Weight loss but eating

[Sue and Smartie]

I have a Rex sow, she is called Smartie and is loved dearly. However, she is getting quite old (5 and a half years) and I am worried about her.

In February she stopped eating. I took her to the vet, but they couldn't find anything specific wrong. I started giving her Critical Care and vitamin C, and her appetite has picked up again and she is eating what I would consider to be more than normal now. She is especially keen on the juicy new grass which is at last growing.
Her diet is varied - plenty of fresh leafy greens, some fruit, hay and Readigrass at all times. And she eats it all.
She is perky and lively, and yelling loudly when she wants more food, and telling me off if I am too slow about it.

But with all the food that's going in, she is still losing weight and I am baffled. She is peeing and pooing normally as well, and I can feel no abnormal lumps in her when I am cuddling her. Her eyes are bright and she is still very lively. Could it just be age that's causing this (this is what the vet thinks)? Should I be getting ready to say goodbye? Her weight is down to just over 700g, in her prime she weighed double this.

 

[flintstones]

It's not normal for any guinea pig old or young to lose half it's bodyweight. I suggest you take your girl to another vet for a 2nd opinion. Where are you based hopefully we can point you towards a cavy savy vet.

I would give her addiction food ie critical care.

There are so many possible causes for unexplained weightloss, regardless of age they need to be investigated.

x

 

[Wiebke]

Please have her seen by another vet, preferably an exotics (piggy savvy) vet if you have one within your reach.

That amount of weight is not normal, not even in older guinea pigs. Unfortunately, there can be many reasons for it.

I am sorry; it is frustrating when you are doing the right thing as a caring owner!