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Small or underweight Guinea Pig?

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Vanessa89

Vanessa89

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Hi all would be grateful for some advice :)

I have 6 guinea pigs who are all about the same size and weight except one.

This one is about a year old, he doesn't appear to have any problems eating, his teeth look normal, he gets plenty of fresh fruit and veg, he is active and seems happy, he drinks plenty and eats lots of hay and grass. I weighed him last night and his weight is 640g. He is significantly smaller than the other piggies but this doesn't seem disproportionate, he does seem to be in proportion to his features, and does not look skinny.

I just wonder why he does not seem to grow, or fill out when there appears to be nothing wrong with him, and all his other piggy friends have outgrown him a lot.

I was looking at him the other day and he doesn't feel underweight but he is certainly not fat. The only other thing I have noticed is once in a blue moon maybe a couple of weeks I can hear him cough but if I go in and check he does it for about 5 seconds then stops. I was worried about infection but he seems fine and the coughing doesn't stay or seem prolonged. I keep checking his teeth just in case he was struggling with food but they look perfect. His breathing does appear slightly more laboured than the others but I was not sure if this was because of his lack of chunkiness making it seem more noticeable and I am picking up on nothing, when maybe he is just a runt or not going to get very big.

Anyway I would be grateful for any advice, thanks :)
 
It is possble that he could be a heart pig as this would fit with the small size, laboured breathing and coughing. Heart pigs can struggle to gain weight. Do you ever hear any hooting at all? I would get him to the vet to be checked. It is not necessarily this but some of the things you mention do fit. I have 7 heart pigs of my own and have been given great advice from a lady who is an expert in heart problems. PM me if you need to, though you will need to post 11 more times to be able to do so, so go and admire some pigs in the stories and photos section.
 
One of my girls is smaller than her partner but both supposed to be same age She is about 12-18 months old but my four month olds are the same size as her She's fine so I don't worry about her just the way she is
 
It may be that he's a smaller breed. We have one piggy, Mousey who's always been smaller than the rest but it's always been a proportionate difference. It's best to weigh them once a week so you can tell if there's a sudden change in weight which can be a warning that something may not be right. It's quite normal to lose or gain one or two ounces in a week but if it gets to a loss of 3 or more then it may mean a visit to the vet. Chances are he's just naturally smaller than the rest.
 
I haven't noticed any hooting, I think I might start from this a weekly monitor of his weight see if there are any rapid changes. We did start a monthly one but for a better idea and to take with us for a trip to the vet too a weekly one might be better. I have a feeling he is just small but its good to hear of other peoples experiences :)
 
I have a male piggy who is the same he is 8 months old and weighs 850g, his brother is 1200g but a bigger boned piggy in general. I have had mine checked over by my vet and she can't find anything wrong with him apart from he sneezes occasionally which we have at the moment but down to allergies as it happens when he has been asleep in his hay box. Mine is gaining weight slowly though but he won't ever be a huge piggy. I would weigh weekly it gives you a better indicator of what is going on, slight weight loss is nothing but anything major you can see :)
 
Hi Vanessa

Personally I get twitchy with any pig under 1kg.....especially boars. However being involved with rescue pigs I now realise that some pigs just "aren't" able to get to 1kg. These can be runts, malnourished, bullied etc etc.

HOWEVER:....640g is WAY too low...that is a juvenile weight. Full grown healthy boar pigs should at least be 800g so i would be inclined to follow up on Helen's suggestion that you may have a piggie with heart problems and that needs to be investigated..

First you need a cavy savvy vet to help...because piggie heart problems are not "just diagnosed" by "listening with a stethoscope". Given your location, Aiden Rafferty at Ashleigh vets might be able to help.
http://ashleigh-veterinary-centre.com/staff/

I have several heart pigs..all with differing problems.
Some have "enlarged hearts" which are diagnosable on Xray.
Others have, unfortunately, had a previous infection of the heart that has left them with chronic endocarditis...only found/diagnosed with an echocardiogram

All however, having got a confirmed diagnosis and been put on heart meds, have had long lived and happy lives.

