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Impaction home care help

ChocoMochichip

ChocoMochichip

New Born Pup
Joined
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Hawaii
Hi my piggie Chocolate Chip had a mild impaction that I began clearing at home yesterday using warm compression and mineral oil . We got him to a vet this morning and she stated there is no impaction and to continue to do home care .
However my poor piggie is making squeeks as he's passing stools I'm still having to help him out the poo is normal size and consistency. I'm just wondering if anyone has dealt with this and has any advice or if this is normal as we're trying to get him past this .
 
:wel:

Did the vet mean there is no impaction that was visible due to you having already helped clean him?
How old is your piggy?
Does he have a good hay and grass based diet and get plenty of exercise?

This is our guide detailing how to deal with impaction.

Impaction - How To Help Your Guinea Pig.
 
She did an entire examination on him and at the time she did do a clean up of the build up and it came right out . And yes he has a great diet and eats sooo much hay !
The squeeking isn't happening every single time and some stools do come out like normal but I do have to help him expel majority of it . Thank you for the guide and response.
 
Hello. I had an older piggy once with impaction. I had to clean him out at least once a day. He never once squeaked when he was pooping.

On the other hand I recently had a young boar who started squeaking while sometimes peeing and pooping. He had a bladder stone. If your piggy is squeaking maybe it’s not his poop that’s the problem but his bladder. Good luck I hope you can find out what the problem is. Is his weight ok?
 
Thank you , I'm probably going to take him back to the vet the squeeks happened a little after I had put a few drops of mineral oil and he positioned himself the way he does when he makes #2 and the squeaks accompanied that position.
His weight is fine and he's eating good .

Has anyone given there piggies dandelion leaves ? I really appreciate all the information and help .🌸
 
Definitely a good idea to return to the vet if you are concerned. As the guide I linked in explains, what can appear to be impaction is not always just impaction, or can also be secondary to something else so definitely get him seen again.

Yes, dandelion leaves are fine to feed to them.
 
I hope the vet can find the cause and it’s something easily treatable.
 
Yes I have an appt first thing in the morning to take him.
Thank you all for all of your help and the info shared has been so helpful and insightful . I hope so too , I'm sure you all can agree when I say we absolutely love our piggies and will do whatever it takes to help them.♥️
 
Sorry- Last thing. Is there anything I should specifically say to the vet or ask them to look into ?
 
You could take a urine sample with you. That way they can check for blood and other things there and then.

My vet palpitated my piggies bladder and he really squeaked. He had a stone. Which showed up on an ultrasound.
 
Hi everyone ,
Just wanted to send an update on Chocolate Chip. We saw the vet again today and did X-rays and other tests good news is no bladder stones or tumors . However we found my piggie is very constipated 😪.
Vet gave some supplemental fluids and I'm having to syringe water every now and again. He has a very good diet eats tons of hay , good veggies , and the occasional fruits . But compared to our other piggie Mochi who loves his water . Chocolate Chip isn't a heavy water drinker in general . (both piggies are my 10 year old daughters pets and we love them so much) I have good bottles for water distribution in their cages but I also provided a bowl to him as well to see if he'd drink more water that way.
Treatment is over the next few days I'll continue to help him poo with the mineral oil and warm compress . Get him more water when I can without overdoing it and causing water in his lungs 😥. Tomorrow morning per vet bringing him back for another fluid treatment just to help get things moving.
It will be a day by day process . Unfortunately at this time with the constipation she was unable to tell me if his anus had an any nerve damage to it. As the condition gets better which is what we're praying for she'll be able to tell more then.
On top of all of this I live in Maui where we just had a devastating fire that claimed so many lives and homes . It also claimed my job at this time so I really hope he gets better because I don't know how I'll afford to help him if this continues . I've already spent $500. (Sorry about the last part times are just hard now and needed to vent). Thank you all for everything ! And if anyone has any tips or tricks for constipation please share ♥️
 
I’m so sorry to hear about the fires and loss of your job.
I'm glad there are no stones.

Guinea pigs guts work differently to humans so piggies don’t get constipated. If a piggy is not able to get the poop out then it is impaction. Impaction caused by a loosening of the anal muscles which then prevents them from being able to push it out. Impaction can be due to age and natural loosening or it can be secondary to another health issue, so finding out and treating that issue is important - lack of food/hay intake, gut stasis, bloating or blockage etc.

Some piggies don’t necessarily drink a lot. They get water from their veg also and the amount an individual piggy will drink can vary from a lot to not much and still be within a healthy range.
You should only ever offer water and not make them drink it.

Switch to daily weight checks and make sure he is getting enough fibrous hay to keep the system moving. Syringe feed a recovery feed or mushed pellets if necessary.
 
All so good to know, it's so hard here I feel our resources even in vet services are a little scarce. There's only one vet here that "sees" Guinea pigs .... so it's very hard to say the least.
Thank you ! So much !
 
