6 year old Guinea Pig very thin - what can I feed her to fatten her up?

[occasionalposter]

WE have two 6 year old GPs, one has been on anti-biotics on an off for months for respiratory problems. She is getting thinner and thinner. They live inside and eat supa-guinea excel plus hay and veg. When it is nice weather we put them outside to graze.
I wondered whether there is anything I can give them to help put on weight. She is happy in herself and seems to be eating but she is so thin! I am really worried about her.

[breatheslowly]

I'd contact the Cambridge Cavy Trust for advice.

[occasionalposter]

OK. I will look them up. Thanks

[bloodymumps]

Alfalfa is supposed to be really good for weight gain.
I would also have a look on the Guinea Lynx forums for advice, sorry i cant do a link as I am on my phone but it should come up if you google it.
HTH

[occasionalposter]

I'll find it, thank you.

I have looked up the Cambridge Cavy Trust, unless I am mistaken they want me to pay £30 before I can get advice!

[breatheslowly]

Way cheaper than a vet - that provides a whole year of care.

[LordOfTheFlies]

Did the vet check her teeth when she had her antibiotics?
If they are long or one missing that might stop her eating.

Might be an age related thing as well. 6 yo is middle/old age for a GP, sadly.

Alfafa is good for pg and nursing GPs so I think is higher in calories, might be worth a try.

I've never had a skinny-guinea. Quite the opposite.All mine have been chubby.

[silver73]

I second Cambridge Cavy Trust - I would not be without membership as Vedra knows everything about GPs. You can take your GPs for a checkup every 3 months for free and if they are ill get advice over the phone or arrange to take your GP up to see her. GPs need to be wormed and I got this free from Vedra as part of my membership. £30 per year for 3 GPs is a bargain. You do not pay per GP.

Also there is something called Critcal Care that can be used. You can buy it online or get small sachets from vets. There is also something called Avipro that you can put in their water to help if unwell.

GP Lynx is a great website for help.

[occasionalposter]

Thank you everyone for your comments.
You are probably right about the £30 - she has certainly cost me more than that in Vets' bills in the last six months!
I did ask the Vet to look at her teeth but apparently they couldn't see them!
The piggie is eating - I have seen her eating the excel nuggets as well as hay and veg!

[Littlepumpkinpie]

I had a nine year old piggie that went from a right chubster of a pig to a very skinny girl in her last 18months with me. My six year old piggie has gone thinner this winter too. All have lived indoors too. I have kept piggies for years and they all seem to thin off despite them still eating everything in sight. Six years old is very good age for a piggie though :)

[KRITIQ]

It sounds as though your vet isn't much cop if they can't see your guinea pig's teeth! Dental problems are pretty common and any vet worth their salt not only should know how to diagnose this, but also trim/clip teeth without anaesthetic. Sadly, most vets are pretty crap when it comes to small furries. They don't learn much at vet college about anything other than "mainstream" pets and many don't think there's much money to be made in treating anything smaller than a cat. :(

CCT do know their stuff, and there are a few cavy savy vets around who will be able to give your sow a proper check over. The guinea pig forum has a list of these, recommended by its users. If you're near Cardiff, give me a shout as possibly the best guinea pig vet in the world is there!

Six is a pretty good age for a guinea and my oldest pig started to get slimmer around that age (although that was after he had an eye removed and that affected both his teeth and his appetite.) CCT would probably be the best first move, unless you can find a good vet closer to you. Best of luck with your wee girlie.

[occasionalposter]

Thanks again everyone. Unfortunately nowhere near Cardiff (actually much closer to Cambridge!).
I know 6 is a good age, especially as our two came from the RSPCA! We just hope she will keep going a bit longer.

I will look up the guinea pig forum and get in touch with CCT.

[JollyJinglyJoo]

Why don't you go back to your vet? 6 is quite a good age for a piggy, and there could be all manner of things going on. And while KRITIQ is right that vets should and will be able to check a GPs front incisors, the molars at the back are far far more difficult to see due to the long slim mouth shape the GP has. To trim these(or even just get a really good look), you really would need to have the Gpig sedated at the least, otherwise you could potentially really damage their cheek/ gums/ tongue .

I would second critical care or Recovery diet, as they are high fibre, high quality easily digestible foodstuffs especially for poorly small furries. You can also give them fruit/veg based baby food/ puree if they seem to be having problems chewing. What are her poops like??

[occasionalposter]

Poo seems entirely normal - we have two piggies so it is a bit difficult to tell, but there is no sign of anything untowards in that department - no soft poos at all!

Her front teeth are definitely fine - it is the molars that can't be seen and I'm not sure that with her respiratory problems it would be a good idea to sedate her!

I will take her back to the vet next week, as she will have finished her antibiotics by then anyway and I will asd them for some dietry advice, I will probably contact CCT as well, just in case.

[breatheslowly]

Vedra at the CCT is able to look at GP molars without sedation (and can do a lot more without sedation in general than vets can). This is really handy as sedating a GP can be a bit tricky. We learnt this all a bit late as our first GP died under sedation for an x-ray which wouldn't have been needed if I had taken her to the CCT.

[silver73]

Please take your piggie to Vedra. Once you have joined you can take your piggie for a check up. Vedra gave one of my pigs a local anaesthetic and cut off some overgrown eye membrane in the summer that the vet was going to have to have to sedate her for. Vedra works at weekends too...

There is also a very good GP vet in Hertfordshire - vets and pets in Hoxbourne. They are very cheap, work weekends and also have a rodentologist on most Saturdays that can do loads of things and the vet there will prescribe if necessary.

Failing that ask Vedra for the number of your nearest gp savvy vet or nearest rodentologist.

[fortifiedwithtea]

Whenever my piggies have needed anti biotics their vet has given them a fibre supplement to off set the side effect of constipation. Think its called Fibreplex, carrot flavoured apparently.

My elderly piggie 5+ has become skinny and he is happy and eats well. All I can suggest is weigh her every week so you know if there has been any drastic change. Feed her some high calorie food such as sweetcorn and beetroot more often. When the new spring grass grows that has a high sugar content and she'll find that very nom nom:)

I wouldn't interfere with her teeth imho.

[occasionalposter]

Lots of good advice, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to reply. I will take on board all your suggestions.