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Stomach Issues and Clumpy/Abnormal Poos

S'mores and Pockets

S'mores and Pockets

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello all!
My piggie S'mores (3-year-old boar) has been having some stomach issues, resulting in abnormal poops (some soft, clumpy, tapered, abnormal shapes, etc) It started at the end of January, I have not changed his diet at all, and his cagemate doesn't have any problems.

During February, I would cut down on his veggies, when I noticed his poop relapsing back to nontypical. This would happen about 2 times a week. His poo would be fine, then act up again. Before his stomach problems, he weighed around 1030 grams (with normal fluctuations). After a couple of weeks of the abnormal poops, his weight has dropped, but he has been keeping a weight of around 995 grams (with normal fluctuations).

I took S'mores to the vet last week, and they suggested taking him off veggies for a week and monitor his waste. The week passed, and his poop was normal again. Just this weekend I started introducing veggies back, only 1 piece of romaine. It was normal on Saturday and Sunday, but this afternoon I noticed they were clumpy and soft. The vet had called to check on S'mores, so I updated them on today's events. They are going to relay that information to the doctor tomorrow, so I should hear back from them soon.

Any suggestions on what might be the problem? I don't think he has an impaction though.

Thank you for reading!

- Worried pigmom ❤
 
Normally a mild digestive upset can be solved by stopping veg and feeding only hay, and then reintroducing veg slowly (starting with herbs is best as they are milder on the tummy). However, as your piggy is having problems every time you reintroduce veg, then he definitely needs further investigation by a vet. Do let us know what they say.

It’s not really a weight loss though (50g or more is weight loss) but do continue to keep an eye on his weight to ensure he really is eating enough hay.
Has he been given any probiotics? Or better still, have you tried poop soup from your healthy piggy? It can really help repopulate the gut with good bacteria.

Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

Impaction is when the anal muscles weaken, usually in older boars and they are unable to push the poops out properly so need manually cleaning out.
 
Last edited:
Piggies&buns said:
Normally a mild digestive upset can be solved by stopping veg and feeding only hay, and then reintroducing veg slowly (starting with herbs is best as they are milder on the tummy). However, as your piggy is having problems every time you reintroduce veg, then he definitely needs further investigation by a vet. Do let us know what they say.

It’s not really a weight loss though (50g or more is weight loss) but do continue to keep an eye on his weight to ensure he really is eating enough hay.
Has he been given any probiotics? Or better still, have you tried poop soup from your healthy piggy? It can really help repopulate the gut with good bacteria.

Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

Impaction is when the anal muscles weaken, usually in older boars and they are unable to push the poops out properly so need manually cleaning out.
Click to expand...
I will try some poop soup. It has gotten a bit worse, they are bigger and softer. I will take him off veg until the vets tell me it's ok to feed him. I will try to get some herbs, but normally I don't feed them any. One week he was 1031g, but then dropped to 969, so that was about a 60g weight loss.

Thank you for your help! I will keep this thread updated.
 
The vet has gotten back to me. They suggest that S'mores only be given veggies as treats, seeming as the veggies are causing his gut problems. So he is only going to be having hay and pellets.
 
S'mores and Pockets said:
The vet has gotten back to me. They suggest that S'mores only be given veggies as treats, seeming as the veggies are causing his gut problems. So he is only going to be having hay and pellets.
Click to expand...

Herbs such as coriander (cilantro) are mild, low in calcium and would make a good treat.
Ensure hay is kept in the cage constantly and that he has just one tablespoon of pellets per day.
 
I would also add poop soup or a good probiotic to his diet for a while.
Sometimes digestive upsets can take while to settle.

But if the problem continues it might be worth doing a fecal culture to check for infection or parasites.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Herbs such as coriander (cilantro) are mild, low in calcium and would make a good treat.
Ensure hay is kept in the cage constantly and that he has just one tablespoon of pellets per day.
Click to expand...
Yes, there will be plenty of hay, I am planning on getting cilantro as well. Does he need any extra vitamins since he won't get as many veggies? I already sprinkle some vitamin C on his pellets.
 
Swissgreys said:
I would also add poop soup or a good probiotic to his diet for a while.
Sometimes digestive upsets can take while to settle.

But if the problem continues it might be worth doing a fecal culture to check for infection or parasites.
Click to expand...
Ok, his poop seems back to normal, but if they act up again I will try probiotics. I will bring him back to the vet if he doesn't do any better. Thank you for your help!
 
