New To Guinea Pig Cages! Need Advice

At eight, she's had a good long life, testimony to the good care you've given her. Normal life span for a guinea pig is 5-6 years, so she's beat the odds by a good bit.

If she were mine, I'd just keep her as comfortable as possible, give her whatever she wants to eat, and let her go in peace. A vet visit would be stressful, and there's not a lot a vet can do for an eight-year-old guinea pig who's failing to thrive.

She needs to be kept warm, so a hidey, or fleece draped so she can get under it will help. If she isn't moving much, she's probably laying in her own wastes, so you need to change that part of her bedding frequently. Put her close to the water bottle so she can get there easily, and put her food close to her in case she does want to eat.

If you want to have her treated, however, post the name of the city that you're closest to, and we'll see if we can help you find a vet. Or click on the Vets tab at the top of this page and search the Guinea Pig Zone database for vets in your area.

i fully agree with bpatters, 8 years proves she has been well loved and cared for! You could make her remaining life as pleasant and painless as possible.

really sorry to hear she isn't well though.

Zoey1987 said:

Hello All,

I am new to this site, I wish I found this 8 years ago! I am obsessed with my guinea pig. She eats, drinks, basically lives a better life than I do. She will be 8 next month. I know she is in her senior years and she may not have too much time left here on earth. But I need help/support. She got me through college and is the first animal I am loosing with out the support of my family. She has been sick for a couple weeks. She gets colds from time to time and all I have to do is up her vitamin C and give her home a good scrub. This has not helped. She has gotten worse. She no longer has a love for carrots, hay, yogurt bites, nothing. She still drinks lots of water. She has lost a lot of weight and fur. She is not bald, but it's definitely thinner. She can't walk well. She hobbles a lot. I am having trouble finding a Vet that can take her. Most of them by me are booked for weeks. I'm scared she doesn't have that long. What can I do to help her?

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Guinea pigs don't get colds, they get URI's. Vit C won't make a URI go away, she'll need to be seen by a cavy savvy vet and be put on antibiotics for it to go away. But given her age there's always a chance that even if treated she might not live that much longer.
As for the yogurt bites treats, you shouldn't feed those to piggies. They're strict herbivores and aren't supposed to have dairy.

With that being said, she's a fairly old piggy and I'm sure she's had a pretty good life with lots of love. I hope you can find a vet soon to address her sickness. Until then, just try to make sure she's as comfortable as possible.