Hello,
I am a new owner I currently only have one guinea pig though I plan to get another soonish cause I fear he's getting lonely. I noticed a day or two ago that my piggy had pooped in one spot and the poop was surrounded by a small pool of light brown water this happened again today when I checked on him this morning and I want to find out if this is a sign of something bad or just adjusting to a new diet since I recently started feeding more lettuce cause that seems to be his favorite thing to eat.
Hi and welcome
It is likely that your piggy has simply peed on its poos, which can discolour the pee, especially when it oxidises in contact with fresh air.
But please take your guinea pig off any fresh food for a day or two if you have any concerns over soft or shapeless poos/overfeeding of veg.
If the poos do not normalise or visibly firm up within 24 hours, then please see a vet.
See a vet asap over runny diarrhea (danger of dehydration) or if your piggy has lost its appetite and is hunched up and miserable.
Please keep in mind that over 80% of the daily food intake should be unlimited hay and not vegetable; the correct diet can add 1-2 years to a piggy's life span and minimise the risk of several health issues like bladder stones.
Veg should in fact make only about 10% in a carefully balanced mix that doesn't contain too much of just one food and therefore doesn't derail the natural fermentation process in the gut, which is laid out for mostly dry food (hay). 1 tablespoon of pellets should make up the last 5%. Please treat veg and pellets as daily treats rather as the main diet. Too much lettuce can cause diarrhea. Too much high sugary/fattening veg and too much surgary/high acid fruit can also have a negative impact on the health.
Always be careful when introducing new foods - only do so in small quantities at first. Sadly many commercial pet shop supply or for sale breeders do not feed fresh food, so the babies are not used it by firstly having traces in their milk and then learning to nibble on it as they grow up and gradually switch to eating solid foods.
Here is our detailed diet guide that looks at all food groups and contains an illustrated sample diet:
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets