Piggy Poo

[Claire K]

This may sound a strange question but is it usual for piggies poo to vary - what i mean by this is that sometimes when i go to my piggies cage their pellets look very dry and other times the pellets look slightly wet. (it may be that they are all wet but have dried out a bit by the time that i see them but i dont think that is the case)!

Their behaviour / eating habits etc do not vary, and they are bounding about all over the place so there appears to be nothing wrong with them. (could it be dependent on what food they have had that day )?

Claire x

 

[Wiebke]

Part of it depends on what they eat. Normally, poo is a bit softer and damp when fresh, and dries with time, so it changes in consistency. Don't worry too much about whether wet or dry or colour until you get extremes.

What you need to have an eye out is size (too big = constipation; too small = not enough food has been digested), and whether they are sloppy/runny (diarrhea). If their is some slime with it, worry about dehydration.

Guinea pigs produce two kinds of poo. One of which contains vitamin C and gets eaten by the piggies to maintain their levels of vitamin C. It is usually a bit lighter in colour. The other is the normal excretion which you will see lying around.

 

[Claire K]

The size of their poo always remains the same. Some is light coloured and some darker. I have had a rummage around the cage and any poo that is laying on top of the bedding is the stuff that looks wetter where as the stuff that is hidden by hay looks drier so I am guessing that the shiny looking pellets that I am querying are the newer ones. There is no slime with them and none of them are attached by mucus so I dont think there is anything to worry about. The are both eating well at the moment and drinking plenty too.

Should there be a balance between the lighter coloured ones that they produce and the darker ones or not ?

x

 

[pompypigs]

Just wanted to bump this thread as I too sometimes find very light coloured poops. 9 of my 11 piggies all produce very dark coloured (normal) poops but 2 of them sometimes produce light coloured ones every now & then for a few days at a time. Does anyone know what this could be?

 

[pagan queen]

I'd like to know how piggies know which poos to eat as they often eat it straight from their bottom as if they know what sort is coming. :{

 

[alcesterpigs]

Small pellets linked together by mucous indicate dehydration.
Pellets, of whatever size, that are covered by, or mixed in, mucous can indicate a gut infection. If they are accompanied by a revolting smell it indicates a serious gut infection which can be life-threatening and which demands immediate attention/treatment.
Unformed pellets, ie a sloppy mess, are typical of diaorrhea, which can be caused either by an infection or by a food reaction, again urgent treatment is needed. First-aid treatment is to mix powdered charcoal in water and syringe feed about 2ml of the solution. This helps to absorb any possible toxic substances/products that may be in the digestive tract.
A solid clump of first and second pass pellets stuck in the peri-anal sac of a boar is impaction, which is dealt with by removing the clump, by hand.

 

[pompypigs]

Small pellets linked together by mucous indicate dehydration.
Pellets, of whatever size, that are covered by, or mixed in, mucous can indicate a gut infection. If they are accompanied by a revolting smell it indicates a serious gut infection which can be life-threatening and which demands immediate attention/treatment.
Unformed pellets, ie a sloppy mess, are typical of diaorrhea, which can be caused either by an infection or by a food reaction, again urgent treatment is needed. First-aid treatment is to mix powdered charcoal in water and syringe feed about 2ml of the solution. This helps to absorb any possible toxic substances/products that may be in the digestive tract.
A solid clump of first and second pass pellets stuck in the peri-anal sac of a boar is impaction, which is dealt with by removing the clump, by hand.

Thanks for this AP. The light coloured pellets that I have observed are normally formed & have no mucous/sloppiness - they are exactly the same as the other pellets just a very different colour?

 

[alcesterpigs]

Yes, just a different colour, I notice them and think "That's a different colour"!!
I think it depends on what they have been eating, obviously, some pellets can be grass-green after eating grass, again obviously!
Some can be a dark reddish-brown colour, I have never worked out a cause and effect for that.

 

[KingBoris&HisFollowers]

i have seen light,dark,firm and slightly softer all in one day,
the poo varys alot and it seems to be because of what veges i give them on each day,i also have a few piggies that eat half of the poo that they make yet are totally healthy xx