[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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