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Opinions please - Weight gain.

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flintstones

flintstones

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I have a 18 month old boar - under close supervisor at present.

For the last week : I have had him separated from his normal playmate to allow me to access his water and weight gain. Milo is a small pig - he has always been a small pig and as far as I'm concerned his adult weight is 964 grams.

The 23rd August he weighed 974.
One week on he's 1024 grams. (he was with his normal companion, so it was not down to separation).
I am now weighing him daily the following day he weighed 1038 grams.
Today he weighs 1046 grams.

Am I being paranoid? I'm worried that this is not weight gain due to food.
 
I always worry about weight loss not gain, but I think any sudden drastic change in weight is worth investigating.
Probably worth mentioning to the vet next time you speak with or see him.
Hope Milo is okay - me and my girls send our love :)
xx
 
I alway worry about the "ideal" weight too and I know it can be frustrating. To be honest though, I think the margins you're looking at here are OK for the moment.

I think maybe it might be an idea to track his weight over a longer period, weighing him every day for a couple of weeks for example. This will give you a broader "curve" if you will of whether his weight is continually going up or whether you just have daily fluctation around a small margin. You'd need to try to weigh him around the same time every day to and roughly the same period in terms of his feeding cycle (after or before fresh food etc.). It might take somw work but I'm sure it will be worth it for your peace of mind.

Finally, I think a little healthy paranoia can be a good thing when it comes to our piggies' health - better safe than sorry :)

P.S. Maybe Milo is also a late developer. Biscuit (the ever sick pig) has also always been small. I think maybe he's the runt of his litter and I'm hoping for a growth spirt at some point.
 
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I have a sow who can gain and drop up to 150g in a week... She fluctuates massively...
Totally fine in her self... Eats and drinks and poos and guinea pigs well...
As long as his in takes and outgoing are good and he's happy and active I wouldn't worrie too much about weight...
I know I don't...
If it's getting you worried take him to be checked out... Could be having a late growth spurt... Not necessarily anything scary...
 
mikulinek said:
I alway worry about the "ideal" weight too and I know it can be frustrating. To be honest though, I think the margins you're looking at here are OK for the moment.

I think maybe it might be an idea to track his weight over a longer period, weighing him every day for a couple of weeks for example. This will give you a broader "curve" if you will of whether his weight is continually going up or whether you just have daily fluctation around a small margin. You'd need to try to weigh him around the same time every day to and roughly the same period in terms of his feeding cycle (after or before fresh food etc.). It might take somw work but I'm sure it will be worth it for your peace of mind.

Finally, I think a little healthy paranoia can be a good thing when it comes to our piggies' health - better safe than sorry :)

P.S. Maybe Milo is also a late developer. Biscuit (the ever sick pig) has also always been small. I think maybe he's the runt of his litter and I'm hoping for a growth spirt at some point.
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I am tracking his weight as the vet advised my issue is he's not lost any weight for 11 days it's continuous gain. I have a pig that I thought he would always be a small pig at 876 grams - he is now 1150 grams but he is a 'solid' pig - Milo isn't he's squidgy. My concern with Milo - possible Cushings and weight gain is a symptom, so something I'm obviously watching out for.

His Lethargy or perhaps tameness is something that worries me to, for example - I walked up the stairs (presume the pigs probably know my foot step's) go into the room. Milo is lying down in the open with his chicken leg lying out so he is lying down. I stroke his head - he doesn't move but is noticeably breathing so he's not dead - are pigs really that tame. Yes Milo doesn't run but I would expect him to sit up or move not stay sleeping.

I can't work out if I'm insanely paranoid or not but I am convinced there's something not right by how he acts.

claremw92 said:
I have a sow who can gain and drop up to 150g in a week... She fluctuates massively...
Totally fine in her self... Eats and drinks and poos and guinea pigs well...
As long as his in takes and outgoing are good and he's happy and active I wouldn't worrie too much about weight...
I know I don't...
If it's getting you worried take him to be checked out... Could be having a late growth spurt... Not necessarily anything scary...
Click to expand...

I proud myself on knowing my pigs and I know Milo - he always has been a small pig and if anything his weight normally drops than gains, yes I'm happy he's gaining more to lose - but my concern is he's putting on Fluid rather than weight.
 
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I was just going to say it sounds like it could be fluid :( Have you tapped his belly gently on the side to hear if it sounds hollow at all? Possibilities could be bloat (unlikely?) or kidney problems (worst case scenario). Is he definitely that age? My piggie would sleep in the open & let us tickle her when asleep, but that was down to her age, they do it more as they get older.

