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Losing weight...is it the heat?

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Vida

Vida

Junior Guinea Pig
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My seven guinea pigs have lost weight in the last two months. They are eating the same foods, dry food and hay. Of course it is extremely hot here in the summer in Spain. But like every year they have curtains on the windows to block out the sun, as well as ice pods and ice packs to keep them cool. They have lost 40gr, 70gr, 90gr, 115gr, 140gr, and two of them 250gr which really worries me.:... I have checked them out and can't see anything wrong with them. They are eating and drinking (to be honest not much, they have never drunk much water at all) and pooping and peeing the same as always. Can it be just the heat?
 
It is likely down to the heat. Guinea pigs don't have sweat glands like us, so they don't have the same need to drink more like us humans, especially if the heat is dry and not humid; they regulate the body temperature via the blood flow in their ears.

However, especially the last weight loss is worrying as it could indicate an underlying health problem, unless it was on the pudgy side in the first place. What was the initial weight?

If you can, feed a bit more pellets than usual and feed energy dense sweetcorn once it is cooler.
 
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The ones that have lost most weight have gone from 1480gr to 1230gr. And from 1320gr to 1070gr. The heat here is extremely humid. I have tried different pellets, they have never really liked any of them. So for the last year they have been eating cominter mix. They tend to leave the pellets or only nibble at them and they do eat all the flowers (no seeds) and bits that are in between. They do eat corn on the cob although not often, maybe once every couple of weeks. Temperature is over 30ºC daily. Thanks for replying as I am not sure whether to go to vets or not.
 
They are still losing weight, not much, but add from 15 to 20gr more to what they had lost, but the one that has lost more, has lost another 30gr. He seems perky and eats and drinks...but could there be something else wrong? How can I tell?
 
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