Our Guinea Pig has put on 250 grams over the past 2 months

[GuineaGuy]

Hello All,

(There is a bit of background for the first few paragraphs.....)

Hopefully you can offer us some advice, as we are worried about our little piggie. 2 months ago (June 10th) we had to rush our Guinea pig to the vets as he had a huge build up off poop inside his bum. He was sleeping alot more than normal (he has always been a sleepy pig) and when we went to pick him up he couldn't walk, instead he was hopping like a bunny.

We removed the build up of poop and I was worried he could be impacted. Our vet thought that he may have suffered a lower back injury possibly because his brother got over excited when they were 'playing'. We gave him painkillers and he was able to move more like a pig - but he still couldn't poop, so we carried on cleaning him out. Over the next three weeks he was able to walk again and was pooping almost as normal - he does seem to need to strain though and when we check him, there is usually one waiting to pop out, but he does seem to be managing.

We noticed this evening that he did seem a lot larger than normal. When the above happened he was weighed at 1050 grams. Tonight we weighed him (albeit on a different set of scales) and he weighed 1307 grams, so he has put on a lot of weight. We were worried that he may be 'backing up' and not pooping properly, so decided to separate him from his 2 cagemates so we could tell for sure. He was in a travel box whilst we split their C & C cage and whilst in there he did a poop and urinated, so he is going to the loo. His urine had a hint of orange too it, but it didn't look like blood. He has one of these that he loves to chew and we wonder could this have coloured his urine: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Small...oy-Large-/110846639524?_trksid=p2054897.l4275 but can't be sure.

We have left him separate from his cage mates for now so we can monitor him. He is eating and drinking as normal. He has taken a real shine to carrots recently, we usually throw a handful in for the cage along with the other veggies. Could this have caused the weight gain or could it be something more serious? We haven't given him any carrot tonight, just cucumber.

I would put it down to just eating too much but the coloured urine has thrown some doubt into my mind. As I say it didn't look like blood

With all that information is anyone able to offer us any advice?

Thank you in advance.

 

[twiams]

In all honesty if he’s still wee’ing and poo’ing i wouldn’t say he’s gained an excessive amount over the 2 months, my pigs have gained similar in the past, you find they some times gain alot of weight in one go sometimes.

I’d put him back with his friends and keep an eye on him

I’d also be careful with how many carrots your feeding, as healthy as they are, they require some moderation in a guinea pig's diet. Just as too much Vitamin A in a human's diet can be harmful over time, it can be for guinea pigs. Also carrots contain a lot of sugar and too much sugar in a guinea pig's diet makes them as susceptible to diabetes as humans.

 

[GuineaGuy]

Hi, thanks for the reply. Yes we will try and moderate carrots better from now on and try and vary the veg we give them more as well. I may also drop the amount of dry food he has as he loves that.

He has definately been pooping overnight but the worrying thing is that we can see red stains on his bedding and they do look like blood so we are still concerned that there is blood in his urine.

What could we be looking at? A UTI? We did wonder about kidney stones but it seems that they are likely to lose weight with stones. Does anyone have any other ideas?

Thanks again.

 

[twiams]

If there is blood in his urine you really need to take him to the vet as soon as possible, it could be a UTI, or bladder stones, both cause pain and blood during urine, you’ll most likely be prescribed antibiotics and a probiotic (if you aren’t given a probiotic please request it and syringe feed it daily, and not add to your pigs bottle, it helps balance the gut) and maybe a pain killer depending on your pigs situation.

It’s often weight lost that is related to illness, however it depends on how often you weigh your pigs as to wether they may have gained more than 250 grams in the 2 months, and just lost a bit thats gone unnoticed, but some animals don’t loose weight at all

The quicker these are treated the easier they are on your piggy, although if it is bladder stones it may need surgery etc. However it’s likely the UTI would be treated first.

Hope that helps.

 

[Wiebke]

Please have him checked over by a vet again if you notice blood in the urine. It can be just a urine infection, of which we have had a spate with the quick changes in temperatures lately, but that is for your vet to decide.

The weight gain can be due to you overfeeding (especially pellets)/him not burning quite as many calories as before, but I would have you ask the vet to check his heart and make sure it is not a build-up of fluids in the body, just to be on the safe side whenever you are confronted with a large weight gain in a relative short amount of time. That said, his weight is not at all exceptional for an adult boar on a good diet. How old is your boy and which country are you from?

 

[GuineaGuy]

He is 3 and we are in the UK.

We are planning to take him to the vets, but don't know whether to take him to the emergency vets tonight or our usual vets first thing tomorrow morning.

We are out at the moment and are just about to head home but are 2 hours away.

If he has bled more since we've been gone we want to take him to the emergency vets. I assume they will know what to look for but are there any signs that would point towards kidney stones? Also should we try and get a urine sample to take and if so is there a good way to do it?

 

[worried val of york]

How is he now?