Small poops, Dehydration? Any advice appreciated!

[ars]

Hello everyone, please help me!

My guinea pig (3yrs, female) has been making these really small poops recently (I'll attach a picture so you can see). I researched and it said possible illnesses could be dehydration or gut problems. I'm unsure if its gut problems since I reg give her probiotics and sometimes poop soup from her cagemate!

https://imgur.com/nh1a4EH

https://imgur.com/ameX9GK

https://imgur.com/2Scm3fV

I think it may be dehydration because its been super hot here in the Philippines—even if I got two fans directed at them, have 2 drinking bottles for her, regularly give her cucumber and I also place ice packs in her cage so it could cool her down. She's also a long haired pig, but we've had her trimmed so her hair isn't that long anymore.

She's been eating and drinking normally up until tonight, where she seemed more lethargic than usual. She's usually a sleepy pig but I've noticed that during lunch time, she was the only one who didn't come to the cage gate. She usually loves red bell pepper but now she only munched them for a bit.

All vets near me are closed (there also aren't any emergency clinics near me, it'll be a 6 hour drive to the city) but I've booked an appointment tomorrow. For the meantime, I posted here in case anyone has advice or similar experience with their pigs?

UPDATE: i researched online and it said to gently wet her and drop some water on her fur. I also syringed her some water every 10 mins and she started eating again. She's less active than usual, but she ate a little of the lettuce i gave her. She also groomed herself a couple of mins ago, not sure what that means. She's sleeping now.

any help or advice is appreciated! thanks so much!

 

[Claire W]

It could be that she isn’t eating enough hay? How’s her appetite?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

Smaller and thinner poos in combination with decreased food intake/weight loss should be seen by a vet as there can be a wide range of health problems behind them, especially when the trend continues.

Please switch from the regular once weekly life-long weigh-in and body check to weighing daily at the same time (weight swings around 30-40g over the course of 24 hours, that is why we are talking about weight loss only from 50g onwards).
Weighing (cheap kitchen scales are perfectly OK) is your most important health monitoring tool. Watching the poo output is always running a day or two behind the intake, which means that by the time you notice, your piggy could potentially lose a lot of weight.
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Around 80% of what a guinea pig eats in a day should be grass based hay and fresh dog pee free grass (like all new foods slowly and gradually introduced), which you cannot control by eye. This food group is crucial for long term dental and digestive health, overall health and a longer healthy life span. Fresh veg and herbs, preferably green and not root veg or fruit, take the supplementary role that wild forage has in the diet guinea pigs have evolved on.
1 tablespoon = 1/8 cup of pellets is an additional but small source of enriched food but it should be more like a daily treat and not a main food source.
When you step in with watering support, you also need to step in with feeding fibre; how much depends on how bad the problem is - again, your kitchen scales will give you up to date information so you can adjust any feeding and watering support accordingly.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Please keep in mind that unless the water bottle is blocked/leaky or the water is too hot to drink, a guinea pig that stops drinking will have lost their appetite beforehand since the need to drink comes before the need to eat. Always check the water bottles first before you think about dehydration. Also keep in mind that guinea pigs can suffer from heat exhaustion and can die from heat stroke. The heat can cause their gut to partially or full stop working (GI stasis).
All About Drinking And Bottles
Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

The problem with online searches for symptoms is that you can easily go wrong because you are looking in the wrong direction or only at a small part of a much bigger underlying problem.
PLEASE take the time to read the information links in this guide, so you can get a much better idea of what is going on and what you can actually do (including via the emergency care guide with what you have handy).
We can only give you the information but we cannot look at a few poos, snap our fingers and tell you what is exactly wrong without a careful hands-on examination and health check (not that any of us is a qualified vet).

 

[ars]

It could be that she isn’t eating enough hay? How’s her appetite?

Hello! She loves eating hay and just a couple of mins ago, I saw her munch some! She usually eats more though, which is why I'm a bit worried

 

[ars]

Hi!

Smaller and thinner poos in combination with decreased food intake/weight loss should be seen by a vet as there can be a wide range of health problems behind them, especially when the trend continues.

Please switch from the regular once weekly life-long weigh-in and body check to weighing daily at the same time (weight swings around 30-40g over the course of 24 hours, that is why we are talking about weight loss only from 50g onwards).
Weighing (cheap kitchen scales are perfectly OK) is your most important health monitoring tool. Watching the poo output is always running a day or two behind the intake, which means that by the time you notice, your piggy could potentially lose a lot of weight.
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Around 80% of what a guinea pig eats in a day should be grass based hay and fresh dog pee free grass (like all new foods slowly and gradually introduced), which you cannot control by eye. This food group is crucial for long term dental and digestive health, overall health and a longer healthy life span. Fresh veg and herbs, preferably green and not root veg or fruit, take the supplementary role that wild forage has in the diet guinea pigs have evolved on.
1 tablespoon = 1/8 cup of pellets is an additional but small source of enriched food but it should be more like a daily treat and not a main food source.
When you step in with watering support, you also need to step in with feeding fibre; how much depends on how bad the problem is - again, your kitchen scales will give you up to date information so you can adjust any feeding and watering support accordingly.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Please keep in mind that unless the water bottle is blocked/leaky or the water is too hot to drink, a guinea pig that stops drinking will have lost their appetite beforehand since the need to drink comes before the need to eat. Always check the water bottles first before you think about dehydration. Also keep in mind that guinea pigs can suffer from heat exhaustion and can die from heat stroke. The heat can cause their gut to partially or full stop working (GI stasis).
All About Drinking And Bottles
Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

The problem with online searches for symptoms is that you can easily go wrong because you are looking in the wrong direction or only at a small part of a much bigger underlying problem.
PLEASE take the time to read the information links in this guide, so you can get a much better idea of what is going on and what you can actually do (including via the emergency care guide with what you have handy).
We can only give you the information but we cannot look at a few poos, snap our fingers and tell you what is exactly wrong without a careful hands-on examination and health check (not that any of us is a qualified vet).

