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Piggy Wiggin is drinking too much

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threelittlepigs

threelittlepigs

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I have suspected for a long time that Piggy Wiggin has kidney failure. I have had her for just over 4 years and she is about 5 1/2. This weekend the water consumption in the cage has really rocketed. I have 2 300ml bottles in the cage because I have six piggies and I am always concerned that they should have enough water. Late yesterday evening I refilled both bottles. By lunchtime today 1 1/2 bottles had been drained, so that's 450mls in 12 hours.

Piggy Wiggin was constantly at the water bottle. I will watch her over the next 24 hrs, but I think a trip to the vets is in order. Sadly, her sister and littermate died of kidney problems two years ago and I know that not only is it untreatable, but metacam cannot be used to control the pain as it worsens kidney problems.

Ho hum! It has been a difficult week in my piggy household! To add to this, my chinchillas broke out of their cage last night and are still under a chest of drawers in my front room. I can't chase them out as the chest of drawers reaches the floor on three sides and the chins are hiding under the back...
 
Oh dear not a good week. Fingers and paws crossed that Piggy Wiggin is ok and just very thirsty. (we can but hope)
I think a food trail is the only answer for the chins - they'll come out when their hungry.
I hope things get better for you soon. x
 
Thanks for your advice on both counts!

Piggy Wiggin still has so much spark about her. I will weigh her in the morning and decide on when to take her to the vets.

I am currently staking out the chinchillas who are barking from under the chest of drawers (alarm calls). I'm not surprised as they must be scared not being in their cage. Honey did go back to the cage this afternoon, but I have found in the past that it is more stressful for them to be separated so didn't want to shut her in without her cagemate.

I will probably need to start a chinchilla stake out thread if they don't go back in soon!
 
I hope you have some luck getting the chins out from their hiding place. :))

With regards to Piggy Wiggin, I'd be inclined to think along the same lines as yourself. How is her weight?
 
I am sorry about Piggy Wiggin when all you can do is making her as comfy as possible. Obviously, you know the signs.

Is there are chance that you can leave the chin cage open with some food inside where they can easily see it from under the chest so they can come back in by themselves?
 
Thanks for your advice.

The good news is that not much water has been drunk overnight. I will be keeping a close eye. Piggy Wiggin gave me a fright this morning by not coming out for breakfast: the first time I can ever recall her not leading the piggy chorus. She was actually asleep in a paper bag full of orchard grass that I had given them as a treat last night. This in itself is not a very positive sign as piggies usually sleep so lightly.

The chinchillas are fully aware of where the cage is, but simply prefer life behind the chest of drawers. They have had this as an ambition for some time and must be very pleased that their escape plan worked! Cheeky monkeys! They keep appearing from under the sofa bed next to the chest looking very cute...
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
I hope you have some luck getting the chins out from their hiding place. :))

With regards to Piggy Wiggin, I'd be inclined to think along the same lines as yourself. How is her weight?
Click to expand...

I will weigh her later today. When I weighed her recently her weight had dropped to 800g from an average weight of about 950g in the four years I have had her. She was always the lightest of my girls. I am thinking that weight might be the most effective way to chart her progress and will keep an eye on it. To be honest, I am unwilling to offer supplementary food as the prognosis is not good and I don't want to prolong her inevitable suffering.

I will just make sure that she is comfortable and still enjoying life and take it from there.
 
What a week you're having. :(

I'm sorry Piggy Wiggin is poorly. Big hugs again.

As for those naughty chins... :x.... good luck. x
 
Hiya, I've not been on for a few days so sorry if I've missed anything. Just wondering how Piggy Wiggin is doing and have you caught the chinchillas?!
 
Thanks for asking, Katie.

It turned out to be a bit of a false alarm and drinking levels have now returned to normal. I think the piggies' supper might have been dry that evening or something because she is definitely not drinking as much now.

I gave the matter a lot of thought and searched on some threads on this forum and decided that in any case I would let her live out her natural life with me as opposed to rushing her to the vets to have her put down.

She is 5 1/2 and with her dodgy kidneys she will go downhill very quickly. At the moment she is definitely living life to the full and enjoying every mealtime as it comes!

I did catch the chinchillas, although it took me two days! They are very disappointed at being back in their cage, but they also found life behind the chest of drawers quite scary. Snowball kept making alarm calls (barking) and I have to say I did not feel sympathetic as she had chosen to escape!
 
Thank goodness for the false alarm. They do get you so worried don't they? :...
If she's happy I think you're doing the right thing to let her be and enjoy her senior years. She'll let you know when she's ready.
Sending positive vibes to her.

Glad you caught the chins! The cheeky little things. :))
 
All the best with piggie x It has been very warm this weekend mine have been drinking lots.
I have Daisy who is 4 and she has wasting disease too she drinks like a little trooper but is so active and healthy.She seems to have gone through a barrier and has now put some weight back on.
As long as your piggie is happy i would agree with your plan
Helen x>>>
 
If you suspect kidney problems you could try asking your vet for fortekor. It preserves remaining kidney function and extends life expectancy. I've been using it in my cat for 3 and1/2 years. I was told at the time that she wouldn't survive but she's done remarkably well on fortekor.
I'm also using it on one of my pigs with suspected kidney problems. He had stopped eating by himself and had gone down to 850g. When I started him on fortekor he perked up almost immediately and has put on 200g over the last few weeks. I don't know what the long term prognosis is but it has certainly improved his quality of life in the short term.
 
sorry to ask but is there a standard (rough estimate) on how much guineapigs should drink? I'm worried now that you thought your 2 x 300ml bottles nearly being empty in 12 hours was alarming.
i have 6 piggys in one enclosure with 3 x 500ml (1500ml) bottles which i refill in the morning then again before bed because they are empty(!)
in another enclosure i have another 6 girls who have just 2x 500ml bottles and never finish them off fully before they got refilled. i just thought it depended on the pig. some drink more than others?
does drinking a lot of water indicate kidney problems then?
 
I don't think that there is an average amount that piggies should drink as it varies so much from animal to animal. Also, it depends on the amount of fluids they get from other sources. When I first got my pigs I used to have access to lots of long grass and I found that they hardly drank anything.

I think that you need to watch for changes/increases in the amount being drunk. For example, before March, my seven piggies had just one water bottle which I would refill every couple of days. Therefore for two bottles to be drunk overnight suggests to me that there is something seriously wrong.

Drinking lots is a sign of kidney failure: the kidneys are not coping with processing waste and the body is trying its hardest to eliminate waste products by other means.
 
I'm glad that things seemed to have settled down regarding drinking and that you finally unearthed the chins.

Have you out padlocks on the cage now? :(|)
 
Sadly Piggy Wiggin suddenly went downhill this morning and having kept a close eye on her all day it seemed to me that having her put to sleep was the best option.

I will start a thread in the Rainbow Bridge section soon.
 
OH Pollie that is so sad sweetheart. I'm so very sorry.

RIP little one.

:(
 
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