Weight Loss Elderly Piggie: Weight loss, hot ears, diaphragmatic breathing?

Hi, he does look quite thin to me. I think based off what you're saying it would be safest to take him for a check up. My guinea pig never really had a squeak, whenever he tries, it's just air and sort of wheezing sound. Like he's lost his squeaker. Like the penguin from Toy Story. In my guinea pig's situation it's totally normal and fine, not saying it's the same for yours though. The general thinking is that when guinea pigs start to lose a lot of weight it's extremely hard to put it back on, so that's why it's best to go to the vet. Good luck with your darling.

First, you can't base anything on his ear temperature. It's the main way guinea pigs regulate their body heat, like dogs hassling, so it definitely does not indicate a fever or illness.

But ditto @Comely Guineas. I'd take him in for a check-up. The hooting could indicate a respiratory illness or a heart problem, either of which could be managed by medication.

You could try giving him a blob of Critical Care daily. Many pigs like the flavor and will eat it off a plate or a spoon. But you should know that it is VERY hard to get a senior pig to gain weight. Stopping the loss should be the mail goal, and then a good diet. If he does put some weight back on, it will be very slowly.

Good luck with him, and let us know how he gets along.

Last night Petey was making a lot of concerning hooting sounds. I was preparing myself to take him to the Emergency Vet but then it stopped. I'm pretty confident in my concerns that he's got a heart problem now. I'm not thinking URI because there is no excessive sneezing or discharge, though it's possible. I'm keeping a very close eye on him and have a vet appointment for tomorrow. I hope the diagnosis isn't too severe.

Here is a video on youtube that sounds EXACTLY like how Petey did last night:
[video=youtube;MzS8G3Gh_nI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzS8G3Gh_nI[/video]

Be aware that not even all exotic vets will attempt to treat a heart pig. Some say there's nothing to be done, others that they don't know what to do. You might want to read and take notes on this, or just print off some of the material: https://www.guinealynx.info/heart.html

Thank you for advice and providing the link. The rabbit rescue I volunteer with suggested seeing this vet. I'm feeling pretty confident in her abilities despite having never gone to her before. She graduated from the prestigious UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1992. I've found nothing but good things said about her online. She works with exotics and wildlife. Still, I will print out the material in the link you provided. Showing it to her definitely cannot hurt.

Any update on Petey?

Hi everyone. Yesterday Petey saw an exotic specialist. I was very impressed by her. Immediately she was concerned by the weight loss. She palpated his abdomen and said it didn't really feel like a normal piggies should. She listened to his heart and lungs. There was no heart murmur or arrhythmia, but she said it didn't mean his heart wasn't possibly enlarged. His chest sounded awful. She decided to look at his abdomen with the ultrasound (she didn't charge us for it which was super nice) to see if there was any fluid, and there was some. We agreed to have chest x-rays done because it would tell us a lot and it really did.

Petey has a very enlarged heart. He has cardiomyopathy. I could tell even before the vet explained the x-rays that his heart was very large. It's pushing on his windpipe a bit, hence the hooting and trouble breathing. What was super shocking was the fact he has broken ribs (looks like worms on the x-ray). They are very old breaks because the body has been trying to reabsorb them. Petey was adopted 5 years ago from a Petco. Someone had dumped him there and he was already an adult. It must of happened before we got him because we have never dropped him and he's never jumped from a high place. Poor piggie.



Here are the meds he's on, basically everything recommended on Guinea Lynx:

Enrofloxacin - Antibiotic - twice a day for 14 days
Furosemide - Diuretic for fluid retention - twice a day, rest of his life
Enalapril - ACE Inhibitor - once a day, rest of his life
Vetmedin - Heart medication - once a day, rest of his life

So for now we have to wait and see how he responds to the medications. He will either start dramatically feeling better, or if his heart is too tired and far gone he won't show much improvement. At that point it becomes a quality of life question. I'm glad I got him seen when I did. The poor guy must have been feeling awful. They are really good at not showing illness until it's too bad to hide. I will definitely be using this vet from now on. She thanked me for bringing in the Guinea Lynx print-out and doing research. She even called me this morning to see how Petey was doing and if he's taking his meds okay.

