I just want to be certain I'm not missing something.

[Lorcan]

So one of the goblins currently has a dodgy tummy, and I still don't know which. It might also be both of them but short of staring at them constantly for several hours at a time I'm not sure I'm going to work it out. Soft, wet poops that were still normally formed were in the cage last night, so Plan A was stop all veggies (I don't have grass) for a few days. This morning, it was soft poops, not well formed. However, there's no diarrhoea, it's just very soft and wet. But I know the output can lag a couple of days behind the input so I'm still not massively worried.

They do both seem to be drinking a lot more than usual, specifically Bann. Am I wrong to not see this as a problem? They'd usually get most of their water from their veg I'd assume, and since they've not got that they'd be drinking more anyway.

It's not that I'm not worried because I am, they're not 100% and that's always a niggling worry, but I'm thinking that leaving it for a few days isn't a terrible idea because they're still eating fine, weighing in fine, and vocally demanding I return to their usual food schedule just fine. And I don't want to overthink it because that doesn't help the anxiety, heh. So...am I missing something? Or is this the way to go?

 

[Wiebke]

So one of the goblins currently has a dodgy tummy, and I still don't know which. It might also be both of them but short of staring at them constantly for several hours at a time I'm not sure I'm going to work it out. Soft, wet poops that were still normally formed were in the cage last night, so Plan A was stop all veggies (I don't have grass) for a few days. This morning, it was soft poops, not well formed. However, there's no diarrhoea, it's just very soft and wet. But I know the output can lag a couple of days behind the input so I'm still not massively worried.

They do both seem to be drinking a lot more than usual, specifically Bann. Am I wrong to not see this as a problem? They'd usually get most of their water from their veg I'd assume, and since they've not got that they'd be drinking more anyway.

It's not that I'm not worried because I am, they're not 100% and that's always a niggling worry, but I'm thinking that leaving it for a few days isn't a terrible idea because they're still eating fine, weighing in fine, and vocally demanding I return to their usual food schedule just fine. And I don't want to overthink it because that doesn't help the anxiety, heh. So...am I missing something? Or is this the way to go?

Hi

See whether a day or two without any fresh food will settle down the issue.
I would not worry about the drinking at this stage; as you suspect, it is likely connected with their tummy upset.

All the best! have you been feeding some fresh grass recently?

 

[Lorcan]

No, I don't have any grass and there's too many cats about for me to be happy at grabbing some of the other stuff that's nearby. The only fresh stuff they get for now would be the veggies. I'm not sure what I've given them to trigger it, I thought it was the romaine yesterday morning til I realised that probably wasn't right through yet.

I mean, might it just be stress related? They did move into a "new" cage a couple days ago and new can be scary (to quote the Doctor).

 

[PigglePuggle]

You're a very diligent piggy dad @Lorcan and I'm sure if either of your boys was really ill you'd know right away and be straight to the vets!
If their weight is steady and their appetite is good and they are their usual mad little selves, no need to panic, just cut out the veg for a couple of days and see how things go.
I actually think there have been a few dodgy lettuces and salad bags in the supermarkets this week, I had to chuck 3 things away that were still in date because they smelled funny and looked slimy, and somepig in my main herd has had slightly soft dark poops too- so we've cut out lettuces until next Wednesday when the next shopping delivery comes, partly due to soft poops but also partly because the lettuce all went in the bin lol.
I'll just be giving a small slice of pepper/sprig of parsley or coriander until then. And my lot have also drained 3 waterbottles since this morning

 

[Lorcan]

Honestly most of the veg coming through recently has been dodgy. Used to be I could buy a weeks worth of veggies and even with slightly past "best before" dates it was all still perfectly fine to eat. Now I'm buying more than I need for a week because for maybe half of it, the dates have to be ignored and chucked out before it can be used.

