Squishy but well formed poops

[augustlina]

Hi,

I recently (almost 1 month ago) got two guinea pigs and 2 days ago I noticed a change in their poop. I spot clean their cage twice a day and since we use dust free wood shavings I have to hand pick all the poops (gloved of course) and soiled litter. Lookwise their poops look same as always; dark brown, well formed; no weird shapes, with a slight shine HOWEVER they are not hard like they are meant to be. They don't crumble or break but are rather squishy, seems there is too much moisture in them? There is also a slight smell to them, not too strong and you'd definately have to be pretty close to smell it but obviously their poops did not smell before. I have stopped giving all excess foods and for the past 2 days have just stuck to Timothy hay and good quality nuggets. So far no change.

Behaviour wise they seem fine, if anything I would say more active than before since they are now fully settled in. So nothing else is wrong except the slightly stinky squishy poops..

Am I over-reacting?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi,

I recently (almost 1 month ago) got two guinea pigs and 2 days ago I noticed a change in their poop. I spot clean their cage twice a day and since we use dust free wood shavings I have to hand pick all the poops (gloved of course) and soiled litter. Lookwise their poops look same as always; dark brown, well formed; no weird shapes, with a slight shine HOWEVER they are not hard like they are meant to be. They don't crumble or break but are rather squishy, seems there is too much moisture in them? There is also a slight smell to them, not too strong and you'd definately have to be pretty close to smell it but obviously their poops did not smell before. I have stopped giving all excess foods and for the past 2 days have just stuck to Timothy hay and good quality nuggets. So far no change.

Behaviour wise they seem fine, if anything I would say more active than before since they are now fully settled in. So nothing else is wrong except the slightly stinky squishy poops..

Am I over-reacting?

Hi and welcome

You are dealing with a minor tummy upset. However, if it doesn't right itself within 48 hours off any fresh food and with it very slowly reintroduced then you could try and see whether probiotics would help to settle the gut microbiome or see a vet if there is no change.

Thread 'Probiotics & Live Gut Microbiome Transfer ('Poo Soup'); Recovery Formula Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links and Transfer Recipe'

Jun 12, 2014

1 Overview of recovery formula foods
- Recommended brands
- Emergency alternatives
2 Probiotics
- Standard brands
- Enhanced probiotics
- Live gut microbiome transfer (poo soup)
3 Vitamin C
- Recommended brand
- Alternatives
- Booster vs. long term supplementation


These chapters have been copied from the complete hand feeding guide with the kind permission of @helen105281...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 1
• Forum: Emergency Information and Care

• 

Are you monitoring the weight re. hay intake? It could be that they are not eating as much hay as they should if it what you are feeding is new to them. Darker, softer poos often have a higher ratio between fresh food compared to hay.

Thread 'Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support'

Jun 20, 2024

1 Weight and Weight Loss
- Why regular weight monitoring matters
- How weight changes over a lifetime
- How to weigh on your kitchen scales (with video)
- The weight loss rules
- How critical is the weight loss for my piggy?
- Possible causes for weight loss
2 Body Mass Index (BMI) or 'Heft'
- Why is understanding your piggy's weight so important?
- 'Average' weight vs. individual weight - the big trip up
- How to check for the BMI
3 The...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 5
• Forum: Health & Illness Support Corner

• 

In your case, it can be either something they have come with or some new food they are not so keen on.

 

[augustlina]

Hi, thanks for your response I will continue to keep an eye on it and fingers crossed it will will be resolved.

Soo.. we actually got our piggies from a Pets at Home and we were told NOT to feed fresh produce since they have never been fed fresh fruit or veg; their diet has been lots of hay, some nuggets and occasiocally dried veg and herbs, and this is the diet we have followed. We were told that since this has always been their diet changing it is what would cause them to have tummy issues. The only thing I can think off is they were given some dried parsley & beetroot chunks as well as a hay bale (meadow hay) and some dried flowers. I ended up actually removing the hay bale as they only nibbled on it slightly and then wouldnt touch it and it just sat in cage for days. Perhaps I over indulged them on the dried vegs or gave too much of a mix? I did put in about a tablespoon of dried parsley and beetroot with their nuggets and a tablespoon of dried flowers into their hay for them to forage.

