Guinea pig with diabetes

[Nellythepig]

Hi everyone
I’ve just been told that my guinea pig has diabetes. The vet says it’s very rare and never come across it before. She said that she will have to have medication in the form of tablets for the rest of her life. I am just waiting for a call back to find out how much they cost. Does anyone know the cost of the tablets and how on earth you give a tablet to a guinea pig!

 

[Claire W]

Hi, How was your piggy diagnosed? I once had a piggy with diabetes and we managed it with diet changes only and she went in to remission within 6 weeks. We had to be careful with what we fed her for the rest of her life but Ellen lived a perfectly normal life. Ellen was diagnosed by the vet testing a sample of blood. What are the tablets your vet wants to prescribe?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone
I’ve just been told that my guinea pig has diabetes. The vet says it’s very rare and never come across it before. She said that she will have to have medication in the form of tablets for the rest of her life. I am just waiting for a call back to find out how much they cost. Does anyone know the cost of the tablets and how on earth you give a tablet to a guinea pig!

Hi!

How was your piggy diagnosed?

Diabetes is not as common as originally thought when it came on the scene for guinea pigs about a decade ago (their urine is naturally high in glucose, so there was a lot of misdiagnoses initially), but it is by no means as rare as your vet seems to think. These days, diabetes is usually diagnosed via a blood test.

In most cases diabetes can be controlled by fairly straight forward dietary changes and normalises again on its own after several months. Severe cases of diabetes are thankfully very rare and usually down to a genetic issue.

You can find our diet advice in the chapter for special needs diets: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[Nellythepig]

Hi, How was your piggy diagnosed? I once had a piggy with diabetes and we managed it with diet changes only and she went in to remission within 6 weeks. We had to be careful with what we fed her for the rest of her life but Ellen lived a perfectly normal life. What are the tablets your vet wants to prescribe?

She had a blood and urine test. Apparently normal levels are between 3 and 6 and nellys was 18. She said the best diet would be nuggets and fresh veg but that’s what she is being fed anyway so I assume she thinks the only way left is medication. I’m just waiting for a call to say what medication it will be.

 

[Nellythepig]

Hi!

How was your piggy diagnosed?

Diabetes is not as common as originally thought when it came on the scene for guinea pigs about a decade ago (their urine is naturally high in glucose, so there was a lot of misdiagnoses initially), but it is by no means as rare as your vet seems to think. These days, diabetes is usually diagnosed via a blood test.

In most cases diabetes can be controlled by fairly straight forward dietary changes and normalises again on its own after several months. Severe cases of diabetes are thankfully very rare and usually down to a genetic issue.

You can find our diet advice in the chapter for special needs diets: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

She had a blood and urine test. Apparently normal levels are between 3 and 6 and nellys was 18. She said the best diet would be nuggets and fresh veg but that’s what she is being fed anyway so I assume she thinks the only way left is medication. I’m just waiting for a call to say what medication it will be

 

[Claire W]

She had a blood and urine test. Apparently normal levels are between 3 and 6 and nellys was 18. She said the best diet would be nuggets and fresh veg but that’s what she is being fed anyway so I assume she thinks the only way left is medication. I’m just waiting for a call to say what medication it will be.

Ok, you need to limit the type of veg offered for example no sugary fruits / veg high in carbohydrate so nothing like carrots or sweet corn and no red pepper as red pepper contains more sugar than the other colours. The diet in the diet guide that @Wiebke has linked in is what I fed

 

[Wiebke]

She had a blood and urine test. Apparently normal levels are between 3 and 6 and nellys was 18. She said the best diet would be nuggets and fresh veg but that’s what she is being fed anyway so I assume she thinks the only way left is medication. I’m just waiting for a call to say what medication it will be

There are certain things in a veg diet and in your nuggets that you need to eliminate; you cannot feed everything.
PLEASE read the chapter in my link. It has worked for pretty much all diabetic piggies that we have seen over the years on the forum.

Can you tell us what you are actually feeding and in which quantities?