Pointy, moist, short, and smelly poop.

[Ominester]

One of my guinea pigs (very much could be both now ), Zavala (the one in my profile pic) consistently has off and on digestive issues. When not having issues her poop is the normal shape, dark brown and shiny/moist looking after coming out. When she has had mushy and teardrop-shaped poop, my go-to has been to cut back on veggies for a day and then restart. This has always been a good fix. I recently started investing in very high-quality orchard grass hay as I wanted the softer texture to entice her to eat more hay (wasn't the biggest hay eater since I adopted her). I also started giving my pigs a lower calcium grain-free pellet food. She now eats a very good amount of hay and minimal veggies, and consistently has short slightly teardrop-shaped poop. I know for a fact she isn't dehydrated as she has always been a good water drinker probably 200 mL a day.

Could it be the orchard grass? She previously was on the Kaytee Field + Forest Timothy and Orchard mix, but I was struggling to find bags that weren't extremely chopped or old. They get Oxbow Urinary, Vitamin C, and digestive support tabs.

 

[piggl]

A change in diet can upset the gut.
Has your piggie been seen by a vet for any of their issues?

How many nuggets are you giving a day? Nuggets are a very small percentage of the diet, and the unlimited use of them has been known to reduce the amount of hay a guinea pig intakes. There was a very interesting and informative conversation on the facts of this a couple days ago, I will attach it here.
Unlimited pellets?

My worry would be that the ongoing minor digestive issues could be pointing towards something else, such as an incorrect diet or an illness.
I think you will find these guides nice to read through,
Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[Posyrose]

Both of mine had poo problems (very soft misshapen poo) after I switched to a softer Timothy hay. The vet said there was no underlying gut problem. Thankfully after I switched back to the stalkier version of Timothy hay from the same suppliers, the problem was solved.

If you haven't been to the vet to rule out any other problems it would be worth checking it out.

These piggies like to keep us on our toes!

 

[Ominester]

A change in diet can upset the gut.
Has your piggie been seen by a vet for any of their issues?

How many nuggets are you giving a day? Nuggets are a very small percentage of the diet, and the unlimited use of them has been known to reduce the amount of hay a guinea pig intakes. There was a very interesting and informative conversation on the facts of this a couple days ago, I will attach it here.
Unlimited pellets?

My worry would be that the ongoing minor digestive issues could be pointing towards something else, such as an incorrect diet or an illness.
I think you will find these guides nice to read through,
Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

I work at Vet and have consolted our exotics doctor. His thoughts are that since she drinks a lot of water naturally, the water in the veggies I would give her is too much moisture. But she has never gotten a lot. They each get a large price of Romain, a sliver of bell pepper and a few sprigs of a herb. My Guinea pigs share about two table spoons of pellets a day. They eat the selective naturals grain-free. Lower in calcium then any oxbow recipe. They get a limited amount due to them being slightly overweight from the shelter (they gave unlimited baby GP food regardless of age). I haven’t seen any diarrhea or extremely soft poop from them, and when palpating their abdomens everything feels normal.

 

[Ominester]

Both of mine had poo problems (very soft misshapen poo) after I switched to a softer Timothy hay. The vet said there was no underlying gut problem. Thankfully after I switched back to the stalkier version of Timothy hay from the same suppliers, the problem was solved.

If you haven't been to the vet to rule out any other problems it would be worth checking it out.

These piggies like to keep us on our toes!

I just ordered a small amount of stalker Timothy hay to hopefully mix into their orchard grass. Other than smaller and slightly pointy poops they are doing so well. I’m considering doing another fecal and dosing them with Benabac just in case.

 

[piggl]

I work at Vet and have consolted our exotics doctor. His thoughts are that since she drinks a lot of water naturally, the water in the veggies I would give her is too much moisture. But she has never gotten a lot. They each get a large price of Romain, a sliver of bell pepper and a few sprigs of a herb. My Guinea pigs share about two table spoons of pellets a day. They eat the selective naturals grain-free. Lower in calcium then any oxbow recipe. They get a limited amount due to them being slightly overweight from the shelter (they gave unlimited baby GP food regardless of age). I haven’t seen any diarrhea or extremely soft poop from them, and when palpating their abdomens everything feels normal.

My boys just get plain timothy/meadow hay. With the once a year treat of some oxbow hay, I have found anything else causes digestive upset. But I also know that there are many people who do use different/fancier types of hay.

If you have ruled a medical issue out then I would not be suprised if it was the change in hay that caused the upset.
Perhaps you could use their new hay with their normal hay so it doesn’t go to waste.

 

[Ominester]

My boys just get plain timothy/meadow hay. With the once a year treat of some oxbow hay, I have found anything else causes digestive upset. But I also know that there are many people who do use different/fancier types of hay.

If you have ruled a medical issue out then I would not be suprised if it was the change in hay that caused the upset.
Perhaps you could use their new hay with their normal hay so it doesn’t go to waste.

Both my partner and I have mild Timothy allergies and switching back to a only Timothy hay diet isn’t an option. Hopefully incorporating some stalky Timothy into their orchard grass can help them get more fiber. Once their poop dries, it’s no longer smelly haha. So I’m not tooooo concerned.