Passing wind

[Pinky29]

Hello!

2 of my 8 boars pass wind every time I have them on my lap... they’re both on a reduced green diet to help, and it has helped! But would like to know if there is anything I can give I help relieve this gas more?

Thank you!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

You might like to read our diet guide to see whether you have got the proportion of 10% fresh food, 5% pellets and over 80% of unlimited hay right. Too much veg will lead to fermentation and therefore gassing, soft or mis-shapen poos in the lower gut. Hay is what guinea pigs need to eat as much of as they can; it is crucial for dental and gut health as well as longevity.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

You might want to consider taking your boys off any veg and any fresh grass for a a few days and supplement the dry diet with probiotics or fibreplex to help rebalance the guts.
Some very rough fibre like a tent or a hut made from brown cardboard or a brown paper bag filled with some soft speciality hay (be careful not to use it for stalky hay and to cut through any handles) give them new things to try, discover and play with during that time. If they scream for veg, serve some dry forage or a new variety of hay instead. A heap of soft meadow or orchard hay to burrow into combines fun with good health! Be aware that your boys will want to drink more water during that time.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

 

[Pinky29]

Hi, thank you for your reply. All 8 of my boys have 1 cup full of fresh veg, dry pellets (the amount corresponds to their age and guidelines on the packaging) and tons of fresh meadow hay and readigrass daily.

I will try the probiotics and see if I can reduce their fresh veg for a day or two- but I can’t see them being very happy with that when the other 6 boys are having their fresh veg. :-(

Thank you!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, thank you for your reply. All 8 of my boys have 1 cup full of fresh veg, dry pellets (the amount corresponds to their age and guidelines on the packaging) and tons of fresh meadow hay and readigrass daily.

I will try the probiotics and see if I can reduce their fresh veg for a day or two- but I can’t see them being very happy with that when the other 6 boys are having their fresh veg. :-(

Thank you!

Please reduce the amount of pellets you feed; the product information is generally too generous and not laid out for feeding daily veg. The RSPCA recommendation is 1 tablespoon per adult piggy per day.

Replace the veg with some speciality hays and dry forage, which you can find when you browse online, especially if you make them work for it and turn it into play and feed them when you feed veg.
It is important that you give the guts a period of rest to get any fermented fresh food out of the guts, to let them resettle and to then rebalance with as much hay as possible.

You can give your boys 0.3 ml of gripe water from the baby section of a UK supermarket twice daily while they are off veg. It is very good at breaking down any gas bubbles in mild cases of gassing.

 

[Dandelion24]

My Guinea Pig farted on my hand once, it stank of broccoli! I think it was actually after giving him broccoli, isn’t that known for causing gas? Hope your piggies are less gassy soon bless them!