Diabetes diet

Talishan
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Post   » Mon Jul 17, 2017 1:35 am


Does she like Critical Care? If so, try making a little meatball-sized stiff clot of it and putting it on a plate in her cage. If she likes it and will eat it on her own, that's much less hassle for her and you.

You can also do the same with pellet stew -- soften some pellets in a tiny bit of warm water until crumbly, then mix with canned pumpkin, or carrot or squash baby food. We've used this as a supplement many times at our house to help pigs maintain or regain weight.

adorolecavie

Post   » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:47 am


Thank you all for the great suggestions and advice.

My vet ruled out hyperthyroidism as she did not find anything when palpating during her physical examination, and Dory is, if anything, more subdued and less active than usual. I wouldn't say she's lethargic, but she is definitely not hyperactive, quite the opposite. She used to be the first to wheek in the morning for veggies, now it's her cagemate that starts the ruckus and she'll pipe up for a few seconds but not nearly as wholeheartedly as before. She still does her typical moving around and does not seem to be in any pain, but she has slowed down in her middle-age.

She isn't a huge fan of pellets - she eats them but does not go crazy for them - so I have been continuing with the CC. She mostly takes it willingly, sometimes I have to do a little convincing but she does take it. I don't force her since she is still eating on her own and I don't want to stress her. Sometimes she devours it, other times I need to coax her, and a few times she outright refuses but I think that probably it's because she just ate so I wait half an hour and try again and she's usually more receptive. I will definitely try making a little CC "meatball" with some veggie puree (we have a centrifuge juicer and the veggie pulp that comes out is one of their favorite treats, so I'll try mixing that in too. The only problem is that her "little" sister (twice her size) is such a food bully and so I'll have to separate them while I offer it, and give Olivia something else.

The other thing I've been doing is once I've given her 8-10mls of CC via syringe (at which point she stops cooperating), then I've given her little lettuce wraps with more CC inside - I've been able to get another 2-3mls of CC in her this way too.

Her weight has stabilised at around 775/780 grams, her lowest having been 765grams last week, and she hasn't lost any more since the visit to the vet. If I can get her back up to 800 grams I'd be thrilled but I know it's a slow and painstaking process, and the underlying culprit needs to be found before we can rest easy.

The vet also said that fresh grass would be a good way to get her weight back up, but unfortunately right now it hasn't rained in months where we live so there is no grass in sight. I was wondering if another type of hay, like the specialty hays that Oxbow sells (Orchard Grass, Meadow, Alfalfa, etc) might be a good way to encourage her to eat a bit more? Thoughts?

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Lynx
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Post   » Tue Jul 18, 2017 8:55 am


You can experiment with the hays - but I can say guinea pigs do seem to overwhelmingly love a good, fresh timothy hay! If you can get third cut from KMSHayloft, they will adore it!

adorolecavie

Post   » Tue Jul 18, 2017 9:21 am


Thanks Lynx! Unfortunately in Italy I am quite limited in what I have access to, I can get Oxbow hays but sometimes they are older and not worth the extra money. They hay I usually purchase is a mix of different kinds, including timothy, and I switch between brands depending on what is greenest and looks the freshest. I can get Oxbow Timothy hay and some of their other specialty hays too, but not always.

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Kimera

Post   » Tue Jul 18, 2017 9:29 am


In such circumstances grow your own grass in containers. Grass from grain grows much faster than regular grass, and is very tasty and healthy. A handful of whatever grain you have access to and a box, such as for flowers on na balcony, or really, any container, will do. In a pinch you can use grain and seeds mix for birds or mice.

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Lynx
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Post   » Tue Jul 18, 2017 9:02 pm


Ah, I forgot you are not in the US. Yes, do the best you can and consider growing your own!

adorolecavie

Post   » Thu Jul 27, 2017 8:11 am


So far we have not found the culprit, but she seems to be holding steady at 770-790 grams (depending on the time of day that we weigh her). I still give her about 20-30mls of Critical Care a day just because she really loves it now, but two days ago I wasn't able to and there was no drop in weight, so...

