skinny guinea pig

[oddslippers]

I have two three yr old males guinea pigs, one is an average to big chubby pig the other is much skinnier and seems to be losing weight. I've taken him to the vets and his teeth are fine and I've been watching him carefully, he is eating as much as the other pig, if they ever squabble about food he wins. He's also drinking far more than he used to and much more than the other pig. He's otherwise fine in himself. The pigs are fed complete pellets and regular veg, they spend the daytime on grass and are in the house overnight. This pig had always been the smaller pig if that helps.

Does anyone have any advice? TIA

Some guinea pigs are naturally of a skinnier disposition - we've had about 8 over the years and they have varied from very lean to extraordinarily chubby.
Are they eating plenty of hay? It's really important to make sure they have enough overnight as they need to eat pretty much constantly.
Are the pellets good quality? And how much of them are they eating? I seem to remember they need about 2.5% of their bodyweight in pellets per day, especially if they are losing weight.
A good way to tell if it's just a skinnypig naturally or a sick guinea pig is seeing how easily you can feel the ribs. If you can feel the spine/shoulder blades really easily as well then it tends to be an unhealthy guinea pig and needs the vet to check it out :)

Drinking more water and losing weight are 2 signs of diabetes (in humans and guinea-pigs though humans can identify other symptoms that a GP can't tell you)

Make a vet appointment for him and take a fresh wee sample with you.Easier said than done to catch pee from a piggie and you need to see it come out of the pig to make sure you get the right pee.

Can you cuddle him then put him on a plastic sheet to trap it?Then put it in a sterilised small jar.
My GP1 always pees when he goes into his cage - hopefully your boy is obligeing like this.

They have a constant supply of food burgess pellets and hay. Diabetes is something to consider, I'll take him to the vets with a wee sample if possible! He's definitely lost weight so something is not right. Thanks for the replies.

Hi, if your piggy is losing weight then it is worrying as something is obviously wrong. How rapid is the weight loss? It can be really useful to weigh them for this reason? If your vet can't pin point a reason as to why your piggy is losing weight then I would highly recommend a charity in Cambridge called the Cambridge Cavy Trust. It is an excellent charity and run by a VERY knowledgable Guinea pig expert named Vedra.
She can point you in the direction of your nearest Rodentologist who are a lot more capable in dealing and diagnosing piggy health problems than most vets sadly.
I nearly lost my piggy a couple of months ago due to severe weight loss which was linked to a dental problem. The vet fixed his teeth but he refused to eat still for weeks after, he was so ill. Turned out he was riddled with a mouth and chest infection which the vets completely missed. Rodentologist diagnosed it within 2 mins of a health check. They are fantastic and a lot more competent than most vets where Guinea pigs are concerned.
If you live in the South, I can PM you the name of the Rodentologist who see's to my piggies if you like:)

We had a pig do this, he's hairy so didn't notice under all his fur, but then saw him do so some red pee, took him to vets and when she weighed him we realised he'd lost a shed load since we got him fully grown from a rescue. Anyway, course of anti-biotics and he is much better. Still drinks alot more than the other one but is putting some weight back on now. So I'd pop him along to the vets. The other one startd really bullying him when he was ill as well, whereas usually they are evenly matched in their ability to stand up to each other.