping my fingers firmly crossed for Ham and you.

 

[Orion]

I also agree - an emergency vet appointment is needed with the symptoms you are describing.

Pellets are not needed but the fact he isn’t eating them can suggest that he is also not eating enough hay. He may still be nibbling at some but it does not mean he is eating enough - this is why watching hay intake is not reliable.
Hay is 75-80% of daily food intake and the only way to know they are eating enough is with the routine weekly weight checks. You then need to switch to daily weight checks (each morning ) when there are health concerns to be able to more closely monitor hay intake and step in accordingly.

Weight loss of 50g requires you to step in with emergency syringe feeding;
100g of loss in 24-28 hours is an emergency and means stasis has occurred.

You will need to syringe feed at least 60ml per 24 hours. That can mean feeding every 2 hours and is entirely dependent upon how much he takes per feed. The less he eats per feed, the more often you will need to feed to get enough in.
40ml is the absolute minimum necessary to keep the gut functioning but may not be enough to maintain weight

Baby gas drops will not be able to cut through acute bloat.
In fact some drops can actually make things worse - drops containing simethicone (such as in infacol) gather gas into one big bubble which is fine for human babies but piggy guts are longer and thinner and one big bubble makes things considerably more painful for them. To that end, infacol or any drop containing simethicone is not recommended.
Bloat is incredibly painful.
He will need prescribed gut stimulating meds and painkillers.

Eating poop is normal. It is his way of trying to settle his digestive system (the issue is that if his digestion is out of balance then his poops will not contain the microbiome needed to help. Assuming he has a companion, It’s better for you to make poop soup from a companion’s poops)

Please do ensure you weigh him every morning, step in with syringe feeding and see a vet asap.

I have added some emergency guides below to explain the importance of weight checks and how to syringe feed

I hope he is ok

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
How to Improvise Feeding Support in an Emergency
Wiebke's Guide to Tummy Trouble
Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)

He does have a companion, but they hate each other and are bar buddies. They got into a nasty fight around 2 years ago and have only been aggressive towards each other since. Should I put Ed’s poops in Hams enclosure?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you so much. I have been weighing him and he hasn’t lost anything, which is a very good sign. I did some research on giving them baby gas relief and everything I saw told me that was the best course of action. I should have looked more. I’ll never forgive myself if it made him worse.

Gripe water can be ok.
Simethicone is the one which isn’t recommended

I can of course fully appreciate you want to do something to help him but unfortunately if this is an acute bloat attack then baby gas drops don’t have the power to do much to help

He does have a companion, but they hate each other and are bar buddies. They got into a nasty fight around 2 years ago and have only been aggressive towards each other since. Should I put Ed’s poops in Hams enclosure?

No, you have to make poop soup.

You have to collect Ed’s poops the moment they are produced -
So put ed in a box, feed him snacks and then immediately collect the poops the moment they come out.
(Any poop which has been sat in the cage for longer than a couple of minutes will be useless for poop soup as the microbiome starts to die off as soon as the poop comes out).
You have to pick up the poop the moment it comes out of ed, immediately put the poops in a small amount of water and leave them to soak for 5-10 minutes.
You then discard the poops. keep the water and then a 1ml syringe to feed 1-2ml of the water to ham.

Again though, this can help transfer gut bacteria but it will not do anything to cure bloat

The section in this guide - live microbiome transfer - explains poop soup

Probiotics & Live Gut Microbiome Transfer ('Poo Soup'); Recovery Formula Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links and Transfer Recipe

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

I should have looked more. I’ll never forgive myself if it made him worse.

Please don't be so hard on yourself! If you think your actions/decisions made Ham worse, you can be sad! But if you are unforgiving and harsh on yourself, that'll sap your energy and could make it harder for you to look after Ham properly now and going forwards. (Been there, done that, got the t-shirt). Nobody's perfect, and I'm sure you've been doing the best you could and that's the best anybody can! Sending you moral support, if you like.

 

[Orion]

Gripe water can be ok.
Simethicone is the one which isn’t recommended

I can of course fully appreciate you want to do something to help him but unfortunately if this is an acute bloat attack then baby gas drops don’t have the power to do much to help



No, you have to make poop soup.

You have to collect Ed’s poops the moment they are produced -
So put ed in a box, feed him snacks and then immediately collect the poops the moment they come out.
(Any poop which has been sat in the cage for longer than a couple of minutes will be useless for poop soup as the microbiome starts to die off as soon as the poop comes out).
You have to pick up the poop the moment it comes out of ed, immediately put the poops in a small amount of water and leave them to soak for 5-10 minutes.
You then discard the poops. keep the water and then a 1ml syringe to feed 1-2ml of the water to ham.