Thanks for this, I'll be sure to check your links.

I would def go to the vet, just asking for advice while I wait for my appointment because I'm kind of anxious at the moment.

I do weigh her everyday and for the past few days her weight was the same as usual (around 720-740g). I also change her water twice a day so she'll have nice fresh water I think I'll bring her to a cooler room tonight so in the morning, it won't be as hot.

Thanks again!

 

[Claire W]

It’s good that she is maintaining her weight but I too would definitely advise a vet check as there could be a number of reasons why she has smaller poos than normal

 

[ars]

Hi guys, just to give an update.

The vet said she was overheating and encouraged me to put her in a cool room and give her lots of access to water and/or veggies. She also said to syringe her water if she wouldn't drink. Thankfully, she does still drink but I give her a lil bit just in case (slowly though, my heart stopped when it got caught in her throat for a sec)

I saw the changes immediately and she did perk up! Her poos turned softer (normal soft) and they look a lot better now. She's eating normally too. But sometimes she's still a little bit lethargic and easily tired, so I'm still following up on that.

Her weight is consistent, but when we did trim her hair, her weight also dropped (from 720 to 700)? I was thinking it was her hair (bc it was pretty long already). Her trimmed self weight is consistent tho (688-700g) .

Although, she s been making little clicking breathing sounds when I picked her up. I searched it up and found URI was possible. She has slightly crusty eyes that I wipe with saline solution everyday. I told this to the vet and she said to just observe her and if it gets worse or she grows weaker to nebulize her with saline solution in a little guinea pig nebulizing cage. Thoughts on this?

Praying for her recovery, I love her very much! Any advice is much appreciated!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Any confirmed URI needs to be treated with antibiotics. A nebuliser can be used to help (also being in a steamy room) but an oral antibiotic is the essential treatment to kill the bacteria which causes the URI

i hope she is ok

 

[Wiebke]

Hi guys, just to give an update.

The vet said she was overheating and encouraged me to put her in a cool room and give her lots of access to water and/or veggies. She also said to syringe her water if she wouldn't drink. Thankfully, she does still drink but I give her a lil bit just in case (slowly though, my heart stopped when it got caught in her throat for a sec)

I saw the changes immediately and she did perk up! Her poos turned softer (normal soft) and they look a lot better now. She's eating normally too. But sometimes she's still a little bit lethargic and easily tired, so I'm still following up on that.

Her weight is consistent, but when we did trim her hair, her weight also dropped (from 720 to 700)? I was thinking it was her hair (bc it was pretty long already). Her trimmed self weight is consistent tho (688-700g) .

Although, she s been making little clicking breathing sounds when I picked her up. I searched it up and found URI was possible. She has slightly crusty eyes that I wipe with saline solution everyday. I told this to the vet and she said to just observe her and if it gets worse or she grows weaker to nebulize her with saline solution in a little guinea pig nebulizing cage. Thoughts on this?

Praying for her recovery, I love her very much! Any advice is much appreciated!

Hi!

We have got lots of practical tips on how to look after guinea pigs in hot weather in this guide link here, which I have linked into my first post in order to avoid heat exhaustion/heat stroke in guinea pigs.
A lot of the tips are very simple but very effective in saving lives. We have collected and tested any tips we have come across and provide the most comprehensive collection - but with warnings where tips have proven to be potentially harmful: Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike

Any suspected or confirmed respiratory infection needs to be treated with an antibiotic. Respiratory infections and pneumonia in guinea can kill or damage permanently. They, like other opportunistic illnesses are a danger whenever the immune system is lowered from pressure on it through heat, strong drafts and quick changes in temperature.
Guinea Lynx :: URI

I know that nebulising is the current all-heal fad for any sort of respiratory issues that is recommended everywhere online and that no doubt will cost far too many lives whenever this is used as a speculative home treatment in lieu of seeing a vet and any necessary course of antibiotics.
Nebulising should not be done on spec (it can do more harm than good in certain conditions) and it cannot replace any antibiotic treatment because it is at the best a supportive measure. Always test first whether a bowl of steaming water will improve the breathing before considering discussing it with your vet.

Please also be aware that there are 4 very different 'crusts' on guinea pig eyes:
- milky white: not reabsorbed eye cleaning fluid (harmless)
- transparent white: dried tear fluid and sign of an irritation or injury in the eye, from something stuck under a lid, a hay poke, drafts causing conjuctivities etc. If the crusts are persistent on both eyes, then please check your environment for irritant and see your vet for a potential conjunctivitis.
Around the nose: dried clear watery snot from a sneeze
If your piggy is squinting a lot, the eye is watering, drawn in and smaller, please see your vet asap for a potential eye injury. these can deteriorate very quickly so the sooner the eye is attended to, the better the chances of quick and problem-free recovery.
- bluish/greyish gunk: eye ulceration from a already infected eye injury. Needs to be seen asap.
- thick yellowish/greenish/orangey mucus crusts around the eyes (can glue them together) or around the nose is a symptom of an advanced untreated upper respiratory tract infection and needs to be seen and treated with antibiotics and ideally a mucus-thinning product to help clear the airways as soon as possible. Guinea pigs are not good mouth breathers.

- Any clicking in the lungs (when you hold your ear against the chest) should be seen asap for a potential pneumonia, especially if it comes with heavy breathing and heavy sides (breathing from the diaphragma).

I hope that this helps you? Please be aware that online information does very much have potentially fatal pitfalls for the unwary.