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Bloat or impaction
- Thread starter DorisG
- Start date
DorisG
New Born Pup
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2016
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- 6
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What is the difference between bloat and "backed up". Backed up is the wording my vet used when i took my guinea pig in about a month ago. She said she took x-rays. I am not sure. Should I have asked to see them? I surely paid for them. Is it the same as constipation and if you cannot get in touch with your vet, what do you do in the meantime. I guess if he isn't pooping, he is backed up? What should I Not feed him until I can get to my vet
piggieminder
Forum Buddy
guinea pigs don't get constipation, if he's not pooping he has stasis. You need to keep feeding him and see a vet familiar with GPs urgently. There is a thread linked above that gives information on gut stasis. You may need to syringe feed him if he's not eating enough himself, there will be information on how to do that in the threads linked.
I am not a health expert but the above linked threads are written by one. I am replying to you because it is late in the UK and most people are asleep now and your question is urgent.
I am not a health expert but the above linked threads are written by one. I am replying to you because it is late in the UK and most people are asleep now and your question is urgent.
piggieminder
Forum Buddy
piggieminder
Forum Buddy
Click on the title of the thread to get the full information.
As above, guinea pigs do not get constipated.
If your piggy is not pooping then he is poorly and needs to see a vet.
A piggy with bloat needs veg removed from the diet. You also need to syringe feed a recovery feed to replace the loss in hay intake.
Not pooping means he isn’t eating enough and the system can go into stasis (which is an emergency) Bloated tummies can feel hard and sound hollow when tapped. It is an urgent situation. You need to switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him every morning so that you can monitor food intake and you must step in and syringe feed him a recovery feed or mushed pellets as the emergency alternative if you don’t have recovery feed. You feed as much as is necessary to keep his weight stable every morning and that is anywhere from 60-90ml per day depending on the severity is the illness. A very poorly piggy may only manage 40-60ml but that is bare minimum just to keep them alive.
The other possibility given the terminology ‘backed up’ is that the vet means your piggy has impaction. This is when they are not able to clear the poop out their anal sac. You must do it for him - depending on the severity of the case (ie whether he is still able to get some poops out or not), you could need to clear him a few times a day. This can happen when the anal muscles lose strength when they age. Not enough fibre in the diet can also cause them to find it harder to get the poop out. If left uncleared, it can cause infection.
I’ve added various guides below: our emergency guide, syringe feeding guides and digestive disorder guide. I’ve also added our impaction guide.
This guide explains bloat and digestive issues
This guide explains impaction
I have moved this post out of your food related thread so that it can receive dedicated health and illness support in the correct forum section.
If your piggy is not pooping then he is poorly and needs to see a vet.
A piggy with bloat needs veg removed from the diet. You also need to syringe feed a recovery feed to replace the loss in hay intake.
Not pooping means he isn’t eating enough and the system can go into stasis (which is an emergency) Bloated tummies can feel hard and sound hollow when tapped. It is an urgent situation. You need to switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him every morning so that you can monitor food intake and you must step in and syringe feed him a recovery feed or mushed pellets as the emergency alternative if you don’t have recovery feed. You feed as much as is necessary to keep his weight stable every morning and that is anywhere from 60-90ml per day depending on the severity is the illness. A very poorly piggy may only manage 40-60ml but that is bare minimum just to keep them alive.
The other possibility given the terminology ‘backed up’ is that the vet means your piggy has impaction. This is when they are not able to clear the poop out their anal sac. You must do it for him - depending on the severity of the case (ie whether he is still able to get some poops out or not), you could need to clear him a few times a day. This can happen when the anal muscles lose strength when they age. Not enough fibre in the diet can also cause them to find it harder to get the poop out. If left uncleared, it can cause infection.
I’ve added various guides below: our emergency guide, syringe feeding guides and digestive disorder guide. I’ve also added our impaction guide.
This guide explains bloat and digestive issues
This guide explains impaction
I have moved this post out of your food related thread so that it can receive dedicated health and illness support in the correct forum section.
The guide has been linked in for you. Thank you @piggieminder
I just wanted to give you some information on how the forum works.
The care sections, so the health section for the query you have here, is monitored by those of us with the H&I contributor in our signatures. We get a notification every time a post is made in that section. It means you can rest assured that your query is answered by somebody who has knowledge of the query and can answer it with correct information. We aim to answer questions in those care sections promptly - of course not overnight and we do of course have our own lives to attend to but we don’t let posts go unanswered particularly urgent.
The section you had actually originally posted the pain question in is merely a general chat section (doesn’t even have to be piggy related) so it will not generate alerts to us specific members and those of us who monitor care sections don’t always even go to this general chat section when the care sections are busy. Therefore your post runs the risk of being missed.
If you have a health related question, please do ensure you post it in the Health & Illness section so that it gets seen.
i am going to move and merge your posts so you can receive ongoing advice
I just wanted to give you some information on how the forum works.
The care sections, so the health section for the query you have here, is monitored by those of us with the H&I contributor in our signatures. We get a notification every time a post is made in that section. It means you can rest assured that your query is answered by somebody who has knowledge of the query and can answer it with correct information. We aim to answer questions in those care sections promptly - of course not overnight and we do of course have our own lives to attend to but we don’t let posts go unanswered particularly urgent.
The section you had actually originally posted the pain question in is merely a general chat section (doesn’t even have to be piggy related) so it will not generate alerts to us specific members and those of us who monitor care sections don’t always even go to this general chat section when the care sections are busy. Therefore your post runs the risk of being missed.
If you have a health related question, please do ensure you post it in the Health & Illness section so that it gets seen.
i am going to move and merge your posts so you can receive ongoing advice