This isn't the fault of Tesco or Asda or their grocery pickers. It's just how it is. I just feel bad for them, what if I gave them something that looked fine, smelled fine, wasn't fine? Not that I'll ever likely know to be fair. Opened a pack of peppers yesterday morning - one soft and mouldy, the other two absolutely fine. It's ridiculous.

 

[Wiebke]

Honestly most of the veg coming through recently has been dodgy. Used to be I could buy a weeks worth of veggies and even with slightly past "best before" dates it was all still perfectly fine to eat. Now I'm buying more than I need for a week because for maybe half of it, the dates have to be ignored and chucked out before it can be used.

This isn't the fault of Tesco or Asda or their grocery pickers. It's just how it is. I just feel bad for them, what if I gave them something that looked fine, smelled fine, wasn't fine? Not that I'll ever likely know to be fair. Opened a pack of peppers yesterday morning - one soft and mouldy, the other two absolutely fine. It's ridiculous.

Same here - I've had the odd tummy upset and have had to throw salad bags and coriander/cilantro pouches away. I am now sticking to mostly feeding whole lettuce as it is less susceptible.

 

[PigglePuggle]

Honestly most of the veg coming through recently has been dodgy. Used to be I could buy a weeks worth of veggies and even with slightly past "best before" dates it was all still perfectly fine to eat. Now I'm buying more than I need for a week because for maybe half of it, the dates have to be ignored and chucked out before it can be used.

This isn't the fault of Tesco or Asda or their grocery pickers. It's just how it is. I just feel bad for them, what if I gave them something that looked fine, smelled fine, wasn't fine? Not that I'll ever likely know to be fair. Opened a pack of peppers yesterday morning - one soft and mouldy, the other two absolutely fine. It's ridiculous.

Lettuce quality has been very poor lately, but a handy hint for peppers- open the pack as soon as they arrive, dry them with kitchen paper (or on a clean tea towel) then inspect them and give them a gentle squeeze before lining them up in order so the softest/slightly damaged ones get eaten first.
I get 3 packs of 3 peppers every week and they are always covered in condensation, I got fed up of throwing them out (or to be honest eating them myself, the piggies get the best veg and the dodgy stuff goes in my curry lol) so I'm really obsessive about storing peppers!

 

[Lorcan]

open the pack as soon as they arrive, dry them with kitchen paper (or on a clean tea towel) then inspect them and give them a gentle squeeze before lining them up in order so the softest/slightly damaged ones get eaten first.

See I've always been wary about opening the pack before I get using them, because then they might sit for 2-3 days before the goblins get a chance to actually eat them. I wish it was economically worth it to get a Tesco/Asda delivery twice a week, but with a £40 minimum basket it isn't really. What I really need to be do is be less lazy about the morning veggies, because I'm great at oversleeping and by the time I've woken up and the shouts of protest start I'm usually just grabbing the easiest thing in the fridge that I don't have to prepare before giving them.

Same here - I've had the odd tummy upset and have had to throw salad bags and coriander/cilantro pouches away. I am now sticking to mostly feeding whole lettuce as it is less susceptible.

I usually buy a couple of lettuces every week depending on what's on offer. Today it'll be sweet gem...I'm not fussed on buying romaine as a general rule. It's great if the gem lettuces are out but it's also much harder to store 2 packs of romaine than 2 packs of little gem. Heck I could fit 4 little gem into the same space as 2 romaine.
Coriander seems to be really bad atm though. Parsley seems to be lasting the days better but it's not a great substitute at all.

 

[piggieminder]

Sorry they are unwell @Lorcan I hope it's just a blip and the no veg regime will put them right. Red was producing soft poop a few weeks ago, 2 days off veg did the trick.
I stopped getting piggie veg delivered because half of it was coming in the front door and straight out the back to the compost bin. Nothing seems to be keeping well at the moment. Just glad I'm in a position to grow a lot of my own at this time of year. The winter is going to be a worry though!

 

[Deleted member 149630]

Hey Lorcan! Thanks for the question. I'm sorry to hear this, hope they do better soon.

