Hi everyone..I'm pavani and I'm from India I'm a student.I own two Guinea pigs both are one year old ..I used to feed them a lot of veggies and some dried grass...its very difficult to get hay here..the male one suddenly stopped eating 15 days back..lost weight. he ate only pellets soaked in water..so I took him to the vet..his weight was 350g then.the other one(female) is perfectly healthy.she weighs around 950 g ..vet suggested me to get Timothy hay..so I again checked for hay..I've found some plants which looked like timothy.the female ate it.but the male one didn't touch.but he is active and he slowly started eating veggies again but picky.only cucumbers , tomatoes and wet pellets.an half an hour back I found his poop sticking to his bum..it's really difficult to get hay here and it costs too much in Indian currency(Amazon)..more than my pocket money..please suggest me what should I do now.the vet said he is absolutely normal let him eat whatever he wants to.i can't send them back to the pet store cuz no one else raise them here and that store is awful..
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Guinea pig not eating .
- Thread starter Pavani
- Start date
Betsy
Anniversary Herd
Welcome to our friendly forum! You need to start syringe feeding him. The guide is really easy to follow. I had never syringe fed a piggy before one of my boys had a life saving operation 3 months ago.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Good luck and let us know how he gets on. It is not absolutely normal for a piggy to stop eating. Piggies need to eat all the time. A piggy that is not eating is a dying piggy.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Good luck and let us know how he gets on. It is not absolutely normal for a piggy to stop eating. Piggies need to eat all the time. A piggy that is not eating is a dying piggy.
D
DM030819
@Pavani I understand how hard it is to find a vet in India, we have a few forum members from India.
It sounds like he has dental issues, which needs treatment by a good guinea pig vet. If you are not able to find one then the kindest thing that you could do is to have him euthanised before he starves to death. 350g is tiny for a guinea pig, and he could be suffering already.
I'm so sorry. He only chance he has is to have his teeth sorted out. You may be able to find a vet who will speak to a vet from another country to ask for advise, but due to his size he may not survive any anaesthetic.
It sounds like he has dental issues, which needs treatment by a good guinea pig vet. If you are not able to find one then the kindest thing that you could do is to have him euthanised before he starves to death. 350g is tiny for a guinea pig, and he could be suffering already.
I'm so sorry. He only chance he has is to have his teeth sorted out. You may be able to find a vet who will speak to a vet from another country to ask for advise, but due to his size he may not survive any anaesthetic.
Hi Jaycey...I took him to the vet with a thought of dental issues and asked if the dental surgery available..he said "It's available but his teeth are normal.its not a problem with his teeth..just give him some time."he is eating some veggies and pellets (wet soaked)..he eats almost every 3 hourly ..fresh wet soaked pellets (8-10 pellets..today he ate 16 at a time in the morning.. ) and one cucumber piece(not complete piece)...and a half tomato and some rice in lunch...he is active ..he asks for his food and water every 3 hrly...he will even try to come out of his cage and run after me till I give him his food(does seem like he is hungry) unlike the other one which is calm and just waits...
Hi Betsy...it's not like he is not eating at all..he is eating almost 4 times during day.(3hrly) and during night I find his food plate empty in the morning...he used to eat a lot of veggies...like completely veggies..he stopped eating them..so I begin pellets and took him to vet..he started eating only wet soaked pellets..now he is eating some veggies..cucumber and tomatoes pellets and some rice.he is not eating any leafy vegetables or grass
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Eriathwen
Senior Guinea Pig
Welcome! Do you have any fresh grass near you that you can collect that hasn't been sprayed with anything bad, not near a road etc? Hay should make up to about 80% of their diet and helps keep their guts moving the way they should, when they slow down from lack of hay it can make them feel poorly and not want to eat very much. In the wild they would eat grass but as most people don't have access to the amount of fresh grass you would need to keep them healthy, hay is used instead.
Do you have any livestock feed stores near where you live? They will sell hay at a much cheaper price compared to buying online. You may even be able to buy a small amount directly from a farmer if you live near one.
Corn/maize husks and leaves are high in fibre and can be added to their diet, they are a species of grass so a similar fibre content to hay and may be more easily accessed.
I hope you manage to find something for them, you obviously care a great deal about them
Do you have any livestock feed stores near where you live? They will sell hay at a much cheaper price compared to buying online. You may even be able to buy a small amount directly from a farmer if you live near one.
Corn/maize husks and leaves are high in fibre and can be added to their diet, they are a species of grass so a similar fibre content to hay and may be more easily accessed.
I hope you manage to find something for them, you obviously care a great deal about them
I used to feed them a lot of grass which he used to eat..now he is not eating that..so I brought hay(used for cattle) from nearby live stock to give a try...which he dint even touch..so I found some plants which looked like Timothy based on what I searched online..I gave him that too..he dint eat that.and the other one is like "I'm getting different types of grass everyday.. wow!"Welcome! Do you have any fresh grass near you that you can collect that hasn't been sprayed with anything bad, not near a road etc? Hay should make up to about 80% of their diet and helps keep their guts moving the way they should, when they slow down from lack of hay it can make them feel poorly and not want to eat very much. In the wild they would eat grass but as most people don't have access to the amount of fresh grass you would need to keep them healthy, hay is used instead.
Do you have any livestock feed stores near where you live? They will sell hay at a much cheaper price compared to buying online. You may even be able to buy a small amount directly from a farmer if you live near one.
Corn/maize husks and leaves are high in fibre and can be added to their diet, they are a species of grass so a similar fibre content to hay and may be more easily accessed.
I hope you manage to find something for them, you obviously care a great deal about them
Please don't feed your Guinea pig rice, it isn't good for them. You really need to get him eating grass / hay if you can. Look at the feeding guides on this forum if you are not sure what to feed him. Fresh coriander is a good veggie to feed.
