JenniC1234
Junior Guinea Pig
Hello!
A couple of months ago, I posted in Health & Illness about my little boar Dennis (age 4), who'd lost his cage-mate and was suffering from recurrent bloat. We've managed to get on top of his bloat (by largely cutting out most fresh veg, sadly - although mint and courgette both seem to be "safe"), and we've recently found him a new friend ("Joe") of a similar age.
Bonding at the weekend went well - but, as I've been weighing them both daily, I've noticed some weight loss in them both. Dennis (who normally sits around 1190g) has dropped around 20-25g, which I'm putting down to a bit of stress and a lot of chasing around the cage! Poor Joe, though, has lost almost 80g - although it's worth noting that a) he was a *very* big boy to start with at almost 1500g and his heft is still very solid, b) his previous cage was tiny, so I suspect he wasn't expending a lot of calories and c) he had some slightly softer & pointed poos when he arrived, so I've taken him off veg as a precaution.
Both boys are alert, active, not resource guarding and don't appear to have any dental issues or pain (although I know how well they can hide it!). I know weight loss of above 50g would normally merit a vet visit - but as there's a clear likely "cause" here, I'm tempted to hold off a week or so and see if Joe's weight stabilises of its own accord as he settles in. Does this sound sensible?
(Sod's law, I've just found out that I have to go away for work for a week or so after the weekend - so any more in-depth investigations may have to wait until then, anyway!)
A couple of months ago, I posted in Health & Illness about my little boar Dennis (age 4), who'd lost his cage-mate and was suffering from recurrent bloat. We've managed to get on top of his bloat (by largely cutting out most fresh veg, sadly - although mint and courgette both seem to be "safe"), and we've recently found him a new friend ("Joe") of a similar age.
Bonding at the weekend went well - but, as I've been weighing them both daily, I've noticed some weight loss in them both. Dennis (who normally sits around 1190g) has dropped around 20-25g, which I'm putting down to a bit of stress and a lot of chasing around the cage! Poor Joe, though, has lost almost 80g - although it's worth noting that a) he was a *very* big boy to start with at almost 1500g and his heft is still very solid, b) his previous cage was tiny, so I suspect he wasn't expending a lot of calories and c) he had some slightly softer & pointed poos when he arrived, so I've taken him off veg as a precaution.
Both boys are alert, active, not resource guarding and don't appear to have any dental issues or pain (although I know how well they can hide it!). I know weight loss of above 50g would normally merit a vet visit - but as there's a clear likely "cause" here, I'm tempted to hold off a week or so and see if Joe's weight stabilises of its own accord as he settles in. Does this sound sensible?
(Sod's law, I've just found out that I have to go away for work for a week or so after the weekend - so any more in-depth investigations may have to wait until then, anyway!)
