Guinea Pig Ate Poop Off Ground?

[basicpiggies]

Hi all! I was watching my guinea pigs and I noticed one of them wake up from her nap and eat two poops directly off the ground. I know they eat their poop but she ate two that I believed to be normal poops. They weren’t old as I had just swept the cage two hours prior but I’ve never seen them eat them off the ground, only directly from their butts.

She’s completely fine otherwise, but should I be worried about that behavior? I’ve never seen her do that. She stopped after those two.

Thanks!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all! I was watching my guinea pigs and I noticed one of them wake up from her nap and eat two poops directly off the ground. I know they eat their poop but she ate two that I believed to be normal poops. They weren’t old as I had just swept the cage two hours prior but I’ve never seen them eat them off the ground, only directly from their butts.

She’s completely fine otherwise, but should I be worried about that behavior? I’ve never seen her do that. She stopped after those two.

Thanks!

Hi!

Please take deep breath; this is not unnormal at all. Sometimes piggies drop their caecotrophs and pick them up from the ground. Older piggies that are no longer quite as agile or piggies with mobility problems will always pick up their caecotrophs (the 'eaten poos' for the second run) off the ground. Since caecotrophs are produced at different times, have a different texture and smell, your piggy won't mistake them although eating a waste poo is not a disaster, either.

 

[basicpiggies]

This is a relief! Thank you so much! @Wiebke