Guinea Pig bloat?

[ilovepeggy]

On July 12th I noticed my Guinea pig was barely eating so I did my research & saw some stuff about bloating so on the 13th I went to Petco to get her Oxbow digestive support tablet treats, then I saw her eating again little by little. I believe it was July 20th I went to PetSmart & I got her pellets. The pellets I got are different from the ones I usually get her but they were the same brand & in the past I’ve changed her pellets & she paid no mind to it. This time around, she only wanted to eat the pellets & not the her grass, I put her pellets in a bowl & she’s never knocked her bowl over or anything but ever since I got her those pellets she’s been knocking her bowl over on purpose, I already switched her back to the ones she was originally eating but she still does the same. But I noticed her stool movements have changed they’re small now & I noticed this august 5th & again yesterday so I’ve been doing my research but I believe my piggy is bloated also I live with other people & so one of the guys I live with he used to give her greens every morning & night but his bunny died June 22nd & so he stopped giving greens to her my piggy but I noticed recently that he’s been giving her romaine lettuce in the morning so I am unaware when he started giving it to her again, I believe all of this is happening because of the pellets.
Also is there a way for me to upload a photo to verify if my piggy has a bloat?

 

[Piggies&buns]

80% of the daily food intake needs to be hay. Small poops indicate that your piggy is not eating enough hay. You must step in and syringe feed urgently.
Please switch from the routine lifelong weekly weight checks and instead weigh your piggy daily (at the same time each day) so you can more closely monitor independent hay intake and be sure you are syringe feeding enough in each 24 hour period to keep the weight stable. Any further weight loss and you need to increase the frequency and amount of syringe feeding. Please also see a vet in any event.

If you suspect bloat, then please see a vet urgently. Bloat is a very serious issue which requires a vet diagnosis, pain medication, and gut stimulant medication. The oxbow digestive treats will not cure bloat.

We cannot diagnose anything in any event, but we cannot tell if a piggy has bloat from a picture. A vet needs to check for gas inside your piggy.

However, knocking a bowl over does not indicate anything.
Pellets are the least important part of the diet and should be kept strictly limited to just one tablespoon per day.

The guides below explain further

Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)

 

[ilovepeggy]

She’s been eating, I also don’t have a scale to weigh her, it doesn’t look like she’s been losing any weight. I also had taken her to the vet on the July 5th & they didn’t indicate any gut problems, weight problems, or teeth. Unfortunately the vet is not any option because I do not have the money to be able to get her checked out, where I live, it was hard for me to find her a vet because most vets do not take exotic animals & they overcharge as well. I had to pay $25 just for a nail trim, & they also do not do payment plans.

What do I syringe feed her? Since I’ve never done that before.

 

[ilovepeggy]

The first photo is the first time I’ve seen her poop like that, I’m not aware if she’s done it like that before.

 

[Siikibam]

One or two of the poos looks very slightly pointy so I would take her off any veg and fresh grass.

Hi can use critical care. However, if you don’t have any in, you can use mushed pellets. I’ll link to a guide below on syringe feeding.

Are you able to borrow someone’s scales to use in the meantime? Or buy simple kitchen scales? It would be a good idea to start weighing her once daily so you can monitor her eating. It’s difficult to judge by eye how much hay she is eating.

And lastly, would you be able to borrow money from a friend or relative? It’s impossible to suggest what to do and we are not qualified to do so anyway.

Hope she starts feeling better soon.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

 

[ilovepeggy]

Unfortunately without knowing for sure how much the vet will cost I cannot ask for a large amount, either way I wouldn’t get it because some people just don’t like handing over money. But thanks! I will try that.

 

[Princess Dustmop]

You can get an adequate scale for under $10 at any number of retailers (amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, or any kitchen store should work); ideally you'd like to weigh in grams. If that's absolutely impossible, you could try weighing yourself with and without your piggy on a people scale (piggy's weight is the difference ... it would probably need to be digital and read out into decimals); it would be rather imprecise, but it may be better than nothing.

