Roselina
Forum Donator 2024/25
Ah KHBz it’s hard for you but .... be strong tho you’ll get there. I’m sure they’ll love the hay cookies and that forage parcel - you’re doing your best for them and they know it really 
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Still soft poops after 5-6 days of no veg.
- Thread starter KHBz
- Start date
Thank you! And they do have a carrot cottage, recently bought, which has been such a hit! I can see why everyone extols carrot cottages now. They'll cope. I'm just missing that wild excitement of theirs when they heard the word 'food' and the chinking of absolutely anything. I am sooo careful not to mention the word now. Indeed my daughters and I spell it out when we want to say it. (Are we crediting them with too much intelligence?)Ah KHBz it’s hard for you but .... be strong tho you’ll get there. I’m sure they’ll love the hay cookies and that forage parcel - you’re doing your best for them and they know it really
Roselina
Forum Donator 2024/25
No they’re smart little cookies !
Nope.... sadly not...
I shouted that dinner was ready tonight for the humans and guess who started shouting at me
Aaah, but they can't spell, can they?! Or maybe yours can ....
That's brilliant! They've had enough of this game. Silly silly hooman and clever little monkeys.I shouted that dinner was ready tonight for the humans and guess who started shouting at me
I tell you, they are not daft! Even before this, come 5-5.30pm and they would be shouting at me like ' come on human, its time for dinner '...... AND the looks i get if i dare eat before themThat's brilliant! They've had enough of this game. Silly silly hooman and clever little monkeys.
Get your priorities right! Of course you don't eat before them! I hope that they are also eating at the same time as you, and after you as well. Poor starving things.I tell you, they are not daft! Even before this, come 5-5.30pm and they would be shouting at me like ' come on human, its time for dinner '...... AND the looks i get if i dare eat before them
@artcasper: 2 weeks on, how are your piggies getting on with the re-introduction of veg? Ophelia's poops still aren't right, although not as bad. Now they don't even wheek in anticipation of vegetables from 3.30 pm onwards as they used to. Their spirits are crushed. 
They have their split portion of nuggets, at least.
They have their split portion of nuggets, at least.
Aww bless you, that makes me sad when you say they are not wheeking anymore .. I slowly introduced herbs, coriander then dill.. then 1 slice of red pepper each in the morning.. then a small piece of cucumber.. i think i was giving them too much veg before - i would give slice of pepper (red, green and yellow), cucumber, slice of celery, green bean - twice a day.... so they have gone off green beans and i have cut back on the cucumber to once a day - they drink ok - and will prob give celery twice a week - its hard as i only buy things for the pigs so don't want to waste veg or money...@artcasper: 2 weeks on, how are your piggies getting on with the re-introduction of veg? Ophelia's poops still aren't right, although not as bad. Now they don't even wheek in anticipation of vegetables from 3.30 pm onwards as they used to. Their spirits are crushed.
Have you given them some dried forage things? I gave them hay cookies broken up into chunks in a bowl, some dandelion salad in a bowl so it felt like veggie time..
Some poops are still soft but they are normal shape and size... maybe i just manage to pick the fresher ones to inspect..
I hope ophelia poo's return to normal soon xx
It also makes me sad that there is no longer the wild running around in circles and scrabbling up our legs when the vegetables come. They still get excited for some nuggets, just not in the same bonkers way! The forage parcels came yesterday and I did try out a pinch of a few things in their bowl as substitute veggies but they weren't interested
They didn't want the apple cubes or the coriander stems or the marigold ... Only the dried dandelion was to their liking. I will try again later but will also scatter a little in their shed-run (as opposed to their outside run beneath their outside hutch) when they go back in tonight. We've also started picking and drying our own forage ... should the piggies deign to eat it. The hay cookies were a success: they take them back to their 'beds' (cavy-cosies) to eat there!It's good you're able to reintroduce some veg. I know what you mean when you say not wanting to waste veg or money. We stopped giving kale because we're not keen on it and we clearly couldn't feed that to them every day until the bag was empty, because of the calcium content. We were following the recommended portions very closely (sample plate from this forum stuck to the fridge!), usually erring on the side of giving them less than shown, but it must have been the grass. I look forward to the day when we can offer them sprigs of coriander.
They are alot of work, these piggies, what with diet and the heat and the cold ... How can people say they are easy pets?!
