Hunched Piggie With Weight Loss

[Vicky Grundy]

Hi
I have 11 piggies 10 of which are in great health. I have a large rescue pig called t bone who is sitting all hunched and has lost quite a bit of weight. He's going to the vets tomorrow evening but has any one got any advice. He's eating and drinking plenty xx

 

[gizzy]

hi, could be tummy parasites , ? diabitis ? stress ? or any number of things. Would be wise to take a poo sample and ask
vet to do a broad spectum poo analisis .

good luck, l hope T bone only has somthing minor wrong

let us know how he gets on !

 

[gizzy]

PS. if you could get a wee sample, vet could do a basic diaditis test

 

[Wiebke]

Hi
I have 11 piggies 10 of which are in great health. I have a large rescue pig called t bone who is sitting all hunched and has lost quite a bit of weight. He's going to the vets tomorrow evening but has any one got any advice. He's eating and drinking plenty xx

It sounds like he is in pain internally; only a vet visit will bring clarity as to what is going on exactly, so it is good that you have booked him in already. Weight loss is often associated with pain, either through impacting on the appetite or by the nature of the problem.

If necessary, please start topping up with syringe feed, as watching a guinea pig eat can be deceptive. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

 

[Vicky Grundy]

It sounds like he is in pain internally; only a vet visit will bring clarity as to what is going on exactly, so it is good that you have booked him in already. Weight loss is often associated with pain, either through impacting on the appetite or by the nature of the problem.

If necessary, please start topping up with syringe feed, as watching a guinea pig eat can be deceptive. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Sorry for such a late reply I've been struggling to get back on the site. T bone went to the vets and had a check. With him being a rescue so no real guarantee on age he first checked his teeth. He (the vet) said his teeth are great and he's only a couple of years old which is what we thought. He checked his stomach which he said isn't impacted which is great. He said the first thing to do was give him an injection to kill all the bacteria in his body, but give him medicine to replace the good bacteria (t bone did not like this)! He also gave me rescue stuff to syringe into him quite a few times a day. I brought him home and tried this expecting a big fuss but he loves it! Pretty sure I could just put it on a plate and he'd eat it yum yum! The vet gave us a syringe of meds for the next 5 days also. All this for only £17.50. A small price to pay if it works.....which i think it might as just now when I've come to bed he's asleep but not hunched up. He's not totally relaxed leg out but his body is totally down which I'm guessing means the pain is going . It was t bones first visit to the vet and David the vet congratulated us on the most original name . Wait till I take my other guinea pig.....David (free treatment if I say we nemed him after him)? x

 

[Wiebke]

Sorry for such a late reply I've been struggling to get back on the site. T bone went to the vets and had a check. With him being a rescue so no real guarantee on age he first checked his teeth. He (the vet) said his teeth are great and he's only a couple of years old which is what we thought. He checked his stomach which he said isn't impacted which is great. He said the first thing to do was give him an injection to kill all the bacteria in his body, but give him medicine to replace the good bacteria (t bone did not like this)! He also gave me rescue stuff to syringe into him quite a few times a day. I brought him home and tried this expecting a big fuss but he loves it! Pretty sure I could just put it on a plate and he'd eat it yum yum! The vet gave us a syringe of meds for the next 5 days also. All this for only £17.50. A small price to pay if it works.....which i think it might as just now when I've come to bed he's asleep but not hunched up. He's not totally relaxed leg out but his body is totally down which I'm guessing means the pain is going . It was t bones first visit to the vet and David the vet congratulated us on the most original name . Wait till I take my other guinea pig.....David (free treatment if I say we nemed him after him)? x

I hope that the antibiotic is going to work, and it is good that your vet did give you probiotics to counter the impact on the guts. Please carefully read our syringe feeding guide as to how much and how you need to feed. it is also giving you lots of tips on how to prepare the syringe etc. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
It is important that you weigh T-Bones daily at the same time to make sure that he is eating enough and to see how much you need to top him up with the recovery formula. Healthy guinea pigs should be weighed weekly, so you can notice more quickly when they develop a health problem and can ideally address it before it becomes an emergency.
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

If this doesn't work, T-Bones will need a scan to check for problems in the bladder/kidneys or for an internal lump.