Try to start yourself an emergency fund: have a bit of extra money for the week, into the fund; debating whether you need that coffee (or whatever), maybe the money could go into the fund instead; get some unexpected money from something, add it to the fund. By building up a fund, you'll have money when you need it (for piggy or yourself). Decide on an amount you could set aside from your pay check (a percentage or dollar you'll set aside or an pay amount that you'll set aside anything over can all work well), it's kind-of like paying the premiums on your health insurance, except you're self-insuring. Perhaps you could invest in a pair of nail clippers and clip the nails yourself ... add the $25 back to your piggy care budget for when they need a vet.

If the vet doesn't have a payment plan, perhaps you could set one up through other means ... some credit card companies will have a feature for larger one-time purchases, just be sure to check if there's a cost and if/how interest will be charged (don't just leave unpaid balance on the credit card and pay minimum payment ... that'll cost a fortune) ... maybe put together a contract with a friend or family member to borrow some money detailing you'll pay it back.
Reach out to an animal shelter and find out if they have any connections or options for lower cost vet care.

 

[ilovepeggy]

I am trying to feed her the syringe but she is refusing & won’t stay still.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Piggies can get ill within hours so while it’s good she was healthy on 5 July, it’s too long ago to be of any use now.
The fact she has small poops does mean she isn’t eating enough and that means she will likely be losing weight.

Please do get a scale as weighing them every week is part of routine care and it really is the only way to know enough hay is going in. Weighing daily when they are unwell is also needed to know you are syringe feeding enough to keep the weight stable. Use the guides linked in for deeper guidance.

The digestive problems guide I linked in explains bloat and the signs of it. Bloat can be a very serious, condition so if you suspect it or she is showing signs then vet care is needed for prompt treatment and medication. I know it’s not easy in the US though.

I am trying to feed her the syringe but she is refusing & won’t stay still.

You have to be firm when syringe feeding, not forcing but firm.

what product are you using to syringe feed? If it is mushed pellets, make sure you have cut the tapered end off the syringe as pellet mush is harder to get to go through when compared to a proper recovery feed.

When syringe feeding you are aiming for a minimum of 40ml per day but it could Be anything up to 100ml depending on what the weight checks tell you

 

[ilovepeggy]

Also I’m not the one with money it’s my mom who works & well unfortunately she barely gets paid enough to be able to live, & they denied us all types of benefits, it’s really hard to save up because to get honest we can’t, I’m not trying to make a sob story or make people feel bad, it’s just the truth. She only gets paid twice a month & that all goes towards bills, her account always ends up negative & well i have to stay home with my brother while she works & now I’m expecting a baby so it’s just really hard to catch up & wish people were more understanding especially since everything went up.

 

[ilovepeggy]

Thanks for your advice! I really appreciate it & yeah the US definitely sucks. It’s more about money than the care of people & pets.

 

[ilovepeggy]

GUYS GREAT NEWS! SHES POOPING NORMAL AGAIN

 

[Piggies&buns]

That’s good.
Poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake though so you still need to keep a close eye on her until you know for certain her weight is stable and that she is eating enough hay (not veg or pellets given they are not a main constituent of the diet). I know I keep saying it, but everything comes down to weighing her every day while you have health concerns (you can go to weighing once a week once you are certain she is maintaining/gaining weight as that is the onoly way to know she is esting enough hay)

 

[ilovepeggy]

Okay thanks! Tomorrow I will ask my mom to take me to Walmart because she’s at work right now, I remember at the vet they said she was 3lbs so that helps me out a bit to see if she’s losing weight.

 

[Princess Dustmop]

That's excellent that you're seeing more normal poos. Certainly you still need to keeps an eye on her, and I'd still recommend getting a scale.

Could you maybe get a part time job to supplement the household income? That way you could have some cushion in emergencies/vet bulls, and I'm sure your mum would appreciate anything you could chip in otherwise, as well, even if it's just getting the groceries occasionally.

