Please can I ask for some advice? My 5 year old male guinea pig, Nibbles has lost weight in recent weeks. He is currently 959grams but you can feel all the bones in his little body. He has an increased appetite and is asking for food all the time. He has access to plenty of fresh Timothy hay daily and nuggets. He also has fresh veg daily. His stools are smaller and today he has been sitting in a hunched position. We took him to the vets last week. They took a wee sample and it has not revealed anything. They scanned him but could not see anything abnormal. They have checked his teeth and they are fine.
Our vet is not an exotic specialist. The exotic specialist is asking for £150 just to see him - that is before any treatment takes place. Is that normal?
What should we do?
Hi and welcome
The increased eating in combination with weight loss in older piggies is rather pointing towards a metabolic issue - i.e. nutrition can no longer be properly processed and absorbed. There are quite a number of organs and glands involved in the process but veterinary medicine still struggles for many metabolic problems in small rodents with a very fast metabolism; especially guinea pigs, who are from a very different branch of rodents than rats, hamsters and mice etc. and have not the most efficient digestive system in the first place.
I am very sorry that your vet didn't find anything obvious. You are now faced with the very difficult choice between either letting your piggy live out their life as they are since there is no obvious larger appetite dampening pain issue in play or you face very steep vet and lab test bills without necessarily a guarantee for any efficient medication.
At the current level and with the unexpected massive rise of vet and medications cost in recent years, your financial capabilities are a valid concern.
It's not a decision that any of us is ever making lightly or other than with a very heavy heart. But you have seen a vet who has done the expected tests and obviously a pretty thorough body check for a general consultation, so as an owner you have not failed in your duty of care.
In any case, please step in with top up feeding from a bowl or spoon; you do not have to syringe a hungry piggy.
You can find more helpful information in these links.
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Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support
-https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/how-to-improvise-feeding-support-in-an-emergency.209208/
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Weight (Underweight & Overweight) - Monitoring and Management
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Caring for Older Piggies and Facing the End - A practical and supportive information collection
My thoughts are with you. I sincerely hope that I have not put your dilemma too bluntly. It's one of life's 'between a rock and a hard place' road forks but there is no shame attached to how far you can take it financially with prices having more than tripled in the intervening years since you have got your piggy; especially as you quite obviously have given your little one what they have wanted from life: many happy todays with your love and in your good care. That comes through clearly in your post. 5 years is within the average life span.
