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Sick I think my senior pig is sick

Wheekers135

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I believe one of my male Guinea pigs is sick. I adopted him from petsmart (I did not know that my local shelter had gpigs at the time) about 5 years ago so I'm assuming he is around 6 years old.

heres the deal. I am a minor and my parents believe that it is almost his time to go and that he is just aging. I do realize he is older now, but I feel terribly guilty because he is probably sick.

he has slowed down considerably and is sleeping a lot more now. His eyes are sometimes watery but not consistently. I have noticed that he is passing some fairly large stools (I've been cleaning him regularly to help him). i noticed tonight that he has lost quite a bit of weight. He was always fairly chunky but now I can feel his hip (?). This sounds kinda stupid but I don't know if it's his breathing or his heartbeat, but whatever it is, it isn't normal. When he's lieing down, you can see his body move and it's short little spasms. Hard to explain but I may be able to upload a video sometime soon.

Im really worried about him. My family has recently fallen on some hard times and I really don't think we can take him to a vet. We just had a death in the family which has already added enough stress and money is tight. It sounds awful, but maybe I would be better off just taking him to be euthanized instead of diagnostic tests.

He he is eating fine so I may try to put some more weight on him and just give him a good life. If he stops eating or his mobility declines, then I may make that tough decision. Idk. I feel so guilty and awful right now. My other senior pig seems to be doing okay as far as I can tell.
 

pampered pigs01

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Your best chance is to go to the vet and I know times can get tough but just try to keep him comfy whilst he's at home and also Don't feel guilty, your pig is quite old, these things do happen and health problems are more common in senior piggies. It sounds like your pig has respiratory problems and the vet may be able to help with that. I agree with adding more weight on him if he is under weight. Try to weigh him and monitor his weight. have you tried critical care? it also may do him some good. Hang in there, I hope everything goes well!
 

bpatters

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I'm sorry your pig is ill. The general symptoms sound like a possible heart issue, and they can be tricky and expensive to treat. Another possibility is a respiratory infection.

I wouldn't worry about trying to get him to gain weight. It's very difficult to get an adult pig to gain, especially a senior one, much less one that is ill. You might try supplementing some vitamin C and see if that helps.

I'm also sorry your parents won't cooperate with taking him to the vet. Every pet deserves medical care, just as they do food and water. But given the circumstances, I'd either try to keep him as comfortable as possible unless he seems in pain. Then I'd consider euthanasia.
 

lunarminx

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I'm sorry you elderly piggy is sick. Keep him comfortable as long as possible and give him so oatmeal as a treat to help keep his weight from dropping more if possible. My old man that passed away loved his oatmeal sprinkled over his pellets.
 

lunarminx

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Somehow I don't think you literally mean "oatmeal". More like rolled oats?

Yes, I am sorry. Uncooked Old fashion Oatmeal. Mine eat both old fashion and steel cut. I am at the point I am feeding it twice a week to all the pigs now since I am not doing the apple as much.
 

lunarminx

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@lunarminx thank you for the rolled oats tip. I have two very senior pigs (both of them are over 8 years of age) and although they both eat very well they have lost some of their muscle tone over the years. After reading your tip, I put a few rolled oats in front of them and they both devoured them immediately. I will use your advice as a guide and feed them a small amount twice weekly. Approximately how much do you give at each feeding?

One teaspoon if not really needed, a tablespoon if they are barely eating. I swear it was what kept Who's There going longer after he got sick.
 

lunarminx

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Its amazing how much they love them. They coming running when they see the container in my hands and I always thought they didn't see so well.
 
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