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Piggy slowly loosing weight

G&C

G&C

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi, my 15 month old boar has been slowly loosing weight over the last few months. We regularly weigh both of them, not religiously but roughly once a fortnight. He seems fine, happy popcorning about and eating and drinking as usual. Any thoughts on what could be the problem? I’m hoping and praying it’s not the back teeth.

His weights have been:
April 1st: 1.414Kg
9th: 1.378kg
1.374
1.368
1.330
1.325
1.307
Yesterday he weighed 1.285Kg. I know this is not an unhealthy weight and probably about average, but he is loosing. Should I feed them more? The younger one is only 6 months and is starting to argue a little bit with him (hormones!) I’m wondering if he’s stopping Gizmo from eating/getting to the food?
 
Maybe he moves more.
I would watch them while eating so you can see if he can eat properly and whether they argue while eating or not.
 
Ive watched him a few times he does eat fine, sometimes the younger one gets upset when Gizmo comes to the veg pile, but generally they eat together quite happily. I’ve tried spreading veg about the hutch and putting it in two separate piles. They both tend to go for the pile closest to the bedroom then move on to the next pile together. I’m a bit stumped to be honest.
 
G&C said:
Hi, my 15 month old boar has been slowly loosing weight over the last few months. We regularly weigh both of them, not religiously but roughly once a fortnight. He seems fine, happy popcorning about and eating and drinking as usual. Any thoughts on what could be the problem? I’m hoping and praying it’s not the back teeth.

His weights have been:
April 1st: 1.414Kg
9th: 1.378kg
1.374
1.368
1.330
1.325
1.307
Yesterday he weighed 1.285Kg. I know this is not an unhealthy weight and probably about average, but he is loosing. Should I feed them more? The younger one is only 6 months and is starting to argue a little bit with him (hormones!) I’m wondering if he’s stopping Gizmo from eating/getting to the food?
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Hi! Your boy has lost over 100g and needs to have a vet check. Yes, he is not in acute danger, but he is now definitely in the bracket where he should be seen to make sure that there are no underlying issues.

Feeding more is not the solution. Over 80% of the food intake should be unlimited hay for dental and gut health and longevity. By feeding more pellets and vet you are not improving the diet!
Feed veg and pellets in portions that can be eaten in one go in one bowl each per boars ideally more than a body length apart. Remove the bowls between meals to encourage eating hay. Make sure that access to hay cannot be blocked and ideally have it in two places. Also have two bottles of water at different ends of the cage so access cannot be blocked.

The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight
How Soon Should My Guinea Pig See A Vet? - A Quick Guide
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
 
ok Thank you for that I will organise a vet trip ASAP.
What underlying health issues can cause slow weight loss? Apart from teeth problems which I’m aware of.
 
G&C said:
ok Thank you for that I will organise a vet trip ASAP.
What underlying health issues can cause slow weight loss? Apart from teeth problems which I’m aware of.
Click to expand...

A whole lot of things can do that, most not quite obvious; very often it is a pain/discomfort issue somewhere in the body. In older piggies it is normal to lose this amount of weight over the course of several months, but a health check is still necessary to make sure that you are not missing something.

Before you look at anything else (your other boy is currently at an all time testosterone high), you always need to exclude a health issue.
To the Guinea Lynx list you can add digestive issues (one of my mystery weight loss piggies had bloating in the stomach), penis/anal sac problems (sperm rods, impaction etc), kidney/diabetes/internal growths etc...
Hopefully your boy will get a clean bill of health, but he should be checked out in the coming days in case he is developing a problem.
Guinea Lynx :: Anorexia (not eating)
 
Hi again, just got back from the vets and they couldn’t find a reason for the weight loss. They gave Gizmo a full examination (I think). Looked at his back teeth as well but said they were fine, they also said ‘it’s so difficult to see with all the food in there’ which always concerns me! And the vet said ‘to have a proper look they usually need a GA!’
The vet had a look at his fur/skin as there is only a few fur lice (not like before when I treated them with spot on from the pet shop when they were crawling everywhere). She firstly said she was going to give an injection to both of them of ivermectin then changed her mind to a prescribed dosage of the spot on, which I will collect on Monday. There were that few an amount of lice it took her two attempts with a piece of cellotape to pick one up, take it to the microscope and have a peek.
As you can tell I don’t have much confidence in vets due to past experience, any thoughts would be welcome, thank you.
 
Whereabouts are you? You may be close to a vet on the Vet Locator. Have you had a look at that? These are vets recommended by Forum members who have had a good experience with them. I have just recommended my vets as they have (and are still doing) a fantastic job of looking after my Christian (and me!) since his life saving operation 16 days ago.
 
I’m in Seacroft in east Leeds, I went to my local vets4pets as they don’t travel well at all, do you find that with yours? There’s holly house which I saw was recommended but the vet that is listed there (on this website) does not work there. I don’t know if that’s an error or wether that vet has left.
 
The vet has probably left. My piggies are OK for around half an hour I put hay, pellets, cucumber and pepper in the carry case for them. My vets is around 20-30 mins away.
 
G&C said:
I’m in Seacroft in east Leeds, I went to my local vets4pets as they don’t travel well at all, do you find that with yours? There’s holly house which I saw was recommended but the vet that is listed there (on this website) does not work there. I don’t know if that’s an error or wether that vet has left.
Click to expand...