And
Yeah the pet store at first told me to feed rice and cabbage leaves to them..they seemed to love rice but not cabbage.so I continued to give them some rice.its like they won't touch anything else till I give them rice during lunch hours
HeatherW
Adult Guinea Pig
It doesn't matter whether he's eating or not. He's lost a lot of weight and is struggling to eat, so it's important to syringe feed to give him the nutrients he needs and to ensure his digestive system doesn't shut down.
I have my fingers crossed for you and your piggy!
D
DM030819
@Pavani Please do not feed him rice. Their digestive system's aren't designed for starchy food.
Can he eat hard food like a carrot? Eating only softened pellets suggests that he cannot bite down on hard food which is a sign of dental issues. Guinea pig teeth aren't like dogs and cats so if your vet is not experienced with guinea pigs then they may not know perfect teeth from poor teeth
If your vet is certain it is not teeth issues then they need to find out what it is. It could be a digestive issue from the different foods he has been given.
Are you weighing him regularly? Is he losing weight? If he is not eating enough then you need to syringe feed him. Do you have access to porridge oats? Some pigs who struggle with regular food can eat them because they're small and easy to eat.
Can he eat hard food like a carrot? Eating only softened pellets suggests that he cannot bite down on hard food which is a sign of dental issues. Guinea pig teeth aren't like dogs and cats so if your vet is not experienced with guinea pigs then they may not know perfect teeth from poor teeth
If your vet is certain it is not teeth issues then they need to find out what it is. It could be a digestive issue from the different foods he has been given.
Are you weighing him regularly? Is he losing weight? If he is not eating enough then you need to syringe feed him. Do you have access to porridge oats? Some pigs who struggle with regular food can eat them because they're small and easy to eat.
Yeah..I'm giving him pellets with oats(wet soaked).some one suggested me to give oats to help him put some weight on...both my guinea pigs are never interested in carrots.they love cucumber and water gourds tomatoes and leafy vegetables...I looked for other vets today..I got one.i will take him to the new vet tomorrow..
I'm taking him to a new vet tomorrow..today I took him to some new vet after a jrny of an hour on scoott and it's a waste.(found out that vet doesn't treat Guinea pigs).I talked to some other vet.he said he is specialist in guinea pig care.and that will be a 2 hr jrny early in the morning..hope he will treat better..
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Hope all goes well tomorrow
HeatherW
Adult Guinea Pig
Hope you get the results you need! All the best for tomorrow.
Hope all goes well tomorrow and you can get your piggy well. x
I've had them since one year 2 months..got them as a birthday present..the male looked obviously smaller than the female right from the beginning..he used to look like around 500g..today his weight is 320g.and the female weighed 750 g today.Welcome to the forum
How long have you had your guinea pigs? Do you know how much the male weighed before he started loosing weight?
Tangle
Junior Guinea Pig
So you got them 2 months ago? And was it the pet shop who told you they were 1 year old?
Did you actually weigh them when you got them? (Your English is very good but I’m not sure if your 500g weight is a measurement or more of a best guess from looking).
We have two female guinea pigs. When we got them the young one was 8 months old and weighed about 700g, so I’m starting to wonder whether you have 2 very petite pigs or whether they were actually much younger than the shop told you when you got them.
Have either of them been neutered?
Did you actually weigh them when you got them? (Your English is very good but I’m not sure if your 500g weight is a measurement or more of a best guess from looking).
We have two female guinea pigs. When we got them the young one was 8 months old and weighed about 700g, so I’m starting to wonder whether you have 2 very petite pigs or whether they were actually much younger than the shop told you when you got them.
Have either of them been neutered?
Can someoneno
No.i got them 1yr 2 months back exactly..500g is my best guess ..
Hello people.My guniea pig passed away on 18th..I tried my best even in the last minute..It was very painful to see him dying..I took two days to come out of that pain..I went to the pet store and bought a small cavy home (can't see my other guinea pig alone)..I don't know the sex of that baby ...the petstore said that it is too young to identify sex..I named him (or her) TYSON..I want him to grow fast.wish him good luck frnds..
Betsy
Anniversary Herd
Sorry for your loss. Don't put your new piggy in with your other piggy until you know the sex. How old is he/she?
HeatherW
Adult Guinea Pig
Sorry for your loss. You tried your best. 
Keep us updated on your new addition, but as Betsy says, best not to put your two together until you're sure of the sex. I've heard guinea pigs can breed from only three weeks of age! There are some helpful guides here (https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/illustrated-sexing-guide-for-all-ages.156297/) and if you're able to put up photos, some experts would be able to help you identify the sex correctly.
Keep us updated on your new addition, but as Betsy says, best not to put your two together until you're sure of the sex. I've heard guinea pigs can breed from only three weeks of age! There are some helpful guides here (https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/illustrated-sexing-guide-for-all-ages.156297/) and if you're able to put up photos, some experts would be able to help you identify the sex correctly.
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So sorry for your loss - you did all you possibly could.
I think it’s wonderful that you are thinking about your surviving piggy even when you are grieving.
You have time for Tyson to settle and be sure of whether you have a boy or girl before thinking about bonding.
Remember to look after yourself as you are grieving
I think it’s wonderful that you are thinking about your surviving piggy even when you are grieving.
You have time for Tyson to settle and be sure of whether you have a boy or girl before thinking about bonding.
Remember to look after yourself as you are grieving
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Betsy
Anniversary Herd
Aw he looks such a cutie next to your other piggie!
Betsy
Anniversary Herd
That looks like a boy to me too. Can you feel a penis ridge above the penis? FEEL VERY GENTLY! Females don't have this. Others will come along later I'm sure.