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Help please - guinea losing weight!

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Hi we are relatively new guinea owners and have 2 rescue guineas, Billy our boar who we have had almost a year! and Willow our sow who we have had about 6 months. Billy is naturally alot smaller than her. We are convinced though that Billy is losing weight! he drinks quite alot, and eats well but doesnt seem to gain weight, no sign of worms or diaorrhea!
just weighed them, she is 987 g and he is 666g, any help or ideas? we are really worried!:(
 
My youngest is 8 months and weighs 800g but she has been anything between 700 and 800 over the last 4 weeks. If you are really concerned that there might be something wrong then you need to get to the vets asap. I would weigh him everyday or at least 2-3 times a week to make sure his weight isn't dropping as well
 
Hi we are relatively new guinea owners and have 2 rescue guineas, Billy our boar who we have had almost a year! and Willow our sow who we have had about 6 months. Billy is naturally alot smaller than her. We are convinced though that Billy is losing weight! he drinks quite alot, and eats well but doesnt seem to gain weight, no sign of worms or diaorrhea!
just weighed them, she is 987 g and he is 666g, any help or ideas? we are really worried!:(


Hi have you been weighing him regularly if so how much has he lost in the past weeks? Regular weighing will let you know if there's a problem as they're very good at hiding things :{

Has he a wet chin? sometimes this can mean dental problems, for peace of mind i'd be going straight to the vets and getting a good check over on Billy :)

Is your vet piggie savvy? that's one thing that will really help too.........if you're unsure call ahead when making an appointment, also you can check our recommended vets list and see if there's one in your area. If not put up your general area and i'm sure someone will help.
Best of luck with little Billy xoxoxoxoxoxo
 
That much weight loss needs to be seen by vet asap! It can have many causes. Prey animals are very good at masking illness; the signs are subtle. That is why weighing regularly is so important.

Is Billy trying to eat but can't chew well or doesn't he have an appetite at all? Then that would point to a problem with his teeth. How are his poos? Has he lost so much weight suddenly or slowly?

It would be good if you started hand feeding Billy, as often as you can, to keep him going. The more food you get into him the better his chances of making it. Little but often (if necessary round the clock) does it. Critical Care is a powder you make up with water, but you can also feed mushed up hay based pellets. Make sure that he also gets vitamin C (dissolve 1/8 of a supermarket tablet in a bit of water and syringe that).

Please weigh your piggies weekly and an ill piggy daily so you can control the food intake.
http://www.guinealynx.info/anorexia.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html
 
thanks for all your help! we havent been weighing Billy so no idea about any weight loss! we spoke to vets earlier and they said keep an eye on him but rang again just and have booked in to get him checked in the morning! better safe than sorry.

Cant check how much he is pooing but all poos in cage from both guineas are fine.. no wetness under chin and he is still wanting to eat and drink, seems to be breathing louder through his nose?!:(
 
Better have him checked through - 660g for an adult/nearly adult boar is VERY low weight!
 
Good news! Biily is very poorly but should be ok..his teeth had spikes on which meant he was in pain but couldnt chew food or swallow so he s basically been starving! he s back at vets on mon for op to take spikes off! in meantime he has critical care food, and matacalm for pain! daughter very relieved and we are watching him carefully:)
 
Please weigh Billy daily until he is eating fully and gaining weight again to make sure that he is getting enough food in him. You can also give him pureed veg and baby food that doesn't contain potatoes or meat.

From them on, you need to weight your piggies daily to spot any problems early on; weight loss, either sudden or a slow decline is often one of the safest indicators that things are wrong. Tooth trouble can come back.
http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html

Be aware that many piggies will be off food after dental treatment and need regular hand feeding; he'll need about 120ml to maintain his weight. It can be a bit of a struggle; little but often tends to work best.
http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

Best of luck!
 
Thanks for all that guidance and help. Billy was 654g yesterday! since vet visit and hand feeding critical care he weighed in at 691g this morning:)) Quite a relief he is going in the right direction.. op tomorrow! so hopefully on the mend but will now weigh weekly from now on for both8;)
 
Do you know how they will do the Op? Glad to he's gaining my Fred had spikes on his teeth. My vet tried to do it without GA unfortunately Fred had other idea's.

He ended up giving him Diazepam, and doping him up but it ment he didn't have to have a GA.

I found he was eating right away, and he was at his lowest weight the night I got him back at 977 grams, he had an intial increase of 997 grams and then for the next 4 days he lost weight 15 grams in total, now he's back to his correct weight.

Good Luck for your boy, sending get healthy vibes! xx
 
awwwwwwwww keeping all paws crossed for the little man xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
One thing i always used to do was send in my own foods that the piggie liked.......and then when picking up i always had a snack pack ready to immediately give a treat as soon as i held him (this was our piggie who had major dental probs for quite awhile)
Great idea to weigh regularly you really know what's happening, you can see a pattern........ often it will go up or down 30-50g in a week! but you know you're own piggies so you'll see what's up.
Give Billy some more loving kisses and loves from us all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
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