Roxy's Medical Thread: Update 6/30/09

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axel	Roxy's Medical Thread: Update 6/30/09		Lead	[-]
Posts: 39 06/18/09 08:06 PM	Tags : None So.. I am very unsure about one of my guinea pigs possibly being pregnant. I got her about a month ago when my runt died and she has only been in the same cage as my other female, Axel. However, she has always been our "skittish and quiet pig". It is a rare treat to hear her be really loud, but it does happen every now and then. However, it is seemed like she is very very sensitive about me going anywhere near he stomach lately. I am very gentle with her and her stomach doesn't feel bloated, but I don't think it feels normal either. She has been eating great(A LOT!), gaining weight steadily, drinks a lot, etc. She is pretty much a happy pig and nothing else seems out of place except the reaction with her stomach. She also still popcorns quite a bit and will race around with Axel.... Am I just crazy? I don't know why I feel this way, but I know it's not uncommon for pet stores to screw up the sex and impregnant a pig before you even bring it home. I guess it's more of a gut feeling that she is. Any insights? Last Edited By: axel 06/30/09 10:28 PM. Edited 1 time.
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PooksiedAnimals		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 4093 06/18/09 08:28 PM Moderator	Do you have any idea how old she is? Do you know how much she weighs? Have you tracked her weight at all? And has she been treated for mites? Some pigs are touchy about being poked in various areas. Sometimes its their back, sometimes its their sides, and sometimes its their belly (my girls go nuts if you inspect their ears too long). I've not heard of pregnant pigs being sensitive around their stomach, so I don't think that is a likely reaction. As for the popcorning -- she's young. Lots of youthful energy! One must popcorn for that. But as for the gut reaction... you may be sensing something that you can't otherwise describe. It certainly is possible she's pregnant. Charting her weight would help. Beyond that, you need to keep track of how long you've had her. Pregnancy watch starts the day you got her, and that you can confirm she was no longer with a boar. Pregnancy lasts 59-72 days. Some pigs are better at hiding pregnancy than others. Some, you'll know long before day 73 that they're pregnant. Others, you'll know only when there's suddenly extra pigs in the cage.
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axel		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 39 06/20/09 11:41 AM	When we got her about a month ago, the people at the pet store said she was between 3-5 months old. I think she was a bit younger, but I have no proof or no way to know for sure. At her vet check up she was 450 grams in the beginning. She is now 676. However, I find that odd because i weighed her yesterday and it said she was 646 grams. haha, but I'm sure that weight can change a little bit. She is steadily gaining though, that's for sure. She has not been treated for mites. She just seems to be so round in that area. Axel (our other female) seems to be bigger all over.. but Roxy seems to be putting weigh all in her belly. Other than that, she seems normal. She eats well, drinks plenty of water, is also the first one to reach the veggies I put in the cage, etc. She is more quiet than the other guinea pigs for the most part, but when she does decide to be noisy I have never head a guinea pig louder than her. Haha. I guess I will just keep a close eye on her for now.
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PooksiedAnimals		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 4093 06/20/09 06:33 PM Moderator	At that weight (450g), she was likely to be 3-8 weeks old when you got her, not 3-5 months old. In the charts I have, she's gaining weight similar to a pregnant pig they had -- if you had her for 4 weeks since that initial weigh-in, she'd probably be closer to 600g. I would keep an eye on her!
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axel		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 39 06/21/09 01:30 AM	Hmm.. that's interesting. Because our other female, Axel, was 400 grams at initial weigh in and is now more than Roxy is. Haha, I hope I don't have two pregnant pigs. :(
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PooksiedAnimals		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 4093 06/21/09 07:57 AM Moderator	That's the risk of getting guinea pigs from the pet store! Perhaps they're just big-boned? Either way, you'll know after 73 days of having them!
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axel		#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 39 06/21/09 10:54 AM	Yeah, I understand that now. Unfortunately, it's too late and I am way attached to these guinea pigs. They are like my babies, so I don't want anything bad to happen to either of them. I will just keep a close eye, keep weighing, and eventually we will know. We have a 24 hour emergency exotics vet right now the road from us, so we do have that option if something goes wrong. I feed them quite a bit, so maybe they are just chubby. They get constant hay, pellets, and salads everyday. haha. Spoiled.
