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Guinea pig not acting like he used to

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ash231421

Junior Guinea Pig
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My guinea pig 2 or 3 days ago started acting abnormal. He is always the one to come running to the hutch door and almost falling out while begging for food. He is also the more hungry one and usually spends more time eating than his brother. Recently he's had less enthusiasm to eat and doesn't do his usual stuff. Yesterday evening I did see him eating hay and drinking water and the same thing today. But he just doesn't want to leave his hutch and run around the garden with his brother. My mum noticed that all he does is go behind the hutch and sit there and just not move around much if he was put outside. I picked him up today to see if I could see anything that was out of the ordinary but he just looked the same to me. I'm not sure if it's just me but I thought he seemed a little lighter than before and I think this may be due to him not eating his veggies as much as before. He only took nibbles from the pepper I gave him this morning and refused the kale. I think his fur may have looked slightly drier/more scruffy? He's also not old, born in June 2017.
 
These are all big warning signs that something may be wrong with your piggie. Please see a vet as soon as possible to find out what is up. Guineas can go downhill fast if they are not eating. In the meantime, you can weigh your pig to find out if weight is being lost, and top up feed with critical care or mushed up pellets to make sure food is still moving through his system. There is a wonderful syringe feeding guide on this forum, sorry I can't seem to link it, but I'm sure someone else will be along who can!
Good luck and I hope your piggie is OK.
 
ash231421 said:
My guinea pig 2 or 3 days ago started acting abnormal. He is always the one to come running to the hutch door and almost falling out while begging for food. He is also the more hungry one and usually spends more time eating than his brother. Recently he's had less enthusiasm to eat and doesn't do his usual stuff. Yesterday evening I did see him eating hay and drinking water and the same thing today. But he just doesn't want to leave his hutch and run around the garden with his brother. My mum noticed that all he does is go behind the hutch and sit there and just not move around much if he was put outside. I picked him up today to see if I could see anything that was out of the ordinary but he just looked the same to me. I'm not sure if it's just me but I thought he seemed a little lighter than before and I think this may be due to him not eating his veggies as much as before. He only took nibbles from the pepper I gave him this morning and refused the kale. I think his fur may have looked slightly drier/more scruffy? He's also not old, born in June 2017.
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Hi!

Please have your piggy vet checked ASAP!
These are all red flag symptoms that point to something serious going on.

Bring your piggies indoors for closer monitoring and round the clock support feeding care.
Switch from weighing once weekly to weighing daily at the same time in order to monitor the food intake. Keep in mind that over 80% of what guinea pigs eat should be hay, which you cannot control by eye; veg should make only 10% and pellets 5% of the daily food intake, so your guinea pigs can lose a lot more weight very quickly if you do not weigh!

Please read (and ask your mother to also read) the advice in this link here. It contains all our emergency resources and care advice to keep your piggies alive until you can see a vet ideally today as an emergency.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Weight - Monitoring and Management
 
Thanks for your advice, I just noticed him try and eat some cucumber. It's about the only thing he makes a real effort to eat. He seems to bite different areas of the tougher outer edge before he breaks into the softer middle. This makes me wonder if it's teeth/mouth related.
 
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