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Guinea pig eating old poop?

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beccalovar

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi, me again haha. Chuck (6) has a bit of a dodgy bowel so his poop isn't consistent. Today it's better than usual, fell asleep with them on the sofa (I have a huge sofa) and woke up to lots of droppings which is great cause I usually have to assist him with pooping. They're all small, but a lot are formed and firm.

There was one dropping which was a bunch of poop that clumped together, they were formed it wasnt just a ball of poop. He just took a big old bite out of it and ate it. I know they eat their own poop, but just want to make sure old poop like this is okay? It's the first time I've seen him do this in a while so I'm glad cause I know it's good for their health.

Thanks guys, sorry for a bit of an odd question just overly cautious with how sick he's been recently.
 
beccalovar said:
Hi, me again haha. Chuck (6) has a bit of a dodgy bowel so his poop isn't consistent. Today it's better than usual, fell asleep with them on the sofa (I have a huge sofa) and woke up to lots of droppings which is great cause I usually have to assist him with pooping. They're all small, but a lot are formed and firm.

There was one dropping which was a bunch of poop that clumped together, they were formed it wasnt just a ball of poop. He just took a big old bite out of it and ate it. I know they eat their own poop, but just want to make sure old poop like this is okay? It's the first time I've seen him do this in a while so I'm glad cause I know it's good for their health.

Thanks guys, sorry for a bit of an odd question just overly cautious with how sick he's been recently.
Click to expand...

Hi

Guinea pigs are coprophages 'poo eaters'. This means that they eat some of their freshly dropped poos for a second run through the gut in order to break down the tough but nutritious grass/hay fibre even further. Unlike rabbits, they do however not parcel up the goodies in the caecum and discard the rest in waste poos (caecotrophs) but - as recent research has shown - they eat normal poos.
Guinea Pig Facts - An Overview

It sounds like Chuck could have a bit of mild impaction, which affects about 10% of older boars. The muscles at the back become weaker so they have less of spring in their back legs and struggle increasingly with forming and pushing out their poos but they still have the need to eat those poos if they are a healthy consistency.
A very steady diet can help with the milder forms of impaction. For practical advice and information see the links below:
Impaction - How To Help Your Guinea Pig.
Caring for Older Piggies and Facing the End - A practical and supportive information collection
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Guinea pigs are coprophages 'poo eaters'. This means that they eat some of their freshly dropped poos for a second run through the gut in order to break down the tough but nutritious grass/hay fibre even further. Unlike rabbits, they do however not parcel up the goodies in the caecum and discard the rest in waste poos (caecotrophs) but - as recent research has shown - they eat normal poos.
Guinea Pig Facts - An Overview

It sounds like Chuck could have a bit of mild impaction, which affects about 10% of older boars. The muscles at the back become weaker so they have less of spring in their back legs and struggle increasingly with forming and pushing out their poos but they still have the need to eat those poos if they are a healthy consistency.
A very steady diet can help with the milder forms of impaction. For practical advice and information see the links below:
Impaction - How To Help Your Guinea Pig.
Caring for Older Piggies and Facing the End - A practical and supportive information collection
Click to expand...
Great, I knew they ate their own poop but didn't know they'd eat old poop!

Yeah he's diagnosed with impaction and has dealt with gut stasis. He's on emeprid for life now, and gets frequent bum clean outs. He's also on critical care cause he's struggling with weight gain. He keeps losing weight but hopefully it'll catch up to him

Thank you for your reply!
 
beccalovar said:
Great, I knew they ate their own poop but didn't know they'd eat old poop!

Yeah he's diagnosed with impaction and has dealt with gut stasis. He's on emeprid for life now, and gets frequent bum clean outs. He's also on critical care cause he's struggling with weight gain. He keeps losing weight but hopefully it'll catch up to him

Thank you for your reply!
Click to expand...

He must have felt the need for eating older pood because he may be running a bit short on fresh ones.
 
Wiebke said:
He must have felt the need for eating older pood because he may be running a bit short on fresh ones.
Click to expand...
Cool, I just wanted to make sure it wasn't bad for him. I'm overly cautious these days since he's been so ill. Thank you for your response :)
 
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