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Losing Weight Steadily, Seems Drawn In On Himself

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CarnivalPiggy

CarnivalPiggy

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Ginny has gone from 820g to 800g to 790 or 80g over the course of roughly a week or two. Yesterday weighed 770, up 10g after food, weighed him this morning and he's 751-2g. Booking a vet appt, but I thought it was just his old age and then remembered they don't actually lose weight just become slimmer. It feels like weight suites him, his body doesn't feel like bones and ribs, but feeling horrible for not noticing it sooner. I'm worried as he's old and could succumb to anything easier. He seems a tad drawin in, though not sure if I'm imagining this. Any ideas what this is? Thanks
 
How old is he first off?

So we are talking a loss of roughly 50g over a few days?
 
I'm not sure of his age, in between 5-7 years old.

Possibly? His weights been all over the place. On the 4th it was 841, 5th was 822, 6th was 817, 7th was 800, 8th 795, 9th 790, yesterday 771, today weighed him first thing in the morning (I usually weigh at 10pm and he's 758
 
Yes, for weeks I've weighed him at the same time and noticed a steady decrease in weight. His weight has gone up 10g since this morning but it doesn't explain why he's losing so much in weeks. Main concern is why he seems a bit drawn in. His hairs puffing out a bit too sometimes when he sits down over past two days

On way to vets, really hope they take me seriously as I've been there a bit since the start of 2017
 
Also can vets flush out the mouth to have a better look? Get at Taverham when Minja was still alive told me not to feed her for half a hour before the vet because there was a lot of food in mouth. I went to another vet but curious
 
yes vets can flush the mouth of debrie if needed.i hope your little man gets a thorough examination,the vet is able to give you some positive news.x
 
Make sure they check his ears! Oreo randomly started losing a fair bit of weight - it took a few days before my parents would actually let me take him to the vet, but when we did, Oreo had a very nasty ear infection in both ears. He's still on treatment now but he looks a lot better. Sulfatrim has cleared it up very well. Don't make the same mistake as me and use prescribed ear drops as it gave Oreo a seizure.

My theory is that his ears were hurting him and it hurt for him to move his jaw, hence why he was losing weight.

Good luck at the vets and I hope Ginny is ok.
 
CarnivalPiggy said:
Ginny has gone from 820g to 800g to 790 or 80g over the course of roughly a week or two. Yesterday weighed 770, up 10g after food, weighed him this morning and he's 751-2g. Booking a vet appt, but I thought it was just his old age and then remembered they don't actually lose weight just become slimmer. It feels like weight suites him, his body doesn't feel like bones and ribs, but feeling horrible for not noticing it sooner. I'm worried as he's old and could succumb to anything easier. He seems a tad drawin in, though not sure if I'm imagining this. Any ideas what this is? Thanks
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It is good to see a vet ast this stage, as it needs a vet check to see whether they can find out the cause. It can be just old age and one of his organs starting to fail, it could be arthritis or something else. Being pulled up usually indicates internal pain somewhere.
 
Ah I wish I saw this. Out of vet. He said a common cause of weight loss was internal parasites. Asked him to flush and check the back molars, told me he couldn't get a proper look without going under. Got another vet in to hold Ginny while he opened his mouth with a lollipop stick I think, said he couldn't see anything wrong. Prescribed Xeno 50 mini spot on, put on all 3 pipets at once when I get home and told me to come sooner than a week if he loses another 50g within a few days. Also told me to pick up pipets for the girls in case they have what he's got when the prescription arrives as they've ran out.

Feeling a bit reassured but sort of dubious. Half wish I left it until tomorrow as have got an appt at Taverham, not sure what to do
 
How guinea pig savvy is your vet?have you had chance to look at the vet locator to see who is nearest to you.it will not harm your piggies to give xeno,but i would be asking the vet how he has come to a diagnosis of internal parasites.your piggie may need pain relief,thats a sure sign for weight loss.sending hugs to you.x
 
Fairly, not on the locator however. In an emergency we went to him with Minja, she couldn't walk barely and with a few injections and medication sent home she was running about. Taverham is closest on the vet locator, however it's far for my mum who drives so we go to the current vet more. He's come to that diagnosis after saying it's a common cause of Wright loss and said he couldn't see any other problem. Really uncertain
 
I agree with Wiebke, puffy fur & weight loss is almost certainly down to pain somewhere. It could be that because he is ageing he might need a low dose of Metacam daily as an anti-inflammatory for the rest of his life, pain impacts greatly on eating. Please keep the Taverham appointment & take him tomorrow & mention pain relief etc. My old girl had arthritis in her stifles/hocks & needed the low dose of Metacam daily, it made a lot of difference to her behaviour & eating x
 
Also what to do about the Xeno 50 mini spot on? If he needs meds, can that mess with it?
Does anyone advise showing this thread to the vet tomorrow?
 
