Need Help Guineapig Very Underweight!

[Nutmeg01]

I have a two and a half year ago ld female guinea pig called luna who we got from an irresponsible breeder and was left with males so was bred at a very young age and possibly stunted growth but recently she has lost a lot of weight she has always been around 600g despite me trying numerous times to improve her diet and get her to gain weight but recently she has dropped to 438g which is very very low my mum is a vet and we have looked at all of her teeth that are fine her poo is normal but smaller than usual I have seen her eating and drinking her heart rate and breathing is normal she is bright and pink and has plenty of water aswell as two separate feeding areas so she is not getting blocked by Pluto (she is neutered so no babies) we are doing some urine tests tommorow to see if there is any sugar in it Please please help any suggestions are welcome we might try separating her from Pluto for a bit and syringe feeding her xx

 

[piggyfan]

Hello. Welcome to the forum. It's quite late so the knowledgeable people are not online. I would syringe feed her every few hours as her weight is low. As your mums a vet I guess you know how to but is think she needs feeding every few hours. I wish you lots of luck.

 

[Nutmeg01]

Thankyou for replying in hope we find out what it is

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome!

It is very difficult to find our what is at the bottom, but is a dangerously low weight even for a tiny piggy!

Please hand feed your girl to build up or at least stabilise her weight and make sure that she is also watered and has access to unlimited hay; that is as important as finding out what is going on. Has your mum also looked that the crucial premolars, not just at the front teeth? Kidney problems/failure or diabetes can also be at the bottom of an otherwise unexplained major weight loss. With kidneys, the urine will be rather watery. An ovarian cyst or hormone issues may also be looked at. One of the piggies I had had a major weight loss in the wake of a build-up of gas in the distended stomach, but NOT in the guts; that took two trips to a specialist's and and x-ray to finally diagnose as there were no outward symptoms at all.

I am tagging our medical heavyweights, but as it is midnight here in Britain, you may have to wait until tomorrow until they can come on.
@Pebble @Elwickcavies

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/the-importance-of-weighing-ideal-weight-overweight-and-underweight.38805/

 

[Guinea-pigGaga]

Welcome to the forum!

A few questions:

How long ago was Luna spayed?!
How long has Luna been living with Pluto?!
Is Luna able to eat normally - Does Luna allow food to drop from her mouth; have difficultly with certain foods; take longer to eat than usual etc?!
Does Luna appear to be drooling?!
Does Luna's urine appear to be normal?!
Is Luna continuing to pass normal droppings - Smaller droppings would suggest gastrointestinal stasis, from not consuming enough food, and/or dehydration?!
Is Luna behaving normally?!

With the information you have provided, I suspect that the cause of Luna's weight loss is due to malocclusion, and/or other dental issue!

Hand-feeding is crucial - Please read the above links Wiebke has provided! However, you must also keep Luna hydrated!

 

[Nutmeg01]

She was spayed about 8 months ago and has been with Pluto for about seven months we have checked her molars which are fine I have Seen her eating but there is hardly anything in her stomach we are going to keep her in a plastic bottomed cage for a bit to have a look at her urine and test if it has any sugar in it we may also try a blood test thankyou for all of the help

 

[Nutmeg01]

Just finished hand feeding her and she seems to be quite eager she was not refusing the food at all which is confusing we will get an x-Ray of her teeth and stomach to double check she is drinking by herself but I will keep giving her fluids just incase.

 

[helen105281]

I would also ask your Mum to check for oral thrush as that can make them stop eating and can track up from the gullet.

 

[Guinea-pigGaga]

As Luna was spayed eight months ago, and has been living with Pluto for the last seven months, I think we can safely assume that Luna's weight loss is not due to the operation, and/or from living with Pluto - Although, please continue to observe their relationship, to ensure that Pluto is not bullying Luna, and/or being overenthusiastic!

However, as Luna appears to be quite eager to eat, this would support a diagnosis of malocclusion, and/or other dental issue/s!

While investigating whether Luna's weight loss is caused by malocclusion, and/or other dental issue/s, I believe that Luna may benefit from a suitable anti-inflammatory/painkiller, and/or a gut stimulant. . . Possibly, antibiotics. . . However, antibiotics can affect gut flora, and, therefore, the use of a probiotic would be highly recommended!

@furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary

 

[The Furry Godmother]

Firstly, I hope you are able to get to the root cause of your girls issues.
I agree with syringe feeding, 5ml every 4 hours or 4-5 times a day should help start getting her weight up. Obviously space it out as you don't want to choke her, only give 1ml gradually at a time. There is a guide on here for thus. You could also provide oat hay.
My Frank is also a very tiny boy, I'm currently trying to get his weight up (he used to be able to stay around 740g, but alas lucky to keep him above 620g recently) as he has been suffering with an array of issues, dropping to his lowest weight of 590g.
With syringe feeding and being given veggies twice daily, he is improving vastly, with his weight increasing from 590g to 624g over the space of a week.

As for diagnosis, I would write down the information you have been given and take this all to a cavvy savvy vet as it may aid them in finding a diagnosis.

 

[Nutmeg01]

Thankyou for all of your help my mum took her In today did blood tests x-Rays and an ultra sound and she was fine apart from a slightly swollen bladder wall so were going to put her on anti biotics and feed her up I will also be watching for any signs of Pluto bullying her one thing I have noticed is that luna has recently started barbering Pluto but this was before the weight loss.

 

[Wiebke]

I am keeping my fingers firmly crossed for your little girl. Please try to up her weight by topping her up with hand feed.

 

[Nutmeg01]

Thankyou I will she will be getting lots of tlc and fresh veggies to keep her interested in eating

 

[Wiebke]

Thankyou I will she will be getting lots of tlc and fresh veggies to keep her interested in eating

Please be aware that eating lots of fibre is the key to good dental and gut health; veg should only make around 10-15% of the daily food intake.

 

[ayemee]

Fingers crossed she gets better soon. X

 

[Nutmeg01]

Same x

 

[helen105281]

If her bladder is inflamed could your Mum also look at products like Cystease or vegan Glucosamine? They can really help with inflammation of the bladder.

 

[Nutmeg01]

Thank you we will look into it x