Sick baby female guinea pig?
I have had my guinea pig, Peppa, for about a month now and she is only about two months old. Today when I was holding her, I could feel her stomach rumbling slightly. I also noticed she seemed to be in distress as she was constantly "chewing" (she wasn't eating anything but it wasn't teeth chattering either) and she seemed to be more agitated if I pet her. Peppa was also sitting up and checking her crotch area very frequently which was weird. I let her down on my bed and she popcorned a lot. Maybe I am overly concerned because this is my first guinea pig but was going to check anyways. Thank you!
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bpatters
- And got the T-shirt
"Checking her crotch area" is totally normal. She's eating her cecal poops, which all guinea pigs do -- they have nutritional value for them.
A lot of pigs chew. Mine chew their water. It's not necessarily a sign of distress.
Is she steadily gaining weight? You need a kitchen scale, and to weigh her regularly. That's the best piece of medical equipment you can own.
What exactly is she eating? What kind of hay? What brand of pellets, and how many? What veggies, and how much of each?
A lot of pigs chew. Mine chew their water. It's not necessarily a sign of distress.
Is she steadily gaining weight? You need a kitchen scale, and to weigh her regularly. That's the best piece of medical equipment you can own.
What exactly is she eating? What kind of hay? What brand of pellets, and how many? What veggies, and how much of each?
I make sure that she always has timothy hay. She eats the Kaytee fiesta guinea pig pellets. I fill her bowl up but she doesn't really eat much of it, only picks through it, so I never really have the need to refill it. Once a week I will give her a couple apple slices. For vegetables, I give her about 5 spinach leaves in morning and at night I will give her about 5 strands of spiralized zucchini. I'm still trying to find vegetables/foods that she likes because she seems to only be eating spinach, zucchini, and apples at the moment.
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bpatters
- And got the T-shirt
Kaytee pellets are crap. The only ones we recommend are KMS Hayloft (available only on line) and Oxbow. At her age, she needs alfalfa pellets.
Cut way back on the apples. Guinea pigs don't process sugar well, and it can badly upset their digestive tracts. She needs a source of vitamin C, and the best available is bell pepper. Red or green leaf lettuces should be a staple part of the diet. See https://www.guinealynx.info/fave.html for some other good veggies.
And here's a thread I wrote for another forum on how to teach pigs to eat vegetables: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/th ... vegetables. But the best way is get her a buddy -- the tastiest food is always in the other guinea pig's mouth. And guinea pigs are herd animals -- they do much better with a friend of their own kind.
Cut way back on the apples. Guinea pigs don't process sugar well, and it can badly upset their digestive tracts. She needs a source of vitamin C, and the best available is bell pepper. Red or green leaf lettuces should be a staple part of the diet. See https://www.guinealynx.info/fave.html for some other good veggies.
And here's a thread I wrote for another forum on how to teach pigs to eat vegetables: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/th ... vegetables. But the best way is get her a buddy -- the tastiest food is always in the other guinea pig's mouth. And guinea pigs are herd animals -- they do much better with a friend of their own kind.
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