Need Advice on Geriatric Piggie: Is he declining?

[Merry2018]

Hello everyone,

I’m writing today about my 7 year old boar.

He’s not himself. The past few days his appetite has been on and off. He’s eating but just not with the passion he usually has. Two months ago he had a suspected UTI that he was treated for but had to stop antibiotics early due to them suppressing his appetite. His bloodwork at that time revealed everything else to be in good shape.

I just don’t understand if since he’s older he now has bad and good days or if there’s something brewing. Financially, I can’t really afford another vet visit with blood or other tests so soon. I’m trying to figure out if this is something he really needs the vet or if he’s just experiencing old age struggles.

He is my little world, and I’ll find a way to get everything he needs, but if I can avoid a vet visit that would be ideal.

 

[Freela]

Unfortunately there's no way to assess what's going on with his health without a vet assessment. Guinea pigs are good at hiding symptoms, so if you are seeing a difference in his behaviour he is probably feeling pretty unwell. At an advanced age you always worry about major issues, but it's also possible that he has something minior and treatable, but unfortunately he does need an assessment to figure that out.

I get how the expenses can pile up though. Given that he's elderly and had blood work two months ago, talk to the vet about whether it's really necessary to do all the lab work over again. He could still get a physical exam, get his vitals checked, and potentially 'treat for the treatable' without a full blood panel being done. Talk to your vet and see if there's a happy medium between treateing what's treatable and doin a full lab workup, a lot of vets are happy to work with you on finding that middle ground.