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Helping a piggy gain weight

Suze5202

Suze5202

Junior Guinea Pig
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My Hetty pig was taken to the vets on Thursday after I noticed a very mild head tilt. I also noticed she had lost quite a bit of weight. When I got her to the vets she was diagnosed with an inner ear infection but has lost 400g since she was last at the vet. We’re treating the infection and she seems much brighter and the tilt is reducing. She’s her usual happy self and is eating and drinking as usual. I’m also giving her Recovery Plus twice a day to encourage her to gain weight. She’s put on 40g since the vet visit but I’m wondering how much weight gain is too much too fast and what foods (other than nuggets and treats full of crap) I can give her to help her gain the weight she needs? Hetty is four and a half and my most senior pig and I don’t want to do anything that will make her worse.
 
PS her teeth were checked and they’re all fine and she had a gob full of food - not impressed when the vet started trying to open her mouth! 🤣
 
Suze5202 said:
My Hetty pig was taken to the vets on Thursday after I noticed a very mild head tilt. I also noticed she had lost quite a bit of weight. When I got her to the vets she was diagnosed with an inner ear infection but has lost 400g since she was last at the vet. We’re treating the infection and she seems much brighter and the tilt is reducing. She’s her usual happy self and is eating and drinking as usual. I’m also giving her Recovery Plus twice a day to encourage her to gain weight. She’s put on 40g since the vet visit but I’m wondering how much weight gain is too much too fast and what foods (other than nuggets and treats full of crap) I can give her to help her gain the weight she needs? Hetty is four and a half and my most senior pig and I don’t want to do anything that will make her worse.
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Hi! I am very sorry for your problems. How much is Hetty weighing now?

Please continue to offer top-up syringe feed; in a bowl if she is eating on her own. Be aware that at her age she may likely never recover the full weight loss as she is at the age where a guinea pig comes out of the best (and heaviest) years in its life to the age where ageing guinea pigs naturally lose the ability to put weigh back on quickly and gradually lose any extra weight and some condition.

You can find tips on how to check whether your piggy is a good weight for its size (works for any age) and what weight boosting foods are safe to give in this guide here. Generally if a piggy is truly underweight it will regain some that loss pretty quickly in initially. Any loss that comes from fat reserves won't necessarily go back on. Be patient. it can take some time after a serious illness/operation for the weight to come back but you need not worry if your piggy is bright, stable and active with a healthy appetite. Keep on weighing daily at the same time instead of the usual weekly weigh-in and checkover.
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

All the best for a good recovery!
 
My scales aren’t the most accurate as they’re not built for disgruntled sows but she’s gone from 572g on Wednesday to 630g today. We’ve been advised to keep monitoring as the worst case is kidney failure unfortunately.
 
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