I agree with previous posts. Take away veggies for a little bit and see what happens.

Is there any way to separate the pigs for a short while? For example, I have a pop-up ballpit thing that I set up for then during my cage deep cleans. If you have something like that, I'd remove all existing poops and separate them. (One in normal enclosure, one in ballpit thing) Or if there was a way to divide the cage. I'd keep them separated for about a half hour. I know they poop far more often than once a half hour, but this way you have a good sample, not what could be a random odd poop. You might mistake a healthy peed-on stepped-on poop for diarrhea or something. Anyways, then you wouldn't need to stare and them for hours and figure out who's poop that is.

Sorry for the ramble over how to do a simple experiment. Hope this helps!

 

[Deleted member 149630]

P.s. Little Gem Lettuce is good for guinea pigs. Has many of the same nutricional benifits as romaine. However, Romaine has more Vit C than Little Gem. Which is why I prefer that and will continue to use it. It's best imao.

 

[Lorcan]

Hey Lorcan! Thanks for the question. I'm sorry to hear this, hope they do better soon.

I agree with previous posts. Take away veggies for a little bit and see what happens.

Is there any way to separate the pigs for a short while? For example, I have a pop-up ballpit thing that I set up for then during my cage deep cleans. If you have something like that, I'd remove all existing poops and separate them. (One in normal enclosure, one in ballpit thing) Or if there was a way to divide the cage. I'd keep them separated for about a half hour. I know they poop far more often than once a half hour, but this way you have a good sample, not what could be a random odd poop. You might mistake a healthy peed-on stepped-on poop for diarrhea or something. Anyways, then you wouldn't need to stare and them for hours and figure out who's poop that is.

Sorry for the ramble over how to do a simple experiment. Hope this helps!

I could, except that I put the cage together with the grids the wrong way round and didn't think this was a problem til I put the water bottles in. And since I'd already cable tied everything else, I just cable tied the bottles on too. To separate them I'd need to move at least one of those grids. And since Bann's proven today he's willing to stand on me to get my attention I have no doubt he'll try walking underneath my foot at some point for me to get those grids in.

It's not really worth it honestly. Since I'm only finding soft poop and no diarrhoea there's no real good reason to separate them. Especially not so soon after moving into a new cage.

 

[Princess Dustmop]

Lettuce quality has been very poor lately, but a handy hint for peppers- open the pack as soon as they arrive, dry them with kitchen paper (or on a clean tea towel) then inspect them and give them a gentle squeeze before lining them up in order so the softest/slightly damaged ones get eaten first.
I get 3 packs of 3 peppers every week and they are always covered in condensation, I got fed up of throwing them out (or to be honest eating them myself, the piggies get the best veg and the dodgy stuff goes in my curry lol) so I'm really obsessive about storing peppers!

Yup, yup, yup! Anything that might have a questionable aspect gets removed from the piggies' lettuce/veggie area of the fridge and placed into the humans' area. If it's beyond that, it goes in the trash, of course, but only the best for the piggies! Pepper sits a bit long? Goes to humans and the piggies get a new one. Outer leaves of the lettuce head have some mechanical damage? Goes to the humans' salad, and the piggies get the better leaves. I think we all know how the hierarchy works.

I used to sometimes get bins of loose romaine leaves, but after some spotty bins and one that I actually took back to the store because it was a mess in the middle, I switched to just whole heads, ideally the loose ones that I can select myself, but I'll take the bags with three heads in them if that looks best. I'll also get the hydroponic heads that come in a clamshell packaging and still have roots, but those are usually butterhead (bibb or sometimes called Boston lettuce around here), and the piggies will inform me that it is inferior to their romaine.
Their ideal lettuce is the stuff that's fresh off the plant, but that's seasonal. They're loving the stuff coming out of the planter I have right now. Humans only get the damaged leaves, or the leaves that got a bit sun burnt or sun starved ... because the piggies are very generous to share any of their yummies.

