Diarrhea

[Wetherill]

My 5 y/o boy surprised me with very soft, deformed stool this morning in clumps that are causing my whole room to smell foul. He is happy, eating, drinking, etc., however it’s Saturday and my vet cannot see him until monday. Unfortunately there is no emergency vet near me that sees guinea pigs— they are all for dogs or cats. Should he be alright until then? Any tips to help his poops to feel better? On top of this he seems a little uncomfortable (squeaking/straining) while going. No changes in diet recently at all. Thanks!

 

[weepweeps]

I’d stop all veggies until his poops are back to normal. Can you get some pro-c from the pet shop tomorrow? Put a little pinch on a small piece of cucumber twice a day. Then get him an appointment early next week if the squeaking continues. Good luck. I hope he feels better soon.

 

[Claire W]

Hi, is the poo liquid diarrhoea in which case he needs to see a vet urgently. If the poo is just miss shapened, then please take him off fresh veg for 24-48 hours after the poos have returned to normal and see a vet at regular opening times if the poos don’t return to normal consistency

 

[Wetherill]

Hi, is the poo liquid diarrhoea in which case he needs to see a vet urgently. If the poo is just mis shapened, then please take him off fresh veg for 24-48 hours after the poos have returned to normal and see a vet at regular opening times if the poos don’t return to normal consistency

They are not liquid, thankfully. Just softer than usual and misshapen. I will do that. Thank you so much!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Soft poops are caused by a digestive upset. Please do remove veg from his diet, increase hay intake and switch to daily weight checks, stepping in with a recovery feed if necessary, and you can give a probiotic or poop soup from the very fresh poops of a healthy companion

Actual diarrhoea is considered an emergency though

Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

 

[Wetherill]

I’d stop all veggies until his poops are back to normal. Can you get some pro-c from the pet shop tomorrow? Put a little pinch on a small piece of cucumber twice a day. Then get him an appointment early next week if the squeaking continues. Good luck. I hope he feels better soon.

I’m in New York and we don’t have pro-c here, unfortunately. I do have some bene bac which is untouched, though. I’m not super savvy on that so I’m not sure if it’s appropriate for this situation. Will definitely hold off on veggies. Thank you!

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m in New York and we don’t have pro-c here, unfortunately. I do have some bene bac which is untouched, though. I’m not super savvy on that so I’m not sure if it’s appropriate for this situation. Will definitely hold off on veggies. Thank you!

Yes BeneBac is absolutely fine. To my knowledge its the more widely available probiotic in the US

 

[weepweeps]

Bene bac looks like it would help.

 

[Free Ranger]

Does your boy get impaction? Perhaps you've noticed larger clumps of poops stuck together like they've been passed in one big mass?
My older boy gets impacted - his normal waste poops are stuck together with the soft, formless, caecotrophe poop that we don't usually see (and this is pretty stinky) so he gets bunged up. Because everything builds up round the back when he finally empties out (or, more usually, is emptied out by me) the waste poops can look flattened or misshapen or different sizes - but with a dozen or more all squashed together in his anal sack that's maybe not surprising. However, the waste poops are still firm and the squishy caecotrophe is distinctly different... it's not like the waste poops themselves are soft or smelly. That would be more of an upset gut problem. One of my girls suffered a bout of bloat recently and her poops were noticeably more soft and wet. She had to come off the veg a few days and she recovered quickly. Hope you can get it sorted!

 

[Wetherill]

Does your boy get impaction? Perhaps you've noticed larger clumps of poops stuck together like they've been passed in one big mass?
My older boy gets impacted - his normal waste poops are stuck together with the soft, formless, caecotrophe poop that we don't usually see (and this is pretty stinky) so he gets bunged up. Because everything builds up round the back when he finally empties out (or, more usually, is emptied out by me) the waste poops can look flattened or misshapen or different sizes - but with a dozen or more all squashed together in his anal sack that's maybe not surprising. However, the waste poops are still firm and the squishy caecotrophe is distinctly different... it's not like the waste poops themselves are soft or smelly. That would be more of an upset gut problem. One of my girls suffered a bout of bloat recently and her poops were noticeably more soft and wet. She had to come off the veg a few days and she recovered quickly. Hope you can get it sorted!

