hair balls?

[Dawn & Chris]

Are guinea pigs prone to hair balls (like cats are)? If yes, what is the appropriate treatment?

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

It's very rare and unlikely that they get them. Unlimited hay will help keep their digestive tract moving.

They do get gas and intestinal blockages which are more common causes if they are not pooping correctly.

 

[Dawn & Chris]

One of our boys, Arturo, has lost a little weight recently and doesn't seem to be eating his veggies or pellets with as much gusto as usual. He still drinks as normal and eats a good amount of hay. He is pooping and peeing as usual, both as to quantity and appearance/texture. Arturo has a clean dry nose, no eye crusties, and we have never heard him sneeze or cough. He is our head pig, and he is just as bossy as usual. He seems normal in terms of how active and playful he is.

We took him to the vet Wednesday. The vet checked his teeth, and said they were fine. He checked his poop, and said all there was fine. He has asked that we watch him and continue weighing him for a week to see if there is any change. He suggested the possibility of a hair ball.

I am worried and have been reading on guinealynx, but don't know what to think. We have two other boys (all together all the time), and they seem normal, with no weight loss. What else do I need to be looking out for?

 

[clotho]

Guinea Lynx :: Weigh Weekly!

How much is a "little" weight? Here is a link with info on what is normal and what's not with your cavy Guinea Lynx :: What's Normal?

How cavy savy is your vet?

It doesn't sound from your description that there is anything to worry too much about, depending on how much of a weight loss we're talking about here. Keep a very close eye on him and if any other indications of illness happen then you'll need to get him back to the vet right away.

Guinea Lynx :: Emergency Medical Guide

Let us know how things go.

 

[Dawn & Chris]

Arturo has lost 6oz. over the course of approximately a month. He went from weighing 2lb 14oz to being at 2lb 8oz now. I am worried. If he loses more, we're hauling him back into our vet, who suggested x-rays next. If he isn't pretty pro-active at that point, I'm going to start calling other vets. We asked about hand feeding, but he didn't think that was necessary yet. Arturo does eat, but doesn't suck it down at speed like usual. It's noticeable when you watch him next to the other guys, who are like vacuum cleaners.

 

[envisionary333]

Perhaps you could try feeding him separately and see if that helps him gain a little weight back? I have one piggy who is very healthy, she is just a slow eater and tends to miss out on most of the veggies by taking too long.

 

[clotho]

You could always try supplementing him with handfeeding and see if he gains the weight back. If he has been eating fine and maintaining his weight up until now, it seems odd he would all of a sudden start to lose.

Maybe you need to investigate the teeth more - perhaps a dental xray? If I were you, I'd post on guinea lynx and see what advice they have there. There are threads there about piggies losing weight for different reasons. Maybe you would find a symptom that you hadn't thought about or noticed.

 

[thalestral]

6oz in 4 weeks is a huge amount - I would definitely start syringe feeding critical care: Guinea Lynx :: Hand Feeding

If you get x-rays done (which I'd recommend) get your vet to do it without sedation if at all possible.

Has he been gassy at all? I'd also suggest posting at Guinea Lynx where you will get lots of advice: Guinea Lynx :: Forum - Emergency and Medical Forum

 

[Dawn & Chris]

I hope it's OK to post here after so long; I wanted to give an update on Arturo. Things have been hectic at home and work, so I flaked about keeping up on things here.

Arturo lost another 2 ounces, so we went back to the vet. He had x-rays and blood work. Here's what we know. His kidney and liver function is normal. His hematocrit and white blood cells are normal, so they don't believe an infection is present. There are no abnormalities (on x-ray) of heart or lungs, and his guts are not blocked/full of gas. The vet tried to examine his teeth more thoroughly, but wasn't able and says anesthesia would be necessary to go further with that. He does have one (possibly two) bladder stone, but the vet didn't think that would account for the decreased eating. We were sent home with critical care.

Arturo has never actually stopped eating, but he eats slowly, and the other 2 pigs still eat like it's never coming back. We've been separating Arturo mid-day to provide him his own extra meal. He takes quite a while (an hour or two), but he does eventually eat it. We have cut out the higher calcium veggies for now. He has not lost any more weight, and actually gained a tiny bit last weigh in (fraction of an ounce, maybe insignificant). His personality, playfulness, and interaction with the other boys remains the same.

I am guardedly hopeful, but don't know what to make of all this. I'd like to get his weight back up, especially if anesthesia will be necessary. I hated putting him through all that stress. He cried so loudly in the vet's office that I felt like a total jerk. The vet said the bladder stone might need to be removed surgically. I would love some feedback from others who have been through that.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Bladder stones do account for less eating. They're painful and likely causing discomfort which will make him eat less. That is why he was squealing. You should be handfeeding to keep his strength up for surgery.

They DO need to be removed surgically. You shouldn't leave stones there esp. since they can move and lodge into his uretha or penis, which is even more painful and much harderto remove. Some pigs pass stones but it's not likely if it is a male.

Is there a more experienced exotics vet near you? Your vet may be knowledgable somewhat but taking a passive approach isn't helping. You may want to post at guinealynx.

 

[Dawn & Chris]

Thank you so much for the information. I will contact our vet and our backup vet first thing tomorrow morning and will ask not to wait anymore. Either I didn't understand the vet or it wasn't emphasized that bladder stones were so serious.

I just want to clarify that Arturo only squealed in the vet's office when his blood was drawn. We have never noticed him squealing or doing any other odd behaviors when peeing or pooping. He is actually a pretty quiet piggie. He really only talks at mealtime, and then just to join in with the wheeking (Enrique, who constantly chatters, starts wheeking once he hears food preparation noises and gets the other boys to join in).

 

[Piggersrule]

I hope your piggy will be better real soon. Do keep us updated.

 

[Sugar]

Hello,

I didn't realise Guniea Pigs could even get hair balls at all. There digestive system is somewhat like a horse's, right? Thats what I thought anyway, but its good to know that they can get hair balls even if occasionally, that way if I ever do get one I won't toally freak!

 

[envisionary333]

As has been stated, it is highly unlikely that your piggy will have a problem with hairballs. Don't worry about it.

 

[this_lil_piggy]

I am curious, how old is Arturo?

 

[Dawn & Chris]

I'm not certain how old Arturo is. We adopted him a year ago, and the shelter guessed he was about one and a half then. However, I've always wondered if he were actually younger, based on his weight and size at the time. He and another pig, Enrique (we have him too), came in as strays (unfathomable to me), so we figure that treatment/diet was likely bad before. They both put on close to a pound between July and April. They really filled in and their fur got much thicker (both silkies). I think their growth was very comparable to our other piggie, Xavier, who was estimated at 8 months when we adopted him and was definitely not full grown. Xavier put on just over a pound in about 5 months. Unfortunately, it's all guesswork; Arturo could be older and have been malnourished when we got him.

 

[CavyLover94]

My three year old unneutered male pig got a hairball. I didn't notice it until I realized that he started sraining to poop. You could actually see it. It was blocking the exit. It was halfway in and halfway out. The vet was able to romove it with a lot of squealing and no aneshthetia(sp?). Good thing it wasn't so bad that it would require surgery. Poor Chester didn't like it though!

 

[clotho]

CavyLover94 did the vet actually say it was a hairball? Did you see that it was hair? It sure sounds a lot like impaction to me.

Guinea Lynx :: Impaction

 

[CavyLover94]

Well, after looking at the link you gave me it looks like it was impaction but with 50% poo and 50% hair. The vet said hairball. But now I'm not so sure. I think that he may be prone to it. I'll have to clean it out myself from now on I guess. Time to head to the store...we're out of Q-tips.