A guinea pig that stops eating: what to do right now

If she has not eaten for more than 12 hours, or the droppings have stopped, that is a reason to see a vet today rather than tomorrow. Everything below is done on the way there, not instead of it.

Why it is this serious

A guinea pig’s digestion runs continuously: each new mouthful pushes the previous one along. As soon as the intake stops, the gut slows and then stalls, and the wrong bacteria begin to multiply. The animal weakens quickly, and the longer the pause, the harder it is to restart.

The second problem is the liver. A guinea pig that does not eat can suffer severe liver damage from starvation alone within a day or two. This is exactly why «she will eat when she is hungry» does not apply here.

What to check in the first five minutes

• Droppings: how many, and what size. Small dry pellets, or none at all, is a warning sign.
• Weight: weigh her now and write it down. It is the first number the vet will ask for.
• Posture: hunched and tucked in, with the feet drawn under, means pain.
• Belly: tense or bloated, and whether you can hear gurgling.
• Face: a wet chin and neck often means the teeth hurt and saliva is running.
• Breathing: any wheezing, any heaving of the flanks.

The usual causes

Teeth come first. Molars grow for life and sometimes wear unevenly, forming sharp spurs that cut the tongue and cheek. None of this is visible from outside: the front teeth can look perfect while the back of the mouth is a mess. Only a vet with the right instrument can see it.

Then pain of any origin, gut stasis, respiratory infection, ovarian cysts in females. Sometimes it is simpler than that: an abrupt change of food, dirty water, heat, a move, or the loss of a cage mate.

What to do at home

• Offer her favourite greens by hand — a guinea pig often takes what is held out when she ignores the bowl.
• Make sure the water is fresh and easy to reach.
• Remove draughts, and do not overheat the room.
• Give nothing dry or hard — no pellets, no treats.
• Do not leave her alone for long: you need to see whether droppings appear.

If she will not eat on her own, she is fed by syringe — a thin mash, without a needle, in small amounts several times a day. Buy a recovery formula for herbivores, or grind soaked pellets with greens if you have nothing else. Do it slowly and carefully: a guinea pig that aspirates the mash ends up worse than she started. Have a vet show you the first time.

When to go immediately

• No food for more than 12 hours.
• No droppings for more than 12 hours.
• Hunched posture, no movement, hiding.
• Laboured breathing or wheezing.
• Blood in the urine.
• A sharp drop in weight — more than 10% in a week.

And it must be an exotics vet. A vet who treats cats and dogs may prescribe something that harms a guinea pig — some antibiotics wipe out her gut flora.

How to notice earlier

Guinea pigs hide illness to the very end — an inheritance from the wild, where the weak animal is eaten first. So «she fell ill suddenly» almost always means «she was ill for a week and it did not show».

The only way to see it in time is a weekly weighing. Weight falls before any other sign appears, and it buys you the few days that decide everything.

In short

• 12 hours without food — see a vet today.
• No droppings — the same.
• Weigh her and write it down before the visit.
• Offer greens by hand; nothing dry.
• You need an exotics vet, not any vet.