 

[ilovepeggy]

The syringe feeding is going well, she keeps biting her cage for more

 

[ilovepeggy]

I wish I could but unfortunately my brother is disabled which is why I stay home with him & well we don’t qualify for nursing for my brother & I’m also very skeptical with people who stay with disabled or elderly people & abuse them & stuff, I also don’t have a lot of family where I live most of them work & well if we were to find someone to take care of him they want a lot of money per week, when I was in high school my grandmother all she did was feed him premade food that my mother made for him & well since he’s disabled he can’t walk or talk so my mom had to carry him & drive to her house & my grandmother would expect $200-$300 for basically doing nothing so yeah it’s pretty difficult.

 

[Princess Dustmop]

Maybe you could get something that's work from home or you and your mum could tag-team, so you'd be working when mum is home and vice versa. Everywhere is hiring and might have more flexible options than you might expect.

 

[ilovepeggy]

The thing is I’m staying with other people & well all our stuff is in storage including my computer which would be the only alternative to be able to work from home because most home jobs require computers. & the pay rate in Florida is horrible, we got evicted earlier this year because last year my mom was late with a rent payment & even though she paid it back we still got kicked out & then the apartments over here are about $2000 & more just for a simple one bed room.

 

[Siikibam]

I’m so sorry you are in such a tough spot.

I know it’s very likely something you want to consider. But would you think about surrendering her to a rescue? This may also be difficult because they are few and far between in the US.

The last thing I wanted to say is when thinking about weight, numbers on the scale are useful but feeling the heft is also a good gauge of what is healthy for them. Hopefully you can get the scales tomorrow and start to keep an eye on her weight. Fingers crossed it won’t be going downhill.

And that’s good news that she’s taking the top up. You could mix some up and leave it in her cage, in a bowl. Does she have a friend she lives with? I was just thinking about poop soup.

 

[ilovepeggy]

Good thing is my piggy’s appetite has improved, she has a bit of grass in her cage so she’s been munching on that & the syringe feed

 

[Siikibam]

Given the poops were a bit pointy, I would have taken her off veg and grass until at least 24 hours after they return to normal. But as may have been mentioned, you can’t judge intake by eye.

 

[ilovepeggy]

Ahh no, she’s lonely I got her at PetSmart where apparently they only sell boy Guinea pigs & well she happened to be a girl but ever since they only sell boys & well she’s already expensive just as one & well they misgendered her very early one so I’m afraid that could happen again & she gets pregnant. I was also thinking about giving her up because I really just can’t afford vet trips & stuff but I love her so much! I’ve had her since she was a little baby & well this is the first I’ve seen her health decline & I will give it my very best.

 

[Princess Dustmop]

I believe PetSmart has a policy now that they only have one gender of any species in a store. You'd have to ask them which other store has the females or go to a different pet shop or a rescue to get a girl. I suspect that the policy was derived from misgendering that was occurring within stores and people buying mixed gender pairs because they didn't realize the problem it would cause (though it may seem obvious to us, some people will just spot two they like and not think about genders). I actually quite like the policy as a concept, though it has some flaws, of course.

You might also discuss with a rescue options. Maybe you could foster piggies for them. It might be possible to set something up where you would provide the care and they would cover the costs of the fostered piggy.

 

[ilovepeggy]

Okay so the poop I took a picture of earlier it has holes in it. But she hasn’t pooped that big of a size until I started feeding her with the syringe. Any suggestions? I saw that someone said to use Bene-Bac I already ordered it but won’t get it until Wednesday. As planned I am getting my piggy a scale, vitamin c supplements. Will the vitamin c supplements & syringe feeding help until I get the Bene-Bac?

That’s an example that I found, her poops are back to being small & pointy. For tonight, & until tomorrow I will keep her on grass because I do not have the right sized syringe, the one I have is much smaller & well I do not have a scale right now to be able to check her weight, but so far she’s been okay eating her grass.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Okay so the poop I took a picture of earlier it has holes in it. But she hasn’t pooped that big of a size until I started feeding her with the syringe. Any suggestions? I saw that someone said to use Bene-Bac I already ordered it but won’t get it until Wednesday. As planned I am getting my piggy a scale, vitamin c supplements. Will the vitamin c supplements & syringe feeding help until I get the Bene-Bac?