Again though, this can help transfer gut bacteria but it will not do anything to cure bloat

The section in this guide - live microbiome transfer - explains poop soup

Probiotics & Live Gut Microbiome Transfer ('Poo Soup'); Recovery Formula Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links and Transfer Recipe

PLEASE HELP!
My elderly guinea pig Ham has stopped eating pellets entirely. He is 7 years old. I believe he has bloat, and I have been giving him baby gas relief. It seemed to help, but I noticed that every time he pooped, he turned around and ate it. I know guinea pigs eat poops sometimes, but he ate 11 in a row. That feels odd. He hasn’t eaten any of the pellets I gave him last night and barely any from yesterday morning. He chewed off a chunk of his hair. He didn’t pull it out, but chewed it off. Could that be a sign of pain? His breathing seems a little hard to me but my family, who has helped take care of them since I got them, says it looks normal to them. He’s still eating hay. He’s drinking, but less than usual. He’s been hiding so much. I rarely see him anymore, which I know can be a sign of pain. I called a vet this morning and they said they wouldn’t be able to see him until Tuesday. What should I do?

Update: I talked to two vets and they both said he needs to be seen soon, but as long as he’s eating hay and drinking and I’m syringe feeding critical care, he can wait until the opening in a few days. Thank you guys for the advice and support. I have OCD that centers around my pets a lot and my mom thought it was just that and there was nothing to worry about and you guys pushed me to do what I needed to to help him. I’ll keep you guys updated!

 

[Orion]

I’d just like to update you guys on how Ham is doing since you all were so helpful. I took him to an emergency yet today because he had dried pee and blood on his side, and I knew that likely meant a kidney stone. He had already passed all of the stones, so it was just the pain from that and he was diagnosed with arthritis. I got three meds for him and I’ll be syringe feeding him for a few weeks. Thank you guys so much for the help and the kindness.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m so glad he is ok
It was very lucky for him to pass the stones. Unfortunately bladder stones in male guinea pigs can get stuck in the angle in their urethra and be an emergency situation. I’m so glad they must have been small enough for him to pass without issue

 

[Orion]

Hi. I’m here to update again. This past week has been a mess of emotion and worrying he’s in pain. He got better for a while. Then he wasn’t so great. He had a checkup today, and despite my worries for him hiding more than usual and not eating hay (except the good fluffy bits), they said he seemed fine. The vet asked if there was still blood and I said no. She said good. If there was, she would be worried it’s cancer. A few hours after coming home, there’s a spot of bloody pee in his enclosure again. I am a mess. I thought we were through this. I’m so worried about him. I’m going to call the vet first thing tomorrow morning when they open. Money is so tight right now, I’m going to have to sell my things so my parents will have enough to pay for his bills. My mental health has been a wreck. I’ve been thinking about hospitalizing myself after he passes because I know I won’t take it well, which is so hard to consider since I had to go residential for my ED for a few months a little while ago and it was incredibly traumatic and expensive. I guess I just needed to get this out. I really hope I have some more time with him.

 

[Truffolo]

He is a piggy who has reached a good age in terms of longevity, but is now more prone to healthcare issues. You are extremely observant and you obviously know your piggy really well. Sadly, you may be seeing the start of a palliative situation with the withdrawal, not eating, bleeding and loss of appetite. It is difficult to hold on once the slide has begun in elderly piggies The urinary issue may have returned. Has he had an X-ray to look for calcium build up or a remaining blockage? The important thing now is to keep him comfortable, feeding and medicating as long as he will accept these things. It is very hard to face losing a pet, even when they are elderly. To see it from the pet's point of view, he may be tired, sore and just want to sleep all the time. There is nothing wrong with thinking about when to call it quits and ask the vet to release him with euthanasia if you think he has had enough, and if you are finding it painful to watch him in decline. It is difficult to be calm in the face of such strong loss, but it will help him if you can be as strong as you can. The two factors in the decision is whether he has a blockage (which may be difficult to detect) and whether you, who knows him really well, feel that he has enough quality of life to make it worth going on. It is very very hard saying goodbye and making the decision to PTS as your pet is your friend, and a good friend. Even the most rational person will doubt themselves in the face of all the affection guinea pigs have to give to us. A gentle death might be the kindest thing you can do for him, but you will need time to prepare yourself for this decision. The financial aspect is important and there is no point in undergoing hardship if the outcome will only be a few days or weeks of time with piggy, especially if he is ill and in pain. Your vet should be able to advise you on the options and what to expect from a medical point of view. Pets are so precious but the irony is that it is hard to say goodbye and painful after all the happiness they have given us. It is good that you are thinking ahead of your mental health needs and know yourself well. It is terribly important that you take care of yourself. This could mean asking for help, such as counselling, for instance, to help you to cope with what is a painful time in your life. Finding people you can trust for support to help you is very important. You are welcome here to share your thoughts with us too on the forum. Wishing you comfort and strength