I hope you find out what it is, poor Milo :(
 
Poppy'sMum said:
I was just going to say it sounds like it could be fluid :( Have you tapped his belly gently on the side to hear if it sounds hollow at all? Possibilities could be bloat (unlikely?) or kidney problems (worst case scenario). Is he definitely that age? My piggie would sleep in the open & let us tickle her when asleep, but that was down to her age, they do it more as they get older.

I hope you find out what it is, poor Milo :(
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Milo was born in February 2010 - the Rescue was Becklen and he was born in the Rescue so age is correct. Milo has had bloods done to rule out kidneys due to his increased fluid intake in June he's had numerous test's done he also had weight loss in June where he dropped to his lowest roughly 850 grams - the only thing to come back was high cortisol levels, blood in the urine - enlarged adrenals and elevated liver Enzymes which does bring Cushings into the scenario as he's already had bi-lateral hair loss. It's almost as if sometimes he isn't quite there, he's not very energetic and he just doesn't react.

This is how my Bette was and she was seriously ill and I guess she does cloud my judgement I remember shaking her bed to wake her or giving her a pat. I know some pigs can be tame but even my Patrick who is stupidly tame will react to me patting his head if he was sleeping and he's 4. In fact he would run over to greet me not remain lying down - it's really odd and Milo is tame but I still think he should at least move his head.
 
flintstones said:
Milo was born in February 2010 - the Rescue was Becklen and he was born in the Rescue so age is correct. Milo has had bloods done to rule out kidneys due to his increased fluid intake in June he's had numerous test's done he also had weight loss in June where he dropped to his lowest roughly 850 grams - the only thing to come back was high cortisol levels, blood in the urine - enlarged adrenals and elevated liver Enzymes which does bring Cushings into the scenario as he's already had bi-lateral hair loss. It's almost as if sometimes he isn't quite there, he's not very energetic and he just doesn't react.

This is how my Bette was and she was seriously ill and I guess she does cloud my judgement I remember shaking her bed to wake her or giving her a pat. I know some pigs can be tame but even my Patrick who is stupidly tame will react to me patting his head if he was sleeping and he's 4. In fact he would run over to greet me not remain lying down - it's really odd and Milo is tame but I still think he should at least move his head.
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I would go with your instincts definitely then. Are you awaiting more results?
 
Poppy'sMum said:
I would go with your instincts definitely then. Are you awaiting more results?
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No 8.... I need to decide if I want to try and medicate him for Cushings, I'm charting all the information for the vet and the vet is going to look over it for me.

We did wish to the Saliva Cortisol test but there's no base levels so no way to diagnose the animal correctly, the labs just keep letting us down with the little information they know about Guinea Pig's.

I suppose the vet could feel for fluid he's certainly not hollow but more squidgy but I worry that my judgement is clouded. When I pick him up he feels noticeable different around his stomach and he feels heavier obviously because he is.

In test's I have spent a fortune, and we've now run out of tests. I still don't know what's wrong only have suspicions. On the bright he's not diabetic and doesn't have kidney or liver failure.
 
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Joanne, You're so completely committed and devoted to those piggies of yours - nobody could ever say that you don't try your absolute best to explore every possible avenue. The way you care about your piggies is very inspiring :)
I'm afraid that I can't really offer much help but just really hope that you get a breakthrough soon as you always seem to have so much on your plate.

I'm not really familiar with Milo's story and don't know much about Cushings (so apologies for jumping right in as this may be a total red herring!) but when you mentioned the extra deep sleeping and potential fluid retention (especially around the tummy) it reminded me of Laura-CCC4's little heart pig, Gwen. Now I'm definitely not saying that Milo has a heart problem - symptoms of deep slumber and squishy tummy on their own don't necessarily always point to that - but I wondered if you'd looked at the list of other tell-tale signs of heart problems, just to be sure and rule it out?

Have you ever asked Laura if she has any thoughts about the cause(s) of Milo's problems? Not sure if she's had a "Cushings Pig" herself but she's very knowledgeable and well connected, as you know.

Fingers crossed with everything x
 
Jeff is that tame too, I often think he's dead but he'll allow you to stroke him when he's sleeping and doesn't bat an eyelid, but he's always been like that!

You're clearly concerned, and if you were one of my clients I'd be advising you see a vet because YOU are the best qualified person to know if something is wrong.

I know what you mean though...big Dave "isn't right" and that's all I can tell the vet! He's having all the tests under the sun, because my instinct is telling me something's up.

A trip to the vet (always a good idea if you're monitoring an illness anyway) would at least be able to tell you if it's fluid build up or if he's a fatty little pig :))

Hope he's ok, keep us posted!
 
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