That’s what it looked like this morning before I cleaned up! Big clumps everywhere, but now they seem to be coming out individually (but still very soft) after I sat and cleaned his booty up with a q tip. He has never had an impaction before. Keeping a close eye on him

 

[Wiebke]

My 5 y/o boy surprised me with very soft, deformed stool this morning in clumps that are causing my whole room to smell foul. He is happy, eating, drinking, etc., however it’s Saturday and my vet cannot see him until monday. Unfortunately there is no emergency vet near me that sees guinea pigs— they are all for dogs or cats. Should he be alright until then? Any tips to help his poops to feel better? On top of this he seems a little uncomfortable (squeaking/straining) while going. No changes in diet recently at all. Thanks!

Hi

Please take your piggy off any fresh food immediately. Hopefully, the poos will start firming up again within a day or two. You need to wait for 48 hours after the poos have fully normalised before you can start serving fresh food again. Start with some fresh herb and then add one more veg with every passing meal for the next three meals in order to not overtax the still tender microbiome.

Switch from weighing once weekly to weighing daily at the same time in the feeding cycle on your kitchen scales to monitor the food intake. Since at least three quarters of what your piggy should eat in a day is hay, you cannot measure it any other way to get an up to date feedback. It takes around a day in a normally moving gut for food to pass from one end to the other, so the poo output is always behind events. Step in with the appropriate level of feeding and watering support if needed.

Our digestive problems care guide and our medicating/feeding and weight monitoring guides contain all the practical and precise details on what to look out for, what to do and when to step in with more support, including what you can to in a pinch when you need to improvise.
You can also give probiotics and/or very freshly made 'poo soup' (i.e. live healthy guinea pig microbiome transfer) from a healthy piggy not on antibiotics to help stabilise the gut bacteria again. The recipe is in the syringe feeding guide.
Please take the time to read these links here, which you will find very helpful. They contain all the important information and practical how-to tips that we cannot repeat in full in every post but the guides will help you to navigate the weekend and the recovery.
Thankfully, as long as the poos are still having texture and are holding their shape, you are still dealing with a milder and not a severe diarrhea.

Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

Weight - Monitoring and Management
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

In case there is a further deterioration over the weekend to fluid diarrhea, loss of appetite or bloating, please see a local vet. Your piggy may need extra subcutane fluid in the case of fluid diarrhea (risk of dehydration). This is something any general vet can do but here is our link with all the necessary information in case things go pear-shaped, especially with a weekend coming up and a big public holiday for the UK: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

All the best.

 

[Wetherill]

Hi

Please take your piggy off any fresh food immediately. Hopefully, the poos will start firming up again within a day or two. You need to wait for 48 hours after the poos have fully normalised before you can start serving fresh food again. Start with some fresh herb and then add one more veg with every passing meal for the next three meals in order to not overtax the still tender microbiome.

Switch from weighing once weekly to weighing daily at the same time in the feeding cycle on your kitchen scales to monitor the food intake. Since at least three quarters of what your piggy should eat in a day is hay, you cannot measure it any other way to get an up to date feedback. It takes around a day in a normally moving gut for food to pass from one end to the other, so the poo output is always behind events. Step in with the appropriate level of feeding and watering support if needed.

Our digestive problems care guide and our medicating/feeding and weight monitoring guides contain all the practical and precise details on what to look out for, what to do and when to step in with more support, including what you can to in a pinch when you need to improvise.
You can also give probiotics and/or very freshly made 'poo soup' (i.e. live healthy guinea pig microbiome transfer) from a healthy piggy not on antibiotics to help stabilise the gut bacteria again. The recipe is in the syringe feeding guide.
Please take the time to read these links here, which you will find very helpful. They contain all the important information and practical how-to tips that we cannot repeat in full in every post but the guides will help you to navigate the weekend and the recovery.
Thankfully, as long as the poos are still having texture and are holding their shape, you are still dealing with a milder and not a severe diarrhea.

Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

Weight - Monitoring and Management
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

In case there is a further deterioration over the weekend to fluid diarrhea, loss of appetite or bloating, please see a local vet. Your piggy may need extra subcutane fluid in the case of fluid diarrhea (risk of dehydration). This is something any general vet can do but here is our link with all the necessary information in case things go pear-shaped, especially with a weekend coming up and a big public holiday for the UK: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

All the best.

Thank you very much