Loosing weight?

[Animallover2245]

Hello there, I just have a question, with my current piggies. I have recently noticed they’ve been loosing weight.

Rusty was 450-460 now 435g

As for Pete, recently he was struggling to eat fot a week and tuesday just gone I took him to the vet and they said he was starting to get a spur on one of his molars and gave some pain relief medication for a few days. The awkard thing now is that he was 445g-496g (last Thursday) and now he’s 409g. But it looks like he’s been doing a lot better with eating. I always way around the same time.

I was meant to call the vet back up on Friday but I forgot. If it requires him to go back I won’t be able to reach this vet I went to as it was over an hour journey. The vets closer to me had no appointments at the time on the 16th.

I’m asking is this normal for them to loose weight?

 

[weepweeps]

Hello. I’d keep an eye on Rusty. 35g isn’t that much but if he keeps losing then he will need a check up.

As for Pete if a spur is forming then I believe it would need to be filed down. I’m no expert though. I would definitely call the vet back for a chat about Petes weight and possibly filing down the spur. It could cause an abscess if left

 

[Piggies&buns]

Their weight can fluctuate 30g or so as normal fluctuation
However any sudden losses in one go or constant downward trends require action to be taken.

Is the vet going to keep an eye on the spur?
You say he was 445-496g - which one was it? If he was closer to the 496g on Thursday and is 409g now then that is a lot of weight to have lost in two days
I would switch to weighing him every day so you can monitor his hay intake more closely - you cannot judge hay intake by eye. If he is struggling with a spur and not eating enough, he will need to see a vet and you may need to step in with support feeding.

Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[Stewybus]

How old are your piggies. At the weight you mentionEd I would expect about 2 months. It would be highly unlikely for them to have a spur on their tooth at that age. With any weight loss and lack of eating it's always best to stay syringe feeding as soon as possible

 

[Wiebke]

Hello there, I just have a question, with my current piggies. I have recently noticed they’ve been loosing weight.

Rusty was 450-460 now 435g

As for Pete, recently he was struggling to eat fot a week and tuesday just gone I took him to the vet and they said he was starting to get a spur on one of his molars and gave some pain relief medication for a few days. The awkard thing now is that he was 445g-496g (last Thursday) and now he’s 409g. But it looks like he’s been doing a lot better with eating. I always way around the same time.

I was meant to call the vet back up on Friday but I forgot. If it requires him to go back I won’t be able to reach this vet I went to as it was over an hour journey. The vets closer to me had no appointments at the time on the 16th.

I’m asking is this normal for them to loose weight?

Hi

Is the big weight loss from the piggy with the spur? Once a piggy can now longer chew and grind down their teeth with the help of the abrasive silica in hay and fresh grass, then teeth can overgrow very quickly; spurs don't self-correct. You haven't mentioned the vet doing anything about the spur? Your piggy is rather young for a spur at that kind of weight, to be honest.

Please step in with feeding support right now. For a youngster that small, that is a rather big weight loss.
Here is our access link to all the necessary information, including how you can improvise with what you have got handy or easily available (mushed pellets with an adapted syringe etc). Use your kitchen scales to weigh daily first thing in the morning so you can then adjust the feeding amount and frequency to keeping the weight as stable as possible. Dental piggies are generally hungry piggies and are quite willing to feed.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Please bring your piggies indoors if they are outside; the weather is turning rather cold in the coming days and week.

 

[Free Ranger]

Hi, these weights are low for adults but perhaps you have very young ones? My full grown pigs have all been at least a kilo. Support food like critical care or recovery or emeraid can often be bought over-the-counter at any vet. Or you can grind up your pellets to a powder and mix with water to make a thick slurry. If they are hungry they will sometimes they just eat this straight from the bowl/spoon and it doesn't need to be syringed.

I use The Veterinary Practice in Henley if that is accessible for you? They have a team of vets so if you think it's going to be a weird problem you ask on the phone for an appointment with someone who has an interest in piggies or who is specialising. There is a senior vet called Helen I've always been very happy with.

 

[Animallover2245]

Hello. I’d keep an eye on Rusty. 35g isn’t that much but if he keeps losing then he will need a check up.

As for Pete if a spur is forming then I believe it would need to be filed down. I’m no expert though. I would definitely call the vet back for a chat about Petes weight and possibly filing down the spur. It could cause an abscess if left

Thanks

Their weight can fluctuate 30g or so as normal fluctuation
However any sudden losses in one go or constant downward trends require action to be taken.

Is the vet going to keep an eye on the spur?
You say he was 445-496g - which one was it? If he was closer to the 496g on Thursday and is 409g now then that is a lot of weight to have lost in two days
I would switch to weighing him every day so you can monitor his hay intake more closely - you cannot judge hay intake by eye. If he is struggling with a spur and not eating enough, he will need to see a vet and you may need to step in with support feeding.

Weight - Monitoring and Management

thanks,

The 445g-496g was a week apart. In the Tuesday the 16th the vet said his weight was normal. Didnt say how much though. However when I weighed the following Friday (as I forgot Thursday as I misplaced the scales) around the same time he was 409g

How old are your piggies. At the weight you mentionEd I would expect about 2 months. It would be highly unlikely for them to have a spur on their tooth at that age. With any weight loss and lack of eating it's always best to stay syringe feeding as soon as possible

Don’t know the exact age. We got told around 11th of October that they were 10-12 weeks old. So I would say 3-4 months.

Hi

Is the big weight loss from the piggy with the spur? Once a piggy can now longer chew and grind down their teeth with the help of the abrasive silica in hay and fresh grass, then teeth can overgrow very quickly; spurs don't self-correct. You haven't mentioned the vet doing anything about the spur? Your piggy is rather young for a spur at that kind of weight, to be honest.

Please step in with feeding support right now. For a youngster that small, that is a rather big weight loss.
Here is our access link to all the necessary information, including how you can improvise with what you have got handy or easily available (mushed pellets with an adapted syringe etc). Use your kitchen scales to weigh daily first thing in the morning so you can then adjust the feeding amount and frequency to keeping the weight as stable as possible. Dental piggies are generally hungry piggies and are quite willing to feed.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Please bring your piggies indoors if they are outside; the weather is turning rather cold in the coming days and week.

Have Spurs ever been mistaking for anything else? Or if it’s unusual for young piggies is it genetics that cause it? They didn’t say anything with the spur. Most likely because he’s young?

Hi, these weights are low for adults but perhaps you have very young ones? My full grown pigs have all been at least a kilo. Support food like critical care or recovery or emeraid can often be bought over-the-counter at any vet. Or you can grind up your pellets to a powder and mix with water to make a thick slurry. If they are hungry they will sometimes they just eat this straight from the bowl/spoon and it doesn't need to be syringed.

I use The Veterinary Practice in Henley if that is accessible for you? They have a team of vets so if you think it's going to be a weird problem you ask on the phone for an appointment with someone who has an interest in piggies or who is specialising. There is a senior vet called Helen I've always been very happy with.

there 3-4 months old and I’m still working on taming etc..., Thanks for that info, I don’t drive so vets vary whether I can get bus or train there. But I’ll see if it is possible to get there

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks

thanks,

The 445g-496g was a week apart. In the Tuesday the 16th the vet said his weight was normal. Didnt say how much though. However when I weighed the following Friday (as I forgot Thursday as I misplaced the scales) around the same time he was 409g


Don’t know the exact age. We got told around 11th of October that they were 10-12 weeks old. So I would say 3-4 months.


