Bloated guinea pigs

[emiso]

I have 4 guinea pigs and today I found that each of them are slightly bloated. They all are staying active, eating their hay and pellets, & drinking water. They do not act as if they are in pain at all and are still acting fully normal, I wouldn’t even know they were bloated unless I felt their bellies.

I am not sure what is causing this sudden bloat at all, nothing in their diet has changed recently. I changed them to a higher quality pellets but I did that months ago, they are still on the same hay and vegetable brands without any changes at all. The only thing I can think of is that usually their timothy hay comes in dry and hard, however this time it came in green and softer. They have been eating this hay for a little over a week now. Could this softer hay be causing it?

Also, I have massaged each one of the piggies stomachs which I think helped them a lot and I have given them time to run around out of their cage. I am going to the store now to pick up a dryer hay.

 

[Wiebke]

I have 4 guinea pigs and today I found that each of them are slightly bloated. They all are staying active, eating their hay and pellets, & drinking water. They do not act as if they are in pain at all and are still acting fully normal, I wouldn’t even know they were bloated unless I felt their bellies.

I am not sure what is causing this sudden bloat at all, nothing in their diet has changed recently. I changed them to a higher quality pellets but I did that months ago, they are still on the same hay and vegetable brands without any changes at all. The only thing I can think of is that usually their timothy hay comes in dry and hard, however this time it came in green and softer. They have been eating this hay for a little over a week now. Could this softer hay be causing it?

Also, I have massaged each one of the piggies stomachs which I think helped them a lot and I have given them time to run around out of their cage. I am going to the store now to pick up a dryer hay.

Hi and welcom

Since hay makes over three quarters of the daily food intake, a marked change in quality can cause a tummy upset for a few days until the highly specialised gut microbiome has had time to react and scale up a new batch of digestive bacteria to deal with the new quality hay.

As long as the hay in itself if OK and the bloating the is only minor, it should settle down again within a few days.

Thread 'Wiebke's Guide to Poops'

May 30, 2024

1 How the Digestive System Works
2 Poo Eating (Coprophagy)
3 Health Monitoring: Weighing vs. Poos Watching
- What does weighing do?
- What does the poop output tell you?
4 Minor Poop Issues
- How to deal with a minor tummy upset
- Funny poops: What do they mean?
- Caked on poops
5 Serious Diarrhoea
6 Impaction
7...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 3
• Forum: Wiebke's Guides to the Body

• 
• 

Thread 'Wiebke's Guide to Tummy Trouble'

May 31, 2024

1 Available Gut Medication
2 Mild and Medium Bloating Symptoms
- Milder bloat
- Secondary bloating
- Thickened bowel (IBS-like symptoms)
- Build-up of fluid in the body cavity
3 Severe Bloating
- Severe Bloat (Dysbiosis)
- Blockage
- Twisted or trapped gut (volvulus and hernia)
4 GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)
- Sudden full GI...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 4
• Forum: Wiebke's Guides to the Body

• 

 

[emiso]

Hi and welcom

Since hay makes over three quarters of the daily food intake, a marked change in quality can cause a tummy upset for a few days until the highly specialised gut microbiome has had time to react and scale up a new batch of digestive bacteria to deal with the new quality hay.

As long as the hay in itself if OK and the bloating the is only minor, it should settle down again within a few days.

Thread 'Wiebke's Guide to Poops'

May 30, 2024

1 How the Digestive System Works
2 Poo Eating (Coprophagy)
3 Health Monitoring: Weighing vs. Poos Watching
- What does weighing do?
- What does the poop output tell you?
4 Minor Poop Issues
- How to deal with a minor tummy upset
- Funny poops: What do they mean?
- Caked on poops
5 Serious Diarrhoea
6 Impaction
7...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 3
• Forum: Wiebke's Guides to the Body

• 
• 

Thread 'Wiebke's Guide to Tummy Trouble'

May 31, 2024

1 Available Gut Medication
2 Mild and Medium Bloating Symptoms
- Milder bloat
- Secondary bloating
- Thickened bowel (IBS-like symptoms)
- Build-up of fluid in the body cavity
3 Severe Bloating
- Severe Bloat (Dysbiosis)
- Blockage
- Twisted or trapped gut (volvulus and hernia)
4 GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)
- Sudden full GI...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 4
• Forum: Wiebke's Guides to the Body

• 

Thank you! They are on the new hay now and are eating it, one wasn’t eating as much so I fed her critical care and today she is pooping again they are just smaller.

Do you recommend gripe water for them? I’ve seen people say that but I’m nervous to try.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you! They are on the new hay now and are eating it, one wasn’t eating as much so I fed her critical care and today she is pooping again they are just smaller.

Do you recommend gripe water for them? I’ve seen people say that but I’m nervous to try.

Hi

Please be aware that the poo output is running about a day behind the intake, so what you see reflects what your piggies have eaten yesterday.

I do not recommend using gripe water on spec and unless there is some real reason where it could make a real difference after other things have not worked out.

This is a minor and temporary issue you are dealing with and decidedly doesn't call for any further tampering with, which could easily make it worse than better. It should right it itself on its own in its own time. Just be patient a little longer.