Bereaved piggy eating all poops

[molzify]

Rupert is a roughly 5/6 year old neutered male guinea pig. Rupert has unfortunately lost his bonded wife 3 days ago, he is still eating (albeit possibly less than usual, its been hard to tell) and drinking and has gained weight since but he appears to be eating ALL of his poops, not just the caecatrophs. I've confirmed he is definitely pooping and while they're smaller than usual there's nothing else odd about them, except that apparently they're irresistible. Is there anything that might be causing this or anything I'm missing in his husbandry?

Diet - unlimited meadow hay, alfalfa hay as a treat (I'm talking like 5g or less) and readigrass as a treat. Science selective nuggets, probably about 20g offered and 10g eaten, and 60g portion of mixed veg once daily, usually parsley, kale, bell pepper, tiny amount of apple or carrot, mint, basil, spinach. I've been offering small amounts of oats with his nuggets which he's been wolfing down. Water is obviously unlimited.

Longer history - he has dental malocculsion which is managed by 6-8 weekly conscious burring of his incisors but did have to have an anaesthetic 3 weeks ago to burr spurs on his molars and had a very long recovery where he did lose a small amount of weight despite 4 hourly syringe feeds of 10-15mls. It took him 2 weeks to get back to normal. He is currently weighing 814g and is getting weighed twice daily to monitor, he is gaining approximately 5-10g daily so far.

Picture for tax for reading this far!

 

[Wiebke]

Rupert is a roughly 5/6 year old neutered male guinea pig. Rupert has unfortunately lost his bonded wife 3 days ago, he is still eating (albeit possibly less than usual, its been hard to tell) and drinking and has gained weight since but he appears to be eating ALL of his poops, not just the caecatrophs. I've confirmed he is definitely pooping and while they're smaller than usual there's nothing else odd about them, except that apparently they're irresistible. Is there anything that might be causing this or anything I'm missing in his husbandry?

Diet - unlimited meadow hay, alfalfa hay as a treat (I'm talking like 5g or less) and readigrass as a treat. Science selective nuggets, probably about 20g offered and 10g eaten, and 60g portion of mixed veg once daily, usually parsley, kale, bell pepper, tiny amount of apple or carrot, mint, basil, spinach. I've been offering small amounts of oats with his nuggets which he's been wolfing down. Water is obviously unlimited.

Longer history - he has dental malocculsion which is managed by 6-8 weekly conscious burring of his incisors but did have to have an anaesthetic 3 weeks ago to burr spurs on his molars and had a very long recovery where he did lose a small amount of weight despite 4 hourly syringe feeds of 10-15mls. It took him 2 weeks to get back to normal. He is currently weighing 814g and is getting weighed twice daily to monitor, he is gaining approximately 5-10g daily so far.

Picture for tax for reading this far!

Hi

I am very sorry for your loss. It is not at all uncommon that you are more jittery and therefore more observant to notice things you wouldn't normally.

Recent research has found that guinea pigs - unlike rabbits (who a lagomorphs and not rodents) - don't make caecotrophs. They just eat normal poos for the second run through the gut; they are officially coprophages 'poo eaters'. Guinea pigs have a more primitive gut where the caecum (the main fermentation chamber in the lower gut) is closed off by a mucus membrane that the poos have to pass on their way to the exit. So there is nothing wrong with what he does. He obviously feels a greater need to extract more nutrients from the tough grass/hay fibre.
Guinea Pig Facts - An Overview

Please switch from the usual once weekly health monitoring weigh-in on your kitchen scales to weighing daily afirst thing in the morning for best day to day comparison. The poo always output runs 1-2 days behind the food intake and you cannot judge the hay intake, which should make over three quarters of what a pigg eats in a day just by eye. Only the scales give you the needed up to date feedback for any health decisions.
Weight - Monitoring and Management