My Guinea Pig is Losing Weight but Still Eating
Guinea pigs at the vets
How Can I Help My Sick Guinea Pig Gain Weight?
It's important to make sure your guinea pigs remain at a healthy weight so they can continue to function as normal and be healthy animals for longer. Any unintentional weight loss may be cause for concern, and you should keep a close eye on your guinea pig and have a chat with your trusted vet immediately if you suspect something may be wrong.
In the meantime, you should try to focus on getting your guinea pig back to their ideal weight. It's important to note that weight issues can take time to resolve, and you shouldn't try to force feed your guinea pigs, or overfeed them at mealtimes, especially if they seem to be eating as they normally would. Rapid weight increase can also come with its own set of issues and can cause your guinea pig to stop eating altogether.
A balanced guinea pig diet contains a majority of grass hay, fresh veggies, nutrient balanced pellets and fresh fruits as an infrequent treat.
What to Feed a Pet Guinea Pigs That Are Losing Weight
When changing your guinea pig's diet, you'll want to make sure any changes are introduced gradually. Any new food types should be introduced alongside their favourites; giving full meals of completely unfamiliar food can be off-putting, especially if they already aren't feeling too good.
For a guinea pig that needs to gain weight, it may be best to temporarily change their hay type. Grass hays are recommended due to their low calcium, low fibre and low protein contents. However, switching to a hay that's higher in these nutrients and provides a better vitamin intake, like alfalfa or oats, may provide immediate results.
Incorporating fresh veggies daily into your guinea pig's diet is ideal to help a guinea pig maintain weight, with them requiring about 240 grams a day. Leafy greens should be the main focus such as romaine lettuce, kale, coriander and parsley. Some other great veggies to promote healthy weight gain and fight diseases, external parasites and infection are:
Red peppers.
Tomatoes (avoid the leaves and vine).
Cucumber.
Watercress.
Red cabbage.
Parsnips.
Baby corn.
Alongside their fresh vegetables, you may also want to give your guinea pig a tasty treat of their favourite food - fruit is a good option. In normal circumstances, these treats should only be given once or twice a week due to their high sugar content. However, giving them a little extra every now and again may be beneficial to their weight gain and prevent illness.
Some great fruit treats are:
Strawberries.
Kiwis.
Pears.
Blueberries.
Bananas.
Possible Causes of Weight Loss in an Adult or Baby Guinea Pig
There are many health problems that can lead to weight loss in guinea pigs, and so this as a symptom often provides little insight into what an issue may be. If you're unsure, it's always best to visit your vet. However, many conditions present the symptoms of weight loss and loss of appetite hand in hand, so if you are confident your guinea pig is still eating, then this will be valuable in helping find a diagnosis. To better identify the potential problem, you'll need to assess any other symptoms your piggy may be experiencing.
This can include checking their cage for signs of illness, looking at their urine regularly, checking for mites and lice on their skin which may cause hair loss and having a check up on their teeth for signs of discomfort.
Endocrine Disease
Endocrine disease refers to issues with the thyroid gland in guinea pigs. There can be several conditions this covers, including hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, but the disorder most commonly seen in guinea pigs is hyperthyroidism.
Hyperthyroidism is when the thyroid becomes overactive and starts to produce an excessive amount of hormones leading to bodily functions working incorrectly. The most notable process of the thyroid hormones is controlling metabolic rate, and an overactive thyroid will most likely lead to an overactive metabolism.
This is why guinea pigs with this endocrine disease will be losing weight rapidly without losing their appetite, or sometimes even with their appetite being increased. Other symptoms of this include increased activity, skittish behaviour, a swollen neck around the thyroid area and increased heart rate.
There can be multiple causes of endocrine disease, which all influence the treatment a vet would offer your guinea pig. The three causes of this are hyperplasia (gland enlargement), adenoma (benign growth) and carcinoma (malignant cancer). While a diagnosis of hyperthyroidism can be quite worrisome, early intervention and treatment your guinea pig can mean they live a full and happy life.
Kidney Disease
Kidney disease, or Renal disease as some call it, is when the kidneys have become damaged and are unable to effectively filter a guinea pig's blood, produce necessary hormones or control bodily hydration. There can be multiple causes of kidney disease in guinea pigs, including kidney stones, untreated urinary tract infections and unmanaged diabetes couple with vitamin C overload.
Due to the factor of UTIs, it's more often you will see kidney disease affecting females over males, but that doesn't mean male guinea pigs can't develop it at all. Common symptoms of kidney disease include increased thirst and urination, weight loss, lethargy, anaemia and dehydration.
If you do suspect your female guinea pig may have kidney disease, then it would be best to get them to a vet as soon as possible. Kidney disease does have the risk of developing into kidney failure, and many of these issues themselves can cause harm, especially dehydration and pain when passing urine. Sadly, this condition can't be cured, but with the appropriate treatment, love and care guinea pigs can live to their full potential.
Feeding a guinea pig at the farm
Intestinal Disease
Intestinal disease, commonly known as GI stasis, is the condition where the gut bacteria becomes unbalanced, leading to the gut to work extremely abnormally and sometimes ceasing function completely. This condition can be fatal if left untreated, especially if infection develops, however, it's also greatly preventable. GI stasis can be caused by a range of factors with the main ones being stress, dental issues, lack of fibre and blockage. You might notice lethargy, not drinking, immobilisation and not passing faeces.
The condition can become very stressful to the guinea pig, especially if they're unable to pass anything. This can also result in more external issues, such as hair loss.
To prevent your guinea pig from developing intestinal disease, it's essential to provide them with the correct diet. A guinea pig's digestive system should always be moving, so a constant supply of fresh hay is absolutely crucial. Their diets should contain about 70% roughage, with grass hays like Timothy being the ideal type to feed them. Alongside this, piggies should have a variety of fresh vegetables every day and a small handful of pellets to ensure they eat a balanced diet.
The correct diet will also help eliminate dental issues being the cause of GI stasis. Consuming roughage regularly will help a guinea pig to keep their teeth filed down and prevent overgrowth.
