Older guinea pig not eating properly?

[hrhmcm]

Hello,

My old boy is around 6 and a half (ish), and recently he's stopped eating hay/drinking from his bottle but will still eat veg and grass. He's been checked over by the vet, and he's not really been able to pinpoint anything specific that he believes may be the cause. He does not think his teeth seem bad enough that they'd be causing him pain, wasn't really presenting any other worrying symptoms at time of evaluation & procedures requiring anaesthetic would obviously be a huge risk at his age. We've come away with pain mediation and a course of antibiotics to see if that helps.

I've been syringe feeding him with critical care, as well as grass and have still been giving him his veg. I've just bought some readigrass which he's responded well to when I've put it in his cage, but whether he continues to eat it who knows.

Just posting to see if anybody has any anecdotal advice from being in a similar situation? If there is anything that helped or whether you took a similar route with pain management etc. as to be honest, right now I am feeling quite hopeless about the situation.

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

I honestly don't know, but I'm sending support. I'm sure one of the health experts will get back to you sometime today.

 

[Merab]

Sorry that you’re in such a difficult situation.
You are doing everything right in having a vet check and syringe feeding.
A mystery illness is very hard to deal with.
It may be that when the antibiotics and pain meds take effect he will feel better and want to eat.
You could also try cutting his hay into small pieces which he might be able to manage.
Switch to daily weighing as that will help you know if he’s eating enough.

One of the health experts will probably have more advice.
Holding you in my thoughts

 

[piggieminder]

I am so sorry you and your piggy are going through this. I have had it twice with piggies of around the same age. It did turn out after an xray (the sedation for xray is very light) that they both had arthritis and so were probably feeling a bit out of sorts. They both became pickier over food but once on a good dose of pain relief came off syringe feeding. Their weights did remain lower but they established a new normal. I did try different hays with them and rotated hays with a bit of dried forage mixed in to generate some interest. One would eat some dry porridge oats mixed with his pellets.
It may be your boy is uncomfortable somewhere in his body. It's good that you have got him some vetinary help, sometimes it takes a while to work out what's going on. Hopefully the pain relief and anti biotics will help and and you and your vet can decide a way forward to keep your boy happy.

 

[Eriathwen]

At his age it's very possible that it's due to arthritic changes, did the vet check for any swollen and/or joints? These can be palpated for rather than going for sedation and xrays if thats really not a route you want to go down, if your vet is comfortable doing so. The fact he's willing to eat high value and softer foods would point to possible jaw soreness and there may be some pain in the neck, legs or spine causing the reluctance to use water bottles (offering a water bowl may help, or a couple of extra slices of cucumber each day). The specialist I used to see once told me she has never seen a guinea pig over 3 years old now arthritic changes, so by 6+ they can be quite extensive and painful, but unnoticed due to how stoic these little guys are.

Fingers crossed the pain relief will give him some comfort! And you're able to pinpoint exactly what's going on.

 

[hrhmcm]

Thanks for the input everyone. Feeling a little bit more optimistic this evening. He's been out on the grass earlier this afternoon so has had a good munch, the readigrass so far seems to be going down well (a small change, but its the most I've willingly seen him eat and drink in a few days). I have also ordered orchard grass as it's meant to be quite soft, so hopefully will be more willing to eat it as well. With his age, I'm not expecting a complete miracle, but hopefully we'll get to the bottom of it so we can at least keep him comfortable

I'll ask about an x-ray at his next appointment, although the vet did seem to be focusing more on liver issues/previous health issues. He has had ongoing issues with URIs, and had a little flare up not too long ago - although, this is the first time he's ever experienced any changes in appetite/energy. He's always put food first no matter how poorly he's been in the past, so it's breaking my heart that he's obviously feeling bad enough to stop eating so much.