Why are my piggies getting sick?

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Sat Mar 09, 2019 1:31 am


More of the same today. I'm just not comfortable with the amount he's eating on his own. He'll eat a red or romaine lettuce leaf with part of a bell pepper or a few parsley or cilantro stalks. He used to eat 2 whole lettuce leaves and a quarter of a bell pepper. He also used to eat 3 baby carrots or a handful of parsley in place of the bell pepper. He would eat a full handful of the hay, but he hasn't been eating that much; only about half of that amount. I'm still filling in with the critical care, so between that and what he's eating, he's getting enough. I'm mixing his probiotic with the critical care. I just would like to not have to feed him the critical care, but I will for as long as it takes.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Mar 09, 2019 7:55 am


Without reading back, I can't remember if I have already suggested that you ask the vet about adding B vitamins to his regimen to help stimulate appetite. Might be worth a shot?

Is he eating any pellets on his own? When he does eat, does he have any difficulty with chewing at all? (a lot of head motion; dropping food out of his mouth; drooling). It's probably a long shot, but I'm starting to wonder if there could be an unrelated dental issue going on.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Mar 09, 2019 8:03 am


You are weighing him daily? With the Critical Care, some guinea pigs like it and will eat a small amount that is moistened in a ball (or a shape he can grab) off a plate. You could give that a try too.

p.s. three baby carrots in a meal are too much.

I am sorry he is having these issues.

Read about teeth issues here, if you haven't:
www.guinealynx.info/malocclusion.html

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sat Mar 09, 2019 9:47 am


Two whole lettuce leaves in a meal are also too much. Roughly a cup of veggies per day is fine.

Hay is the most important part of their diets, as it keeps their teeth ground down and their guts moving. They can come to prefer veggies over hay, with resulting expensive dental bills and painful GI problems. If he's eating hay and pellets, I wouldn't worry too much about the veggies, although if he's not eating bell pepper I'd give him a vitamin C supplement.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Sat Mar 09, 2019 1:58 pm


No issues with chewing. I'm not giving him too much carrots anymore. I only mentioned it as a reference to the sheer amount he's was eating before he got sick as compared to how much he eats now. He'll eat most of a regular sized lettuce leaf and a few bites of a bell pepper at night. He'll eat fresh grass, although I don't give him a whole bunch of it. Same with the parsley. I'm pushing the Timothy hay, but he isn't as interested in it as he was before the infection.

Still going on with the probiotic and vitamin C. His weight is 2 pounds, 2 and a half ounces this morning. About half an ounce less than his weight at the vet which was taken in the afternoon. His weight is staying between 2 lbs, 4 ounces and 2 pounds, 2 ounces.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Mar 09, 2019 2:11 pm


What about pellets?

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Sat Mar 09, 2019 2:45 pm


Also, the pellets I'm giving them are the Oxbow brand. Neither Scruffy or Mr. Bubbles will touch them. With Mr. Bubbles, I don't worry about it because he eats a ton of timothy hay and he eats his bell peppers and lettuce. He's right where he needs to be with his diet, weight, water intake and droppings. Scruffy, on the other hand, needs to eat more pellets. When I put him in his run area, I put a handful of pellets and hay with him and he eats a few pellets and some hay, but nowhere near what he used to. He doesn't seem to have any issues chewing. He chews on the toys I have hanging for him to keep his teeth down.

Maybe he is getting enough food since his weight hasn't drastically changed. He's always been noticeably smaller than Mr. Bubbles and a lot less aggressive. He is very resistant and he is a very curious little guy, which might explain why he and Mr. Bubbles can't share a habitat.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Mar 09, 2019 2:58 pm


It's difficult for a guinea pig to get all of the nutrients that he/she needs from hay and a few veggies alone. At some point, you run the risk of some sort of deficiency, and that can cause a whole host of other issues. Might be worth trying KMS Hayloft, which is another brand that many members here use. I know there are members here who feed little or no pellets due to issues with bladder stones or other health concerns, but they have to be very careful and offer a wide variety of vegetables (and I assume supplements) to make sure the guinea pig is getting more than just vitamin C. Just something to keep in mind.

I'm sorry that Scruffy continues to be a reluctant eater.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Sun Mar 10, 2019 12:10 am


Scruffy isn't losing any weight, so maybe he's eating more than I'm giving him credit for. I'm going mostly off of the amount of his veggies he eats. He used to eat all of them when I gave them to him but he only eats around half now. There's always plenty of hay in his cage and I add a handful several times a day, so he might be filling up on it slowly throughout the day and night.

I've been paying closer attention today and I noticed that he is eating hay. It's hard to tell from looking at the piles of it exactly how much he's eating and how much he's spreading around and stomping into the bedding. Judging by the fact that he's not really losing weight, he is eating enough to sustain himself and there's plenty of droppings of various size. I know he's drinking plenty based on his urine output. His pre infection weight was closer to 3 lbs, so I kinda expected him to get back to that but he isn't getting over the 2 and a half pound mark. He's pretty energetic too. Maybe I'm worrying too much.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sun Mar 10, 2019 12:49 am


It takes a LONG time for adult pigs to regain lost weight, if they ever do. As long as he's holding steady, I wouldn't worry about it.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Sun Mar 10, 2019 5:36 am


I'm keeping my eye on it. It goes up and down by an ounce or two, but nothing drastic. The weather is starting to get a little better and the grass is starting to green up in spots. Soon I'll be able to put him outside to graze. I'm going to start him off slowly, but when he's able to graze daily like he usually does in the spring and summer, maybe he'll put a little more weight on. The vet says he should be around 3 lbs give or take a few ounces.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sun Mar 10, 2019 8:18 am


I agree that, as long as he's maintaining his weight and not losing, I wouldn't get too hung up on trying to get him up to a specific weight. None of our guys weighs 3 lbs. (our heaviest is 2 lbs. 11 oz.), mainly because I don't feed unlimited pellets---they get roughly 1/8 cup of pellets a day, in addition to a cup or so of veggies and unlimited hay.

Again, slow steady progress is good. From the sound of it, you're doing everything right.

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