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An Older Buddy Who's Having A Little Poopy Problem.

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AngieB

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We adopted Larry about 3 years ago and he was an older/full grown cavvy at the time. We really don't have any idea how old he is.

He started to become quite lethargic and was making a "weeping" sound on occasion. My husband spent a good hour with him last night and (without being intrusive) assisted him in expressing a LOT of poop!

We've been checking on him quite frequently and making sure he had fresh hay. He was just laying there tonight and I got quite nervous. His bum seemed a bit swollen. I wasn't sure, but my instinct was to help sooth any "pain" his tush might be having. I filled a bowl with nice warm water and let him sit his tush in it. I never submerged him and the lovely noises he gave us let me know he didn't mind.

We started with just 5 minutes soaking and then about a half hour just snuggling in a towel. He rested his head was loving the attention.

Once I knew he was dry, we put him back in his cage... and he started EATING! I thought it best to just go with hay at the moment.

Any suggestions are welcome!
 
It sounds like you're describing an impaction. This is a common issue in older boars where they get a large amount of feces stuck in their perineal sac. There are a couple steps you can take to help like making sure they get a lot of hay in their diet and switching to fleece bedding from something like woodchips but unfortunately most of it just has to do with muscles weakening around the anus. So the best thing you can do is to check regularly with your pig to see how he is doing and give him bottom cleanings! I have one boar that is prone to impaction, with him i usually check to see how is bottom is doing every 4 or 5 days (it depends on the pig though, i've known people that have had to clean their pigs bottom every day). If there is any feces stuck, gentle work it out with warm water.
 
Nice job for the OH! :vom: probably quite pongy too! Well done on convincing him to do that! I'm sure Larry appreciates it now although he probably didn't at the time!
 
Thank you for your Replies... I really appreciate your support. I had forgotten to tell you as he was hanging out in his little "bath", he had a few poops come out with ease. They seemed to be the right size and all. Fingers crossed!
 
AngieB said:
We adopted Larry about 3 years ago and he was an older/full grown cavvy at the time. We really don't have any idea how old he is.

He started to become quite lethargic and was making a "weeping" sound on occasion. My husband spent a good hour with him last night and (without being intrusive) assisted him in expressing a LOT of poop!

We've been checking on him quite frequently and making sure he had fresh hay. He was just laying there tonight and I got quite nervous. His bum seemed a bit swollen. I wasn't sure, but my instinct was to help sooth any "pain" his tush might be having. I filled a bowl with nice warm water and let him sit his tush in it. I never submerged him and the lovely noises he gave us let me know he didn't mind.

We started with just 5 minutes soaking and then about a half hour just snuggling in a towel. He rested his head was loving the attention.

Once I knew he was dry, we put him back in his cage... and he started EATING! I thought it best to just go with hay at the moment.

Any suggestions are welcome!
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Hi!

Please have your boy vet checked to be on the safe side, but it sounds very much like he has got impaction and needs regular cleaning out for the rest of his life. Impaction is not uncommon in older boars when their back musles start to weaken, creating a problem of expressing poos (generally the redigestible caecotroph poos as the second run thorugh the guts for breaking down fibre and extraction the maximum of nutritents is no longer possible).

Please take the time to read our impaction guide. We have included several videos of how it should be done properly (sadly there are some awful ones making the rounds online) and practical advice and care from an impaction carer member. In the early stages, impaction can be mitigated with a very regular diet. You should find it very helpful: Impaction Recovery - How To Help Your Guinea Pig.
 
AngieB said:
Thank you for your Replies... I really appreciate your support. I had forgotten to tell you as he was hanging out in his little "bath", he had a few poops come out with ease. They seemed to be the right size and all. Fingers crossed!
Click to expand...
Instinct worked! You just knew exactly what to do so well done! Well done too for getting OH to do it! Lol,
 
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