I’m so sorry about the devastating fires. Such an awful time for you all. Sending you, and everyone affected by the fires a massive hug. ❤️

It’s good that your piggy doesn’t have a stone. Is your piggy well in themselves? Not losing weight?

You say the poops are normal but just not coming out? When my boar had impaction he could still poop out most of his normal poops. The thing that I had to help him with was emptying the “pocket” not his actual anus.
It’s hard to explain. I’m just trying to clarify if it’s this pouch that’s filling up or if he is actually not able to poop at all?

The poop ball out of the pouch is sticky, very, very smelly 🤢 and not the usual poop shape.
 
Thank you for the kind words and sharing information with me I am learning a lot. I'm still a fairly New Guinea pig owner so I appreciate research and knowledge.
Now that you've mentioned it I believe it actually might be his pocket . The poop literally sticks out but won't come out without me coaxing it out of him and it's literally right there . The very first day they were clumpy and smelly , but afterwards and now the droppings are completely normal in shape, size, consistency, and color . They just don't fall out on its own like normal.
So when I assist him 5-8 droppings come out each time . He lost a tiny amount of weight vet wasn't concerned by it . He eats very good. No loss in appetite . The squeaking noises have stopped .
 
It’s great the squeaking has stopped. Give it a few days and see if it improves. 🤞🏻
 
Hi all ,
Again thank you for all of the info and well wishes . We appreciate it . I'm at an impasse and don't really know where to go from here. I've been reaching out to our vet the past two days with questions and haven't received a call back so I am beyond frustrated to say the least.
We have a wellness check for our other piggie on Monday so I'll be bringing Chocolate Chip along to get answers then. If anyone has seen this or dealt with this . Chocolate Chips poo is normal size, shape and texture and doesn't smell bad like the beginning. However the poo cannot make it out of the pouch without assistance. Am I still clearing impaction ? If so about how long can this take? I will do whatever it takes but I want to be sure it's working towards his recovery not making anything worst or masking another problem .
He is eating and drinking like normal. Loves his hay and eats a ton. Xrays revealed no tumors or stones or anything of that sort. I do notice at some periods he's is sort of hunched over and squeaks softly it looks like he's trying to poo.
A few do come completely out but the majority of poo pellets require my assistance to exit the pouch I'm doing this quite a bit throughout the day so he doesn't get back up.
 
I’ve only dealt with an older piggy with impaction. He never looked like he was in pain. I had to clean him out daily for the rest of his life. If your piggy looks in pain and is squeaking then you are doing the right thing getting him seen again.
 
Hi all,
I just wanted to send an update on Chocolate Chip and to thank you all again for your support and info!
After a total of 6 trips back to the vet . Ultrasounds, X-rays , exams etc. on the final day our last visit I was feeling helpless to say the least. He was squeeking much more frequent and loud .
Not going to lie I was quite frustrated by our vet who kept sending us home saying it was the impaction or constipation making him uncomfortable since all the tests showed nothing alarming.
Well with an added hint of frustration in my tone on the last day there they "happened" to find a large build up of Smegma ( sorry if I spelt wrong or wrong word) stuck in his pee hole and urethra . It had also hardened so he was trying his best to avoid peeing due to the pain it caused . There was no impaction or constipation .
They cleared it out , I couldn't believe how long it was or that it had dried that hard. And gave some antibiotics to be on the safe side even though he was showing no signs of infection.
Because he didn't want to pee and it was painful it also prevented him from being able to poop normal without my assistance .
I am happy to say since that last visit I helped him poop for the last time needing my assistance that night .
I had also got in our new Kavee cage 2 stories 5ft by 2ft and both our piggies are beyond delighted and getting much needed exercise! He is now pooping on his own without my help, no sqeeking , drinking his normal amount of water and peeing with no issues . I'm hoping we stay on the up and up he is back to his usual self !
Yay! ♥️
 
This is great news - I'm glad you finally found out the cause. I would check him regularly (a weekly check when you weigh him) in future to make sure he is not impacted and his penis is ok as these problems can reoccur, but usually don't need a vet visit if caught early. Don't you love boars - I have two!

I hope things are getting better on Maui and the fires have stopped.
 
I'm glad you managed to find out what was wrong with your poor boy - he must have been in quite some discomfort.

It sounds as if it might have been a "sperm rod" - dried semen stuck inside the penis, which can happen with boars. I've not had to deal with it personally so I don't know if that's always visible. But last year my boar had something very similar to you which I only saw by chance - I happened to decide to do the weekly checks whilst getting my pigs out to clean the hutch, and saw that his penis was 'out' and massively swollen. When I went back to check again after making a vet appointment, he had retracted it and the swelling was no longer visible. Fortunately the vet was able to express the penis, and removed a collar of smegma and/or dried semen from the base of it. I dread to think what would have happened to him if I hadn't chanced to see it when I did! Something similar to what happened with your boy, or worse, I guess ..
 
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