Have Spurs ever been mistaking for anything else? Or if it’s unusual for young piggies is it genetics that cause it? They didn’t say anything with the spur. Most likely because he’s young?

there 3-4 months old and I’m still working on taming etc..., Thanks for that info, I don’t drive so vets vary whether I can get bus or train there. But I’ll see if it is possible to get there

An overgrowing dental spur in such young guinea pigs is most likely due to misalignment of the teeth and would require life-long regular dental management.
@furryfriends (TEAS)

 

[Free Ranger]

I don’t drive so vets vary whether I can get bus or train there. But I’ll see if it is possible to get there

I know the X38 from Oxford stops literally right outside but I'm not sure what the bus stop is called! I took mine down in a cat box. Good luck on finding a vet you can reach. I know some of the nurses here volunteer at an animal rescue in RG10 https://www.dbarc.org.uk/ so I don't know whether you could contact dbarc and ask about what vets they use for their guinea-pigs... they'll probably have lots of experience.

 

[Animallover2245]

I know the X38 from Oxford stops literally right outside but I'm not sure what the bus stop is called! I took mine down in a cat box. Good luck on finding a vet you can reach. I know some of the nurses here volunteer at an animal rescue in RG10 https://www.dbarc.org.uk/ so I don't know whether you could contact dbarc and ask about what vets they use for their guinea-pigs... they'll probably have lots of experience.

Thanks unfortuantly only the X40 and I think X39 stop in my area. Which aren’t even the main
Bus company. But thanks for the info.

 

[Animallover2245]

update, i've not been able to weigh recentley as unfortuantley my scales batteries have died, i am going to buy some more in a couple of days. They still seem to be eating fine however with Pete it looks like one of his incisors is getting slightly starting to get uneven at the edge of his right tooth. Does this mean his spur is getting worse or ?. I will go to the vets when i can next get an appoitment however i can't go to the one i went to on the 16th it was a bit too far to travel. If there's a close one near the town centre thats decent?.

 

[Piggies&buns]

update, i've not been able to weigh recentley as unfortuantley my scales batteries have died, i am going to buy some more in a couple of days. They still seem to be eating fine however with Pete it looks like one of his incisors is getting slightly starting to get uneven at the edge of his right tooth. Does this mean his spur is getting worse or ?. I will go to the vets when i can next get an appoitment however i can't go to the one i went to on the 16th it was a bit too far to travel. If there's a close one near the town centre thats decent?.

Definitely get some more batteries as soon as you can. Weighing is the only way to know they are definitely eating enough hay - you can’t tell they are getting enough by seeing them eat.
Slanting or uneven incisors are generally a sign there is a problem with the molars and that they aren’t chewing properly at the back. If they are chewing properly at the back, the incisors are kept equal

 

[Deleted member 146752]

Have you been weighing your piggies at the same time each weigh in? Sometimes that can slightly effect their weight, if they ate right before you weighed them, or hadn’t eaten yet when you weighed them. As for Rusty, I would definitely keep an eye on him and go from there, but with Pete I would either call your vet or try to schedule him in. As for your question, I would definitely keep an eye on their weight and if necessary call your vet. Good luck!

 

[Animallover2245]

Definitely get some more batteries as soon as you can. Weighing is the only way to know they are definitely eating enough hay - you can’t tell they are getting enough by seeing them eat.
Slanting or uneven incisors are generally a sign there is a problem with the molars and that they aren’t chewing properly at the back. If they are chewing properly at the back, the incisors are kept equal

Thanks

Have you been weighing your piggies at the same time each weigh in? Sometimes that can slightly effect their weight, if they ate right before you weighed them, or hadn’t eaten yet when you weighed them. As for Rusty, I would definitely keep an eye on him and go from there, but with Pete I would either call your vet or try to schedule him in. As for your question, I would definitely keep an eye on their weight and if necessary call your vet. Good luck!

Thanks,I weigh at the same time majority of time. If i forget i weigh them. I always make sure to do It before they’ve eaten.

I have also noticed they started to drink slighty more water but I think that’s just the change in weather.

I got the scale batteries so I can continue weighing now

 

[Animallover2245]

Update: the weight is back to normal now. (As for the water the water bottle kept falling off it's clip, got a new water bottle).



As Rusty is 506g this morning when he was 406g yesterday morning as for Pete his weight seems back to normal too. 500g this morning instead of 497g yesterday morning. So there no longer loosing weight so far, (both around 3-4 months). But thanks for the advice.