That’s an example that I found, her poops are back to being small & pointy. For tonight, & until tomorrow I will keep her on grass because I do not have the right sized syringe, the one I have is much smaller & well I do not have a scale right now to be able to check her weight, but so far she’s been okay eating her grass.

Poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake so that poop will not be because of the syringe feed as it wouldn’t have got through her sysfem enough to have been turned into waste. This is why you cannot use poop output as a reliable way of gauging food intake because it has too much of a delay and the only way to know is by weighing. Poop from food she ate today will not come out until tomorrow or the next day.
The hole could be because of the gut disturbance of it might be she has put her nail in it?
The poops are small and pointy because she isn’t getting enough hay (and syringe feed), and her gut is out of balance.

Fresh grass is fine normally but if she has any soft or misshapen poops, you need to remove all fresh veg and grass from the diet temporarily to allow her gut to resettle. Soft poops happen because the gut bacteria balance has gone wrong and the wrong type of bacteria are prevalent instead of the right bacteria. During a gut disturbance she can only be fed hay, the normal one tablespoon of pellets per day and be syringe fed. Feeding her Fresh veg and grass while she has an upset tummy will make it worse as it won’t allow her gut to resettle.

Giving BeneBac will help her system to settle but she needs high fibre from hay and syringe feed, while she isn’t eating enough, to also make that happen.
Syringe feeding is essential when a piggy is not eating enough hay for themselves and is losing weight as it will stop the weight loss, keep the gut functioning (provided they get enough) and stop them going into stasis. Benebac can help settle the tunny but being off veg and grass is also important here.
i know you can’t see a vet, but syringe feeding and giving vitamin c (or even BeneBac) will not fix any underlying medical issue which may be causing all of this.

You don’t need to give vitamin c supplements routinely. Doing so long term can be harmful (it causes their body to get used to artificially high anounts which if that level then drops down again can cause scurvy). You can give a short two week course of vitamin c supplements if piggy is ill and needs a boost but then you stop giving it to them.

A piggy on a good diet will be getting enough vitamin c And this is why supplements are not needed.
A balanced diet being unlimited amounts of hay, one cup of leafy vegetables and herbs including a high vit c veg such as bell pepper, and one tablespoon of pellets only per day.
Please can you tell us more about her diet?

What size is the syringe you have? You only need a very small one to feed. You need a syringe which holds just 1ml as anything bigger can risk you inadvertently pushing too hard and piggy can then aspirate. A piggy can hold only roughly 0.3ml in their mouth so s big just syringe is just not needed.
if you are using pellet mush rather than a proper recovery feed, then you need to cut the end off the syringe as otherwise pellet mush will not go through it as it’s too coarse.

You then need to syringe feed as much as is necessary to keep her weight stable at each check. Those weight checks tell you how much is needed but you could need to feed every couple of hours and you need to get at least 40ml of syringe feed into her per day. If she still loses weight on that amount, then you need to feed more either at each sitting or you need to increase the number of sittings each day

 

[ilovepeggy]

Yes she’s eating hay, as you can see those are fresh poops. I do not have critical care oxbow, so is it okay that I’m syringe feeding her, her pellets? My piggy has a habit of eating everything but the part that contains the most fiber. I know for a fact that this is all caused due to diet change because as I first stated I changed her pellets, then she only ate the pellets & barely ate hay.

The Wild Harvest Advanced Nutrition is what I first started with then I ran out so I got her the Vitakraft Menu Care Complex but I changed it again because she was only eating the pellets & not the grass, so right now she’s eating Premium nutrition menu Guinea pig food with Timothy hay, now with those pellets she does eat the hay. I didn’t get her the original pellets because they didn’t have them & well like I’ve said I’ve changed her pellets before & this hadn’t happened but it’s been awhile since I’ve done that.


