My guinea pig crunch poops in small pieces

[JIn1234567]

Hi everyone, My male guinea pig was solo living in a cage. But recently he crunch / eat/ bite (i dont really know) his poops in small pieces. I am not sure if this is a health issue.
May I get some help please?

 

[Piggies&buns]

If you are worried, please do see a vet. Piggies eat their poops when they feel unwell (although usually they special poops not the waste poops and are taken directly from their bottom).

Other than an illness there could be many reasons.
Do you plan on getting him a friend? Piggies are highly social and struggle with loneliness if they don’t have a friend, so should always be kept in pairs

 

[Free Ranger]

Has he got plenty of hay and other things to chew on? They don't just need food to 'eat', they have to chew to keep their teeth down. They have to have hay there all the time - some people also put in little wooden blocks or houses for them to chew on. Mine chew on something called 'carrot cottage' which is basically just a cardboard box coated with dried grass and bits of carrot - but they eat the cardboard as well as the coating. It provides interest too.

The poop they eat as part of their normal lifestyle are not the waste poops we are familiar with... it is a soft, squishy mush that often emerges at night and which we don't usually see at all. If the waste poops still look normal (before they are chewed up) it might indicate a mild gut disturbance which they can normally sort out themselves by eating the poops of a healthy cage mate. This would be a biological problem. But if he is lonely and bored it might be a psychological issue. It's hard to tell which.

The forum recommends that piggies are weighed weekly (kitchen scales are fine) to check they are maintaining weight. Weight loss is often the first indicator something is wrong. If you think your boy might be a bit unwell it would be good to weigh him daily at the same time each day to get an idea of his normal weight and the normal ups and downs. It will fluctuate a bit (like for a full or empty bladder) but weight loss day after day after day is a sign he is unwell even if there are no other obvious symptoms. A vet will be able to advise you better - a check up to rule out common piggy ailments would be best when they start doing anything weird!

 

[Princess Dustmop]

Do the poos look normal before he breaks them into pieces? Does he have other things to chew? Any other changes recently for him? (Environment, food, behavior, etc.)

Don't tell Latte that I posted this, but here's what it looks like when they have a special poo ... ... waste poos she just leaves all over the cage for me to clean up (or locate under the fleece later).