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Pecan Is Losing Weight

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5littlepigs

5littlepigs

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Pecan has gradually been losing weight, but now she's under 800g. It's very confusing because she's so lively and happy all the time and she has such a huge appetite. She'll eat absolutely anything whenever she can, never not hungry. I'm not sure how old she is but I think she's 4/5 years old. She does however have a lump on her side, but I took her to the vet and they didn't think it was anything?
 
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I really hope pecan is ok please take her to see your vet as soon as possible piggies hide there illness sooooo well that when they finnaly do show signs it's argent, in the mean time make sure your weighing her every day at the same time & also weight out her food so you know exactly how much she is eating of the dried food, keep an eye on her poos as this is the best way to see how much food is going in, gut systation can happen so quick so you may want to get a hand feeding kit ready I use oxbow critical care but you can soak her nuggets in walm water making a paist the consistency of sloppy portage you will also need a 1ml seringe with the end cut off, there's a thread on hand feeding if you need it,
I hope she is ok and please keep us informed on how she goes X
 
I agree that this needs further investigation. Is your vet guinea savvy? It may be worth getting a second opinion for one of the vets on our Vet locator tab. Slow weight loss can be easily missed, so you've done well to spot it, but something is not right and it may be that this lump is more of a problem than it first appeared. If she is eating lots already, additional syringe feeding is probably not going to be much help, but make sure she has plenty of dry food and hay and keep an eye on her output. Let us know how you get on
 
I've been feeding her extra hay and dry food, plus other fresh food and I'm currently in the process of worming her but now she's gone down to 700g. I took her to the vet again (a better one, this time) and they still didn't know what was wrong with her. Does anybody have any idea of what's going on with her? :(
 
I think an abdominal xray or scan would be a best bet to see if this lump is originating from an internal organ i.e ovaries or uterus. Id also advise having her teeth checked properly as it can be decieving watching them eat.. Personally if shes lost another 100g in 3 days, id keep on syringe feeding. If the tests mentioned above draw a blank, it may be worth starting to look into blood and urine tests.

All the best
 
Over the years l've noticed a lot of my old timers have lost up to half there body weight !

If she were one of mine , and after all the tests, there were no acompanying symptoms . I would leve well enough alown . As they get older some pigs shed body weight , l have found this to be normal , just the same as some humans ! and my vet agrees

addition of to many adertives appart from extra hay may put an uneasy strain on the renal system
 
Hi, thank you both for your replies. I know that it isn't professional but I've looked at her teeth and I watch her eat every day and she definitely consumes it all. Also, I apologise but I wrote her age wrong! Seems I got it muddled up with one of the other pigs. She's actually around 3 years old. She is eating her veggies and grass and some dry food but I don't think she eats much hay. Her poops were very thin and pointy a couple of days ago. Now they are a bit bigger, but still pointy on one end. And just to confirm, she's only lost 100g in the space of about 2 months. When I said under 800g she was more 750/760g. She's still about 700g now. Could it be possible that worms is causing this? Also, just out of curiosity, I was wondering if guinea pig worms can be transferred to humans as I know other animals' worms can be? Thanks.
 
It is very very rare for guinea pigs to get worms, my vet usually won't prescribe Panacur unless she is satisfied there are parasites present by testing a fecal sample. In any case they are not transferable to humans, who normally get threadworms/roundworms or if they are really unlucky tapeworms. I would be inclined to think this is a response to pain of some sort, maybe request a low dose of Metacam from your vet for a few days & get the lump x-rayed or an ultrasound to make sure there is nothing sinister going on.
 
Perhaps you should get her thyroid checked? Hyperthyroidism - Guinea pigs are really lively & eating lots yet lose weight.

Worth a check.

I am only just learning about this as apparently my boy has it altho he doesn't have all the symptoms.
 
Sadly, I think she's going to have to be put to sleep. :( Something isn't right. She is continuously losing weight and she is now under 600g. Her fur is constantly puffed up and she barely moves anymore and her friend, Perky, always sits next to her and cleans her. I'm assuming Pecan is in pain, hence her puffed up fur and how she hardly moves. I'm taking her to the vet soon so we'll see what they say, but I think there's just something wrong with her insides.
 
Um so sorry to hear that the test & investigations you have had done have drawn a blank
If you think she's in pain ask the vets for some pain killer like metacam or loxicon, I know how hard making the decision to let my little Apple go to sleep so my hear goes out to you if you need to make that decision, please make sure you get some special cuddles befor you go to the vets & know what ever you do she knows how much you have caught for me & how much you love her
My thoughts are with you & I'll be praying you find the strength & courage to do what you need to do for her x
 
Thank you, Tinkoz. xx She was sadly put down today, but it was for the best. Thank you for everyone's help. Rest in peace, Pecan. ♥︎
 
I'm so sorry you had to make the hardest decision any of us have to make for our fur baby's, may Pecan be popcorning over the rainbow bridge playing with all our loved ones who have gone befor her,
Hope you & your family are coming to terms with her passing x
 
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