Poop everywhere and messy Guinea - advice needed (sorry tmi!)

[Amie123]

Hi,

We have two new guineas. Both boys, born in April (one is a week older) both getting on well. We have had one for 2 weeks and one for 1 week. They have both been eating well and pooping as i'd expect. However the last few days one of the guineas keeps having poo all over his bottom, feet and tummy. He has long hair. It doesn't seem like loose poop nor does it seem stuck in him or anything at all. It seems he is pooping as normal (pellet like etc) then standing in it and its getting squished all in him. Is there anything i can do?

They have fleece bases on indoor cage (although outdoor cage has wood shavings and hay but moving this to fleece soon also) . We pick up all the poop twice a day so its not like they are living in poop but i also can't pick up each poop each time they go lol. It seems the crushed poop is occurring in the tent/bed area they sleep/hide in. There is no crushed poop anywhere else in cage.

Is there anything i can do ? He didn't seem to have this issue until yesterday.

Thanks all

 

[Piggies&buns]

Check the poop isn’t too soft. It can occur if they have suddenly started eating different and more veg for example or their tummies aren’t used to grass as it causes a digestive upset. If it is too soft, then they will need to be kept off of veg and grass until poops normalise.

Clean him with a damp cloth, and keep his hair around his back end and tummy trimmed short.

Its normal for them to poop in their beds though. All you can do there is keep them clean inside and empty them/poop pick those areas as often as you can.

An Illustrated Guide to Hair Cutting

While they should not be bathed as routine, sometimes a bum bath or wipe is necessary if they are getting very messy
Bathing (including cleaning grease glands)

In terms of some other things you’ve mentioned

fleece outside. This can be problematic. It can wick moisture from the air and then remain damp. It’s generally recommended to stick to a disposable bedding for outside use.

tent/bed. As you are dealing with soon to become teenage boars and who also aren’t yet finished bonding (it takes two weeks after introduction for things to fully settle), you need to do a few things to ensure they don’t become tense with each other especially when the hormones really kick.
- ensure no piggy can get trapped inside a hidey by the other piggy by ensuring all hideys have two exits. Nothing enclosed
- ensure they have a large cage - 180x60cm is recommended for boars as they need more room

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

 

[Betsy]

I was going to recommend my hair cutting guide but I see that @Piggies&buns has got there first. You may find it's a 2 person job first of all until you piggy gets used to it.