[Gpdd] [HEALTH] Puzzled by symptoms...We have seen something similar.

[sherry bevins]

Hi,

Angela's symptoms sound very similar to something that we have been 
experiencing with Sweetheart, who is over 6 years old. Late last year I 
noticed that she had begun to lose some weight. I attributed this to her 
age, since at the time she was approaching her 6th birthday and I didn't 
worry about it too much. She wasn't behaving strangely at all and seemed to 
be eating normally, though not as much as when she was younger. She was 
always a large piggie, weighing well over 3 lbs., for most of her life. I 
have noticed that as some of my piggies have aged they have tended to lose 
some of their body fat. This is what I thought was happening to Sweetheart. 
However, right after the first of the year, I was getting ready to clean her 
cage and when I picked her up I was shocked by the amount of weight that she 
had lost....she was just skin, bones, and hair. Her long hair had hidden the 
fact that she was just a little wisp of a piggie now and I was horrified. 
Like Angela, she was definitely hungry, but for some reason was not taking 
in enough food to keep her weight up. I don't handle her much except for 
cage cleaning because she has never liked it, although she doesn't mind 
being petted while still in her cage.  I immediately put some of her 
pelleted food into the blender with some banana and water and added crushed 
vitamin c to the mix just before I syringed it to her. She was just so 
hungry that she took about 2 oz. of the soft food at a sitting. I had to 
feed her around the clock for several weeks before she started to gain a 
little weight. She had entirely forsaken her fresh greens, fruits, and 
veggies and her hay. All she wanted was a small amount of dry food and her 
syringe feedings. She was also unsteady in her hind legs, which I thought 
must be due to vitamin c deficiency, since she had been eating so poorly and 
I didn't even realize it. She was actually just pushing her dry food around 
in her dish, most of it ending up mixed in her bedding and not eaten. Now, 
after 6 months of daily syringe feeding, she is eating her fruits and 
veggies once more and has begun to eat some hay. She now has a bit of a 
tummy, and can walk around with ease, though she does have some arthritis in 
her knees and spine. That daily vitamin c supplement seems to have helped 
her tremendously. Her appetite is so much better. I crush three 50 mg. 
vitamin c tablets and place them in her food each day. I still syringe feed 
her, but no longer have to do it around the clock. Like Angela, she has had 
her share of bladder problems and has to be treated for it now and then. Our 
vet says that this may be an ongoing problem for her for the rest of her 
life.  At her age now, I try to keep her as comfortable as possible and give 
her lots of love and attention. It seems to be working. We still don't know 
why she went off of her food in the first place. Her teeth seem to be fine, 
and she hasn't acted as though she were sick.
We hope that Angela will soon be feeling better. Try putting her veggies and 
fruits in the blender and offering them to her as juice. Sweetheart just 
loved that! It can be a challenge caring for older piggies, but very much 
worth it for all of the love and joy that they give to us.

Take care, and give Angela a cuddle for us!

With healing thoughts for your sweet piggie,
Sherry and the Piggie Pals

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