Weight Loss Weight Loss

Guineapigs32 · Oct 26, 2020

My guinea pig will be 7 years old this week... she recently started losing weight. Vet did bloodwork and found elevated liver enzymes,some liver inflammation, but kidneys are fine. Vet thought hyperthyroidism may be cause so we did a thyroid test...came back normal. I don’t know what is causing her weight loss. Has anyone had this experience before? She eats normally, drinks alittle more than she used to but otherwise acts her normal self. Any ideas?

Guinea Pig Papa · Oct 26, 2020

How much weight HAS she lost, and in what kind of time frame?

I know this won't put your mind at east, but as pigs get older (and 7 is up there) they naturally tend to shed weight as they age. Both pigs that I have had live to be seniors (Pooper passed at 6.5, Sly was almost 7) had shed weight as they aged.

bpatters · Oct 26, 2020

Generally, senior pigs will lose a little, plateau for a while, lose a little more, plateau again, rinse and repeat. They don't metabolize food as efficiently as they did when they were younger, so it doesn't do them as much good. To me, a steady loss without the plateaus is a little more concerning because it may be more likely to indicate a disease process.

She might benefit from a vitamin supplement -- I supplemented all my senior pigs with vitamin C. Or, you might try a multi-vitamin, but do not, repeat DO NOT give it as advertised on the bottle. Multivitamins have fat-soluble vitamins in them, and it's pretty easy to overdose them on it. If you do use one, give only one-third of the dose two or three days a week, not every day. And if she improves after a few weeks, cut back even more.

Guineapigs32 · Oct 26, 2020

bpatters said:
Generally, senior pigs will lose a little, plateau for a while, lose a little more, plateau again, rinse and repeat. They don't metabolize food as efficiently as they did when they were younger, so it doesn't do them as much good. To me, a steady loss without the plateaus is a little more concerning because it may be more likely to indicate a disease process.

She might benefit from a vitamin supplement -- I supplemented all my senior pigs with vitamin C. Or, you might try a multi-vitamin, but do not, repeat DO NOT give it as advertised on the bottle. Multivitamins have fat-soluble vitamins in them, and it's pretty easy to overdose them on it. If you do use one, give only one-third of the dose two or three days a week, not every day. And if she improves after a few weeks, cut back even more.

Both my almost 7 yr old guinea pigs have been getting vitamin c supplement for a while now. Could I give the multi vitamin with the vitamin c supplement?

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