Soft poop.

[chatterboxlauu]

Hello - I wonder if anybody can help at all ? I am having a similar issue with my boy Rocky. I've had him 3 years beginning of June. He's still a youngling really so I'm worried for his health. He's been having soft, sometimes smelly and wet looking stools. I've been cleaning him out more regularly to keep on an eye on them but they're not hardening.
I noticed they were mushy a week or two ago when I cleaned his cage out and the poop was smeary when using a brush to clean but didn't think too much of it until it was looking worse when cleaning out his pen. He's been a little more lethargic too but I just assumed he was enjoying the sunshine.
As it's been nice recently, I've been putting him outside, the pen he has is an indoor one so he isn't able to get the grass unless I pop any in the pen which I haven't been doing. He has however had more veggies and cucumber while being outdoors in the sunshine. Looking online, there have been advisories on laying him off fresh veggies and they should normalise but they haven't yet, still very soft and I'm worried it's something more serious.
He's drinking a lot but he always has and I'm giving him some pellets and lots of timothy hay.
I did call the Vet on Monday for some reassurance and he didn't seem too worried, and thinks it could be the grass intake but he definitely hasn't been having any that I know of. He's been chewing the cardboard tube he loves to hide in and I wondered if there was something in that that might have upset his tummy.
Due to Covid-19 I can only have a telephone consultation with the Vet which was fine but I would feel better if he could be checked over. Unless the situation is critical, I cannot take him in for a check-up and I also worry for the vet bill. I'm currently on furlough with a wage drop, I can't take out a loan and do not think my vets allow a payment plan process so I'm currently a bag of worry and nerves. He's a large long haired happy piggy, cheeky but lovely, I just hope for some reassurance and for him to start having harder poops again.
I do have another piggy, Thor, he's nearly 6, they are in separate cages, always have been. I'm worried something is wrong with Rocky as Thor isn't having any issues with pooping. They both live in my lounge in their indoor cages and I check on him more so at the moment while working from home. His poops are hardening in the cage but still very soft when freshly done and darker than a normal pellet poop. They are forming but mush up when he treads through them. I'm also worried he is lacking nutrients at the moment as he will be struggling eat his poops if they're so soft.

Sorry for the essay and advance thank yous for any responses. x

 

[Piggies&buns]

Hello - I wonder if anybody can help at all ? I am having a similar issue with my boy Rocky. I've had him 3 years beginning of June. He's still a youngling really so I'm worried for his health. He's been having soft, sometimes smelly and wet looking stools. I've been cleaning him out more regularly to keep on an eye on them but they're not hardening.
I noticed they were mushy a week or two ago when I cleaned his age out and the poop was smeary when using a brush to clean but didn't think too much of it until it was looking worse when cleaning out his pen. He's been a little more lethargic too but I just assumed he was enjoying the sunshine.
As it's been nice recently, I've been putting him outside but the pen he has is an indoor one so he isn't able to get the grass unless I pop any in the pen which I haven't been doing. He has however had more veggies and cucumber while being outdoors in the sunshine. Looking online, there have been advisories on laying him off fresh veggies and they should normalise but they haven't yet, still very soft and I'm worried it's something more serious.
He's drinking a lot but he always has and I'm giving him some pellets and lots of timothy hay.
I did call the Vet on Monday for some reassurance and he didn't seem too worried, and thinks it could be the grass intake but he definitely hasn't been having any that I know of. He's been chewing the cardboard tube he loves to hide in and I wondered if there was something in that that might have upset his tummy.
Due to Covid-19 I can only have a telephone consultation with the Vet which was fine but I would feel better if he could be checked over. Unless the situation is critical, I cannot take him in for a check-up and I also worry for the vet bill. I'm currently on furlough with a wage drop, I can't take out a loan and do not think my vets allow a payment plan process so I'm currently a bag of worry and nerves. He's a large long haired happy piggy, cheeky but lovely, I just hope for some reassurance and for him to start having harder poops again.
I do have another piggy, Thor, he's nearly 6, they are in separate cages, always have been. They both have been having veggies but I'm worried something is wrong with Rocky as Thor isn't having any issues with pooping.

Sorry for the essay and advance thank yous for any responses. x

I would recommend starting your own thread. I will tag in one of our moderators to see if they can move your post out of this thread @Lady Kelly

In terms of your issue, when a guinea pig is having soft poops it is caused by a gut imbalance. Stopping all fresh food and grass until poops normalise and then still keeping them off for a further 24 hours after they normalise while only feeding hay during this time is the usual advice. You should not be tempted to feed more than the normal amounts to veg or extra watery veg during warmer weather. If the gut doesn’t rebalance in this time they are off veg, then it is important to have a vet check done. Eating cardboard is also one way piggies try to rebalance their gut.

 

[chatterboxlauu]

I would recommend starting your own thread. I will tag in one of our moderators to see if they can move your post out of this thread @Lady Kelly

In terms of your issue, when a guinea pig is having soft poops it is caused by a gut imbalance. Stopping all fresh food and grass until poops normalise and then still keeping them off for a further 24 hours after they normalise while only feeding hay during this time is the usual advice. You should not be tempted to feed more than the normal amounts to veg or extra watery veg during warmer weather. If the gut doesn’t rebalance in this time they are off veg, then it is important to have a vet check done. Eating cardboard is also one way piggies try to rebalance their gut.

