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Advice Please!

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irene

irene

Teenage Guinea Pig
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So my little cinnamon has had problems with soft poos on and off for quite a while now. She did respond to Flagyl in the past but it came back; the poos are sometimes semi formed but soft not diarrhea, and everywhere she goes in the cage there are traces of poo as if it's oozing out. She is almost 2 and only weighs 1 lb 12 ozs hasn't lost or gained was always tiny. Went to vet today said can feel a lot of gas, did a stool culture, put her on flagyl and told me to buy simethicone infant gas drops which I did. I was wondering if anyone has any other suggestions to help her get rid of the gas? Thanks
 
if the vet says she has gas I would stop all veg for a few days at the least, you will then need to introduce it slowly again. I'm just off to google what 1lb 12 oz is in grams lol
 
Ok just worked it out and it's around 790-800g by the looks of it. I wouldn't say that's a problem for a small pig (I have a couple of them that are always around the 800g mark but they are physically smaller than their heavier cagemate as well)
 
Simethicone is Infacol which there are very mixed opinions on as it makes the gas form one big bubble rather than dispersing it like gripe water does. Can you get Gripe water in the US? the brand I use in the UK is Woodwards. Have you tried a probiotic too?

You could try massage therapy, with either an electric toothbrush or sit her on a massage pad if you can get one? also encourage her to move about as much as you can.
 
Yes she's i
Lady Kelly said:
Ok just worked it out and it's around 790-800g by the looks of it. I wouldn't say that's a problem for a small pig (I have a couple of them that are always around the 800g mark but they are physically smaller than their heavier cagemate as well)
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Yes she's off veggies for now glad to hear she isn't that small although I think a good portion of that weight is her hair! Lol thanks!
 
helen105281 said:
Simethicone is Infacol which there are very mixed opinions on as it makes the gas form one big bubble rather than dispersing it like gripe water does. Can you get Gripe water in the US? the brand I use in the UK is Woodwards. Have you tried a probiotic too?

You could try massage therapy, with either an electric toothbrush or sit her on a massage pad if you can get one? also encourage her to move about as much as you can.
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Yes we have gripe water readily available I will try that! I've been giving her a probiotic for some time now and I will def try the massage thank you so much!
 
The dose I give for Gripe water is 3ml every few hours. It really can help make them more comfortable. I have even tried it myself for my IBS.
 
Might be worthwhile trying a different probiotic? One of my girls has recurring uti's and was antib's for the 4th time for it.. The previous time, the fibreplex didn't help her guts despite working wonders the first two times. I ordered Avipro Plus online and it worked great for her, so continued adding it to her veg- even when they all had veg together.. And it gave one of my other girls soft poos that lasted a good while after i stopped it! My point of that long winded story is that they can sometimes make poo health worse for some gps- and a different one might be more beneficial :)

Another thought, does she drink alot? This can make poos soft due to the volume of water in their bodies, but is actually an indicator of another problem and not necessarily guts.

Hope she improves :)
 
I would second the use of woodwards gripe water instead of infacol- safer and works with no known adverse effect.

If the gas keeps coming back once cleared, and the culture comes back clear, it might be worthwhile looking into the possibility of a primary health issue thats causing her symptoms as a knock on effect.. For example my recurring uti sow also had recurring (although not major) bloat episodes, tear drop/very few poos.. And this was all down to a slowing system caused by ovarian cysts. She was spayed and those issues have been non existant since (touch wood!). She still has bladder issues, because of course they like to keep us on our toes lol
 
Adelle said:
I would second the use of woodwards gripe water instead of infacol- safer and works with no known adverse effect.

If the gas keeps coming back once cleared, and the culture comes back clear, it might be worthwhile looking into the possibility of a primary health issue thats causing her symptoms as a knock on effect.. For example my recurring uti sow also had recurring (although not major) bloat episodes, tear drop/very few poos.. And this was all down to a slowing system caused by ovarian cysts. She was spayed and those issues have been non existant since (touch wood!). She still has bladder issues, because of course they like to keep us on our toes lol
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Yes they certainly do! The bet doesn't suspect ovarian cysts but is anxious to see what the culture shows she said it might be like a chronic colitis type issue but the only definitive way to know why it's persistent if the cultures are clear would be exploratory surgery and biopsy which both she and def I would like to avoid!
 
irene said:
Yes they certainly do! The bet doesn't suspect ovarian cysts but is anxious to see what the culture shows she said it might be like a chronic colitis type issue but the only definitive way to know why it's persistent if the cultures are clear would be exploratory surgery and biopsy which both she and def I would like to avoid!
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Try monitering her water intake as this could cause the loose stools- if shes drinking alot then investigating that is an option. If another probiotic doesnt help and gas keeps recurring after its cleared, id maybe suggest an abdominal ultrasound, Just to rule out ovarian cysts or any other ailment thats causing her guts to be off- its definately safer and wise before diving into surgery.

Alsooo (sorry for the 101 things lol), you could try zantac syrup (ranitidine).. Its used for antacid/gut soothing purposes but is great for soothing the bowel- might help her if she has some sort of bowel issue.

I'd give the different probiotic a go first and if no change, try zantac... So you know what it is thats helping if theres progress :)
 
Adelle said:
Try monitering her water intake as this could cause the loose stools- if shes drinking alot then investigating that is an option. If another probiotic doesnt help and gas keeps recurring after its cleared, id maybe suggest an abdominal ultrasound, Just to rule out ovarian cysts or any other ailment thats causing her guts to be off- its definately safer and wise before diving into surgery.

Alsooo (sorry for the 101 things lol), you could try zantac syrup (ranitidine).. Its used for antacid/gut soothing purposes but is great for soothing the bowel- might help her if she has some sort of bowel issue.

I'd give the different probiotic a go first and if no change, try zantac... So you know what it is thats helping if theres progress :)
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Thank you. I know she isn't drinking excessively, the vet didn't mention an ultrasound but I will ask when she calls me with culture results
 
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