Old Guinea Pig

suzoo · 08-03-2007, 07:33 PM

My guinea pig Chloe is getting up there in pig years.. She's at least 7 years old or more (she was adopted so I can't be positive).
I'm sure she may have lots of time left on this earth, but she is slowing down.
She sleeps alot more than she used to. The biggest problem is that she pees under her igloo and lays in it which is gross in itself.. I have to give her more baths and clean under her house everyday so she doesn't get urine burns. I use shavings in her cage but I started last week to use fleece with a towel under it, under her igloo to absorb the urine and hopefully keep her dryer.
Has anyone else dealt with this problem and if so, any other suggestions? She is still a good eater but doesn't get the exercise she used to get so she's packing on the weight as well. I don't want to deprive her of her food but I also don't want her to put on too much weight either. It's not that I'm not giving her out of cage time but when I do let her out, she goes to the closest corner & stays there. She used to wander around the house when she was out.

Debbie · 08-08-2007, 08:58 AM

Awww Sue, we just lost our 8 years old GP a few months ago.
Same things happened, and went on for several months.We thought he was going to burst he got so fat last winter.
Then he stopped eating, lost so much weight, and passed during the night.
We had him to the vet , thinking teeth or someting.
Gave him critical care and stuff but he was dieing of old age and we just kept him as comfy as possible.
Siting in his pee spot did become a dirty problem, so we started using news print & rags and just throwing them out. It was easier to keep it clean that way, and he didn't get as wet as with shavings.
I'll be watching for changes so keep us posted OK!

suzoo · 08-08-2007, 08:38 PM

Thanks for the response Deb!

The fleece/towel combo is working out well.. plus when I get a bag full of dirty ones, I just take them to work to launder them! (another good thing about working in an animal shelter)