My 5 year old Boar has lost significant weight and hair. Help

[Duran Dobson]

I adopted my boar a few years ago, we were told he was around 3.5 years old then. So I don't have an exact age for him.

Recently we noticed he was starting to lose a little weight while still eating the same amount of Food. We just assumed he was getting older and not in his prime anymore, now he's lost a lot of weight over a period of 2 months and we recently noticed that he's lost hair on his belly and inside of his back legs.

I checked his teeth initially to see if he had any problems but I couldn't find any. He gets plenty of fresh water, fruit and veg as well as his nuggets. So I can't imagine it's a vitamin c deficiency. He still as active as before and charges about the house following our three sows.

I just can't work out what the issue is, if anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate it. I am planning a trip to out Vet this Friday (06/12/13) but I'd like any help I can get.

I have read that pigs don't lose weight and hair with old age, I take it this is true?

 

[MerryPip]

I think they do lose a bit of weight with age and certainly feel skinnier but 5 is not super old and he's lost a substantial amount of weight too so I would think something else is going on.

You need to get him seen by a really good vet. Try the locator at the top of the page to find one near you. vitamin C deficiency sometimes happens not because you aren't feeding them correctly but because they aren't absorbing it correctly and they can need an extra amount to help 'top up' but I wouldn't do this without a vet diagnosis. I had a little lad who didn't process vitamin C well so had a huge extra dose daily but he was a one-off!

You also can't easily see a pigs back teeth without special equipment, even vets can struggle to do this conscious sometimes so don't assume because his front teeth look ok that he hasn't got dental problems. A good cavy savy vet will be able to check that for you too.

I hope you get him sorted out soon. X

 

[Wiebke]

It rather sounds like something else is going on. Any weight loss over 100g needs to be seen by vet as soon as possible. Older piggies don't lose hair; there is always another reason behind it.

Please make sure that you are seeing a piggy savvy vet; this will need some knwoledge to get to the bottom of it. Here is our recommended UK guinea pig vets locator: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-vet-locator/

 

[helen105281]

I agree it does sound like something is going on, glad you have a vet appointment booked.

Some conditions that immediately spring to mind are a systemic fungal infection, nutritional deficiency or Cushings disease. See what the vet comes up with first though and go from there.

Is it possible to post a photo of his hair loss please? and one of his eyes aswell?