He is about 5 year old and always eats like a, well pig. The past week or so, he eats almost none of his pettets, or straw. He drinks the water, and still loves carrots and misc salad greens.
He's much thinner and vocalizes more. He doesn't look or act ill, but I'm still concerned.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
2007-06-26 15:54:43 · 7 answers · asked by Julius4U 3 in Pets ➔ Rodents
I don't think that he has a broken jaw. He may have simply gone off pellets and straw. Make sure that you keep providing him with chaff, salads and carrots.
I suggest that you try to vary his diet a bit and make it more interesting. You can use this site for some ideas on different foods, it also has a Vitamin C chart so that you can make sure that he is getting enough vitamin c:
http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/Guineas/VitaminC.html
You also said that he is vocalizing more, try the site below to see if you can match up his sounds and in turn work out what he wants. He may just be happy.
http://www.mgpr.org/MGPR/Hungry%20Pig.htm
Good luck, i hope that I have helped :)
2007-06-26 16:03:31 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd be a little concerned at his age that he is developing a problem with his teeth or a metabolic problem like kidney disease. Vitamin C deficiency is often a problem. Try giving him 1/2ml of Vitamin C syrup (from the drugstore--usually 500mg/tsp) once a day. In the meantime, you can grind up pellets in a blender with water to syringe feed him. Your exotic vet may also carry a hand feeding formula called Critical Care.
2007-06-26 16:14:33 · answer #2 · answered by KimbeeJ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You must be doing something right--he's in his senior years. Its good that he's still eating *something*, but he really needs to be eating his pellets & hay. Older pigs *do* tend to lose a little weight just because they're older, but but they don't just stop eating. That tells me something might be "up".
If YOU have noticed weight loss, then chances are he's lost more weight than you realize. Do you weigh him regularly? If not, now is an important time to start. Weigh him tonight using a kitchen scale if you have one. The scale should (preferably) give weight in ounces & grams. If it just has pounds, that's ok. Its better than nothing. Keep a running chart so you have something to refer to.
If it were MY pig, I'd make an appt. in the morning with the vet to get him checked over. You may need to handfeed him to keep his weight consistent if the vet finds nothing amiss. See http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html for info & instructions on handfeeding. Please also make sure your vet is familiar with cavy care. If you don't have one, you may be able to find one on this link http://www.aracnet.com/cgi-usr/seagull/vetfinder.cgi
Best of luck!
2007-06-26 16:04:07 · answer #3 · answered by Justified 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I would make sure that your guinea pig has plenty of carrots, and other veggies, so that he doesn't starve. I would also try a different type of dry food for him. If he only eats pellets, then I would buy a type of food that has mixed food in it. I hope that this helps! If it doesn't, I would talk to your vet!
2007-06-26 16:14:21 · answer #4 · answered by my guinea pig ToTo 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He could have teeth problems... you need to call a vet and they will help you... if at all possible you need to get a vet who specializes in small animals... good work though, 5 years, thats pretty good! :)
2007-06-26 18:54:19 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try this site.. http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/index.html but understand their lifespan is 5-8 years.
2007-06-26 16:02:13 · answer #6 · answered by Tapestry6 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
better be careful. i think his tooth is overgrowing his bottom tooth. then he will salivate and wet his bottom mouth. and when that happens, it is quite dangerous. Please bring him to a vet now.
it's the crucial period. my poor little gp died because of this. sigh.
2007-06-26 18:17:12 · answer #7 · answered by yunz 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