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Weight Loss

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Guinea Slave

Guinea Slave

Adult Guinea Pig
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Hi guys

I am a little perplexed so need some ideas!

Titch as some of you are aware, has recently had an abscess on her cheek lanced. She has been on baytril, metronidazole, metacam twice a day and has been for over 2 weeks. She has probiotics after the antibiotics every day, I
She also has 0.5 ml metatone once a day. The wound is healing very well and the vet is pleased with her progress. We have ceased flushing now and I am just wiping it and topically applying the manuka honey by hand now. All good.

Her weight has fluctuated madly throughout, she was just over 1000g before she was ill, she has gone up and down between 995g to 965g then back up again over the last two weeks. However she is now in a downward spiral and weighed 950g today!

What I don't get is that she seems fine. She is very happy, eats madly everything put in front of her, poops and pees normally etc. there is nothing I can see that's causing it medically.

However, she is in a large indoor cage with her best friend Lacey. The last week or so (coincidently since the weight fluctuations) she has had this obsession with Lacey's bottom! Sniffing it all the time, following her around etc. when not by her bottom she lies with her head underneath Lacey's chin with her eyes half closed. There is no dominance behaviour as such, no chasing around, no mounting. Some squeaking when Lacey gets fed up, which isn't often bless her. They sleep curled up together as well. She is kept warm at night with heat pads etc never gets cold.

I am at a loss? Titch is very lively otherwise, screams the place down for food all the time and looks very well in herself. Although she has lost weight she does not look skinny and she is not a large pig (hence her name!)

She is seeing the vet on Thursday again so I am going to get her to check her over but any ideas you can think of please send over as I am a little worried now. Could it be psychological and she does need to go back with her friends and lead a normal piggy life? She will go back next weekend but we need her wound 100% healed first (I have excellent operators in the other cage who will nibble!).

Do you think I should give her some syringe food even though she is eating happily? Just as a top up?
 
Have you tried poo soup? Piggies coming off strong medication often have the need to restock their gut flora, which is why they can be up other piggies' bums.

At to the weight loss, it is difficult to say. Keep an eye on her and weigh daily at the same time to see whether the downwards trends continues. 30g/1 oz is an acceptable daily fluctuation due to full/empty bladder/tummy. If you wish to, you can offer her some hand feed, but you may not find it necessary.
 
Just had a good look at her wound today. That's healing ok but she has in the last few hours scratched a few small sores and now has a bald patch further back ( looks like she has pulled the hair out?!) . Maybe she is just very itchy as her wound heals?

Have emailed chrissie at gorgeous guineas for lotion recommendations and put sudocream cream on the skin which is itchy (not the wound) hopefully that will help. Poor little thing. Maybe this is why she's lost weight or am I clutching at straws? !
 
Could be that her water intake is not sufficient each day.....with a wounded cheek she may6 find drinking from a bottle painful/difficult so perhaps put a bowl in for her.

As Wiebke says - 30g is the difference between a full or empty bladder/tummy and quite normal. The time to get worried is a continual loss.

As for the bum sniffing - again normal behaviour in a sick pig looking for piggie poop!
 
Guinea Slave said:
Just had a good look at her wound today. That's healing ok but she has in the last few hours scratched a few small sores and now has a bald patch further back ( looks like she has pulled the hair out?!) . Maybe she is just very itchy as her wound heals?

Have emailed chrissie at gorgeous guineas for lotion recommendations and put sudocream cream on the skin which is itchy (not the wound) hopefully that will help. Poor little thing. Maybe this is why she's lost weight or am I clutching at straws? !
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I would have her checked for mites; they can hit in the wake of an illness (lowere immune system). Please do not home treat on spec.
 
Yes I will do that although from what I know from previous experience it does not look like this. I think the skin is just suffering from constant flushing and was swollen and now isn't so gas contracted, plush the wrinkles in her skin are just causing irritation where she has been shaved. It's very dry hence the sudocream. She's not itching enough if you know what I mean? . I washed her gently earlier and that seems to have settled her down. I will get the vet to check this tho too. Thanks weibke x
 
Btw, When you say don't home treat on spec, is sudocream not ok in this instance as a temporary measure? I don't want to cause more damage?! I will call the vet tomorrow to be sure and have a word with her. She's been eating and pooping all day and just created a racket for her food so hoping it's not terrible! Poor lass x
 
Guinea Slave said:
Btw, When you say don't home treat on spec, is sudocream not ok in this instance as a temporary measure? I don't want to cause more damage?! I will call the vet tomorrow to be sure and have a word with her. She's been eating and pooping all day and just created a racket for her food so hoping it's not terrible! Poor lass x
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Sudocrem is OK for sore skin, but good that you are speaking with your vet about what to do best.
 
lady liberty said:
Could be that her water intake is not sufficient each day.....
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Thank you lady liberty. She is drinking a fair bit as I have been watching her but it's difficult to compare to the norm. I will offer her some water by syringe, good idea.
 
I don't know how to help with this, but I would suggest making sure that her mad eating isn't because there is something she doesn't like in the food or water, so she isn't eating or drinking it as much? I think everyone here has pretty much gotten this covered, I hope the problem is discovered soon and that she is okay! Good luck!
 
Spoke to the vet today and we are all a little perplexed. Her itching has stopped and I have stopped using the Manuka Honey , I am wondering if she had developed an allergy to it and this is why she screamed so much and lost a lot of hair? Now using Aloe gel and this has really cooled the skin and it all looks much better. She has also held her weight, still 50g under her usual weight but no less now. Wound is pretty much closed up now.

However, she does not look comfortable, she usually lies like a curled up cat, she is just sitting hunched at the moment,but bright when moving around and still screaming for food! The vet is wondering if something else is going on. I do hope not, she deserves to be better now. Full check up on Thursday to cover all bases, teeth, bladder, etc etc. send healing vibes please!
 
Glad the aloe vera is helping, I know it can be very soothing. I hope the vet can work out what else is going on if there is anything.
 
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