• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Skinny Bea and tubby Leeloo

Status
Not open for further replies.
stripeybeanie

stripeybeanie

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jan 31, 2012
Messages
148
Reaction score
85
Points
245
Location
Bristol
My 2 girls Beatrix and Leeloo are generally healthy. Leeloo has always been a bit heavier (30-50g difference as they were growing up, then more as they became adults)
However we are concerned about Bea, as over the last few weeks shes become skinnier. We only noticed when we came back from holiday in May and our friend who looked after them remarked how tubby Leeloo looked. We were more concerned about skinny Bea! She's a fussy little monkey anyway but is always the first pig out when the fridge door opens, squeaking for food at every opportunity BUT then often turns her nose up when we feed them.
We used to weigh them weekly when they were growing up but hadn't done it for a while. We started again at the end may and every week since. Bea has dropped by 120g in total although its up and down each week, and Leeloo has gone up by about the same amount (also up & down).
Bea seems ok in herself; bright eyed & inquisitive as ever, but she feels skinny now, I can feel her hips. Leeloo by comparison is a chubby lazy lady.
Leeloo is the boss when it comes to food and steals from Bea but we always try to make sure she gets enough and feed them on our laps. They have dry pellets too, which Leeloo is obsessed with (so we reduced the qty). Bea is obsessed with drinking water - this has increased in the past couple of months but then the weather has got warmer so maybe a coincidence?
We are probably taking her to the vet anyway but I just wanted to reach out to you guys and see if anyone has experienced anything similar and had any ideas....
Thanks x
 
Hello.

Has she lost 120g since you started weighing again in at end of May - so 3 weeks ago ish...? I would recommend a vets trip ASAP to be honest. Weight loss is often the first sign of many piggie illness and a constant decline would ring alarm bells as 120g is quite a lot.

I would get her teeth checked for sure, is she making any pawing at her mouth motions or masticating? As regards to drinking more, get the vet to check her wee. You can do this by taking a fresh sample to the vets just before you go. I'll find a post that's shows you how to collect one. The vet can test for any blood present in it which may indicate bladder problems.

Do you have a good guinea pig vet? I will point Amanda and Jerrybelly towards this thread as they are local to your area and are very experienced piggies owners and can recommend a good vet if needed.
 
Sometimes if a guinea is in pain they will not eat well. Lots of things for your vet to check out here so make sure you see a vet experienced with guineas, an exotics vet is probably your best bet. For dental examinations, make sure they know how to check the molars properly (see dental pages on guinealynx ). Just looking in the front of the mouth with the light scope is not enough.

How old are your girls? Does the wee in the cage smell different from normal? Any squeaking while weeing?

Best of luck at the vets x
 
I cannot recommend Highcroft vets in Bristol highly enough - the vets to ask for are Jemma (although I think she's on holiday at the moment), Polly or Vim. They're currently treating all my animals (or so it feels!)
 
Thanks Amanda I live north of Bristol so it's a long way to get to their surgeries but maybe worth it! My closest one is Rowe - does anyone know what they are like?

Thanks Shiny for the tips, I hadn't thought about the molars as you can't see them and you always hear about the front ones usually, but it makes sense as she eats soft things but not her pellets. They are 1.5 years

Thanks again sport billy, that looks a lot easier than I thought it would be! I'm going to call the vets today and see if I can get an appt
 
stripeybeanie said:
Thanks Amanda I live north of Bristol so it's a long way to get to their surgeries but maybe worth it! My closest one is Rowe - does anyone know what they are like?

Thanks Shiny for the tips, I hadn't thought about the molars as you can't see them and you always hear about the front ones usually, but it makes sense as she eats soft things but not her pellets. They are 1.5 years

Thanks again sport billy, that looks a lot easier than I thought it would be! I'm going to call the vets today and see if I can get an appt
Click to expand...

Not used them myself, have pointed someone who I know does use them, in the direction of your query :)
 
Chris is the exotics vet with Rowe - he's based at Wotten Under Edge. The vet who saw my piggies for a few years is no longer with the practice, so I can't say much else, I'm afraid.

I would definitely agree with Amanda though, Jemma at Highcroft is very highly recommended. All my pigs are now registered there :)
 
I took her to Rowe in Bradley stoke earlier, they were really nice and gave her a proper once over. She said it looks like it could be her teeth as her top molars aren't quite the right direction, but are going to investigate properly tomorrow as she couldn't see her lower molars very well because she's got quite a short snout (like a bunny)
They gave me some liquid food for tonight which she took quite well. She seems ok so lets see what tomorrow brings
Thanks to everyone for the advice, really helpful! X
 
Best of luck for tomorrow, let us know how she gets on. Love to Bea.
 
So we collected them last night & Bea was very sleepy and drowsy after her anaesthetic. They had filed her teeth a little as they were a bit overgrown.
This morning she is like her old self! She's eaten nearly 2 sticks of celery and even some dry pellets which I'm really pleased about. So I'm going to keep an eye on her and check her again on weigh-day & see what happens.
Leeloo went with her to keep each other company and she was tired from the adventure too, but she is confirmed by the vet as on the tubby side, so somehow I have to put her on a diet and yet still allow Bea as a much as she wants. Hmmm...
Anyway so far so good. Thanks everyone for your help x
 
Great news on Bea. The only way I know to ensure more food gets into Bea and less into Leeloo is to feed each one separately (except for hay of course which should always be available to both 24/7). When my Peanut Butter had his first dental treatment he was supposed to have softened pellets for a day or so. When I put the dish into the cage, PB refused them and his cagemate Hazelnut, who has beautiful teeth, gobbled them up. So, it was get PB out of the cage on my lap with the dish and he eventually ate them
 
Great news, did the vet give you any metacam(painkiller) to give at home? This is sometimes needed after dental work as their myths can be sore. If she is not eating or stops after a day or two, it is worth contacting your vet to get some. Lots of healing vibes to Bea
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top