Weight loss, diarrhea and gurgling stomach sounds

[jenny2025]

Hello Everyone

I am looking for some advice please. I have a nearly four year old female guinea pig. She is losing a lot of weight. She has been having diarrhea for the last 4/5 days. I was told on our first vet visit ( which I was doing anyway) to cut out the fresh veg and start syringe feeding and to see how she goes. She is still having diarrhea which smells very bad, the stool is pale in colour and her stomach is making loud gurgle sounds. She is still wanting to eat like usual and loves her critical care. I am taking her back tomorrow to the vets but what should I be asking for/ looking for them to complete? I am thinking perhaps this could be a parasite?

Thank you

 

[Wiebke]

Hello Everyone

I am looking for some advice please. I have a nearly four year old female guinea pig. She is losing a lot of weight. She has been having diarrhea for the last 4/5 days. I was told on our first vet visit ( which I was doing anyway) to cut out the fresh veg and start syringe feeding and to see how she goes. She is still having diarrhea which smells very bad, the stool is pale in colour and her stomach is making loud gurgle sounds. She is still wanting to eat like usual and loves her critical care. I am taking her back tomorrow to the vets but what should I be asking for/ looking for them to complete? I am thinking perhaps this could be a parasite?

Thank you

Hi

Please ramp up your critical care to ideally 60 ml in order to compensate for her obviously no longer eating much hay/grass fibre at all. Watching piggies chewing on cud can be very deceptive when the hay intake makes over three quarters of the daily food intake.
You manage the amount of support feed by weighing daily first thing in the morning for best day to day comparison so you know whether to feed more or not and to plan your feeds for the day.
You can find all the practical tips and advice in these links here:
Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

She sounds very gassy and really needs gut meds. This is definitely no longer a minor tummy upset that rights itself within 2-3 days of being off fresh feed.

Are your piggies indoors or outdoors piggies and how hot has it been where you are? Tummy upsets happen out of the blue or - especially this hot summer - be the result of heat exhaustion or a survived heat stroke both in indoors and outdoors piggies.
Worms are actually rare in guinea pigs (especially indoors or shed piggies) but if yours have been on the lawn where there has been little to no rain for weeks, then there could be a slightly higher chance of them not being washed down into the ground.

Wiebke's Guide to Poops
Wiebke's Guide to Tummy Trouble
Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike

 

[jenny2025]

Thank you for your reply and the helpful information.

She had a poo sample taken (which came back clear) and a very good check over. She has been taking 60ml a day of critical care and her weight has stopped going down. Her poos are also back to normal. How long does it take for weight gain? I am so relieved that her weight has stabilised but she is so thin now and wondered how to support her/ when to expect weight gain? I am obviously continuing with 60ml of critical care.

Thanks

 

[jenny2025]

Also my piggies are kept indoors

 

[Ramia]

It took my boy five months to put back on the weight after an illness

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for your reply and the helpful information.

She had a poo sample taken (which came back clear) and a very good check over. She has been taking 60ml a day of critical care and her weight has stopped going down. Her poos are also back to normal. How long does it take for weight gain? I am so relieved that her weight has stabilised but she is so thin now and wondered how to support her/ when to expect weight gain? I am obviously continuing with 60ml of critical care.

Thanks

Weight gain can vary massively but it is generally not instant. It is great that the weight is stable; that is your first priority.

You can usually notice with a recovering piggy that they will take on more feed voluntarily per session so your next step - provided that the weight is stable is to still provide the same amount of support feed but in less sessions. Ideally, your piggy will tell you when they no longer rely on the syringe feed and are eating enough to support themselves. You should by that time hopefully also seen a gradual rise in weight. Depending on age and seriousness/nature of the issue, a rise in weight may happen some time (weeks, months) later or in old piggies, never.

Some plain porridge oats in a bowl after dinner can help with piggies that struggle holding their weight or putting more weight on (like dental piggies) but this should hopefully not be necessary. Other people have their own preferences.

You may find these guides here helpful:
Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels

Weight (Underweight & Overweight) - Monitoring and Management

I hope that this helps you manage the transition when the time is right? It is an individual and flexible process so there is no fixed rule of how to proceed. Usually the piggies themselves tell you when they no longer need it but what you cannot to do is just stop or reduce feeding without being sure that your piggy is eating enough by themselves.

Wishing you all the best.