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Jasmine slowly losing weight

HeatherW

HeatherW

Adult Guinea Pig
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Jasmine is usually a pretty consistent ~1030g, but over the last month, her weight has been slowly decreasing. In October, she weighed between 1036g and 1054g, but since Wed 11 November, she's weighed 985g, 975g, 973g and today 947g. She'll be 4 years old in March.

Apart from some hair loss around her middle which I think was caused by lice again (I saw them on Jynx's hair), she's otherwise her normal sassy self. Jasmine last had a vet appointment on 6th October for cystitis (see thread: Is a wet bottom a sign of illness?) and had an ultrasound as part of that because she's also previously had ovarian cysts. She's now due to have one every 6 months (or sooner, if anything changes) as a check-up.

I'm going to switch to weighing her daily, but can anyone offer any advice as to what it might be? I'm going to book a vet appointment and just want to be prepared. I don't have any other concerns about her except this slow steady weight loss, so not sure what other helpful pointers I could give to a vet. She's not been below 1000g since I got her and I'm concerned her twice-daily 0.4ml of dog metacam could mask something.

The only thing that's changed is that I've reduced the amount of salad she eats to cut down on her calcium intake, but leaves are her favourite bit! Jasmine doesn't always eat all the pepper I give her. Could this be it? She'll be 4 years old in March.

Any advice? And thank you!
 
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An additional note, in case it's relevant, I found what looked like blood on a piece of cucumber last Tuesday (24 November). I checked her over and no sign of where it may have come from. It was next to the bars so wondered if someone may have been nipped. There's been no "blood" since, but could it be pointing to a teeth issue?

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Poor Jasmine, what a worry, do you think she might have caught her mouth on the bars? Hope the vet can find out what’s the problem x
 
Worth getting a vet check just to be sure, Jasmine looks a lot bigger than those weights you give, must be all the floof and attitude that make her look bigger!
I'll be taking our big pig Clover to the vet soon for an old lady health MOT, she's gradually shrunk since April from 1200g to about 1050g... she's not a big pig anymore, she's the smallest except for Tallulah skinny pig- she seems fine, she's just very slowly become a bit old lady bony at 4 and a half, but we'll be getting her a health check at the start of the holidays when we take Blod for her teethy check.
 
VickiA said:
I hate unexplained slow weight loss. I think it’s over to the vet to try to identify what’s going on. Hope all goes ok x
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So do I. I think the vets don't like it either it's a bit of well if this doesn't work that might do! I only wish they could tell us what's wrong. Patsy went for several check ups for weight loss and a scan nothing was found. Then she passed a HUGE bladder stone that nobody could have foreseen even the vet was surprised. Not saying that Jasmine has this of course.
 
Betsy said:
So do I. I think the vets don't like it either it's a bit of well if this doesn't work that might do! I only wish they could tell us what's wrong. Patsy went for several check ups for weight loss and a scan nothing was found. Then she passed a HUGE bladder stone that nobody could have foreseen even the vet was surprised. Not saying that Jasmine has this of course.
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Same with Holly. Been slowly losing weight. Then suddenly she stopped eating and went into stasis. Couldn’t identify the cause of the stasis. Seems to recover, gained weight then started losing it again. The only difference? The metacam had stopped. So by a process of elimination we have identified that it is pain. And close examination reveals that she has pain in her spine. So now, my little metacam junkie has her daily fix and is eating like a trooper again. It’s such a process of trial and error
 
VickiA said:
Same with Holly. Been slowly losing weight. Then suddenly she stopped eating and went into stasis. Couldn’t identify the cause of the stasis. Seems to recover, gained weight then started losing it again. The only difference? The metacam had stopped. So by a process of elimination we have identified that it is pain. And close examination reveals that she has pain in her spine. So now, my little metacam junkie has her daily fix and is eating like a trooper again. It’s such a process of trial and error
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I think pain has a huge effect on their appetite. As they get older they definitely loose weight and become bony on the back end too
 
I managed to get Christian's (RIP) dose of Metacam down from 0.7ml twice a day to 0.5ml twice a day. If I reduce it to 0.45ml twice a day his weight went down. Arthritis of the spine is a terrible thing to suffer from as it is so painful.
 