Also I scattered through her cage for poop & that’s pretty much the only odd one I’ve seen.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes, they may be fresh poops, but they are not produced from any food intake today. They will be waste from what she ate yesterday or the day before.
Its good she is eating some hay but she clearly isn’t eating enough if her poops are small, which is why the syringe feeding is important.

I’m afraid none of those foods are what a piggy should be eating. They aren’t pellets, they are muesli mixes which are full of sugary items, cereals, seeds as well as other inappropriate ingredients and are all things which a piggy should not eat. Too many sugary items are what causes the imbalance in the gut as it allows the wrong kind of bacteria to form.
You say she eats it all apart from the bit which has most fibre. This is exactly the problem with those types of foods. It’s called selective feeding, they eat the tasty sweet bits and leave the rest of it. It causes their diet and nutrition to become out of balance, particularly if they are being fed too much of it.
The wild harvest also contains alfalfa which should never be in an adult piggies diet. It’s too high in calcium which can contribute to bladder stone formation
Piggies need to eat a plain timothy hay based pellet. Oxbow essentials is one I know which is commonly used in the US.
They can then have just one tablespoon of plain pellets per day. They should never be filling up on these kinds of dry foods

How much of these muesli mix do you give her each day?

Pellets Or Muesli / Dry Mix?

The syringe you are using is far too big and you’ve not cut the end off of it is so the pellet mush will not go through it properly. It’ll just try to squeeze the water out so she won’t be getting anywhere near enough fibre

you can pick the plain pellets out of the muesli mix and feed those as a syringe feed (don’t feed any of the coloured bits, cereals or seeds), but getting a proper recovery feed is better given the ingredients muesli mixes are made from aren’t right

Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

 

[ilovepeggy]

So is it okay that I give her pellets with just the fiber part leaving out all the bad & sugary stuff out, also the same thing with the syringe feeding correct? How do I get her to just eat plain bland pellets then? How much do I feed her through the syringe? Is it okay if I leave her hay? Or take it away? If her weight is normal & I see that she’s not losing weight what do I do then? How do I get her to poop normally again? I’m so sorry for asking a lot of questions, my Guinea pig has never experienced this before because as I said I used to get her the pellets with the alfalfa, vegetables, & Timothy hay & her poops were fine iguess it all started once I changed it.

 

[Piggies&buns]

So is it okay that I give her pellets with just the fiber part leaving out all the bad & sugary stuff out, also the same thing with the syringe feeding correct? How do I get her to just eat plain bland pellets then? How much do I feed her through the syringe? Is it okay if I leave her hay? Or take it away? If her weight is normal & I see that she’s not losing weight what do I do then? How do I get her to poop normally again? I’m so sorry for asking a lot of questions, my Guinea pig has never experienced this before because as I said I used to get her the pellets with the alfalfa, vegetables, & Timothy hay & her poops were fine iguess it all started once I changed it.

You have to just give her a plain pellet. Unfortunafely if she has always been fed muesli, then making the switch won’t be easy and she will likely refuse. It’s like trying to take chocolate away from a child and give them an apple instead - they want the sweet, unhealthy things.
In a normal diet, pellets are the least healthy part anyway, so they must never have many of them anyway.


You need to syringe feed her as much as is needed to keep her weight checks stable. This is why the scales are essential items. She may need 40ml of syringe feed a day, she may need 100ml. She may need to be fed every two hours, she may be able to go three or four hours between. I’m afraid without the scales you can’t know for sure as it all hinges on whether she is eating enough hay for herself. Your syringe feed bridges the gap between the amount of hay she is eating and the amount of hay she should be eating. If her weight is stable then it means she is eating enough but I suspect it won’t be and that she is losing weight given her poops are small.

Always give her a huge pile of hay. You must never take hay away from them. Hay needs to be 80% of what they eat in a day so if they don’t eat enough hay, they quickly become poorly.

She will start pooping properly once she is eating enough hay for herself. At that point and when her weight is stable you can ease off on the syringe feeding.

The food isn’t the right thing for her to have been eating anyway but there likely be an underlying cause somewhere which is why a vet needs to make a diagnosis.