Guinea pigs travel surprisingly well and get used to it the more you do it. If they have each other, they are better off.
Travelling with guinea pigs
Tips For Vet Visits

My piggy savvy vets are about an hour from me, whether my husband can drive me or whether I have to get there by train (plus to and from the station at either end). I have made that trip regularly on the train, including with freshly operated piggies. They have all survived their ordeal!

PS: I have picked or help transport rescue guinea pigs via train journeys have taken over 3 hours each way, including 7 weeks old piggies and 9 year olds. None have come to any harm. It is worth travelling to see a good vet. Several of my piggies wouldn't have lived as long as they did otherwise.
The longest I have taken piggies on medication with me was 6 1/2 hours by car each way, but I know of guinea pigs in bad state being driven to a rescue for 15 hours or even several days in order to get them into rescue - including some that have had to be flown by plane over 1000 miles from one end to the state to next in Australia, just to get to their closest rescue!
The Fox Residence Guinea Pig Sanctuary
 
My boys just travelled an hour each way this morning to see the vet.

Do you put them in a carrier together @G&C ? I find that they don't like being together for a long car journey so they all have their separate carriers (It was fun trying to take 3 carriers into the vet!).
 
:btt: So any ideas regarding this weight loss of Gizmo? Or should I be satisfied with the consultation? I guess I’ll try the spot on they prescribed and see if that improves his weight, i don’t know if lice can cause weight loss. I’m currently looking into different hay to get them, although the bags I get they go through it quite quick they love meadow hay and I feed them that ‘5 a day’ hay which has extra bits in it, they really liked it at first but seem to be going off it now.
 
Jaycey said:
My boys just travelled an hour each way this morning to see the vet.

Do you put them in a carrier together @G&C ? I find that they don't like being together for a long car journey so they all have their separate carriers (It was fun trying to take 3 carriers into the vet!).
Click to expand...

Yes I put them in together as I only have one, they were fine and that is the first time little Gilbert has been to the vets, they were good as gold, but only in the car 15 minutes each way.
 
G&C said:
:btt: So any ideas regarding this weight loss of Gizmo? Or should I be satisfied with the consultation? I guess I’ll try the spot on they prescribed and see if that improves his weight, i don’t know if lice can cause weight loss. I’m currently looking into different hay to get them, although the bags I get they go through it quite quick they love meadow hay and I feed them that ‘5 a day’ hay which has extra bits in it, they really liked it at first but seem to be going off it now.
Click to expand...

If the weight loss continues, I would recommend to see a more piggy savvy vet.

Guinea pigs have always got a gunky mouth. The gunky pouches can be gently cleared with a cotton but to have a quick look at the state of the mouth in order to decide wether it needs a close look or not for dental issues or oral thrush.

Just a look at the incisors should give you an idea whether you are dealing with a dental issue or not by the way - if they are nice and even, not slanted, jagged, or inward growing then there is usually nothing major wrong at the back. The incisors are self-sharpening in a balanced dental system. If they do that nicely, then the system is still working. ;)

There are however a lot more issues than dental problems that can cause a slow or quick weight loss, so please do not get fixated on that! Has the vet checked for possible, bloating, bladder stones, lumps, problems with his genitals etc. ?
 
Hi yes I think so, Gizmo was examined for lumps and bumps she had good feel around and there was no sign he was in any pain. He actually purred at her which was typical of him, he loves being handled :love: there’s no signs of bloat, however the vet didn’t exactly comment on what she was doing if that makes sense. How do you examine for kidney stones?
 
G&C said:
Hi yes I think so, Gizmo was examined for lumps and bumps she had good feel around and there was no sign he was in any pain. He actually purred at her which was typical of him, he loves being handled :love: there’s no signs of bloat, however the vet didn’t exactly comment on what she was doing if that makes sense. How do you examine for kidney stones?
Click to expand...

If Gizmo wasn't showing signs of discomfort when your vet felt the kidney area, he won't have any, espeically as you haven't reported any other symptoms that could point that way. ;)
 
Take a look at this guide here. If Gizmo is somewhat overweight for his size, then he is more likely to lose more weight quickly if he is more active with a teenage boy for company and competition.
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

At the moment, you are at that stage where you do a vet check in case there is an obvious reason for the weight loss. That has not been the case.

Keep an eye on him and see a more experienced vet if the weight loss continues.
 
I had the exact same problem with my boy this time last year.

He had a througher vet check including his back teeth (After losing a piggy to dental issues, my vet knows how paranoid I get so I insisted).

His weight eventually stabalised and after the summer, his weight began to increase until he was back to his usual weight.

We never did find out the problem
 
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I have collected the spot on from the vets today it’s called xeno 50-mini spot on (contains ivermectin 50 mcg per tube). They have instructed to put on 4 tubes on both of them, does this sound right to you? Also I can’t see any fur lice anymore so should I delay it until/if they reappear? Thank you
 
That sounds a bout right. I would give him the treatment now as mites can't be seen by the naked eye and fur mites are hard to see.

Even if only giving him the treatment as a precaution, it won't harm him
 
G&C said:
I have collected the spot on from the vets today it’s called xeno 50-mini spot on (contains ivermectin 50 mcg per tube). They have instructed to put on 4 tubes on both of them, does this sound right to you? Also I can’t see any fur lice anymore so should I delay it until/if they reappear? Thank you
Click to expand...

Please treat as stated on the product and treat now to prevent a return.
 
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