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Constipated Guinea Pig question

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ianhaney

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Hi

This is my first time posting here and looking forward to being a part of the guinea pig forum.

I got a quick question, we have a male guinea pig and think it has constipation but it has been eating and drinking but not pooping so been looking it up online and been doing the things such as cleaning out ourselves with a cotton bud and does get some out so thought would see what else we could try so looked it up online again and found online it says about giving a few drops of olive oil on treats it enjoys so put 3 drops on some cucumber and eat it and looks like it might have worked as my daughter said there is one poop in the cage so just seeing how long should we give the guinea pig the olive oil for as didn't want to over do it and harm the guinea pig by giving too much.

We was going to look at the next step of a probiotic if the olive didn't work and then the vet if olive oil or probiotic didn't work

Thank you in advance
 
Guinea pigs don’t get constipated but you may be seeing impaction if his anal sac is full.
This is where the muscles in their back end lose strength due to age and they cannot push their poops out properly; lack of fibre can also cause issues.

You will need to clear out his anal sac (this may need to be a regular thing if he is now going to struggle).
He will need to be seen by a vet to be sure the impaction is not due to any other health condition which needs treatment. Please dont give him olive oil.

Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths
Impaction - How To Help Your Guinea Pig.

The other reason piggies arent pooping is because they are not in fact eating enough hay (in which case you will see his weight dropping during his weight checks) and you must step in with syringe feeding and see a vet this this case.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Guinea pigs don’t get constipated but you may be seeing impaction if his anal sac is full.
This is where the muscles in their back end lose strength due to age and they cannot push their poops out properly; lack of fibre can also cause issues.

You will need to clear out his anal sac (this may need to be a regular thing if he is now going to struggle).
He will need to be seen by a vet to be sure the impaction is not due to any other health condition which needs treatment. Please dont give him olive oil.

Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths
Impaction - How To Help Your Guinea Pig.

The other reason piggies arent pooping is because they are not in fact eating enough hay (in which case you will see his weight dropping during his weight checks) and you must step in with syringe feeding and see a vet this this case.
Click to expand...
Ahh ok sorry yeah it's impaction not constipation. We do clear him out using the cotton bud about 4/5 times a day every day and do get some out, sometimes more comes out than others.

He does eat his food and few treats when we give them to him and does eat hay and drinks water but has got bit more skinny
 
ianhaney said:
Ahh ok sorry yeah it's impaction not constipation. We do clear him out using the cotton bud about 4/5 times a day every day and do get some out, sometimes more comes out than others.

He does eat his food and few treats when we give them to him and does eat hay and drinks water but has got bit more skinny
Click to expand...

Have you been weighing him?
It’s important it weigh them weekly as part of routine care but switching to daily weight checks when there are health concerns.
If you feel he is getting skinny then it’s likely he is not in fact eating enough hay. You cannot judge hay intake by eye and seeing them each some can be very deceptive.
Hay is 80% of the daily food intake. Hay is often the first thing to be dropped when they are feeling unwell but they may still eat veg and pellets. Veg (just one cup per pig per day) and pellets (just one tablespoon per pig per day only) are jointly around 20% so don’t contribute nearly enough. Reduced hay intake and therefore reduced fibre intake can make impaction worse.

If he is indeed losing weight, then it’s essential you step in with syringe feeding a fibre rich recovery feed, or mushed pellets in the absence of a recovery feed, to stop the weight loss, switch to daily weight checks so you can stabilise his weight and see a vet.

How old is he?

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management
 
Piggies&buns said:
Have you been weighing him?
It’s important it weigh them weekly as part of routine care but switching to daily weight checks when there are health concerns.
If you feel he is getting skinny then it’s likely he is not in fact eating enough hay. You cannot judge hay intake by eye and seeing them each some can be very deceptive.
Hay is 80% of the daily food intake. Hay is often the first thing to be dropped when they are feeling unwell but they may still eat veg and pellets. Veg (just one cup per pig per day) and pellets (just one tablespoon per pig per day only) are jointly around 20% so don’t contribute nearly enough. Reduced hay intake and therefore reduced fibre intake can make impaction worse.

If he is indeed losing weight, then it’s essential you step in with syringe feeding a fibre rich recovery feed, or mushed pellets in the absence of a recovery feed, to stop the weight loss, switch to daily weight checks so you can stabilise his weight and see a vet.

How old is he?

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Click to expand...
We currently don't weigh him but will start to. Should we increase the hay in his cage so he eats that more. We feed him the guinea pig mix food, not the pellets but should we put him on pellets instead?

He is not massively losing weight as is still quite big being a adult. He is about 3 or 4 years old.
 
Please do start weighing him immediately and see a vet. It’s so important. Weigh him at the same time each day while there are health concerns. If he is losing weight day and day then you are going to need to step in and syringe feed to stop the weight loss and see a vet to find out why he is unwell.
Any weight loss over 50 grams is of concern and requires action to be taken.
Impaction can be caused by another health issue and can cause infection so please do get him to a vet.

Hay should be available in large amounts constantly. They must never run out of hay.

Please switch away from the mix and onto a plain pellet (ideally a grain free)
Mixes are not recommended - they often contain seeds and grains which are not good for them and will cause them to selective feed meaning they pick out the sweetest and most unhealthiest bits, and therefore the bits which are usually lowest in fibre.

All the green links I’m adding in cover everything in further detail

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Pellets Or Muesli / Dry Mix?
 
I have weighed the guinea pig just now and is 750 grams and have recorded it and will weight it each day now.

I am going to put a lot more hay in the cage

I am also going to switch the guinea pig onto pellets and read it needs to be done slowly over 5 days
 
ianhaney said:
I have weighed the guinea pig just now and is 750 grams and have recorded it and will weight it each day now.

I am going to put a lot more hay in the cage

I am also going to switch the guinea pig onto pellets and read it needs to be done slowly over 5 days
Click to expand...

Ok. He isn’t a particularly big boy then. Definitely keep a close eye on his weight daily.

Make sure there is always lots of hay constantly available.

Personally, I’d stop giving the muesli to encourage more hay intake, particularly as mueslis aren’t good for them.
Do you have a bag of plain pellets already? If not, this guide may also help you - Nugget Comparison Chart
The Science Selective grain free pellets are well recommended as they are grain free and low calcium
 
ianhaney said:
I will do from now on.

I don't have a bag of plain pellets already, I was looking at getting this bag, would that one be ok? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosewood-Naturals-Meadow-Menu-Guinea/dp/B0117S5UWQ/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2AYQ3P6TW4B5K&keywords=guinea+pig+grain+free+pellets&qid=1644946506&rdc=1&sprefix=guinea+pig+grain+free+pellets,aps,210&sr=8-3&th=1

or is this one better? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Supreme-Selective-Naturals-Grain-Guinea/dp/B0746RPLXX/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ZWOZWCAPUVUK&keywords=Science+Selective+grain+free+pellets&qid=1644947016&rdc=1&sprefix=science+selective+grain+free+pellets,aps,154&sr=8-2
Click to expand...

Either of those are absolutely fine.

Do see a vet though, particularly if he is losing weight. Just changing his diet and syringe feeding (if he is losing weight) alone may not be enough if there is a medical element behind his impaction
 
Thank you for all your help, I have ordered the Rosewood one and arrives tomorrow and have put loads of hay in the cage for now

I'll weigh him again tomorrow and see what he is and keep a eye and get him to a vet
 
Keep us posted on how things go. If you come back to this post, we can offer ongoing support
I hope he is ok
 
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