Lovely thank you - apologies I'm new to the site and was having issues locating how to create my own thread with it being hopefully looked at.
I'll pop a loo tube into his cage with timothy hay inside and hope it helps him sort his little guts out.
Thank you for replying quickly enough.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Lovely thank you - apologies I'm new to the site and was having issues locating how to create my own thread with it being hopefully looked at.
I'll pop a loo tube into his cage with timothy hay inside and hope it helps him sort his little guts out.
Thank you for replying quickly enough.

After a couple of days completely off fresh food, things usually settle back down, but if it doesn’t then it is essential that you have a vet check done. If at any time the poops lose their form completely and become fully diarrhoea, then he must see a vet straight away.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Moved for you. Had to remember how to do it

 

[chatterboxlauu]

Moved for you. Had to remember how to do it

Thank you xx

After a couple of days completely off fresh food, things usually settle back down, but if it doesn’t then it is essential that you have a vet check done. If at any time the poops lose their form completely and become fully diarrhoea, then he must see a vet straight away.

He's been like it for nearly a week now that I've noticed it - very much himself but do feel cruel they're not having any veggies. I've taken Thor off them too incase it would bother him too. They're very soft but are formed just mushy, he's drinking as normal, enjoys the pellets and I've stuffed a toilet roll with timothy hay in hope they'll help balance him out.
Worried it's something more serious - the vet didn't seem worried and that it was more a gut issue with over indulging on veggies but he's been off them now for a few days and I've not seen any signs of improvement in the poop.
I'm struggling being able to see a vet as explained in my above post.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Don’t forget to keep nuggets strictly limited to one tablespoon per day, they are not good for piggies and are the least important element of their diet. He needs to be having large piles of hay (a lot more than just a toilet roll tube filled) every day and the more he eats the better for long term health.
There would be no need to take the other piggy off veg if he doesn’t have soft poop issues. Please ensure he gets his daily cup of veg.
If he has been off veg totally for that long and it has not improved then that would be suggesting to me that he needs to see a vet. Are you in the uk?

Just out of curiosity, what is the reason they are in separate cages?

 

[chatterboxlauu]

Thank you, I'm aware - he's having a small portion a day. The only other thing I can think of is I've changed the nuggets they've had over the last month as due to Covid am unable to order the usual ones they have but surely this would effect both piggies not just Rocky ?
He's got lots of bedding hay and the Timothy is refreshed daily, added some into cardboard to forage through to see if this passes.
I'll pop Thor some veggies, my worry was the veg could have been on the turn so didn't want to upset both boys but that's definitely not the case.
He's been off veg since the weekend. I phoned the vet on Monday and unless his health drastically declines, they are only doing telephone consultations. Yes, I'm on the Isle of Wight

 

[Piggies&buns]

When you change nuggets the advice is to do it slowly (I appreciate that wasn’t possible in this situation), but I would be surprised if the nuggets would cause it. It would be possible for it to just affect one and not both if that was the case though.
As long as 80% of their daily food intake is hay, and everything else is considered purely supplementary then that’s great! It should help settle his tummy and if He has been off veg since the weekend then I really would be expecting it to be having an effect any time now then

 

[chatterboxlauu]

Just out of curiosity, what is the reason they are in separate cages?
[/QUOTE]

When I bought Rocky he was only 8-12 weeks old where Thor was 3 years old, Thor was trying to go through the alpha stage but Rocky was far too small to fight it out. I've always had piggies separate since my first two so it's not something I've ever thought about.

 

[chatterboxlauu]

When you change nuggets the advice is to do it slowly (I appreciate that wasn’t possible in this situation), but I would be surprised if the nuggets would cause it. It would be possible for it to just affect one and not both if that was the case though.
As long as 80% of their daily food intake is hay, and everything else is considered purely supplementary then that’s great! It should help settle his tummy and if He has been off veg since the weekend then I really would be expecting it to be having an effect any time now then

I would be too - Thank you for the replies, they are being helpful, I'm going to leave it a couple of days and see what he's like and how his poops are. If they stay the same or worsen, I will phone the vet to see if I can bring him in. Currently looking at any pet plans or payment help I can find as I will struggle with regards to the current situation. Wish I could do something to help him. I hope within the next few days it'll change and he'll be on the mend.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Just out of curiosity, what is the reason they are in separate cages?

When I bought Rocky he was only 8-12 weeks old where Thor was 3 years old, Thor was trying to go through the alpha stage but Rocky was far too small to fight it out. I've always had piggies separate since my first two so it's not something I've ever thought about.
[/QUOTE]

He would not have been too small to go through Thor’s dominance, it is exactly what it supposed to happen in order to establish a relationship and hierarchy. Provided they were of compatible character they wouldn’t have had any fights.
I would highly recommend doing a neutral territory introduction and seeing if they are compatible, and if so, having them spend the rest of their lives together (two boars require a cage of at least 150cm x 60cm).

 

[Piggies&buns]

So wrong it’s fine you don’t need to take them off anything just cut back. Mine had diarrhea til I cut down on how much lettuce she gets today it’s soft and formed minus one spot that was mushy should be perfect.. people on this site think they are experts and tell you things my vet has always said was wrong

Incorrect.
If you were feeding incorrectly and over feeding a type of veg then that is different to dysbiosis which does require veg to be removed to get the gut to settle again. Please know what you are talking about before dismissing the correct advice given on this forum.

Despite multiple requests to stop resurrecting old threads and a message from the staff team regarding posts you are making, you have gone against that.