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PooksiedAnimals		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 4093 06/21/09 01:02 PM Moderator	I had pigs from pet stores for years before I knew about anything else. I completely lucked out that none of them had been pregnant. It sounds like you're prepared for whatever happens.
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axel		#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 39 06/24/09 09:18 PM	Just a little update on weights. Roxy, the original pig I was concerned about is now 686 grams, up from 636 last week. Axel is now 727 up from 678 last week. Both are doing well and look fine.. so I am starting to wonder if I just have chubby guinea pigs. :) haha.
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PooksiedAnimals		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 4093 06/25/09 06:30 AM Moderator	Its hard to tell at this age, since they'd normally be in a period of rapid growth, anyway. The gain you're describing is pretty normal. I would expect them to start slowing down in the next few weeks (but still continue to gain).
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axel		#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 39 06/30/09 10:31 PM	So, I did the weekly weigh in tonight and I am a bit concerned. Roxy doesn't seem to have gained any weight at all. She is still stable, but I know that at her age that it is not normal for her to be that way. Axel, our other female (same age) was up from 727 grams at 757 grams. However, Roxy was 686 grams last week and is still about 686 grams. I know that ounces are more important when it comes to warning signs and weight loss, but at this age.. I am worried something is wrong. I can more than likely rule out pregnancy, but that "something's not right" feeling is still there. She acts normal, she eats great, drinks well, and seems to be digesting well. She is a bit more shy but whenever I turn off the light at night I always catch her rolling around in her cuddle cup and popcorning around her cage. Could mites cause her to lose weight? What type of possibilities am I looking at? I plan on checking her weigh everyday and if I don't see an improvement I will call a vet, but I just wanted some advice.
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PooksiedAnimals		#11	[url]	[-]
Posts: 4093 07/01/09 08:29 AM Moderator	Given that Axel didn't gain over a gram, I'm not too concerned that Roxy didn't gain anything. Its enough to keep watch for, but not enough to panic. I don't think mites could have caused this. If mites are bad enough to effect their weight, you would see other, more visible signs, of itching, hair loss and probably open wounds. Weight loss can be caused by so many things. Definitely keep an eye on her, and hopefully she'll start gaining again. If she fails to gain, or loses weight, then a call to the vet may be in order. I very much doubt she's at her final adult weight, but she could be a smaller build than Axel, and not gain as fast as Axel has been.
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axel		#12	[url]	[-]
Posts: 39 07/01/09 09:03 AM	Thank you for your reply. :) Yeah, it just seems so funny to me because when we had both of them at first Roxy was 50 grams more than Axel.. and now Axel is nearly 100 grams more than Roxy. It definitely might be the build though. Do you mean over an ounce?
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PooksiedAnimals		#13	[url]	[-]
Posts: 4093 07/01/09 11:41 AM Moderator	Ugh. I was distracted when I wrote. Yes, at her age, if she loses over an ounce, I would be concerned. A loss of 1-2 ozs for an adult pig is normal, and its not until they approach a loss of 3 ounces you need to move on it. But since she's so young, I would at least call the vet and ask them about it if she loses an ounce or more.
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axel		#14	[url]	[-]
Posts: 39 07/02/09 08:34 AM	So I weighed Roxy again last night and she is down from 686 to 679... :( Is it better to weigh once a week? I don't know how normal it is for them to go up and down, but I am definitely worried now.
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PooksiedAnimals		#15	[url]	[-]
Posts: 4093 07/02/09 10:20 AM Moderator	Usually once a week is fine. I know if I'm tracking a sick pig, I'll weight daily. Tricky thing is, to weigh at the same time. Whether they've just eaten breakfast or not will swing at least 10 grams. I know my girls always weigh more in the afternoon than they do in the morning. We're heading into a holiday weekend. I would, if nothing else, call and talk to your vet. He can calm your fears, or tell you if he thinks there's something wrong, or what to keep an eye out for.
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axel		#16	[url]	[-]
Posts: 39 07/03/09 05:25 PM	Good news! My shy little girl is gaining weigh again. :) I weighed her yesterday and she was back up to 684 and she is now 693. :) So.. needless to say, I feel a lot better.
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PooksiedAnimals		#17	[url]	[-]
Posts: 4093 07/03/09 06:14 PM Moderator	Huzzah!
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Roxy's Medical Thread: Update 6/30/09

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