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Help For A Spoiled Guinea Pig

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Nutmeg1

New Born Pup
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Hi,

We went on vacation for 2 weeks and left Nutmeg with a friend. Instead of giving her her usual pellets and timothy hay they spoiled her with lettuce, apples, cucumbers and some oranges. When we came back we noticed she lost lots of weight. Also her poops looked like rat droppings not what we are use to seeing. She has been home for 6 days now and she refuses to eat her timothy hay and pellets. She is hardly eating and putting her nose up to the timothy hay and pellets. Any suggestions to get her to eat her regular food again? She is a little over 1 year old

Thanks,
Gary
 
I agree with above. It sounds like she is not getting enough food and that something is causing that. Did she have jay and pellets available while you were away and did she eat them? If not it sounds like a tooth or pain problem. She needs to see a vet asap
 
I agree with the above. Please take her to see the vet as soon as possible. For a piggy to refuse to eat hay there has to be something medical going on.
 
Nutmeg1 said:
Hi,

We went on vacation for 2 weeks and left Nutmeg with a friend. Instead of giving her her usual pellets and timothy hay they spoiled her with lettuce, apples, cucumbers and some oranges. When we came back we noticed she lost lots of weight. Also her poops looked like rat droppings not what we are use to seeing. She has been home for 6 days now and she refuses to eat her timothy hay and pellets. She is hardly eating and putting her nose up to the timothy hay and pellets. Any suggestions to get her to eat her regular food again? She is a little over 1 year old

Thanks,
Gary
Click to expand...

Hi! Please see a vet as soon as possible and have her thoroughly checked over, including her back teeth!
UK: Guinea Pig Vet Locator
Some other countries: Guinea Lynx :: GL's Vet List

Hay makes over 80% of the daily food intake, so if she is not eating that, she will inevitably lose weight very quickly and have funny poos. You need to step in with syringe feeding asap in order to keep the guts from closing down and to help stabilising her weight again.
Not Eating And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

This is not a spoiled, but a very ill guinea pig!
 
Does she get regular veg and occasional fruit in her daily diet as well?

Sorry to hear she is poorly, good luck at the vets and hope she gets better soon :)
 
It sounds like her digestive system is upset, and/or a slight case of bloat. Unfortunately it doesn't fix itself so she'll need to got to the vet.
 
I agree with the above- I would not assume she is spoiled, it sounds medical to me. She needs a good going over (including her teeth.) Guinea pigs won't starve themselves to death to hold out for treats, but it's possible that the switch from her normal diet has caused a digestive or dental issue that need to be addressed.
 
Amongst other veg l give mine a good helping of red pepper most days! It is one of the best scorses of vitamin C = 120 mg per 100gm
I am with the others ! Abolutly no to any form of supplements
 
Thanks everyone for their help. We took your advice and we started syringe feeding her that evening. The Vet was able to schedule Nutmeg in on Saturday. The Dr looked her over and determined that she had digestive issues. Her teeth were fine and she checked out okay. She prescribed probiotics and critical care. It looked like she was getting better and she started to poop more. Than today she took a turn for the worst today and she passed away tonight. Our daughter is very sad.

If you are going to have a friend watch your loved one please make sure they know how important sticking to a healthy diet is. Just because they said they had guinea pigs in the past don't take their word and remind them what your pig eats. And most importantly your approved treat list!
 
Oh I am so sorry for your loss! The most important thing is not to blame yourself for going on holiday and leaving your piggy with someone you thought you could trust. Unfortunately these things do happen. I am fortunate that I have ex piggy breeders over the road to look after mine whenever I go away but not everyone is that lucky. I have had to use another neighbour in the past and have left strict instructions on what to feed and when. You never know if the instructions are being followed correctly though you just have to hope for the best.

Your piggy is popcorning free and playing zoomies at the Rainbow Bridge with her new friends.
 
Nutmeg1 said:
Thanks everyone for their help. We took your advice and we started syringe feeding her that evening. The Vet was able to schedule Nutmeg in on Saturday. The Dr looked her over and determined that she had digestive issues. Her teeth were fine and she checked out okay. She prescribed probiotics and critical care. It looked like she was getting better and she started to poop more. Than today she took a turn for the worst today and she passed away tonight. Our daughter is very sad.

If you are going to have a friend watch your loved one please make sure they know how important sticking to a healthy diet is. Just because they said they had guinea pigs in the past don't take their word and remind them what your pig eats. And most importantly your approved treat list!
Click to expand...

I am ever so sorry. It is always a leap of faith when you leave your beloved pets in somebody else's care. All too often, you can only find out the hard way whether somebody is as good as they say or you assume. You are not the first one who has lost their piggy by boarding them with a private acquaintance that has failed to live up to expectations. It is a very upsetting experience, as I know myself! :(

You are most welcome to post a tribute to Nutmeg in our Rainbow Bridge section if you feel that it would help you and your daughter to comes to terms with it and to leave a more tangible memorial for her.

Please do not blame yourself too badly; it is one of these things that you can only find out the hard way. Nutmeg has been loved and well cared for with you.

Please consider boarding with a licensed pet boarding service or looking after at your home with a licensed pet service if you have one in your area that is willing to look after small animals. I leave my piggies with a local pet service and have made good experiences. It is not easy to find people that are reliable, but if they are licensed, then you should be on safe ground. They come before to see what needs done and ask pertinent questions or you go and visit them and their premises beforehand, if it is boarding.
Tips For Organising Your Holiday Absence

I always leave a detailed list of what to feed daily and the first meal ready chopped up in the fridge, so they can see what amounts I am talking about; including my vet contacts and my own contacts.
Tips For Organising Your Holiday Absence
 
I am so sorry for your loss. x
 
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