guinea pigs!!!

Question
QUESTION: Please help!! i had 5 piggies, one cage of 2 and the other of 3.  they live in c n
c cages, ( each of cage is about 10 sq. ft.) they get a full diet of tim hay,
carrots, lettuce, celery, parsley, oranges, apples and reg dry food.  my top two
piggies are doing great, the bottom level piggies (2 now) are not.  one just
passed away so now i have 4 piggies total. the one that passed lost weight
over about 1 week, then died.  tonight i am seeing that the other two on the
bottom (the one that died's cagemates) are also loosing weight!! what am i
doing wrong????? do they get worms?? they all are about 4 years old, is it old
age?(i personally dont think so but im not a vet!) please respond asap! they
do have a vet i take them to for nail trimmings, check ups-however i always
end up spending an arm and leg for treating HEALTHY piggs - dont really
want to know how much sick piggies will be! please help!

ANSWER: Hi
you need to cut right back on the veggies for the sick piggies. Just feed them NORMAL HAY rather than timothy hay as that is too rich to be given at this time,and thei usual dry food. Keep them on this diet for a week and see if there is any improvement.
Are the water bottles clean? if they have green algae in them,clean them.
Check their poo,is it normal or runny as poo is a good indicator of a piggys health.If possible weigh them daily to monitor the weight loss. If you are really worried take them to the vet and explain their symptoms.
Get back to me if you need to.
XXX

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi again! im not sure what normal hay is, i buy them the hay in a bag at the pet
store that says its for piggies. water bottles are clean and poo is whole, not too
wet or runny. i am cutting back on the veggies. can they get intestinal parasites
that could be causing this?

Answer
Hi
Normal hay is the the regular stuff from the pet shop whereas Timothy hay is more expensive and although better than normal hay,too much of it is not good.
Its better to use it as a special day treat or something like that.
Also you could learn to cut the nails yourself using nail clippers that you find in most peoples bathrooms.
Get someone to hold your pig while you do it.Black or dark nails are harder to do as you cannot see where the blood supply begins so there is a danger of cutting the quick and making the nail bleed. If you did have a little mishap you can stem the flow of blood by dipping the nail in ordinary flour.