Weak bum muscles and poop

[Rivervixen]

Hi everyone! Recently I’ve noticed when picking up Ozzy that he has poop hanging out of his bum regularly.. he is still pooping frequently and I know this because they’re both separated by the divider. I’ve been gently taking the poop out for him but I was worried and took him to the vet. The vet isn’t Guinea pig savvy from what I’ve seen but they pushed a few poops out of him and said they’ve never seen this, he’s perfectly healthy otherwise and still pushing out poop but not to worry about the poo getting stuck. Does this sound right? I read about the impaction on the forum guide but not sure if this is it, I know my two are classed as old gentlemen now so I want to be able to help as much as I can

 

[Deleted member 151640]

It sort of depends as you may find guinea pigs, at least my pair, have a poop hanging out almost every time I pick them up. Generally speaking it is sort of like they are gearing up and then produce multiple poops at once.

If it is impaction you will most likely find a build up, and often it is stinky as the poops get backed up and sometimes can mush together to make a big stinky ball. If you are worried about it you could always keep and eye on it for a couple days see if he gets backed up. You may also find when you are trying to 'help' the poop out per say you may find it is sort of tough to come out, which generally means your boy is working fine, basically the muscles are still working well and perhaps he is just loading up a train of poop.
Also with impaction the anal sack will often look saggy, to the point where you should be able to tell whether it would be classed as 'saggy' or not.

Also if a boar is suffering with impaction you will most likely see a difference in them, hunched up in discomfort etc. - I would just keep a close eye on him for a while and you should be able to tell generally.

I know you said you read a guide on this put there is quite a few so I will attach one with quite a lot of information just incase;
Impaction - How To Help Your Guinea Pig.

 

[Wheekallweek]

How old is Ozzy? Older piggies are more prone to muscle loss and, for boars, impaction.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone! Recently I’ve noticed when picking up Ozzy that he has poop hanging out of his bum regularly.. he is still pooping frequently and I know this because they’re both separated by the divider. I’ve been gently taking the poop out for him but I was worried and took him to the vet. The vet isn’t Guinea pig savvy from what I’ve seen but they pushed a few poops out of him and said they’ve never seen this, he’s perfectly healthy otherwise and still pushing out poop but not to worry about the poo getting stuck. Does this sound right? I read about the impaction on the forum guide but not sure if this is it, I know my two are classed as old gentlemen now so I want to be able to help as much as I can

Hi

It sounds like borderline impaction to me?
Impaction - How To Help Your Guinea Pig.

 

[Rivervixen]

Thanks everyone, I think Ozzy is around 5 now (my memory is awful sorry) and the poop is kind of hard to wiggle out when it’s there so it might just be that he is loading up a poop train, I’ve just never seen this in either of them before. Going to have a look over the impaction guide again x

 

[Deleted member 151640]

I would recommend just keeping an eye as he definitely is classed as an older boy and could be susceptible.

Another step you could take is if you find him with a poop sort of in and out of his anal sack, just pick him up and sit with him for around 5-10 minutes (preferably on a towel or cuddle sack, for your sake). Generally speaking if a poop is already emerging it should be out between that time.

I don’t know what your vet did but as said in the guide previously attached you can check the anal sack and it should be clear whether he is impacted right now or not.

 

[Free Ranger]

When George's impaction started he was not even 4. The first thing I noticed was that he'd hunch and grunt and pass about 9 poops in one go! They used to back up in his anal pouch. As he got older it got bagger and he was unbunged every morning and eventually twice a day or more. He looked like he was about to lay an egg is the best way to describe it - turned over onto his back (carefully of course) you could see a large bulge behind the anus. And bless him, the back door was always ajar if you see what I mean! But it wasn't painful for him until he got his bladder stone problems and then it was just the pressure of the build-up on his bladder.

George was diagnosed with arthritis at about the same time as all that started - 'creaky knees' said the vet. But it was also possible that a stiffened and more hunched posture would not help either general movement or normal pooping. So daily metacam and the oxbow joint support glucosamine that he had for the arthritis actually did help stave off the impaction worsening for a couple of years as he was able to move about much more freely. But it didn't 'cure' it - once that pouch starts to get baggy that's just something to live with