Weight Loss Elderly guinea pig

[megamazing]

My skinny pig, Ginny is 6, she’ll be 7 in September. I’ve had her since she was 8 weeks old. She’s the last remaining pig of the 4 I had (other 3 all passed away in 2021 of illness/old age etc.) Ginny has hyperthyroidism and arthritis, recently (October,) had surgery to remove a stone, she takes methimazole and meloxicam daily. She’s also dealt with chronic bumblefoot on and off for years. She had her vet checkup a couple of weeks ago, the only concern I brought up to the vet was she had been having on and off diarrhea for weeks that I would treat with probiotics but it wasn’t getting better the weekend before her visit. It’s since gotten better, she eats a probiotic powder on her pellets every day, she does still have occasional misshapen poops but no diarrhea. She was underweight at the appointment (590g,) but everything else is good. She has plenty of energy, eats and drinks like normal, constantly begging for treats and eats all her veggies. However her weight continues to fluctuate, as of last night she was 570g (I’ve been weighing daily since the appt.) I’ve been giving her critical care on and off, it’s been impossible to find the flavor she likes (apple & banana,) so hopefully she likes the Papaya flavor I have coming today. I’ve also been doing daily soaks & calendula cream for her feet, it’s all slowly healing.

I can’t tell if the weight issue is just her being old and maybe we’re coming to the end of her life? She has been through SO much (3 days in the hospital with bloat at 8 weeks old, hay pokes in her eyes, hyperthyroidism, stone surgery, etc,) and always bounces back quickly but this time around I can not get her to keep on weight. I sent an update with her daily weights to the vet and since everything else internally was good at her last appt he doesn’t seem to think any further testing is necessary (which I agree with considering her behavior.) So I’m just wondering if it sounds like this is just part of her coming to her end.

 

[bpatters]

It's the normal thing for elderly pigs to lose weight. Usually they'll lose some, plateau for a while, lose some more, plateau again, rinse and repeat. It can go on for months, or years.

One thing you might try is increasing her vitamin C, or even give her a multivitamin. C can be given daily, but should not be put in a water bottle. You can put it in a bit of diluted juice that she likes.

I never gave Vita Drops daily. It contains oil-based vitamins, and since pigs are generally just balls of fat and fur, it's easy for too much of the oil-based stuff to be retained. If you do decide to use Vita Drops, I'd either cut the dose way down, or give it every other day.

 

[megamazing]

It's the normal thing for elderly pigs to lose weight. Usually they'll lose some, plateau for a while, lose some more, plateau again, rinse and repeat. It can go on for months, or years.

One thing you might try is increasing her vitamin C, or even give her a multivitamin. C can be given daily, but should not be put in a water bottle. You can put it in a bit of diluted juice that she likes.

I never gave Vita Drops daily. It contains oil-based vitamins, and since pigs are generally just balls of fat and fur, it's easy for too much of the oil-based stuff to be retained. If you do decide to use Vita Drops, I'd either cut the dose way down, or give it every other day.

She gets an Oxbow vitamin C treat daily.

 

[megamazing]

Ginny’s condition worsened quickly tonight so we made the decision to say goodbye.

 

[bpatters]

I'm so sorry you lost her.

 

[SSLee]

I'm very sorry that you lost Ginny. In reading this thread, it is clear you took great care of Ginny and she was lucky to have been part of your family. May Ginny be reunited and popcorning with her three other friends at the Rainbow Bridge.