[Gpdd] [HEALTH] Piggie weights/diabetes
DebJonSara at aol.com
DebJonSara at aol.com
Sat Mar 11 07:36:42 EST 2006
Hi Alge
I was sorry to read that Wilson is still seeming skinny. I looked up
diabetes in my guinea pig books. Apparently it is common in guinea pigs, and you are
right, one of the symptoms is weight loss; another is increased thirst and
consequent increased urination. Sadly, these are also symptoms of kidney
failure, which causes piggies to lose their body protein and their hips and
shoulders start protruding. Apparently only a blood test will indicate whether the
piggie has diabetes or kidney failure, but the bad news is, according to my
books there is not yet a cure for either in piggies. Apparently feeding food
items with a high phosphorus content like sunflower seeds, nuts and peas has
been associated with the development of kidney disease, but there are also
hereditary, bacterial and viral factors, plus it can be linked to toxins in
mouldy hay. If it helps your vet any, one book says normal blood glucose for
piggies lie between 60 and 125mg/ml (3 - 7 mmol/litre), and another says that in
the case of kidney failure, the gravity of the urine is very low and has a
high protein content. Apparently the progress of kidney failure may be delayed
by reducing phosphorus intake and increasing protein in the diet. The better
news is that piggies usually seem well and happy throughout these diseases,
eating well, until the very end. You might like to try posting on the
Guinealynx medical forum about it, as they seem to be a mine of experience and
information. In case you have not already found it, they also have links to
information about 2 piggies who WERE successfully treated for diabetes - just shows
how advanced the US is compared with Europe:
_http://members.shaw.ca/patriciasimon/diabetes.htm_ (http://members.shaw.ca/patriciasimon/diabetes.htm)
As most of you know, I have religiously weighed all my piggies weekly since
August 2003, in the hope that any medical problem may be identified in time
for me to post about it on the Internet and to supportive piggie experts across
the globe before it is too late, given the absence of an exotics vet
anywhere near. I even make a graph of the results using Microsoft Works! But I do
have to say, there are such fluctuations every week that I am never really sure
when I should panic. Their weights vary considerably from piggie to piggie
(my lightest, a little Abyssinian sow called Scarecrow, who's been mentioned
on gpdd before when she had an abscess, now thankfully well gone) currently
clocks in at 805g (1.77lbs), whereas my heaviest is a boar called Scrabble,
clocking in at a hefty 1355g (2.99lbs). Scarecrow only weighed 784g (1.73lbs)
when she was returned to me as a young adult in June 2004, whilst Scrabble was
just 984g (2.17lbs), but Scarecrow got as low as 746g (1.64lbs) in September
2005, when she had the abscess, and had got as high as 856g (1.89lbs) in
March 2005, and Scrabble did hit 1540g (3.39lbs) in April 2005.
I do try to work out environmental causes for these weight fluctuations
(which they all have, I have just cited the heaviest and lightest as examples).
For example, a change of diet (either veggies or pellets), change of
temperature, change of access to large area to run around in and so on. But to be
honest, I can never really identify a pattern. Even when I think the scales are
wrong because everyone seems to have lost 20g (0.7oz) or so, there's always at
least one who has gained 20g or so, making me think it can't be the scales!
So, I carry on religiously weighing, but don't take too much notice unless
someone who already seems fairly light just seems to get lighter and lighter.
For example, I would not worry if Scrabble lost 200g (7oz) or so, as I think
he probably is overweight - though I could not starve him to make him lose
weight, I must admit. But if Scarecrow lost 200g, I would panic. Pirouette is
causing me a little concern at present because she has two "growths" on her
rump. They bdon't seem to be bothering her, and she is eating/drinking/moving as
normal - the "growths" have been there since July last year, and I am
reluctant to visit the vet with them as I don't want her to attempt anything under
general aneasthetic, as she only uses injections, not gas. She weighed 970g
(2.14lbs) in September 2005, was 950g (2.09lbs)
in December 2005 but is currently only 885g (1.95lbs) - which would be
worrying until I look back and see that she only weighed 860g (1.89lbs) on 12th
March last year, before she had these growths! And she only weighed 739g
(1.63lbs) when she came to me, aged 2 years, in May 2004. I think what I'm trying
to say is, as long as the weight fluctuates both ways, I try to convince
myself not to panic. It would only be if it steadily decreased over, say, a six
week period that I would really become alarmed. That said, if there was a drop
of more than 30g (1oz) over one week, and another of over 30g over the next
week, I would start weighing every day, probing for other signs of illness or
dental problems and sending panicked emails across the globe!! Actually, as I
have been doing these weight conversions online
(_http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_common.htm_ (http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_common.htm) )
I have been thinking that probably most US scales would not even pick up a
weight change of less than an ounce - whereas my own, digital scales tell me
if a piggie has lost as little as 0.07oz! Somehow 30g sounds a much more
serious weight loss than 1 oz - maybe I should weigh them in pounds and ounces,
which is actually an option on my scales - would avoid a lot of unnecessary
worry ...!
My only "sudden death" piggie since I started weekly weighing, Chestnut (I
used to call her Lady Chessington, you may recall!) did not have a
significantly decreasing weightloss preceding her death. She was a hefty lady, loved her
food, and fluctuated between 1090g and 1025g, but it was always up and down,
and I did feel she needed to lose weight. That said, I was in and out of
hospital for about 5 weeks before she died, so she was not weighed during that
period, and I did not have the heart to weigh her dead body, so maybe there was
an undetected weightloss that might have alarmed me had I been around. At
least she didn't have to endure painful veterinary interventions before she
went.
Sorry for all the figures - I always tell people "I don't do numbers"! I
just wanted to launch a discussion on the best way to use the information gained
by the recommended weekly weighing, and what kind of weightloss indicates
real cause for alarm rather than a piggie getting healthily slimmer.
Condolences to all whose piggies are poorly or have recently departed for
The Bridge - it was exactly 3 years ago yesterday that my precious Cherub went
to The Bridge, and I still cry when I talk/write about it.
Debbie
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