Coriander seems to be really bad atm though. Parsley seems to be lasting the days better but it's not a great substitute at all.

The trick with herbs is actually to keep them almost like cut flowers. There are specific herb keeper containers, but putting them into a cup of water can work really well for tender, leafy herbs (coriander, parsley, basil).
- Make sure the leaves are dry and trim the bottoms of the stems like you would fresh flowers (just nipping off the ends for a fresh cut, so the stem isn't calloused and can take up water).
- Put a bit of water in a glass and stick the freshly cut stems in (don't submerge the leaves).
- If you're using them quickly, just set the set up in the fridge (except basil, leave that on the counter). If you're keeping it longer, put a plastic bag loosely over the tops of the herbs (don't bag if the leaves are wet ... wait for them to dry).
- Change the water regularly or if it starts to discolor, just like with cut flowers.

 

[Roselina]

I think you’re doing the right thing just keeping the goblins off veg for a few days. Some of the veg is very iffy atm.
Once I’ve opened my peppers I just put a paper towel in to collect any moisture and it does keep them fresher.
Do you rinse your veg before they get it ? I tend to rinse anything with warm water when it comes out of the fridge. Then they get to eat it. I’m sure they’ll be pooping fine soon. As you say their weight is good, they’re drinking and eating lots of hay - try not to worry

 

[Lorcan]

I think you’re doing the right thing just keeping the goblins off veg for a few days. Some of the veg is very iffy atm.
Once I’ve opened my peppers I just put a paper towel in to collect any moisture and it does keep them fresher.
Do you rinse your veg before they get it ? I tend to rinse anything with warm water when it comes out of the fridge. Then they get to eat it. I’m sure they’ll be pooping fine soon. As you say their weight is good, they’re drinking and eating lots of hay - try not to worry

Depends on the veg. Lettuce heads, peppers etc, yes. Bagged salad and salad leaves, no.

I think the culprit is Bann. I lifted up the bed (which had collapsed over on itself) Camowen was in and he'd been sitting on what is the front wall so there were a nice lump pile of poops sitting where the entrance had been - well formed, normal looking poops. I can't prove Bann didn't make them but Camowen's been in that bed for most of the day. I was in refilling their water bottles earlier with Bann staring at me with those big forlorn eyes of his. He then also thought, eventually, well if I'm refilling the water bottles, that must mean food!

I feel so mean. I know there's no way to explain it to him it's for his own good, but I still feel mean.

 

[Betsy]

I feel so mean. I know there's no way to explain it to him it's for his own good, but I still feel mean.

Guinea pigs are very good at making us feel bad.

 

[Lorcan]

You might mistake a healthy peed-on stepped-on poop for diarrhea or something.

Also I realise I should've explained this better last night -

They have cuddle cups in the cage that I use for the Snugglesafes, they sit in the bottom with a fleece pad on top. These also get pooped in because they're warm and guinea pigs poop wherever they want. Most of the time, you'll just get a pile of normal poops in there that you can shake out, but at the minute whatever's being left in there is being smeared, which was my first clue.
They might trample on their poop but it's more like 80% of their poop is being trampled on rather than the occasional bits you'd normally see. The output isn't right, it's actually much harder to poop pick at the moment because of it.

It's definitely not diarrhoea but it is very wet and soft. It's hard to explain, it's easier if you know what sort of poop you're meant to be looking for on a daily basis.

Meanwhile I gave them a carrot cottage, which miraculously convinced Bann to get out of bed and get a headstart on it while Camowen was busy hoovering up the carrot crumbs from the plastic wrap. Poops still aren't great and there's gonna be a lot of wasted veggies in the fridge, but that's not their fault.

 

[Claire W]

Try not to worry too much if they're acting normal, eating plenty of hay and drinking. My Edward often has soft poos (which I am told is more than likely due to his age) and he's ok after a day or two off fresh veg. He too acts completely normal, eats plenty of hay and drinks

 

[Roselina]

Hopefully it’ll all settle down very soon …