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Frisky, just old age?

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Pigmad

Teenage Guinea Pig
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one of my rescue pigs, Frisky, has always been small (he weighed 1000g when he came to me 2 1/2 years ago) he now weighs 898g, i've had him checked over by a vet who couldn't find anything wrong with him, she said it was just old age. i now weigh him every week and he always fluctuates between 900/950 grams. with the colder weather coming i'd like to try and get a bit more weight on him i know that corn is fattening but are there any other veg that i could give him that would bulk him up a bit? has anyone had the same experience with older pigs who lose weight?
 
Hello. My piggies as they grow older have all slimmed down in bodymass. I agree though, keeping a bit of extra weight on them is a good idea if possible. It helps them to keep warm and it also helps them to fight any infection/gut problem that puts them off their food for a bit. There's a bit of spare fat to see them through the bad times as it were.

I know piggyme234 has used oats as a help for fattening, I have too as they are complex carbs. Corn has a fair bit of sugar in. Root veg can be good but again they are sugary, various piggies have enjoyed parsnip and suede. Never give raw potato though.

To encourage appetite try using 'wafting of food nearby' - eg cut a brocolli stem in half and leave it just outside the cage for a minute before feeding it to them. The smell gets their appetite going. The critical care food from the vets can be a marvellous supplement for an elderly piggie - just as a very occasional treat to make sure they are getting all the nutrients they need. I make it into a warm (stimulates appetite with the nice smell again) soup and leave it in the cage in a dish for the piggy to go back and back to.

At the moment I have two elderly piggies who have both survived big ops, neither of them are as tubby as I'd like! I have to admit though that the rest of the herd will tuck into everything given to them! Sometimes it's just not easy being elderly....
 
Thanks Sarah, when you say oats do you mean like porridge oats? mallethead

He's an indoor piggie and he always has a ton of hay in his cage, so no chance of him getting cold (i hope!) and he has his mate Patch to keep him snuggly!

I just worry about him too much i think :red
 
Thanks for that Wiebke, not sure how i haven't seen that thread before mallethead , Frisky is always clean, his back end isn't smelly or wet so thats a good thing :)
 
Yes, I did mean porridge oats. They don't have any added salt and sugar. You could give a whole wheat cereal to help fatten a piggie, but they do have additives in.

Sarah
 
Still not happy with my little old man, so off to see my friend/rodentologist this evening, think the vet may have missed something :{


here he is eating his corn this morning
 

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Beetroot is very good for getting weight on piggies, as long as it is raw and you don't give the leaves (one or two leaves are ok), i have also used broad bran fed dry.

Ali xx
 
I'll have to give beetroot a try, thanks ali!

ok so she had a look in his mouth and she is a bit concerned with his back teeth, one side is slighly longer than the other side, (no sign off any abcess) she didnt do anything today but wants to keep an eye on it, also I'm giving him daktarin twice a day for a week just in case there is any infection starting (he loves the stuff, he snatched the syringe off me earlier :))) she also checked for any lumps and bumps and he seems fine in that respect
 
its been over a month since ive posted about Frisky, and we've both been practically living with my rodentologist!

He has a "parasitic invasion of the bloodstream", oral thrush, and the poor boy has also had his teeth trimmed twice because he's not been eating properly. :(

He is on Panacur (10%) 0.05ml a day for 10 days (as per Vedra's instruction), one Dida tablet a day, 0.5ml of Metatone a day and also Daktarin 3 times daily. If theres no improvement he will be off to the CCT. i have seen a slight improvement in him the past 48 hours (he started the Panacur monday) he seems alot brighter and he has been eating :)


Please send some healing vibes our way, i don't know what i'd do if i lost my little old man :(
 
oh bless you both, massive vibes being sent for the old lad xxxxxxxx

he is beautiful by the way x x)
 
i've come to the decision to have Frisky put to sleep, i've seen no improvement in him at all, and i can't see him suffer anymore 8...
 
Very sorry to hear that things have reached this point but he's your boy and I'm sure you know what's best for him. It sounds like you've done everything you could. Big hugs x
 
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