Dry crumbly poo?

[SamC789]

Hi all,

I've noticed that the poos in my pigs cage are essentially disintegrating. Very dry and crumbly. I've tried googling but I'm getting mixed results. Some people are saying they're dehydrated and to give more veg, others are saying it's because they're not eating enough hay and having too much veg. Can anyone clarify what I should do?

I'm pretty sure it's coming from my piggy who has been off and on antibiotics for a bit (long story) and those have been known to upset their tummies. But if there's any way I could help (more/less veg), I'd love to ease his troubles.

 

[April Showers and pigs]

I dont know much but i think it sounds like it might be dehydrated but you should probably take him to the vets

 

[Piggies&buns]

Could you tell us what you do feed him please? We can’t know whether he is getting too little or too much veg or anything else about the situation without background information
How are his weight checks? Switching from weekly to daily weight checks while they are on antibiotics is a good idea so you can more closely monitor hay intake

 

[SamC789]

Could you tell us what you do feed him please? We can’t know whether he is getting too little or too much veg or anything else about the situation without background information
How are his weight checks? Switching from weekly to daily weight checks while they are on antibiotics is a good idea so you can more closely monitor hay intake

Sure!

I give them both about a leaf of romaine lettuce a day. 1/8th cup each of Timothy hay pellets. And then unlimited hay of course. At the recommendation of a vet I've been giving them more veg than usual so I'm wondering if that's the culprit. They have access to water all the time and drink frequently, so I have a hard time believing theyre dehydrated.

I haven't been doing weight checks but I can start. I feel like I always see him eating hay so I don't know what the deal is.

 

[Piggies&buns]

It depends on the background information of the medical situation you are dealing with.

However, in a healthy piggy they should eat a variety of veg per day amounting to around one cup or 50g per pig per day. A mix of lettuce, cucumber, bell pepper and coriander/cilantro is suitable for daily veg. The bell pepper and coriander are good sources of the vitamin c piggies need.
One tablespoon of pellets per day. Pellets are the least healthy part of the diet so keeping them limited to encourage higher hay intake is important.
Hay must be unlimited but you cannot judge intake by eye. Watching them eat is very deceptive, they simply not be eating enough. They should be weighed weekly as part of lifelong routine care, as it is the only way to know they are really eating enough hay. When they are poorly you then switch to daily weight checks. This enables you to monitor hay intake more closely and should you need to syringe feed, the weight checks are also the guide of how much to syringe feed them to stop weight loss during a period of illness.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[Piggies&buns]

Could you also add a picture of the poops in question please? It’ll just help us to see what you’re seeing!

 

[SamC789]

Could you also add a picture of the poops in question please? It’ll just help us to see what you’re seeing!

Awh I just cleaned the cage and didn't think to snap a pic The poops are normal in size and shape, just very brittle. When you scoop them, some crumble to a fine dust

 

[SamC789]

It depends on the background information of the medical situation you are dealing with.

However, in a healthy piggy they should eat a variety of veg per day amounting to around one cup or 50g per pig per day. A mix of lettuce, cucumber, bell pepper and coriander/cilantro is suitable for daily veg. The bell pepper and coriander are good sources of the vitamin c piggies need.
One tablespoon of pellets per day. Pellets are the least healthy part of the diet so keeping them limited to encourage higher hay intake is important.
Hay must be unlimited but you cannot judge intake by eye. Watching them eat is very deceptive, they simply not be eating enough. They should be weighed weekly as part of lifelong routine care, as it is the only way to know they are really eating enough hay. When they are poorly you then switch to daily weight checks. This enables you to monitor hay intake more closely and should you need to syringe feed, the weight checks are also the guide of how much to syringe feed them to stop weight loss during a period of illness.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Weight - Monitoring and Management

The leaves I give them are usually quite large. And I cook frequently so they usually get peppers, coriander, and other veg I cook with.

