Guinea Pig - Underweight / unexplained weigh loss HELP

[happybunny]

Hi,

We got Rascal a year ago from the rehoming section of Pets at Home. He was said to be an unwanted gift and 6 months old.

He weighed just 680g.

We wanted to get him neutered but the vet advised to leave is a month to see if his weught increased. It did by around 50g so we had him neutered and later bonded him with a group of 4 girls.

His weight never increased after that but he seemed healthy and happy.

In January he started to loose weigh and dropped to 600g. We took him to the vet but they could find nothing wrong. They tried to take a blood sample but due to his size found it impossible.

We managed to get a bit of weight on him and hoped it was "on of those things". A month later he dropped again and had very loose motions. He was treated for this and over a few weeks started to recover. He then showed signs of a chest infection and vitamin c deficiency and lost weight again.

He is not on metacam, fibreplax and vitamin c supplement but we are still struggling with his weight. He is seperated from hisfemale friends to ensure he has no problem accessing food. He is getting veg 2 to 3 times a day to encourage him to eat. In the main the veg and his normal food is been eaten at what I would consider a good rate but his weightis still a huge problem. Today I weighed him and he is 590g.

I have no idea what to do. I would take him to the vets but I know they are also lost.

Please note he has had his teeth checked and no issues were found.

Please help

 

[flintstones]

Hi There,

I'm sorry to hear about your little pig. How is his eating and drinking habits?

Where about's are you?

 

[Lizzie]

obvious one...have you wormed him?

 

[Wiebke]

Where are you located? It might help if you could ask your vet whether he would refer you to an exotics vet/guinea pig specialist.

Boars can have late neutering post op complications even months after the op. He could have gut adhesion problems. the symptoms are quite similar to what my Hywel had that weeks after his own op this spring. He developed a swelling at the back of his testicles which is inoperable due the position and he is on lifelong metacam. I was lucky to have zithromax handy by sheer chance; that is a very strong antibiotic against abscesses and bad infections. With that and dedicated ahnd feeding, we managed to pull him through. He now leads a happy and normal life and after weeks of struggling with his weight, has become a real porker.

Please hand feed Rascal with mushed pellets or Critical Care. Add a pinch of probiotic and syringe him 1/8 of a normal human vitamin C tablet that has been dissolved in 1ml of water for best effect.

For more info on zithromax or advice on post neutering complications, your vet could ring this guinea pig specialist with lots of neutering experience:
Simon Maddock/Northampton http://www.catandrabbit.co.uk/contact_us.htm

Here is also more information on neutering and possible complications:
http://www.cavyspirit.com/neutering.htm

I am very sorry about your problems and hope that you can get to the bottom of them!

 

[Wiebke]

Where are you located? It might help if you could ask your vet whether he would refer you to an exotics vet/guinea pig specialist.

Boars can have late neutering post op complications even months after the op. He could have gut adhesion problems. The symptoms are quite similar to what my Hywel had that weeks after his own op this spring. He developed a band of swelling at the back of his testicles which is inoperable due the position and he is on lifelong metacam. I was lucky to have zithromax handy by sheer chance; it is a strong antibiotic against nasty abscesses and bad infections. With that and dedicated hand feeding, we managed to pull him through the critical weekend and get the swelling down, so it is no longer touching the guts. He now leads a happy and normal life and after weeks of struggling with his weight has become a real porker.

Please hand feed Rascal with mushed pellets or Critical Care several times a day, as often and as much as you can get into him when he has a weight loss episode. Add a pinch of probiotic and syringe him 1/8 of a normal human vitamin C tablet that has been dissolved in 1ml of water for best effect.
http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

For more info on zithromax (azithromycin) or advice on post neutering complications, your vet could ring this guinea pig specialist with lots of neutering experience who has researched the use of this antibiotic, which has saved piggies' and bunnies' lives where other antibiotics have failed. Simon Maddock/Northampton http://www.catandrabbit.co.uk/contact_us.htm

Here is also more information on neutering and possible complications:
http://www.cavyspirit.com/neutering.htm

I am very sorry about your problems and hope that you can get to the bottom of them!

 

[happybunny]

Thank you for your replies.

Flintstones - he seems to be eating little and often. At least 1 to 2 bowl of mixed veg eat day and a normal amount of pellet food. He seems to be drinking normally. We are in Leeds.

Lizzie - Yes we have wormed him. We started when we first noticed a problem.

Wiebke - I trust my vet with small animals and have been through a lot with them over the past few years with many bunnies and guine pigs. They have given Rascal all the examination he could have both while awake and under anethetic. His gut has been checked an awful lot due to loose droppings. I will ask about the gut adhesion when I go (probably early next week).