Soft poos!

[skinnypiggies02]

Hello! I hope I’m posting this in the right place, it’s my first time posting!
My skinny pig, Blanche, is 1. She used to have one off soft poops when she’d get greedy and scoff both her share of veg and her sisters, but it resolved after taking her off veg for a couple of days. Recently (as in, the last week or so) she had soft poops, so I took her off veg and it momentarily got better but then went bad again. The vet doesn’t want to stress her by bringing her in yet (she only went a few weeks ago!) and she’s absolutely fine in herself and not losing weight so I’m happy to wait, but I wanted to see if anyone had any helpful thoughts here! She’s on fibreplex at the mo, which worked a treat but she’s back to softer poos tonight. They’re still formed, just very soft and some are quite big! What’s interesting is, if I offer some of these poos, she will actually eat them - which has stumped me! They look nothing like caecotrophs, so I don’t know why she wants them (literally eats the whole thing). She’s been put back on a bit of green pepper to eat the fibreplex on, but prior to that she was on no veg and I don’t think it made a blind bit of difference. I gave her poop soup from her sister, which I think helped initially but now we’re back to square one. I’m wondering if these poos are her new normal now? They aren’t super soft, but they do stick to her feet if she steps on them which isn’t ideal

 

[Wiebke]

Hello! I hope I’m posting this in the right place, it’s my first time posting!
My skinny pig, Blanche, is 1. She used to have one off soft poops when she’d get greedy and scoff both her share of veg and her sisters, but it resolved after taking her off veg for a couple of days. Recently (as in, the last week or so) she had soft poops, so I took her off veg and it momentarily got better but then went bad again. The vet doesn’t want to stress her by bringing her in yet (she only went a few weeks ago!) and she’s absolutely fine in herself and not losing weight so I’m happy to wait, but I wanted to see if anyone had any helpful thoughts here! She’s on fibreplex at the mo, which worked a treat but she’s back to softer poos tonight. They’re still formed, just very soft and some are quite big! What’s interesting is, if I offer some of these poos, she will actually eat them - which has stumped me! They look nothing like caecotrophs, so I don’t know why she wants them (literally eats the whole thing). She’s been put back on a bit of green pepper to eat the fibreplex on, but prior to that she was on no veg and I don’t think it made a blind bit of difference. I gave her poop soup from her sister, which I think helped initially but now we’re back to square one. I’m wondering if these poos are her new normal now? They aren’t super soft, but they do stick to her feet if she steps on them which isn’t ideal

Hi

Recent research has shown that guinea pigs do not produce caecotrophs (unlike rabbits who are lagomorphs by the way), they only produce the same kind of poos in both runs through the gut; guinea pigs have essentially a more primitive and less effective digestion, which may also be behind them needing much higher medicine dosages than other pet species.
If your girl continues to eat those softer poos, then there is essentially nothing massively wrong with them.
Guinea Pig Facts - An Overview

Have you ever tried 'poo soup' (i.e. live healthy microbiome transfer) to see whether that can stabilise the gut?
Otherwise there is always the possibility that an underlying developing pain or pressure issue inside the lower body can impact increasingly on the area where the poos are formed and firmed up and that the issue may not be digestive.
Probiotics & Live Gut Microbiome Transfer ('Poo Soup'); Recovery Formula Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links and Transfer Recipe

 

[skinnypiggies02]

Also I didn’t know how to add pics, but I’ve figured it out now! Here’s some examples

Hi

Recent research has shown that guinea pigs do not produce caecotrophs (unlike rabbits who are lagomorphs by the way), they only produce the same kind of poos in both runs through the gut; guinea pigs have essentially a more primitive and less effective digestion, which may also be behind them needing much higher medicine dosages than other pet species.
If your girl continues to eat those softer poos, then there is essentially nothing massively wrong with them.
Guinea Pig Facts - An Overview

Have you ever tried 'poo soup' (i.e. live healthy microbiome transfer) to see whether that can stabilise the gut?
Otherwise there is always the possibility that an underlying developing pain or pressure issue inside the lower body can impact increasingly on the area where the poos are formed and firmed up and that the issue may not be digestive.
Probiotics & Live Gut Microbiome Transfer ('Poo Soup'); Recovery Formula Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links and Transfer Recipe

Thank you! That’s interesting, it’s not all of them, but she’s eaten a fair few. I gave her poop soup last week and again the other day, I’d like to think it helped some. Her poops are firmer today, but still misshapen - I’ve attached a pic (I could not for the life of me figure out how to upload a pic when I posted the original!). She’ll be going to the vets in a couple of weeks anyway, so if she’s still like this I’ll see what they think. It’s so strange because, if I didn’t know about her poop issues I’d say she was happier than she’d ever been

 

[Wiebke]

Also I didn’t know how to add pics, but I’ve figured it out now! Here’s some examples

Thank you! That’s interesting, it’s not all of them, but she’s eaten a fair few. I gave her poop soup last week and again the other day, I’d like to think it helped some. Her poops are firmer today, but still misshapen - I’ve attached a pic (I could not for the life of me figure out how to upload a pic when I posted the original!). She’ll be going to the vets in a couple of weeks anyway, so if she’s still like this I’ll see what they think. It’s so strange because, if I didn’t know about her poop issues I’d say she was happier than she’d ever been View attachment 246613

Hi

Those are 'nearly there' poos and not poos I would personally worry over. Continue with giving poo soup again and see whether that does the trick. When done correctly it is more effective than a generalised dose of digestive bacteria; the crucial bit is to get enough live bacteria to reach the gut in what is a very narrow time slot with using literally just dropped healthy poos.