Not sure what to make of this all, but if she is holding steady for almost two weeks now, perhaps whatever was going on has subsided?

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Lynx
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Post   » Thu Jul 27, 2017 10:39 am


That could be possible. Whatever you do, I would continue with the frequent weighing in case she starts loosing weight.

adorolecavie

Post   » Fri Jul 28, 2017 10:01 am


I will definitely do that.

I am at a loss, the ultrasound did not show anything out of the ordinary. One possible thing is that we got a new puppy a month and a half ago, and perhaps the change in the environment stressed her out? Though I really think that is a stretch, since we already have a dog, and both of my guineas are used to having dogs in the house, and we have not let the puppy bother or harass the guineas at all - she does sometimes sit and watch them from a few feet away, but our other dog sleeps right next to their cage sometimes so I figured they were totally okay with it. It doesn't seem likely, but it's really the only thing that I can come up with to explain the weight loss.

Either that or she had another mini-stroke (see here: https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewt ... t#p2269485) but without any obvious outward symptoms except for the weight loss?

Who knows? But I will absolutely keep weighing her daily and continuing with the Critical Care. If she goes another week without losing any more weight I will slowly try to cut back on the CC and see if there is any change, to see if it is the added CC that is keeping her stable or if she will stay so even without the boost.

adorolecavie

Post   » Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:40 am


So we are still trying to work out what is going on. Dory had a few weeks where she was stable with her weight, and then started very quickly dropping weight again, to now she's around 700-720 grams depending on what time of day I weigh her. The vet put her under light anaesthesia to even up her front teeth which had just slightly become misaligned due to her slight head tilt caused by her stroke in April, and because he wanted to quadruple check the back molars, but they were perfect. At the time they also did an x-ray and nothing at all out of the ordinary showed up.

She has now become a bit wobbly when she walks (she eats bell pepper and kiwi daily but I also supplement with liquid Cebion Vitamin C drops recommended by exotic vets here in Italy). She still has a great appetite, and eats everything I put in her cage. She does seem to eat a little less hay than she used to but she's not off of it. I have also separated her, on the vet's advice, from her younger cage mate, so that there is no competition for food, since she is much slower eating now than before and the vet was concerned that Olivia would eat all the veggies before Dory had a chance to eat her fill. I can't say if this was the cause, but since separating them, Dory has not lost any more weight. She's active-ish, her fur is nice and healthy, her lungs are clear, the only thing that is visibly wrong with her is the weight loss and now the wobbly gate (she can definitely still get around, but she sort of hops instead of walks).

So my questions are the following:
1) are there any tests should we do that we haven't done, to rule out something we haven't thought of (see above for previous urine tests)?
2) is it possible that she has arthritis, and so is in pain from that and that is causing her to walk wobbly/hop and lose weight? her back is a bit curved, but she is also 5 1/2 years old, and vet said that a little arthritis at this age is normal.
3) could it be something neurological, since all tests/xrays/ultrasounds show absolutely nothing, and she had a major stroke a few months ago?

Again, I appreciate any and all advice. The two vets I have been to are both good, definitely the best I'll find where I am, but after all the tests and things, they just keep saying "who knows what it is?" and giving me suggestions to try. So I kinda feel like I'm just treading water, and not really sure what is working and what isn't. They both have said that it may just be due to her age and that we won't be able to find the cause or treat it, but I don't want to give up if there's something that I or they are missing.

Thanks as always!!

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Lynx
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Post   » Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:44 am


It is certainly possible that your idea of arthritis and providing some metacam would help. If the vets did a full body xray, signs of arthritis should be visible.

By the way, if you have copies of the dental xrays, you are welcome to email them to me and I can add them to your thread. I would continue to watch for any signs of malocclusion.
Image

You may be right on the neurological front too. An animal not getting enough food will be wobbly but if she is maintaining weight, that would not seem to be the cause. I wish I had more advice for you.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Thu Sep 07, 2017 10:39 am


Ditto Lynx. Like humans, some pigs can have advanced arthritis and it not bother them much; others can have just a little and be in serious pain.

Try some Metacam and see if it helps her.

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