I would tell the vet tomorrow that he's had the xeno & what dosage but explain you aren't completely happy that it is down to mites. Does he have any fur loss on his back at all? Or bits of skin at the end of the hair shaft where it grows? Selnick mites can be down to stress; it is possible he might have them, but they can't be seen with the naked eye. There is usually a bit of hair thinning/loss on the back towards the rump, if you run your hand through his fur the wrong way you may see some hair thinning x
 
Does have a tiny bit of white dots around his rump. Though to be honest I think that's dandruff he's had for awhile, it's on his body generally which I want to ask the vet about.

Also had to get a few bits of hay out of his privates, it seemed like a bad whiff of a smell?
 
Astro is about 6 and is now on metacam and his weight has steadied. Although he has no bottom incisors we saw a weight loss even seeing Simon at Cat and Rabbit every 4 weeks. Turned out to be a loose back molar. But as Wiebke said it could be any number of things. You could try him on dried porridge oats to seeif that gives him a weight boost. Try a small handful at first.
 
How long until I cam put him back after Xeno? After about 3hrs his fur hasn't properly dried, wonder if I applied it wrong, but I need to put him back, though Porridge likes to lick/groom him. He just did a wee on the puppy pad with no sign of pain or blood so that's good
image.webp
 
it is fine to put him back,i usually apply spot on,on the bare skin behind the ear.you need to reapply in 7 days.you can buy this spot on at vet uk online for a good price.maybe ask your vet for pain relief.it can take alot of eilimination of medical conditions before you can be sure of the exact diagnosis.you are doing your upmost,you are a very caring owner.x
 
Thanks. I was told to apply three pipets one after another which I did on the back of his neck, which I did. It feels oily still in a way? Thought it would've dried by now. I can't call the manufacturer either as they closed at five pm
 
I read an old thread on another site by a degu owner who put it on one, then after half a hour out him/her back in the cage with two others. The owner was worried it was harmful for consumption as the other two were licking it, and advised by vet to keep them seperate for 24 hours. Not sure what to do
 
in the guinea lynx,it suggests that higher doses are well tolerated.usually you weight your piggie,the instructions inform you of the number of pipettes to give according to your piggies weight.you do need to treat all piggies that live with him.try not to worry as this is ivermectin that is very well tolerated in cavies.
 
Thanks. The vet has ordered some more as they hadn't any left, told me to come back in two weeks for the girls. His weight suited the amount of pipets from the chart. Ok will do, needed to put Ginny back for the moment so I have them seperate, he's munching on hay while the girls are wheeking at him like "hello? attention?"
 
Fed him a bit more veg tonight since his drop in weight, seems to have taken it well :) Can a lack of pellets contribute to weight loss? Been out for nearly 2 weeks, deciding what is the best to give him, ordered JR Farm Grainless today, two 1.5 or something packs + a hay tunnel to fit zooplus £10+ thing. Hope they like them lol.

As he's been losing weight since the lack of veg in case of sensitive tummy + ran out of pellets around the time he recovered from possible severe gas or bloat, could this be contributing to weight loss? He seems quite bright right now, running about and standing against the bars for more food
 
CarnivalPiggy said:
Fed him a bit more veg tonight since his drop in weight, seems to have taken it well :) Can a lack of pellets contribute to weight loss? Been out for nearly 2 weeks, deciding what is the best to give him, ordered JR Farm Grainless today, two 1.5 or something packs + a hay tunnel to fit zooplus £10+ thing. Hope they like them lol.

As he's been losing weight since the lack of veg in case of sensitive tummy + ran out of pellets around the time he recovered from possible severe gas or bloat, could this be contributing to weight loss? He seems quite bright right now, running about and standing against the bars for more food
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Yes, it can contribute as there are quite a few calories in some pellets brands. The first thing we recommend with overweight piggies is to cut down on the pellets!

However, it is still best to have him checked over. I would mention it to the vet, especially as you are feeding only a limited veg diet.
 
Thank you, I definitely will. Is there a chance, as long as he's seeming ok and there isn't any warning signs, I could take him the day after tomorrow? My mum, who's driving me, is crammed between appointments due to the funeral arrangements of my nan and I'm worried I won't make it on time. If he loses more than 50g when I weigh him tomorrow I'll be straight up the vets anyway
 
Weighed him this morning, hasn't gone down anymore than ten grams from last night, because of empty stomach maybe? Either way happy it's not a bigger loss
 
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