Sounds like you got a good vet! That's wonderful!

Just be aware that heart meds often have to be tweaked a little -- up, or down, depending on the symptoms. If you search around on GL for Talishan's posts about those drugs, you'll find some clues.

Another update:

Well, Petey is doing very poorly right now which is really disheartening. He's just sitting under his house looking miserable. All the hay, pellets and water from last night have barely been touched. This morning he ate a bit of Critical Care that had one of his meds in it, but that is all he has eaten all day really. This is deeply concerning since he's on a medication that is a diuretic, so he should be drinking more not less. I already called the vet to let them know since my vet wants me to be in constant contact. They said to try and syringe feed him the Critical Care and make sure it's got plenty of water added so he can get some fluids. If he doesn't want to be syringe fed I'm to report back to them.

Ditto @spy9doc, although I think she intended to say he should be getting 10-30 cc per feeding. Guinea pigs are wired to eat all the time. If they don't, they can develop painful, even fatal stomach ulcers, as well as GI stasis/bloat. If you don't hand feed him and he's not eating on his own, he'll die. You can't let him go for days without eating, because he won't make it.

See https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html for some more information. @spy9doc also has some info on it -- maybe she'll dig it up for you.

He won't like being handfed, but in spite of what he says, you're not killing him, you're saving his life. It's the single most important thing you can do for him while he's sick.

spy9doc said:

Rather than trying to make the Critical Care more "soupy", I suggest that you syringe unflavored Pedialyte. Buy the generic for a much better value. He needs to be eating more than "a bit" of Critical Care or else you will need to feed him several times a day! He should be ingesting at least 1-30cc syringe at a feeding. Alternate a syringe of CC with a syringe of Pedialyte.......which most cavies seem to like.

Right now it's going to be up to you to ensure that he survives. Yes, it's a PITA to so everything, but I kept Chester alive for more than six months when he was so ill.

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Thank you for the suggestion, I will make sure to pick up some generic unflavored Pedialyte right away. I know very well that he needs to eat more than a bit. It was in the morning that he had the little bit of critical care in a bowl and only so he would take his pill. It was before I had realized that he hadn't really touched any of his food. When I syringe feed him of course it will be much more and multiple feedings. I've had to syringe feed critical care to him before when he stopped eating.

I don't mind it being a PITA. My 7 year old rabbit developed an aggressive cancer and a tumor was pressing against her spine so she couldn't use her back legs. I had to do everything for her. Syringe feed her, give butt baths since she was peeing all over herself and change her bedding multiple times a day. In the end she needed to be humanely euthanized because her quality of life was non-existent. She was in a lot of pain despite heavy pain meds. I just hope Petey isn't a similar situation.

bpatters said:

Ditto @spy9doc, although I think she intended to say he should be getting 10-30 cc per feeding. Guinea pigs are wired to eat all the time. If they don't, they can develop painful, even fatal stomach ulcers, as well as GI stasis/bloat. If you don't hand feed him and he's not eating on his own, he'll die. You can't let him go for days without eating, because he won't make it.

See https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html for some more information. @spy9doc also has some info on it -- maybe she'll dig it up for you.

He won't like being handfed, but in spite of what he says, you're not killing him, you're saving his life. It's the single most important thing you can do for him while he's sick.

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Yes, I'm aware guinea pigs need to constantly be eating (just like rabbits). I would never let him go days without eating or even a day. I'm not sure if you are mentioning that just to be sure I know or if I made it seem like I was going to allow him to not eat for a few days? Either way, I know he needs to be constantly eating and I will make sure he eats the critical care and pedialyte multiple times a day. I'm putting him back on towels/fleece so I can monitor his poop and because it's more comfortable for him.