I think it;s brilliant you are aware that maybe something isn;t quite right with your little pig and have noticed the coughing. I hope you manage to find out the problem and get them the right treatment.

HTH
x
 
Thanks Pebble, I drew immediate comparissons with my Mrs Fuzzy who was in the low 600gs when she came to live with us and since being diagnosed with a heart condition and being put on heart meds has lots more energy, got her spark back and is almost 1000g. Of course there were also comparissons with Nigel too who was also tiny when he arrived, but unfortunately was diagnosed too late and was only with us about 10 months. Like Pebble says it is good that you have noticed these signs.
 
Weighed him this morning and its only been a week and he is 540g so lost a lot of weight so visiting vets this afternoon. His breathing seemed worse yesterday so kept and eye of him then he just suddenly looked unwell. :...

hopefully the vet will know what's wrong kinda kicking myself for not going to vets last week but he seemed okay :(
 
It's also worth remembering that it's not possible to see a piggies back teeth easily at home and most dental problems that cause significant weight loss are molar problems. If they are very overgrown they can cause mouth problems that will bother his breathing as well.

Definitely get him checked out as he is very little for a boar and the breathing problem is ringing alarm bells. Piggies can go down hill fast so I hope you get a good result quickly. x
 
I have been given a 10 day antibiotics course for suspected respiratory infection, my partner is not sure it was the right diagnosis but it is worth a try. If no improvement we are thinking of a specialist cavy vet :( hopefully this will be the right diagnosis
 
10 days is a good course of antibiotics and if a URI there it would clear it or have about cleared it in that time. Did they give you any metacam and probiotics?
 
No they didn't he said he seemed quite alert etc but that he had a slight rattle in his chest. He said there was pro and cons to separation and keeping together but he would recommend he stayed with his cage pall so as not to get distressed. To monitor his weight and his beats per minute by his breathing. He was going to give 5 days antibiotics then said actually we will do 10. Then said after this if it's still the same he has a number for a cavy specialist :/
 
Can I give him anything else to supplement his weight gain? Saw someone had said banana and oats is good on another thread. What would people recommend?
 
if he is on antibiotics he needs probiotics as antibiotics are known to upset the gut so probiotics combat this by putting in good bacteria. You can get them online or pets at home stock them about £5.00 a tub but you will need them, also have added vitamin c which is another good thing when they are poorly, vitamin c can help them fight of infection, I always feed vit c rich foods as well. Oats are a good thing for underweight piggies, sweetcorn is too, also bran. I wouldn't feed a lot of banana due to the sugars in it.

I never separate as the chances are if he already has an uri then other has been exposed to it as there is an incubation period and its like humans some come down with it some don't.
 
I have kept them together and I don't know if its just me but he definitely seems more lively this morning :) which I am hoping is a good sign.

I have ordered some probiotics which should come hopefully tomorrow. and I am thinking of doing him some oats. Do you just give it to them as it is? I didn't think they could have milk or should I mush it with some warm water like porridge texture? sorry to keep asking questions just want to build him up as much as possible now
 
Just feed oats as they are make sure its normal porridge oats not instant, some people mix with water in winter like bran but I throw mine over the dried food and let them pick them out. Its a good sign he has perked up, could have been bothering him for a while.
 
Well the rate of his (Coco's) breathing does not seem to have changed but he definitely seems much perkier, and is running around again. So I guess just carry on seeing how the antibiotics go, it is only day 4 out of 10
 
Hi guys

Well his weight went up to 620g 5 days ago and weighed him today and he is back at 570g :'( vet said they didn't know what it could be as he seems healthy in general just very thin. I am getting quite anxious now as he just seems to be skin and bone me and my partner are taking it turns every day to get him out and hand feed him and he eats everything we give him so I am really stuck. I am really worried he is going to pass away soon and nothing we are doing is helping!
 
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