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Bloat

E

ew3lsh

New Born Pup
Joined
Feb 23, 2025
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Location
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Hi all,
I feel like I’m posting everyday, my guinea pig randomly started farting a lot over the span of a couple hours, and I noticed he’s been a little more lethargic than usual. He’s eating, drinking and screaming for food like usual though, however I’m scared he may have bloat. I sadly don’t get money until a couple days and can’t take him to the vet yet, is there anything I can do at home that would help him feel better and improve his quality of life whilst I’m waiting. He’s not really an old pig, and has a healthy diet with fruit being given at most twice a week, and every day he gets romaine lettuce.
Thank you!
 
Another thing to add, I had him out of his cage, kind of like floor time for 40 ish minutes, he was running and squeaking however hadn’t once gone to the toilet. I’ve separated him for the night as I can tell if he’s pooing in his cage due to his friend also being in it. He’s acting normal, eating hay, hiding and running around, and he’d still eat the entire house if I gave him half the chance.
 
I’m sorry to hear rhis

Please do not separate him from his friend - it just causes stress.
Poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake so doesn’t tell you anything in real time about his food intake. Therefore separating to watch poop is pointless.

It is checking his weight via daily weight checks which is useful and provides real time information.

If he is passing gas then that is a good thing. It’s when it gets trapped that it’s bad. However you do need to keep an eye on him.

If you really do think he is bloated and more lethargic, then you need to remove all veg from his diet (piggies shouldn’t have fruit any more than once a week), switch to daily weight checks and be prepared to step in with syringe feeding. Obviously with a vet appointment lined up

Acute and severe bloat is an emergency and should he worsen then he would need a vet straight away.

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support
Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
How to Improvise Feeding Support in an Emergency
 
Thank you for the advice, I ended up n having to separate them sadly due to other reasons anyway but kept them in the same cage to lower stress. If I cut out veg, does he still get all the vitamin c he needs or should I buy some of those vitamin c treats? He seems to be doing a lot better but I do know bloat can come in waves.
 
ew3lsh said:
Thank you for the advice, I ended up n having to separate them sadly due to other reasons anyway but kept them in the same cage to lower stress. If I cut out veg, does he still get all the vitamin c he needs or should I buy some of those vitamin c treats? He seems to be doing a lot better but I do know bloat can come in waves.
Click to expand...

Has their bond failed?
Make sure each piggy has a minimum of 120x60cm of space in their own cage, and the cages need to be side by side if their separation is now permanent.

You don’t need to replace vitamin c when you temporarily cut out veg. It’s a very temporary measure during the episode of illness so it’s fine (pellets are fortified with vit c so if he had pellets then he will still be getting vit c).
 
Thank you, the bond hasn’t failed but there’s been a few blips where I’m thinking of slowly reintroducing them so no blood is drawn. They have over the minimum space currently.
 
ew3lsh said:
Thank you, the bond hasn’t failed but there’s been a few blips where I’m thinking of slowly reintroducing them so no blood is drawn. They have over the minimum space currently.
Click to expand...

What are the blips?
What behaviours are you seeing?

If these blips were just dominance and actually everything’s ok then you would best to reintroduce them now rather than keep them apart any longer.

If the issues are more serious than just dominance and their bond is really in trouble then you would need to be prepared that you may not be able to reintroduce them after a medical separation.
Underlying issues and then add on a medical separation it can put the final nail in their bond and mean they refuse to go back together.

There is not really the option of slow reintroducing so no blood is drawn though.
It’s that you put them on neutral territory and they make their mind up about each other there and then in the bonding pen - it ends that day with them either back together or being permanently separated.

If the dominant piggy is unwell then it can allow any underlying tension and resentment from the submissive to come up and cause them to try to overthrow the hierarchy. If the dominant doesn’t like that then it’s either down the submissive to back down or the bond will break.

We would need to know the timeline of the issues and what the issues between them are to be able to advise further.
 
My guinea pigs have been separated many times due to after operations and by vet guidance, this is very much so dominance that went too far and I separated them for the night. Luckily there is one dominant pig and one that’s submissive, but due to a past operation sometimes there can be some issues besides the typical mounting and rumble strutting where they run after each other but never bite. I reintroduce them in a separate c&c cage that’s roughly the same size but no previous smells. I had a bond before this but one of them passed and I bought another one as my guinea pig showed signs of depression. Luckily as one’s older and one younger they generally get along well, the blips are all dominance. I try my best of course to do what I can to avoid fights, and often seek advice from vets especially recently due to a high amount of illnesses between both of them. As they’re both males I also understand that bonds break a lot easier and dominance is a lot more common, they’ve been bonded for a year and a half. The operation for Snoop happened in January for an amputation, then sadly he got pneumonia, leading to my submissive one trying to be dominant and then being separated on vet guidance. Now my other one is sick and the hierarchy returned to normal, but there still has been more chasing after each other, but never any blood drawn or fighting, and I always make sure there’s two of everything so they don’t fight over food, hides etc. Currently they’re even cuddling next to each other in the hay where they love to sleep! I think it may have gotten worse last night due to higher stress as I had to handle both of them and check which one had gas- which they are friendly but hate being picked up as usual.
I hope that covers everything, I may have over explained lol!
 
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