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Bloat cause?

H

hayethusiasts

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Good morning everyone

My guinea pigs usually have 50g of lettuce between the 2 of them, then I recently changed it to 40g of lettuce and this has caused them bloat. I have not changed anything else in their routine, and have not given them any new foods. It was just the slight weight change in lettuce.

Is this possible that the lettuce caused it? I find it hard to believe and am beating myself because I caused it :(

I have now switched to daily weight checks and have switched 1 tbsp of their usual pellets to the dualcare.

I also wanted to ask, can I still give the fibreplex on top of the 1tbsp dualcare? I have given the 1tbsp dualcare this morning so was planning to give fibreplex lunchtime and this evening.

Thank you so much
 
They have both bloated?

Generally speaking reducing the amount of veg they have does not in itself cause bloat.
Suddenly increasing veg and sudden extreme changes in the diet can cause it. It is of course possible your piggies are very sensitive to it but I struggle to reconcile 10g (5g each - it’s what, half a leaf difference) reduction in lettuce as a cause for them to bloat.

I have to say I have never weighed veg out, and actually veg is usually done by volume but weight due to the differing densities. One lettuce leaf each.

Dualcare already contains pre/probiotics but pre/probiotics are not a treatment for bloat.

You will need to remove all veg, daily weight checks and support feeding where appropriate and see a vet
 
Piggies&buns said:
They have both bloated?

Generally speaking reducing the amount of veg they have does not in itself cause bloat.
Suddenly increasing veg and sudden extreme changes in the diet can cause it. It is of course possible your piggies are very sensitive to it but I struggle to reconcile 10g (5g each - it’s what, half a leaf difference) reduction in lettuce as a cause for them to bloat.

I have to say I have never weighed veg out, and actually veg is usually done by volume but weight due to the differing densities. One lettuce leaf each.

Dualcare already contains pre/probiotics but pre/probiotics are not a treatment for bloat.

You will need to remove all veg, daily weight checks and support feeding where appropriate and see a vet
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I believe both have, yes. I am baffled myself. They still appear to eat hay, although less. I am now thinking, they seemed fine with the fireworks but may have affected them more than i thought. Oh i don't know, i feel worried :(

I will stop their veggies.

Is there a thread about how to re-introduce them please?
 
Make sure you only weigh them once a day. First thing in the morning is the best time for weight checks.

You certainly didn’t cause this and you haven’t harmed them.
Eating just 5g less lettuce each is not going to have done this.
Weighing veg is generally speaking not the done thing so there are going to be inconsistencies in veg size from day to day in most piggies diets. Nobody would ever be able to spot a 5g difference in a lettuce leaf
 
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