 

[Orion]

He is a piggy who has reached a good age in terms of longevity, but is now more prone to healthcare issues. You are extremely observant and you obviously know your piggy really well. Sadly, you may be seeing the start of a palliative situation with the withdrawal, not eating, bleeding and loss of appetite. It is difficult to hold on once the slide has begun in elderly piggies The urinary issue may have returned. Has he had an X-ray to look for calcium build up or a remaining blockage? The important thing now is to keep him comfortable, feeding and medicating as long as he will accept these things. It is very hard to face losing a pet, even when they are elderly. To see it from the pet's point of view, he may be tired, sore and just want to sleep all the time. There is nothing wrong with thinking about when to call it quits and ask the vet to release him with euthanasia if you think he has had enough, and if you are finding it painful to watch him in decline. It is difficult to be calm in the face of such strong loss, but it will help him if you can be as strong as you can. The two factors in the decision is whether he has a blockage (which may be difficult to detect) and whether you, who knows him really well, feel that he has enough quality of life to make it worth going on. It is very very hard saying goodbye and making the decision to PTS as your pet is your friend, and a good friend. Even the most rational person will doubt themselves in the face of all the affection guinea pigs have to give to us. A gentle death might be the kindest thing you can do for him, but you will need time to prepare yourself for this decision. The financial aspect is important and there is no point in undergoing hardship if the outcome will only be a few days or weeks of time with piggy, especially if he is ill and in pain. Your vet should be able to advise you on the options and what to expect from a medical point of view. Pets are so precious but the irony is that it is hard to say goodbye and painful after all the happiness they have given us. It is good that you are thinking ahead of your mental health needs and know yourself well. It is terribly important that you take care of yourself. This could mean asking for help, such as counselling, for instance, to help you to cope with what is a painful time in your life. Finding people you can trust for support to help you is very important. You are welcome here to share your thoughts with us too on the forum. Wishing you comfort and strength

He has had an x-ray and the vet said there was nothing abnormal, other than the arthritis, and that’s why she believed it was a stone that has already passed

 

[Orion]

He didn’t eat all of his critical care this morning and I put the fluffy bits of hay in front of him and he would pick them up and then spit them out again. That is so unlike him. As long as I’ve had him and his brother, he’s always been the eater. No matter what’s going on, he would always eat. Even if he was stressed, if you put food in front of him, he’d take it. I think his time is probably soon. That’s so hard to admit. He has an appointment for next Saturday and I will probably decide on euthanasia, but I’m holding onto a little bit of hope that the vet will say he’s okay.

 

[Truffolo]

He didn’t eat all of his critical care this morning and I put the fluffy bits of hay in front of him and he would pick them up and then spit them out again. That is so unlike him. As long as I’ve had him and his brother, he’s always been the eater. No matter what’s going on, he would always eat. Even if he was stressed, if you put food in front of him, he’d take it. I think his time is probably soon. That’s so hard to admit. He has an appointment for next Saturday and I will probably decide on euthanasia, but I’m holding onto a little bit of hope that the vet will say he’s okay.

Very sad. Yes, we will see what the coming days bring

 

[Rescued One]

Condolences; it is never easy when an older (or any pet) starts to decline Trust your gut on when it is time to let go; there is no manual on this and really no right or wrong answer. I'm putting you and piggy on the prayer list

 

[Orion]

Hi again. He is refusing hay and critical care entirely. He only eats veggies now. I’m going to call again tomorrow and hopefully get him in sooner. Euthanasia is most likely what is going to happen. He is happy to eat veggies, which is good, but I can tell outside of those times he’s not happy. At all. It’s time. This is so hard. I love him so much.

 

[Truffolo]

It is very sad. Once they stop eating there is little more you can do. You know your piggy well and I agree, he might be getting to a stage where letting him go could be the kindest decision. Wishing you strength and peace of mind

 

[Posyrose]

Sending you and Ham hugs