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Concerned about Phoebe (guinea pig)

oscarbunny

Warren Veteran
Phoebe is 2 and a half years old and when she was younger was quite slim. Over the last 6 months or so she has put on considerable weight, although I thought i was just overfeeding. I have four other guinea pigs and feed them all the same amount, yet she is the only one who is fat. The others are lovely and slim. She is starting to resemble a pregnant guinea pig. She isnt though, she lives with another female and has done for 2 and a half years. Ive only just recently noticed that she was fatter than before. I have felt her sides and I cant feel any lumps at all.

What could this be? All my piggies are fed a small amount of veggies on a evening, unlimited hay and a small amount of pellets on a morning.
 
Guinea pigs are prone to ovarian cysts, so my first port of call would be the vet to rule this out. Does she have any hair loss.
Of course she might just be a pig who gets fat!
 
I will take her to the vets, how would they rule this out, and would a spay correct the problem if it is? No hair loss.
 
I would get a vet to check her out but really i would not worry, being fat does not affect pigs like it affects bunnies, i like my pigs to be nice and plump, esp in the winter, i do not limit their nuggets like the buns either and they have truck loads of greens as often as i can afford and of course more hay than they could ever eat. :D
 
Our vets did a scan, it was amazing, we could see 2 round balls inside, but they can also be felt. They do need to be spayed, although I think some people opt for having them drained by a needle, but I don't know how long it lasts. We've had 2 guineas with cysts, Jumble was a very nervous girl and we lost her 2 days after the op. Motley, who was the last guinea you would think would survive, pulled through and lived another year. She was a rescue, with a head tilt, funny hips and she was 4 years old at the time.
Hope she is just a fat piggie, but it is best to check it out first, if you are worried.
 
I am very worried about her. I will take her along with the benjamin when he gets his cylap vac this week, and i will keep you posted. Thanks everyone for such great advice.

I had no idea about ovarian cysts. I cant feel no lumps at all. She doesnt like me poking and prodding her though, poor little thing. She doesnt have any hair loss either.

IF it was cysts what would the treatment options be, im not sure how draining works, GA etc with guinea pigs. ??
 
As with all ops, there is a risk, Jumble was 3 when she was operated on, but as I said before she was very nervous and timid. Motley, although, physically much weaker, was a much more confident pig, and I think the way we nursed her was much better. With Jumble, we took her into the house and put her in a rabbit cage to keep her warm, she was poorly the next day and i rushed her to the vet for more painkiller and fluids, but she didn't make it. With Moltey, we put her in a small cat basket, with a snuggle pad and sat her beside the guinea cage so she could still hear them and the environment was familiar. I'm convinced that helped pull her through, and as with rabbit spays, pain relief is a must.
It may not be cysts at all, but it is jsut because I've had 2 cases, I'm very quick to think of them as a possiblity.
 
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