In terms of hay intake I dont think there has been any change; I have two breeds, one American and one Abyssinian and the Abyssinian is constaly throwing himself into the hay and the hay ends of scattered all over the cage so I dont know if maybe thats bothering them and they arent eating as much of it. It hard to tell as I do put way more than they would need. I did clean out the cage today and put a smaller amount it (two piles; each guinea pig sized) to see if it all gets eaten.

Could too many nuggets be an issue? I realise this is a lot of info haha sorry but I'm new to this and so attached to the little guys already so kind of panicing

 

[Piggies&buns]

They do need to have some fresh veg in their diet.
You just need to introduce small amounts slowly and one type at a time to get their gut used to it.

It’s correct to temporarily remove veg if they have a digestive upset but for PaH to tell you to never give any fresh veg at all is wrong.

Lettuce, coriander, bell pepper and cucumber are safe to be given daily. As I say, very very slowly to start with.
Parsley is high calcium and should not be given more than once a week.

I would stop giving the dried herbs and beetroot, only give hay and if things don’t improve by tomorrow/Wednesday then I would see a vet.

You need to replace their hay each day and it’s not possible to give them too much. It’s good they are throwing themselves into it - it’s enrichment and fun for them. They should be spending a lot of time each day eating their hay.
You can tell they are eating enough hay by carrying out the routine weekly weight checks.

Nuggets should only ever be one tablespoon per pig per day.

Thread 'Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets'

Jul 14, 2014

1 The recommended ratio of food groups
2 Hay and fresh grass
3 Vegetables, fresh herbs and fruit with an illustrated balanced sample diet
4 Special dietary needs
- Urinary tract infections, bladder stones and sterile IC (non-bacterial interstitial cystitis)
- Diabetes and long term digestive problems
- Impaction in boars
- Pregnancy and nursing dietary tweaks (only visible to registered members who have accepted our no intentional breeding policy)...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 6
• Forum: Diet

• 

 

[augustlina]

Thank you , your reply has been been very helpful.

I think I know where I might have messed up; they did receive the dried parsley & beetroot combo twice this week ( one day apart) and this was first time they were given this. They've had the dried flowers before with no issue, so seems the parsley might be the culprit.

And yes I did think the no fresh produce bit was strange and opposite to what I have always heard before we just thought we'll go with it for now since it's all they have ever known. We will go slow and steady with this once their poops have recovered.

I think important thing is they're very energetic and happy; always doing zoomies and popcorning so hopefully all will be well

Thanks again for the help

 

[Piggies&buns]

Do give the diet guide I linked in a read - it will help you with how to go about introducing fresh and what items can be given.

Too much calcium which comes into the diet primarily from nuggets and drinking water ( hence why nuggets are only ever one tablespoon per day and water should be filtered) but also from veg such as parsley, kale, spinach (which should obit ever be given one type and once a week) can lead to formation of bladder sludge and stones (ie a major medical problem). It doesn’t in itself cause soft poops through a digestive upset. Sorry that may be the way I worded my reply which made you think parsley causes soft poops.
If they aren’t used to having a particular food (mostly fresh food) then that can upset the digestion hence why anything new needs to be introduced slowly.

As I say, if their poops aren’t better by tomorrow/Wednesday then are a vet before introducing anything fresh into their diet.

I personally do give dried forage but I give it instead of nuggets and I throw it into hay for them to forage for. My piggies pretty much have a nugget free diet though other than five nuggets each just twice a week.

 

[augustlina]

I will definately give it a read, thanks

& I understand; maybe then it was me introducing them to too many things at once. I dont think they were getting these kind of treats and dried forages when they were at PaH (just hay and nuggets) so most of the stuff I have started giving is new to them. I also didnt cut back on nuggets when giving dried veg/herbs so I will factor that in going forward.

I did just spot some harder poops (still little soft but not as squishy) and their cage was deep cleaned yesterday evening so there has been some improvement it seems. Thank goodness