Jasmine has been weighed today and is 938g. Not a big difference, but still a slight decline. I have a vet appointment booked for Monday evening. As I was weighing her, she did a little stringy poo. I'm aware this could be a sign of gut stasis, but she's still eating, drinking and behaving normally. If anything, she's a bit more lively and popcorning a bit more than usual. (Jasmine normally just shakes her head, but she's skipped/bounded a little too!)

Jasmine didn't want to eat any Critical Care, but she devoured three strawberry tops quite readily (dipped in CC ;)). My office is in the same room, so it's easy to keep an eye on them.

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Should I be concerned? There aren't a lot of poops, but still plenty.

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HeatherW said:
Jasmine has been weighed today and is 938g. Not a big difference, but still a slight decline. I have a vet appointment booked for Monday evening. As I was weighing her, she did a little stringy poo. I'm aware this could be a sign of gut stasis, but she's still eating, drinking and behaving normally. If anything, she's a bit more lively and popcorning a bit more than usual. (Jasmine normally just shakes her head, but she's skipped/bounded a little too!)

Jasmine didn't want to eat any Critical Care, but she devoured three strawberry tops quite readily (dipped in CC ;)). My office is in the same room, so it's easy to keep an eye on them.

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Should I be concerned? There aren't a lot of poops, but still plenty.

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yes, plenty of poos! It’s very strange, she sounds so happy 😁
 
965g today! I've started feeding her a bit of lettuce again, and bits of fruit.
 
Hi. These Piggies eh. . She putting a little weight on which is very postive.
Hope she continues to do so.
Write down things to ask the vet . . I do as when I go forget things . .
How is she today. X
 
Jasmine had her vet appointment and, unsurprisingly, they didn't find anything. She's still happy in herself and her weight has been steady since I started weighing her daily, so I've been feeding her lettuce again and giving her a bit more fruit.

If her weight starts to decrease again, then the next step is a blood test with it being taken under an anaesthetic. Hopefully it won't come to that!
 
Jasmine has recently started to lose weight again. Last Wednesday, she was 954g which is the lowest she's been for a while. Of course the timing is awful. We're currently having some building work done and have had to move out, so my three are staying with an experienced piggy boarder until April.

Since I last posted, she's weighed a steady 980g-1kg which isn't as high as her original and virtually immovable 1030g, but it was enough to put my mind to rest. However, she was a bit quieter in herself last week and the boarder has been keeping an eye on her. She was back up to 972g on Sunday, but for the first time since I've had her, she's dropped to below 900g. Jasmine turns four this month.

We're not sure if she's just being a bit picky because she's demolished her veg, a nugget mix, and some bran and oats, but isn't really touching her hay. I'm taking some of her usual stuff over tomorrow, and booking a vet appointment on Monday. She's due for her six-month scan anyway and the vet advised the next step would be blood work, but I was hoping it could wait a couple of weeks!
 
Heather I'm sending you and Jasmine lot tlc,
Never a good time for a piggie to be ill. Let's hope her scan will help etc, she's eating which is best thing, few oats be lovely,
Here lass if need
 
I hope Jasmine comes back with a clean bill of health from the vets. Do you think it could possibly be her age, they do seem to loose a little when they get older, or perhaps the stress from temporary house move
 
Sorry Jasmine is causing you worry again.
Hope it’s just the move to a boarder that’s making her a bit stressed rather than anything else.
Hope all goes well at the vets.
Holding you in my thoughts
 
Thanks, everyone! I'm wondering if part of it could be down to age. Paula brought her out for me when I dropped off her hay and it looks like her hair may be thinning around her midriff again, so we'll see what the vet says. Jasmine didn't hesitate to give my hair a good nibble when we were having cuddles though! Sassy pig :D
 
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