Old boar losing weight

[ishita]

My 5.5 year old boar, Mochi, has lost some weight. When he was young, he used to weigh 800-850g. The last few months he weighed 750g or more. But recently, his weight dropped to 700g.

We've been feeding him recovery food from Oxbow, that helps him gain weight. We give him lots of hay and proper veggies. But I'm worried sick. We even bought a new brand of hay to check if it'll make him eat more.

He's very fussy about the recovery food. We also feed him Benebac and Vit-C. The vet suggested upping the Vit-C dosage. Any more tips please? I don't want to lose him.

 

[Janey]

Good to know you’ve been to the vets. Did they give you a reason why Mochi lost weight, any underlying issues going on, or did they think it was just him getting older? I know it’s usually advised here to switch from weekly to daily weighing when piggies lose weight. There’s also different kinds of recovery foods available that you might want to try with him, to see if they’re more preferable.

 

[Piggies&buns]

The key is whether there is any underlying health issue or whether it is age related.
Were his teeth checked etc?
Any chance he has arthritis and whether pain from that is causing a reduction in appetite?

Making sure he has lots of hay and supplementing with critical care is really all you can do if there is no underlying medical issue.
Unfortunately their bodies age quite quickly

Upping vit c in itself is not going to make him gain weight, unless he has been diagnosed with vit c deficiency. Keep in mind that giving more vit c than the body needs is futile as excess is simply excreted out in the urine. Here in the UK we do not supplement with vit c at all, unless there is a diagnosed medical need to do so.

Journey through a Lifetime: The Ages of Guinea Pigs

 

[ishita]

Good to know you’ve been to the vets. Did they give you a reason why Mochi lost weight, any underlying issues going on, or did they think it was just him getting older? I know it’s usually advised here to switch from weekly to daily weighing when piggies lose weight. There’s also different kinds of recovery foods available that you might want to try with him, to see if they’re more preferable.

The vets linked it with old age, and they recommended this particular brand of Oxbow recovery food. We've been weighing him daily recently too. We think the weather might be a reason as to why his appetite has decreased. It's a tad cold at night which could've been the reason but we installed a small heater. Thank you!

 

[ishita]

The key is whether there is any underlying health issue or whether it is age related.
Were his teeth checked etc?
Any chance he has arthritis and whether pain from that is causing a reduction in appetite?

Making sure he has lots of hay and supplementing with critical care is really all you can do if there is no underlying medical issue.
Unfortunately their bodies age quite quickly

Upping vit c in itself is not going to make him gain weight, unless he has been diagnosed with vit c deficiency. Keep in mind that giving more vit c than the body needs is futile as excess is simply excreted out in the urine. Here in the UK we do not supplement with vit c at all, unless there is a diagnosed medical need to do so.

Journey through a Lifetime: The Ages of Guinea Pigs

His teeth and bones are fine as of now. We bought the Orchard Hay variety to see if his appetite would grow. Mochi uses Vit-C supplements for around 1.5 years because the vet prescribed them, and they seemed to make him more energetic and overall healthier. I'm hoping this new hay and recovery food will help him. Thank you sm!

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m glad the vet didn’t find anything medically wrong but it does then mean his weight loss is probably due to age.
It rather difficult to get weight back on older piggies but hopefully he can maintain at a lower weight.
It’s hard when they get old and you are battling a metabolism which is no longer working as it used to but always a privilege to be caring for an older piggy