Maybe Ill try less pellets then and supplement their vitamin C. That way they're hungrier for hay.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Lettuce is low in vitamin c but If they do get a daily variety of other veggies, then their levels of vit c will be fine. vit c is also in pellets and hay. You only mentioned lettuce in your first post so that is why I mentioned the other veggies!
You don’t need to supplement vitamin c if they get a variety of veg as they will be getting all they need via the hay, veg and pellets.
Excess vit c is simply excreted in the urine so is wasted and long term over supplementing of vit c can have detrimental health effects (their bodies can become used to excessively high amounts so they can experience scurvy symptoms if the levels drop below the high level they have become used to, even if the levels would still be considered normal in any other piggy)

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all,

I've noticed that the poos in my pigs cage are essentially disintegrating. Very dry and crumbly. I've tried googling but I'm getting mixed results. Some people are saying they're dehydrated and to give more veg, others are saying it's because they're not eating enough hay and having too much veg. Can anyone clarify what I should do?

I'm pretty sure it's coming from my piggy who has been off and on antibiotics for a bit (long story) and those have been known to upset their tummies. But if there's any way I could help (more/less veg), I'd love to ease his troubles.

Hi!

The poo consistency is most likely due to the gut microbiome having been impacted by the antibiotic; this is not uncommon.

I would recommend that you take your piggy off any fresh food for a day or two in order to allow the microbiome to settle down; since unlimited hay should make around 80% of the daily food intake while veg and 1 tablespoon of pellets basically replace the supplementary role of wild forage for those trace elements that are not contained in a grass/hay based diet (fresh growing grass is actually high in vitamin C and reason why guinea pigs never had the need to make their own). Start with feeding fresh herbs - they have plenty of trace elements (including vitamin C) in a small volume so are an ideal start up food; a little is a good addition to a daily diet. Then you can add a new veg with every meal. Don't overfeed lettuce; it is high in vitamin A (which can build up in the liver) but low in vitamin C.
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

Additionally give bene bac probiotic to help get the gut microbiome running again. 'Poo soup' (i.e. live healthy cavy microbiome transfer) from a healthy companion is very effective when made properly as it contains exactly the right stuff; it mimics natural behaviour in recovering piggies - even if it sounds somewhat gross.
You can find more information and practical tips in this link here: Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links


The need to drink comes before the need to eat; guinea pigs, whether they naturally drink very little or very much or anything in between don't suffer from dehydration as long as they have access to cool, fresh water and are healthy and not too hot. Only if a piggy has lost their appetite will you also need to offer water additionally (as much as they are taking willingly) when supplement feeding and in hot weather you need to check/change the water regularly.
All About Drinking And Bottles
The temptation to overfeed watery veg and fruit in hot weather!

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

All the best - it is very much on the mild side what you are dealing with.

 

[SamC789]

Hi!

The poo consistency is most likely due to the gut microbiome having been impacted by the antibiotic; this is not uncommon.

I would recommend that you take your piggy off any fresh food for a day or two in order to allow the microbiome to settle down; since unlimited hay should make around 80% of the daily food intake while veg and 1 tablespoon of pellets basically replace the supplementary role of wild forage for those trace elements that are not contained in a grass/hay based diet (fresh growing grass is actually high in vitamin C and reason why guinea pigs never had the need to make their own). Start with feeding fresh herbs - they have plenty of trace elements (including vitamin C) in a small volume so are an ideal start up food; a little is a good addition to a daily diet. Then you can add a new veg with every meal. Don't overfeed lettuce; it is high in vitamin A (which can build up in the liver) but low in vitamin C.
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

Additionally give bene bac probiotic to help get the gut microbiome running again. 'Poo soup' (i.e. live healthy cavy microbiome transfer) from a healthy companion is very effective when made properly as it contains exactly the right stuff; it mimics natural behaviour in recovering piggies - even if it sounds somewhat gross.
You can find more information and practical tips in this link here: Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links


The need to drink comes before the need to eat; guinea pigs, whether they naturally drink very little or very much or anything in between don't suffer from dehydration as long as they have access to cool, fresh water and are healthy and not too hot. Only if a piggy has lost their appetite will you also need to offer water additionally (as much as they are taking willingly) when supplement feeding and in hot weather you need to check/change the water regularly.
All About Drinking And Bottles
The temptation to overfeed watery veg and fruit in hot weather!

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

All the best - it is very much on the mild side what you are dealing with.

Will do! Thank you so much