Poorly Doris

[JoyceDoris 2011]

I'm really concerned about my piggie Doris. She is 3 years old and has lost a significant amount of weight. She is still as bright and bubbly as ever, but does also have a wet bum. She is eating and drinking the same and I haven't changed their food, bedding or sawdust since I've had them (which is 3 years). She feels very skinny and I am very worried about her. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm wondering what I can do before Wednesday which is when I can take her to the vet. Many thanks.

 

[helen105281]

Do you know how much weight she has lost in total and over what period of time? does the wet bum smell of urine? if she is leaking urine then a UTI is possible, though ovarian cysts can cause it too.

Welcome to the forum, please could you update your location on your profile as it helps us advise correctly due to different countries having different meds etc.

 

[Wiebke]

I'm really concerned about my piggie Doris. She is 3 years old and has lost a significant amount of weight. She is still as bright and bubbly as ever, but does also have a wet bum. She is eating and drinking the same and I haven't changed their food, bedding or sawdust since I've had them (which is 3 years). She feels very skinny and I am very worried about her. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm wondering what I can do before Wednesday which is when I can take her to the vet. Many thanks.

Hi and welcome!

Please have her seen by a vet as soon as you can, the sooner, the better! That sounds pretty worrying!

In the meantime, please weigh her daily at the same time in the feeding cycle instead of weekly, as with healthy guinea pigs, in order to keep an eye on her weight. Start syringe feeding her; you will find all the tricks and tips with pictures on how to best do so in our guide: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Make sure that she is kept indoors in any case (if necessary with a companion) and than you keep her comfy and warm.

As we have got members from all over the world, you can help us a lot by adding your country, state/province or UK county to your details to enable us to tailor any advice to what is possible and available where you are. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.

 

[JoyceDoris 2011]

She has lost 100g in the past 3 months, which doesn't sound a lot but she feels very skinny. It smells slightly of urine if that makes sense? It's not s very strong smell. My piggies are kept indoors together. What food should I syringe feed her? Thank you for your help.

 

[helen105281]

If you look in the guide that Wiebke has linked to it covers the options, it is basically either recovery food or critical care which you can get online or from the vets or you can mush her pellets up. It is also possible that she is not moving about as much due to some issue which would make her sit in her pee. Does she move about much?

 

[JoyceDoris 2011]

Yes she is always on the go. My other piggy is very shy, but Doris is very active and very excited to see people

 

[helen105281]

That's good she is active. Does her chewing seem ok? if you look at her incisors are they straight or slanty?

 

[JoyceDoris 2011]

Yes she is chewing and eating okay. Her incisors are straight.

 

[helen105281]

Great, fingers crossed it is not dental then. Hope the vet can give you some answers.

 

[JoyceDoris 2011]

Thank you for your help

 

[Wiebke]

Is her urination increased and her urine very stale smelling? This could point either to a cystitis or a womb infection.

We generally recommend to see a vet if a piggy has lost over 50g weight, promptly if the weight loss is 100g and as an emergency if the weight loss has happened overnight/in a very short space of time because the last means that piggy is not eating and drinking.

The measures I have recommended are there to keep the guts going and the weight up as much as possible until you can see a vet and get a diagnosis. Please have a look at our syringe feeding guide. You will find it very helpful, as it gives you detailed tips as to what you can feed, how much and how often in which situation, as well as what to do with a syringe for best results etc.

 

[Wiebke]

PS: Sadly, we don't know of any vets in your area that we can specially recommend as being piggy savvy, but thanks for adding your location. This will help us to take your vet access and suitable brand names into account when recommending and commenting.