My 2 piggies been out on the lawn eating grass, bloated?

[Hairy]

Hello fellow guinea pig enthusiasts! Please give me some help.

I got 2 male piggies (brothers according to the store I bought them from), more than 5 years old now. They live most of the life indoors in 2 connected cages. But for several years now, they have had a great time out doors during summer. Now it's finally summer again and I let them out in a cage I buildt them on the lawn, and they enjoy eating grass outside and I got several houses and hidies there for them to run between.

But lately one of them has grown in size and weight. The smallest one is 900 grams (around 2 pounds) and the largest is 1200 grams (around 2.66 pounds). But in addition to that, the fattest one has gotten a very obese swollen tummy. Is this due to bloat? After a few rainy days indoors, the body shape became normal. But now, after another day out on the lawn again, the tummy is swollen again. Is bloat gas they can't get rid of in the intestines?

I'm worried they are in pain, I tried gently massaging their side bellies. I'm suspecting the body shape will be back to normal again after a few days indoors.

The problem is I love to have them outside because their poop fertilize the lawn and they seem happy while out there, enjoying a life in nature and extended freedom. But is this lawn grass a curse to them? They get dandelions indoors some times and spent several previous years without any problems. I left some part of the lawn uncut to have the grass growing taller, because I imagined they liked that, but with some rain now and then, I wonder if there are fungi growing in the grass that make them swollen?

Any experience or guidance on this topic? It's a sad summer to keep 2 piggies indoor. They have otherwise been drinking, eating and pooping regularly (as far as I noticed).

 

[Wiebke]

Hello fellow guinea pig enthusiasts! Please give me some help.

I got 2 male piggies (brothers according to the store I bought them from), more than 5 years old now. They live most of the life indoors in 2 connected cages. But for several years now, they have had a great time out doors during summer. Now it's finally summer again and I let them out in a cage I buildt them on the lawn, and they enjoy eating grass outside and I got several houses and hidies there for them to run between.

But lately one of them has grown in size and weight. The smallest one is 900 grams (around 2 pounds) and the largest is 1200 grams (around 2.66 pounds). But in addition to that, the fattest one has gotten a very obese swollen tummy. Is this due to bloat? After a few rainy days indoors, the body shape became normal. But now, after another day out on the lawn again, the tummy is swollen again. Is bloat gas they can't get rid of in the intestines?

I'm worried they are in pain, I tried gently massaging their side bellies. I'm suspecting the body shape will be back to normal again after a few days indoors.

The problem is I love to have them outside because their poop fertilize the lawn and they seem happy while out there, enjoying a life in nature and extended freedom. But is this lawn grass a curse to them? They get dandelions indoors some times and spent several previous years without any problems. I left some part of the lawn uncut to have the grass growing taller, because I imagined they liked that, but with some rain now and then, I wonder if there are fungi growing in the grass that make them swollen?

Any experience or guidance on this topic? It's a sad summer to keep 2 piggies indoor. They have been drinking, eating and pooping regularly (as far as I noticed).

Hi!

You have to accustom indoors piggies carefully and slowly to grass and lawn time if you want to avoid respiratory or urinary tract infections caused by a too cold and/or damp ground and wind as well as diarrhea or bloat from the gut mircobiome not being accustomed to grass. You also have to be extremely careful in hot weather; piggies die on the lawn every summer.

Please have your piggies seen by a vet as soon as possible. Bloat is a serious health issue that can kill.

Please take the time to read these guide links here. you will find them very helpful:
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time
Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike

 

[Hairy]

Thank you. The thing is they have had several days out doors already, and the swollen tummies has gone away after a day or two. And I always have a bowl of fresh water in the cage, and a blanket on top to cover on hot sunny days. The past days it's been quite moderate and comfy weather around 20C so not worried about overheating (yet).

I will observe their health further until monday and contact a vet then. They are active and seemingly ok despite one of them have this swollen tummy after a day on the lawn.

 

[Wiebke]

If a piggy has a bloated tummy after a lawn trip, then they are not ready to go out again. You need to give their digestion more time to get used to grass and processing it.

 

[Hairy]

They're out in shorter periods now, trying to accustomize them to digest fresh grass. They still get a little bit swollen tummies but it goes over during the evening. It sucks because they didn't have this problem in the previous years and they stayed out all day.

 

[Wiebke]

They're out in shorter periods now, trying to accustomize them to digest fresh grass. They still get a little bit swollen tummies but it goes over during the evening. It sucks because they didn't have this problem in the previous years and they stayed out all day.

Please take them off any fresh food for a few days to allow the dysbiosis (overgrowth of the wrong bacteria in the gut) to settle down properly.

Older guinea pigs can react more sensitively to new foods. I currently have a 5 years old, who is getting very soft, smelly poos from just a little grass so I can't put him outside on the lawn yet.