Hi again. S'mores is doing ok, his poops are back to normal shape (just a tiny bit softer than usual). On Monday he weighed 1039, and on Tuesday he dropped to 949 😔, and today (Wednesday) he is 966. I noticed he is laying down more than usual, probably from losing weight. I am giving him plenty of hay, and a few more pellets than his cagemate.

Would you recommend I feed him Critical Care? The Critical Care I have was prescribed to Pockets (cagemate) originally, but I never needed to use it. The Oxbow CC says I should only use it under veterinarian advice, and the label the vet put on the CC says only the patient who it was prescribed to may use it. If he doesn't gain any weight by himself, I will call the vets and ask if it is ok that S'mores be fed the Critical Care.

Is there any other way right now I could encourage him to put on some weight, without offering veggies? I don't have any plain oats either...
I am also thinking of buying some Oxbow vitamin C biscuits for S'mores, does he need that extra vitamin C? I asked about this a bit in a reply earlier.

Advice, please!
Thank you ❤
 
If his weight isn’t stable with him just eating hay independently, then yes do syringe feed him the critical care. A 90g drop between Monday and Tuesday is so much to lose in one go and requires you to step in immediately. It’s good he is putting a bit more back on though.
Critical care is something you can buy yourself, it isn’t prescription, it’s a food supplement, so it’s absolutely fine for you use to it for him.
There is no benefit in you feeding him extra pellets though - he needs to be eating extra hay.
Regaining lost weight can take a while, so you need to be patient, concentrate on stabilising his weight to ensure he doesn’t lose any more and then he will regain it once he is feeling better.
Hay also contains vitamin C so he will still be getting some.
 
Piggies&buns said:
If his weight isn’t stable with him just eating hay independently, then yes do syringe feed him the critical care. A 90g drop between Monday and Tuesday is so much to lose in one go and requires you to step in immediately. It’s good he is putting a bit more back on though.
Critical care is something you can buy yourself, it isn’t prescription, it’s a food supplement, so it’s absolutely fine for you use to it for him.
There is no benefit in you feeding him extra pellets though - he needs to be eating extra hay.
Regaining lost weight can take a while, so you need to be patient, concentrate on stabilising his weight to ensure he doesn’t lose any more and then he will regain it once he is feeling better.
Hay also contains vitamin C so he will still be getting some.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I will feed him some CC soon. I will split the portion into 4-6 feeding (as the package suggests). Since he weighs about 40g under 1kg should I feed him the same amount of CC if he was 1kg? The package says 3 Tbsp (9g) of dry powder per kg of body weight. Or should I feed him less, because he is still eating hay and his morning pellets.

Q#1: Also, do you have an estimate of how long I should be giving him CC?

Q#2: How often should I feed his feedings, every 3-4 hours? Do I have to feed him during the night?

Q#3: I am new to feeding CC, is there a thread for feeding CC? I will try and see if he will eat it without a syringe, if not I will syringe it.

I will also investigate other threads with weight loss/CC.

Thank you Piggies&buns for replying to my previous questions, it's really helping me get through this rough time. 🙂
 
The answer to your questions is really all the same.

You don’t go by what the package says, you feed him as much and as often and for as long as his daily weight checks say you need to.
If he is eating a certain amount for himself as well as taking some syringe feeds and is maintaining his weight, then he is getting enough. If he is having big drops, then he isn’t eating enough for himself, so he needs to be fed more often.
He may only take a little at a time, so may need to syringe feed him every 2 hours, he may eat more and can go 4 hours. It’s not an exact science and is very situation dependent.
When he is maintaining his weight himself through eating plenty of hay, then you can ease off/stop the syringe feeds.

Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
 
Hello. Almost done with his CC for the day, one more feeding. I will stop tomorrow, since he has put on some weight. He weighed around 1015! If his weight does drop at the end of the day tomorrow, I’ll continue to give him CC. Earlier today his poos were soft and abnormal, so I called the vet again. Should hear back from the doctor soon. I will ask about a fecal test, if that isn’t something they suggest.
 
Called the vet, and they suggest doing a fecal test. We will keep him on critical care for a bit, and get more info on the fecal test.
 
Hi again! Update on S'mores. His weight has been pretty stable for the past week around 990g. Just this morning he dropped to 946, so I am feeding him Critical Care again. I also dropped off his stool sample at the vets today, I don't know when I will get the results. It's very weird, yesterday his poops weren't the best, soft and a bit tapered. But today they look absolutely perfect! 🤔
 
Update: His poops are back to abnormal. It’s like he knew I was dropping off his poop today, and made sure his poops were nice for the vet 😂😅
 
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