Guinea Pig Soft Clumpy Poes

[DM140821]

Hi everyone,
I'm slightly concerned about one of my Guinea pigs. He is 5 years old and is producing big clumpy piles of soft poop. Not like diarrhea, but just squishy mounds. It also smells a lot worse than normal poop.
He is eating and drinking fine, and popcorning etc. So normal and happy in himself. But I am worried about what is causing the soft poop.

Many Thanks in advance for any help

 

[DM140821]

Hi everyone,
I'm slightly concerned about one of my Guinea pigs. He is 5 years old and is producing big clumpy piles of soft poop. Not like diarrhea, but just squishy mounds. It also smells a lot worse than normal poop.
He is eating and drinking fine, and popcorning etc. So normal and happy in himself. But I am worried about what is causing the soft poop.

Many Thanks in advance for any help

Update: he has stopped eating his favourite carrot, and seems to be making funny digestive noises occasionally. Could this be serious? He never stops eating carrot!

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

Any changes in health or behaviour need to be investigated by a vet. Please do book him an appointment. Especially to investigate changes in appetite.

Also, remove any veggies from his diet for now until the gut disturbance is resolved. Ensure he has ad-lib quality hay at all times

all the best for your vet appointment.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please remove all fresh veg from the diet temporarily. Giving veg when a piggy has soft poops can make the problem worse.

Soft poops are caused by a gut imbalance. You need to just feed hay (and the normal one tablespoon of pellets) until poops normalise - this can take a few days. Once they do go back to normal, you will need to wait a further 24 hours without veg but then you can slowly reintroduce veg (starting with herbs can be best as they are milder on the tummy). If the poops do not normalise within a few days, then you must see a vet.

Please switch from routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him daily. 80% of their food intake needs to be hay but you cannot judge intake by eye and weighing is the only way to know they are getting enough hay. Nibbling on veg does not count.

If your piggy loses weight/loses appetite for hay, then please step in and syringe feed as an emergency measure and see a vet

Please see an emergency vet overnight if your piggy's condition deteriorates suddenly, he becomes bloated or the poops do become diarrhoea (diarrhoea is an emergency situation).

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

Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

Excellent advice

 

[DM140821]

Please remove all fresh veg from the diet temporarily. Giving veg when a piggy has soft poops can make the problem worse.

Soft poops are caused by a gut imbalance. You need to just feed hay (and the normal one tablespoon of pellets) until poops normalise - this can take a few days. Once they do go back to normal, you will need to wait a further 24 hours without veg but then you can slowly reintroduce veg (starting with herbs can be best as they are milder on the tummy). If the poops do not normalise within a few days, then you must see a vet.

Please switch from routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him daily. 80% of their food intake needs to be hay but you cannot judge intake by eye and weighing is the only way to know they are getting enough hay. Nibbling on veg does not count.

If your piggy loses weight/loses appetite for hay, then please step in and syringe feed as an emergency measure and see a vet

Please see an emergency vet overnight if your piggy's condition deteriorates suddenly, he becomes bloated or the poops do become diarrhoea (diarrhoea is an emergency situation).

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

Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Thank you! I will remove all fresh veg and just feed Timothy hay and pellets for 48 hours. If the poos don't improve I will take him to the vet. I will also take him to the vet if he stops eating altogether, or loses weight.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Do also bear in mind that carrot should only be given in one small amount once per week only. Carrots are high in sugar and too much sugary food can contribute to problems with the gut bacteria

 

[DM140821]

Do also bear in mind that carrot should only be given in one small amount once per week only. Carrots are high in sugar and too much sugary food can contribute to problems with the gut bacteria

Thanks Piggies&Buns. He loves carrot, but I only give him a very thin slice once a day (less than half a carrot a week).
For breakfast he usually has half a cup of veggies consisting of mostly lettuce and very small pieces of cucumber, celery, green pepper, broccoli and green bean.
But I will stop giving him these veggies for now and hopefully he will get better.

 

[Siikibam]

A small slice a day is still too much. I would beware of also feeding broccoli daily once he’s back on veg. Hope he’s feeling better soon

 

[DM140821]

A small slice a day is still too much. I would beware of also feeding broccoli daily once he’s back on veg. Hope he’s feeling better soon

Oh ok, I will bear that in mind, thank you!
Is half a cup of veggies a day too much? Or is it ok if I don't feed the same veg two days in a row? Most of it is usually lettuce, with small pieces of the other veg, but I wouldn't want to cause any harm to my piggies by overfeeding them.
They have unlimited Timothy hay and water, along with about 30g of pellets each a day

 

[Siikibam]

A cup a day is the measure. They can have lettuce, green beans, cucumber, coriander and pepper daily. Then you can swap in/out other veg.

 

[Siikibam]

Oh ok, I will bear that in mind, thank you!
Is half a cup of veggies a day too much? Or is it ok if I don't feed the same veg two days in a row? Most of it is usually lettuce, with small pieces of the other veg, but I wouldn't want to cause any harm to my piggies by overfeeding them.
They have unlimited Timothy hay and water, along with about 30g of pellets each a day

30g is too much I’m afraid. They only need a tablespoon each per day. Pellets are the least essential part of their diet, making up only 5%.

 

[DM140821]

30g is too much I’m afraid. They only need a tablespoon each per day. Pellets are the least essential part of their diet, making up only 5%.

Oh no! I feed my piggies Burgess excel guinea pig nuggets, and the feeding guide on the back of the pack says 30g a day each!

 

[Siikibam]

The feeding guide on the back is for the benefit of the companies rather than what is right for them. You’re not the only one who’s gone by what’s on the packaging so don’t stress too much Calcium in their diet needs to be kept to a minimum, but not entirely eliminated as they do need some. Pellets and water contribute the most to calcium intake, hence the recommendation to limit pellets and filter their drinking water.

I think it would be beneficial for you to look at the feeding guide.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[Piggies&buns]

They only need one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day. If you actually measure that out, then you will see that one tablespoon of burgess comes to around 6g. You can see how far different it is to the 30g recommended on the packaging (and therefore how much more quickly you will end up buying bags of pellets!).

They can have one cup of veg per pig per day (once the digestive issues are resolved). I feed mine one little gem lettuce leaf, several sprigs of coriander (I keep their diet mostly leafy), a chunk of bell pepper and and a chunk of cucumber daily. I do then add other things on top of I happen to have them in the fridge but the basis is mostly those four items.