Abnormal poops

[Puddles1999]

A little while ago, I’ve posted that one of my girls has weird poops. They had a slight point to them and lately I’ve noticed even weirder poops in their cage. I will include a picture. I seen that it could be dehydration but I’ve seen them both drinking. It seems like their water bottle has not went down as fast but they’re both drinking and eating just fine.

For veggies, they havent gotten a lot of veggies lately. They’ll usually get their oxbow vitamin c treats. When they do get vegetables, I’ve only been giving them a few leaves of green leaf lettuce and a few slices of green bell pepper.I’m not sure what to do.

I have taken one of them to the vet a month or so ago and the vet said her poops looked fine and it’s only a concern when their soft/diarrhea. Which isn’t true. (This was when they just had a slight point to their poop. Their poops are now much more abnormal) should I cut their little veggies out or try and soak their veggies in water in case their dehydrated?

Side note: I’m also collecting all their “weird” poops to have just in case. And yes some of their poops do look like they’re kind of clumped together. Most of them are just small and pointy though.

 

[Sunnyandbutch]

Dry tear shaped poops are a indicator of gut problems and/or dehydration. This guide is helpful. Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating. You should take your pig into a guinea pig savvy vet office if this peresists.

 

[5 guinea pigs]

If you are worried about your guinea pigs being dehydrated i really recommend giving them some cucumber as they have lots if water in them

 

[Piggies&buns]

Abnormal shaped poops can be down to a gut disturbance. It’s best to take her off veg and see if things normalise. Adding any veg into an imbalanced gut will make the imbalance worse. Feed them only hay (and the normal one tablespoon of pellets), and see if things normalise (a couple of days is usually all it takes). If this doesn’t have any effect, then you will need to see a vet.

Have you tried giving a probiotic or using poop soup from a healthy companion? This may help.
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre

Have you been weighing her regularly? How has her weight been?

 

[Puddles1999]

I posted a couple days ago about my guinea pig, Penelope having these super small pointy poops. They eventually turned into very wet and clumped poops.
I took her to the vet today and she has a ton of bacteria in her poops. He said it could be from an upset tummy causing her to lose her appetite, then affecting her gut cause the bacteria in her poop. Or it could be a teeth issue which leads into decreased appetite to bacteria in her poop.
He is supposed to be referring me to a specialist to have her put under anesthesia to have her molars looked at to see if it’s a teeth issue. For the time being she is on metacam once a day for pain relief and Metronidazole antibiotics for 10 days for the bacteria in her gut.
She’s not able to really eat her own so that’s why I think it’s a teeth issue and she chokes very easily on things such as pellets/certain harder foods. Her front teeth are fine but her molars could not be letting her eat like she wants.
She’ll be on probiotics and critical care. Are these antibiotics commonly prescribed? I just worry and would like to know what other guinea pig owners been prescribed for things like this.

 

[SquiglyPiggy]

I have no experience with vet prescriptions so I would wait for someone more experienced. Sending love for you and Penelope, hope it’s nothing too bad

 

[Wiebke]

I posted a couple days ago about my guinea pig, Penelope having these super small pointy poops. They eventually turned into very wet and clumped poops.
I took her to the vet today and she has a ton of bacteria in her poops. He said it could be from an upset tummy causing her to lose her appetite, then affecting her gut cause the bacteria in her poop. Or it could be a teeth issue which leads into decreased appetite to bacteria in her poop.
He is supposed to be referring me to a specialist to have her put under anesthesia to have her molars looked at to see if it’s a teeth issue. For the time being she is on metacam once a day for pain relief and Metronidazole antibiotics for 10 days for the bacteria in her gut.
She’s not able to really eat her own so that’s why I think it’s a teeth issue and she chokes very easily on things such as pellets/certain harder foods. Her front teeth are fine but her molars could not be letting her eat like she wants.
She’ll be on probiotics and critical care. Are these antibiotics commonly prescribed? I just worry and would like to know what other guinea pig owners been prescribed for things like this.

Hi

Metronidazole is an antibiotic that is better known under its old brand name flagyl. It is not officially licensed for guinea pigs but is safe to give, especially with gut problems.
Metacam (meloxicam) is an analgesic (anti-inflammatory plus painkiller) and is licensed for guinea pigs in all countries.

Here is our syringe feeding guide; it also contains a chapter on guinea pigs with dental issues. The gut can become unbalanced as a secondary complication in dental piggies because hay as the main staple requires much chewing (it is actually the very abrasive silica in hay and grass against with guinea pigs have evolved against as some of the fastest growing rodent teeth). It is however often the first food group that is dropped when there is a pain issue (often a developing dental root abscess) or another problem that allows the premolars to grow spurs bridging and trapping the tongue.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Please switch from the regular once weekly weighing to weighing daily at the same time in the feeding cycle (like before breakfast or dinner); this allows you to monitor the actual current food intake instead of running 1-2 days behind by focussing on the poo output. Normal cheap kitchen scales from the supermarket are perfectly adequate for the purpose. This is crucial in adjusting the level of support feeding as needed.
Weight - Monitoring and Management

