Hey everyone! This is my first post on here after lurking for several months and I have to say this site is chalked full of useful info, so props to y'all for that.
I have a 5 yo piggy named Bear. He has been slowly losing weight and his appetite so I took him into his vet for a checkup. My vet said that I should focus on getting his weight back up since he is a pig with a very large frame. He feels skinny to me, I can feel his hip bones and spine a bit, but then again he is really big boned (lol).
Currently, he is about 990 g which is under for him. What are the best ways to help gradually gain weight back? I have tried critical care but he doesn't care for it when I constantly feed it to him.
Hi!
Weight loss in older guinea pigs is often caused by an underlying problem. As long as you aren't addressing that (and a number of them can't since veterinary medicine is not as advanced for small rodents; but it also depends on how piggy savvy your vet is), any support feeding can only slow down the process but weight will not stick in my experience.
What you can do if the taste of the recovery formula is not to your boy's liking:
- Mix the recovery formula with mushed up pellets to cover the taste and see whether he is eating that from a bowl or spoon. If you syringe feed mushed pellets, you need to cut off the syringe tip as shown in our guide in order to allow the rougher pellet fibre to pass through:
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
This has done the trick for several of my longer term support feed piggies who loved their mush.
- Emeraid formula (UK brand) is usually well tolerated but it is not based on hay. it is however much more effective when trying to get food into an unwilling piggy during an acute crisis.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
- additional things you can do: offer half a handful of plain porridge oats in a bowl twice daily and clean the bowl in between.
Freeze dried readigrass can also help unless your piggy has had problems with the urinary tract (especially stones or sludge) as it is quiet rich.
You can feed carrot more often; it is high sugar and usually considered to be in junk food category for guinea pigs and rabbits. I would not overfeed on it as any empty calories/fat will come off as quickly as they go on and only mask any underlying problem.
Please have him checked by a good vet, including the crucial back teeth for overgrowth, his insides for signs of internal growths, his organs checked as much as possible (especially the kidneys), the thyroid etc.
Older piggies will gradually lose tone a bit and their hip and spine become more prominent in older age but they should not feel skinny around the ribs unless they are very elderly and frail - and your boy is not quite there yet. He is about retirement age/early retirement at the lower end of the average life span.
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