Recovered From Infection But Losing Weight?

[Al & Jan]

My Abyssinian guinea Abbey is 6 years old this May. She lost a friend last January and was very uspet. We managed to get her a couple of friends whom she enjoyed the company from. Some weeks later she stopped eating for no apparent reason and I took her to the vet asap as she was sore around her bladder. He took x-ray and examined her thoroughly. There were thankfully no bladder stones but her urine had a PH of 5! which is very acidic for a guinea. We checked what we were feeding her and nothing would have caused this to happen. vet suggested that it could be an infection which may have gone to the kidneys. He prescribed an anti biotic for 1 week. She was then checked out again by the same vet. Her PH was up to 9 and her weight a little improved with some eating by herself but mainly from syringe feeding with Critical Care every 2 hours, even during the night. However the vet found crystals in her urine this time, which he had only ever seen in dogs before! He sent the sample off to the lab but nothing showed up as being bad and he said she was really healthy, just under weight.
Two weeks passed. Abbey is eating lots of veggies, hay, fresh grass, dried food and syring feeding twice daily, but she is still losing weight every day. She is now only 781g. Although she is really bright again in herself, running around and squeaking when the grass is coming! I'm still so worried that she isn't putting any weight on and is so boney and thin. Any ideas?

 

[DM030819]

What has been the rate of weight loss, how long has it been happening for?

How long has she been living with her new cage mates?

Weight loss can happen in older pigs when they start to lose muscle mass so if the amoung hasn't been too drastic then it may not be something to worry about.

 

[Wiebke]

My Abyssinian guinea Abbey is 6 years old this May. She lost a friend last January and was very uspet. We managed to get her a couple of friends whom she enjoyed the company from. Some weeks later she stopped eating for no apparent reason and I took her to the vet asap as she was sore around her bladder. He took x-ray and examined her thoroughly. There were thankfully no bladder stones but her urine had a PH of 5! which is very acidic for a guinea. We checked what we were feeding her and nothing would have caused this to happen. vet suggested that it could be an infection which may have gone to the kidneys. He prescribed an anti biotic for 1 week. She was then checked out again by the same vet. Her PH was up to 9 and her weight a little improved with some eating by herself but mainly from syringe feeding with Critical Care every 2 hours, even during the night. However the vet found crystals in her urine this time, which he had only ever seen in dogs before! He sent the sample off to the lab but nothing showed up as being bad and he said she was really healthy, just under weight.
Two weeks passed. Abbey is eating lots of veggies, hay, fresh grass, dried food and syring feeding twice daily, but she is still losing weight every day. She is now only 781g. Although she is really bright again in herself, running around and squeaking when the grass is coming! I'm still so worried that she isn't putting any weight on and is so boney and thin. Any ideas?

Hi! Just a one week course of antibiotics may have been too short; urinary tract problems are generally persistent.

Crystals, sludge, stones and urinary tract infections are the bane of guinea pigs. They are anything but uncommon! Persistent crystals can irritate the bladder walls and cause cystitis, an inflammation of the bladder walls.

I would strongly recommend to see a vet with experience with guinea pigs. I would also recommend to go over her diet and check water hardness, quality and amount of pellets (1-2 tablespoons in a day are all that an adult guinea pig needs), as well as the calcium content of your veg.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diet

 

[Al & Jan]

What has been the rate of weight loss, how long has it been happening for?

How long has she been living with her new cage mates?

Weight loss can happen in older pigs when they start to lose muscle mass so if the amoung hasn't been too drastic then it may not be something to worry about.

Hi
Thank you for your reply. The weight loss started 20th Feb. She picked up a little during the 10 days she was on Baytril and Rinitidine which was from 23rd Feb until 4th March. It continued to increase very slowly until 16th March and then ever since has been going down from 868g to now 781g. I am still syringe feeding her additional water and critical care every day in addition to what she eats herself.
Her new cage mates are only next door and not in with her. She was desperate for company but not in her space! have attached pic! She has always been a very bossy guinea and likes having her own cage and run area.
I do hope it isn't anything to worry about. She has never been a big eater and always on the petite size but never has been this thin?