I thought I would post an update on the piggies' poops ... It was about six weeks ago that I took the piggies to the vets as the soft poops hadn't resolved after a week of being off veg. She advised to keep them off veggies completely for the summer and thereafter only to give it occasionally. The poops never got back to completely 'normal' but I recently re-introduced the occasional single sprig of coriander -- which seemed to make it slightly worse again. So yesterday I took two days of stool samples back to the vet and they have just phoned me. I am completely flummoxed. The stools are very soft, some with stalks, some long, some black-ish, but the vet has said that they are completely normal and healthy and show a good level of hydration. (Ophelia who has the soft poops drinks a great deal.) I can't remember the wording but she also mentioned that they can be a bit like bird poo. I'd really like to know what you make of this, please (@Piggies&buns?)
I will start re-introducing vegetables now, but in tiny quantities. The poor things have been making-do with a bowlful of dried forage foods for two months.
I will start re-introducing vegetables now, but in tiny quantities. The poor things have been making-do with a bowlful of dried forage foods for two months.
Siikibam
Forum Donator 2022/23
Was it any veg that made their stool soft, or did you notice particular ones? Sorry this seems to be a ongoing gut disturbance. Hopefully someone can help you out! I do have to say if their poo is soft when you reintroduce I wold keep off it. But then the issue becomes not getting he right mix of vitamins and minerals....tough call.
I don't know if it was a particular vegetable that made their stools soft, although I do wonder about french beans as they were something new that I had gradually introduced over 2 months ago (because they are shown on the sample diet), following which the stools became really soft and I took them off veg altogether. I think artcasper also mentioned taking them off beans. I thought at the time that the soft stools were also because I had increased the grass too quickly after they had been off the lawn for 2 weeks. (They tolerate far less than is given in the photos showing how much to give when the grass is re-introduced.) But the increased softness which prompted the vet visit was 4 days after I had given them a single sprig of coriander -- and this is after 6/7 weeks of no veg, followed by the very occasional, very recent attempts with coriander. I don't want to keep them off veg completely any longer and now the vet has said that both piggies and poops are healthy, I am inclined to start again. I don't want to rely on pellets for vitamins and minerals, and I am keeping those to about 15 a day. (I have to give them 5 extra with their non-supper!)
I'm totally puzzled as to why the vet's assessment is, I think (unless I have misunderstood everything), at odds with what I have learnt here. She isn't an exotics vet, but surely she isn't wrong? And I'm certainly not saying anything written here is wrong either. Just confused as, as you say, Siikibam, it seems to be a gut disturbance. But is there a spectrum of poops that is ok? (I'm imagining red, yellow, orange and rainbow poops as I write that!)
2 days before the vet visit it was still dry forage and the single sprig of coriander was 4 days before, and that's why it was a case of enough-is-enough, these need to be looked at again.
Siikibam
Forum Donator 2022/23
What I know Is that pointy is an indication of very mild tummy upset. Soft is some kind of disturbance. I’m not entirely sure about colour etc but I think if you know what their ‘norm’ looks like then you can perhaps better gauge when it’s not quite right...
This didn't use to be their 'norm' which is why I remain concerned.
Yes, will do. Thank you for your help.
Qualcast&Flymo
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I've just read this thread, and though I'm not an expert, I wondered if you had tried giving probiotics? I understand from other threads that they are generally considered a good idea on case of gut disturbance, Fibreplex especially.
@KHBz I was thinking about you today! So just read your update... I still get the occasional soft poop but I am not sure what their normal was as I never squished it much as I just tipped the tray away in one go.. I popped them individually in a box last week to see whose poo was like what and Brownie gave me just 2, Winny gave me about 20 and Daisy about 5! All were about the same but then I thought they will be soft cos they are fresh ... I hope you can get a 2nd opinion to put your mind at rest.. x
... I hope you can get a 2nd opinion to put your mind at rest.. x
Could you perhaps post a pic of the poops so we can see exactly what you’re dealing with
I haven't tried it. Is it ok to give it to them, in the sense that it doesn't come under the umbrella of 'home treatment' and is an innocuous thing you can give them? I'll look it up. Thank you.
Good idea. I had such a lovely selection yesterday -- I should have taken a photo then! I'll post when I've gathered some choice morsels again.
We're all obsessed! How do you know so exactly whose poops were whose, though ... Did you sit waiting and watching ...@KHBz I was thinking about you today! So just read your update... I still get the occasional soft poop but I am not sure what their normal was as I never squished it much as I just tipped the tray away in one go.. I popped them individually in a box last week to see whose poo was like what and Brownie gave me just 2, Winny gave me about 20 and Daisy about 5! All were about the same but then I thought they will be soft cos they are fresh
Qualcast&Flymo
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It's usually ok to give Fibreplex to them, I've been prescribed it by my vet before now, though you can also buy it online from some pet suppliers too. Powdered probiotics such as Pro-C are also available at pet shops. I'm not aware of any occasions when it might be inappropriate, the Health & Illness specialists might though @VickiA , @Wiebke
It is also included in the list of suitable supplements etc Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links