You can have look at the front teeth. They are usually self-sharpening and with even edges in a balanced dental system. If they are jagged, this points toward uneven chewing with the molar teeth. If they are slanted, then there is usually some one sided pain somewhere I'm=n mouth with your piggy only chewing on one side (including an incisor rooth which sits just in front of the back teeth). Back teeth are definitely overgrown if the incisors are edges are curved back into the mouth and are not long rubbing against each other during chewing.
This is by no means fail-safe but it is useful for the weekly home check. Slow chewing, picking up and dropping hard foods and a preference for only eating soft, sliced veg, grass and herbs; later on salivating and a wet chin (i.e your piggy is no longer able to swallow well). Please note that oral flush (a fungal candida infection in the mouth) can also cause these symptoms.

I hope that this helps you?

PS: You can always pick up and revive your old thread via the the Find Thread/You Threads button by the top bar; it means that we can keep all information on the same ongoing case together and support you most effectively in your individual situation. Unlike social media we have the option to keep a thread running for as long as needed and for ongoing personalised support - but it really helps us if we can refresh our memory since we jump between lots of threads every day. Thank you!

PS2: I have merged your two threads for that purpose.

 

[Puddles1999]

I have no experience with vet prescriptions so I would wait for someone more experienced. Sending love for you and Penelope, hope it’s nothing too bad

Thank you very much! You’re very sweet.

 

[Puddles1999]

Hi

Metronidazole is an antibiotic that is better known under its old brand name flagyl. It is not officially licensed for guinea pigs but is safe to give, especially with gut problems.
Metacam (meloxicam) is an analgesic (anti-inflammatory plus painkiller) and is licensed for guinea pigs in all countries.

Here is our syringe feeding guide; it also contains a chapter on guinea pigs with dental issues. The gut can become unbalanced as a secondary complication in dental piggies because hay as the main staple requires much chewing (it is actually the very abrasive silica in hay and grass against with guinea pigs have evolved against as some of the fastest growing rodent teeth). It is however often the first food group that is dropped when there is a pain issue (often a developing dental root abscess) or another problem that allows the premolars to grow spurs bridging and trapping the tongue.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Please switch from the regular once weekly weighing to weighing daily at the same time in the feeding cycle (like before breakfast or dinner); this allows you to monitor the actual current food intake instead of running 1-2 days behind by focussing on the poo output. Normal cheap kitchen scales from the supermarket are perfectly adequate for the purpose. This is crucial in adjusting the level of support feeding as needed.
Weight - Monitoring and Management

You can have look at the front teeth. They are usually self-sharpening and with even edges in a balanced dental system. If they are jagged, this points toward uneven chewing with the molar teeth. If they are slanted, then there is usually some one sided pain somewhere I'm=n mouth with your piggy only chewing on one side (including an incisor rooth which sits just in front of the back teeth). Back teeth are definitely overgrown if the incisors are edges are curved back into the mouth and are not long rubbing against each other during chewing.
This is by no means fail-safe but it is useful for the weekly home check. Slow chewing, picking up and dropping hard foods and a preference for only eating soft, sliced veg, grass and herbs; later on salivating and a wet chin (i.e your piggy is no longer able to swallow well). Please note that oral flush (a fungal candida infection in the mouth) can also cause these symptoms.

I hope that this helps you?

PS: You can always pick up and revive your old thread via the the Find Thread/You Threads button by the top bar; it means that we can keep all information on the same ongoing case together and support you most effectively in your individual situation. Unlike social media we have the option to keep a thread running for as long as needed and for ongoing personalised support - but it really helps us if we can refresh our memory since we jump between lots of threads every day. Thank you!

PS2: I have merged your two threads for that purpose.

Thank you for merging them, I wasn’t quite sure I could do that.
I have started weighing her daily again. I just noticed she lost the 100grams when I weighed her last and knew it wasn’t normal.
The only thing she is eating now is lettuce. I don’t think she’s able to eat hay and she ate a bite of pepper and then she ended up spitting it back up and refusing to eat any more. She acts like she’s hungry though. She was eating her critical care herself but now she is not. Like I stated previously, she’s on her antibiotics and her painkillers in case it’s a teeth issue that is hurting her. She also gets probiotics before and after her antibiotics. Is it ok to keep feeding her the soft veggies she will eat? She’s on the antibiotics to kill the bacteria in her poops which is causing the soft poops.
Her front teeth look perfectly normal, I’m just worried about her molars.
Also yes, you provided a lot of information. I really appreciate it!

 

[Puddles1999]

Update: she’s nibbling on stuff and then won’t eat for a super long time. I’m trying my best to syringe feed her but it’s very difficult. She’s very lethargic. I am still waiting on the vet to call about the specialist to get her in but it’s been 2 days. I really need her in and I’m debating on taking her to an emergency vet. However, those are extremely expensive. Maybe I’m just a worried guinea mom but just the way she is, is very worrying. They could at least look at her teeth but it’s almost 200 for just the exam.