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Skinny pig losing weight

Tabybim

Tabybim

Junior Guinea Pig
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My 2 and 3quarter year old skinny pig, Fergus has been losing weight but vets have checked his teeth, which are fine and taken blood. Results aren’t back yet.
Does anyone know why a young Guinea pig who is eating ( lots) would be losing weight rapidly? He is always hungry and his stools are loose . This has never happened with any of my previous pigs . Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Tabybim said:
My 2 and 3quarter year old skinny pig, Fergus has been losing weight but vets have checked his teeth, which are fine and taken blood. Results aren’t back yet.
Does anyone know why a young Guinea pig who is eating ( lots) would be losing weight rapidly? He is always hungry and his stools are loose . This has never happened with any of my previous pigs . Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Hi

Mystery weight loss is one of my least favourite symptom because so many very different issues can lie behind it. :(

Please step in with feeding support asap. Over three quarters of the daily food intake is actually hay, which you cannot control by eye. The loose poos may indicate that your boy could be eating less hay than he should.

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

All the best. Please concentrate on slowing down the weight loss as much as possible at this stage.
 
Good luck. I hope the vet can get to the bottom of Fergus’s weight loss.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Mystery weight loss is one of my least favourite symptom because so many very different issues can lie behind it. :(

Please step in with feeding support asap. Over three quarters of the daily food intake is actually hay, which you cannot control by eye. The loose poos may indicate that your boy could be eating less hay than he should.

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

All the best. Please concentrate on slowing down the weight loss as much as possible at this stage.
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Any idea what I should be feeding him. I’ve been giving him organic baby food ( which he loves)I also tried bananas ( which he hated.)
 
Tabybim said:
Any idea what I should be feeding him. I’ve been giving him organic baby food ( which he loves)I also tried bananas ( which he hated.)
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Please do read the guides Wiebke linked in - they explain what to do and the importance is the daily weight checks.
When syringe feeding you need to replace their hay intake - baby food isn’t the right thing, it’s not the fibre his gut needs and won’t replace his hay intake to stop weight loss. He needs a proper recovery feed such as oxbow critical care or emeraid. In an emergency you can use mushed pellets but they contain less fibre than critical care.
 
Hi

Please take the time to read the links in my post. They explain everything.

Baby food and bananas do not replace the hay/grass fibre that makes over three quarters of the daily food intake. You can in a pinch use mushed pellets as a bridging measure but for any serious weight loss over a longer term you need hay fibre based recovery formulas in order to keep the digestive system properly balanced and not create further secondary problems.

How to make mushed pellets and where to exactly cut off the syringe tip for the rougher pellet fibre is in our syringe feeding guide link in my first post with pictures. ;)
 
I will get some critical care food ( although my vet said he didn’t need it) he is still eating hay and pellets ( although how much is hard to gauge).He also seems to be drinking a lot and so the vet is checking his kidneys.
 
Tabybim said:
I will get some critical care food ( although my vet said he didn’t need it) he is still eating hay and pellets ( although how much is hard to gauge).He also seems to be drinking a lot and so the vet is checking his kidneys.
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As he is losing weight then it is likely he isn’t eating enough hay (pellets don’t actually matter - they aren’t what he needs and only make such a tiny amount of the diet). You can’t gauge hay intake by eye and that is the importance of the daily weight checks - it’s the only way to know hay intake.

Use mushed pellets in the meantime
 
I’m getting very different information from my vet who says critical care food will be of no help ( I guess because he is still eating) . I’m concerned because the blood test results won’t be in til the end of the week at the soonest and Fergus is still losing weight in the meantime . One other thing ( and I’m sorry to have to mention it) but he is pooping an awful lot , not diarrhoea normal poos but heaps and heaps ( and I clean out his cage daily.) I’m aware skinny pigs have a higher metabolism than regular Guinea pigs but Fergus is my third skinny and I’ve experienced nothing like this before. Sorry for the length of this message and thanks for everyone’s advice.
 
He may be losing weight because of a renal issue but you need to do something to work towards slowing down the weight loss in the meantime.

How much weight is he losing each day?
 
Please be aware that although they are not vets our forum experts have likely experienced and dealt with more health issues with guinea pigs than an average vet will see in their career.
 
If Fergus is losing weight then I’d definitely step in with syringe feeding until your vet can find the cause. Good luck.
 
Thanks for all you’re advice. I’ve got him on the critical care food now. He’s blood test came back clear with no abnormalities so now I have to get a urine sample.
In your opinion what is the best brand of hay for Guinea pigs? I’ve been using burgess but it’s been out of stock any other suggestions would be most helpful.
 
I’m glad nothing is abnormal.
It does mean his weight loss is because he isn’t eating enough hay so definitely ensure you are syringe feeding him plenty - a minimum of 60ml per day.

Any grass hay is absolutely fine. I personally get meadow hay from a local farm by the name. I also buy orchard hay from Happy Hay Co.
 
Tabybim said:
Thanks for all you’re advice. I’ve got him on the critical care food now. He’s blood test came back clear with no abnormalities so now I have to get a urine sample.
In your opinion what is the best brand of hay for Guinea pigs? I’ve been using burgess but it’s been out of stock any other suggestions would be most helpful.
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I’m glad the blood test came back clear.
 
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