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Mites, weight loss and some concerns

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sophieandhoney

sophieandhoney

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Since the awful loss of my lovely Sophie to ovarian cysts the remaining 4 piggies have been rather under the weather,

I am taking them all to the vets Thursday and would appreciate questions and pointed comments to make in front of my vet. I do like my vet I just think
he thinks I am silly woman.........any how.

Henry - rescue, 4 years old, lovely friendly, eating well but drinks LOADS and has lost weight and condition. Vets - have been now 3 times, he said he was not underweight and really it could be age. I sometimes think he has blood in his urine as the puppy pad will go pink but although he had a course of Anti- but the vet never saw any evidence of this and doesn't seem to think there is a problem. I will raise this again as I saw it tonight.

Honey - unwanted 4 years old, so nervous it is awful, eating well but showing signs of mites again. Worse without Sophie.

Lola - 14 months, clearly has mites, over weight :(

Abby - 14 months probably has mites, is eating well, ADORES Henry.

(mites probably are caused by stress of either losing Sophie or moving to new hutch (indoors) or the new (crappy) hay I got from the petshop)

they all had mites in Feb, invectim all round and I suspect this is what they will get at the vets again - that is fine. Henry and Lola were treated again about 3 weeks ago. I asked if the others needed treating and was told no not if they had not shown signs - I found this odd but was a mess once I lost Sophie.

It is mainly Henry I am so worried about.
I think it might be his kidneys - so is there treatment? Can I ask for any kind of test?

Tonight I can feel his spine and I am so freaked out by this. I want my fat Henry back.

thanks for any suggestions
x
 
Are mites visible? My skinny pig is very warm and her pee is light yellow and a bit cloudy
 
I might be wrong (sorry if I am) but I get the feeling your vet is not taking them seriously and will only address the obvious routine things without exploring further. Have you though about taking them to a different vet to see what they say, preferable a cavy savy one?
 
The recent heat wave has been hard, especially on older piggies and those with underlying issues. The loss of a mate can cause upsets and lower the immune system. If mites persist, it is always worth to consider fungal issues, too. It is always more difficult to balance out the weights in a bigger group.

We are in the process of compiling a list of recommended piggy vets; perhaps it can help you getting a second opinion?
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?105349-Guinea-Pig-recomended-vets-List-and-Map
 
Just another thought, when you say they have been treated for mites, has the vet given you a course of 3 treatments for each piggy, with each dose being given 7 - 10 days apart? Some older piggies do lose weight as they age, just like us really, but at 4 I would be concerned that there is something else going on with Henry as, these days, that is no age at all. I would be inclined to have a look through the link above and try to find another vet - if you can't find anyone in your location perhaps add your area to this thread and one of our members might be able to recommend someone local to you. Good luck and do let us know how you get on.
 
Well the vet said yes to the mites and they were treated. I have to go back for a check up. Henry weighs the same as before but finally the vet felt his spine and said if he is still the same next week then he will test urine - he offered to this on Thursday but Henry wouldn't cooperate. He did say with the stress of losing Sophie and the cage move mites were a stress related thing.
He also said Lola and Abby were overweight. I do think I am screwing this up royally at the moment! I will keep you informed.
 
Another update

I took piggies back for another course of invectim and Henry has lost more weight. he now weighs 90 grams............ I am VERY worried. This vet was much better(a locum) and thinks Henry has diabetes, sustained weigh loss over a period of about 4 months. Plus he drinks water.

As he lives with all girls and constantly chases them I think the original vet thought it might be that he was er.....often busy exercising! However this has gone on long enough and now seems to be more serious.

I am a bit stuck as to what to do. Henry needs to be "looked after" a bit more I feel. Since Sophie's death he has been pulling his hair out - his back legs are bald pretty much and he pulls out hair on his tummy. :( :(

I wonder if he would be less stressed if he just lived with Honey? (the older nervous girl) Although I originally thought Abby loved him the fact that Abs lived upstairs whilst in the hutch and the other 3 lived downstairs (in the end I moved them back to the c and c last week as the downstairs of the hutch got so disgusting so quickly) and I have seen her do the chin thing with him suggests otherwise.

Also it might be easier to monitor diet and drinking with just Honey bun.........

Any suggestions?

XX
 
noticed a typo..........Henry weighs 900grams! not 90!

I have a 120 I could use for him and Hon......
 
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