Bloat & soft poop with both guinea pigs

[51 Home]

Hi,
One of my pigs got an abscess drained one month ago, and she was on chloramphenicol, which really upset her tummy. The vet suggested separate the two pigs after the surgery, so they two have been apart for one month. But every three days, I put them in a playpen to play together for several hours.
Last week, the day after they played together, the other pig suddenly had bloat and soft poop (not severe), and ate less. That pig is really strong and hasn't been sick for a second in the past. I gave her critical care at first, but I stopped 3 days ago as her weight stopped dropping. She wasn't on much vegetable, but I cut all veges afterwards, and feed her 1ml of VC everyday. I also started to feed her Bene-Bac 4 days ago. But I didn't see any improvement. She only eats when I am around, and she eats far less than she usually does. I can still hear noises from her tummy and I can feel gas when I massage her tummy.
Is there anything else I can do to make her better? Will it make it worse or better if I feed them each other's poop (both of them have soft poop)? Is diarrhea infectious? The other pig will finish the antibiotics in 2 days, is it better to raise them together?
Thank you!

 

[Piggies&buns]

In terms of their separation and then you letting them play together. I am afraid doing such a thing is likely causing stress. Guinea pigs do not do these kinds of play dates - for them every meeting is an introduction and bonding session only for it to be stopped by a separation which means the process gets interrupted, and then for them to be put back together and have to start all over again, followed by it being stopped again. That will be causing some stress to them. I would strongly recommend that you rebond them and leave them together now.

Is she eating hay for herself? They need fibre rich food (hay, or if they won’t eat it, then either mushed up pellets or critical care). If she is still bloating and gassy, then I would go back to the vet.

 

[51 Home]

In terms of their separation and then you letting them play together. I am afraid doing such a thing is likely causing stress. Guinea pigs do not do these kinds of play dates - for them every meeting is an introduction and bonding session only for it to be stopped by a separation which means the process gets interrupted, and then for them to be put back together and have to start all over again, followed by it being stopped again. That will be causing some stress to them. I would strongly recommend that you rebond them and leave them together now.

Is she eating hay for herself? They need fibre rich food (hay, or if they won’t eat it, then either mushed up pellets or critical care). If she is still bloating and gassy, then I would go back to the vet.

I thought that they are lonely by themselves and will be happy with the reunion...Thank you so much for your suggestion!
She is eating hay, but much less than usual. She lost 30g, but maintained at that weight afterwards.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi,
One of my pigs got an abscess drained one month ago, and she was on chloramphenicol, which really upset her tummy. The vet suggested separate the two pigs after the surgery, so they two have been apart for one month. But every three days, I put them in a playpen to play together for several hours.
Last week, the day after they played together, the other pig suddenly had bloat and soft poop (not severe), and ate less. That pig is really strong and hasn't been sick for a second in the past. I gave her critical care at first, but I stopped 3 days ago as her weight stopped dropping. She wasn't on much vegetable, but I cut all veges afterwards, and feed her 1ml of VC everyday. I also started to feed her Bene-Bac 4 days ago. But I didn't see any improvement. She only eats when I am around, and she eats far less than she usually does. I can still hear noises from her tummy and I can feel gas when I massage her tummy.
Is there anything else I can do to make her better? Will it make it worse or better if I feed them each other's poop (both of them have soft poop)? Is diarrhea infectious? The other pig will finish the antibiotics in 2 days, is it better to raise them together?
Thank you!

Hi!

Please put them back together after an another session on neutral ground. It is now increasingly recognised that most separations are counterproductive because they put group animals under huge stress and slow down recovery.
Guinea pigs don't do play time; it is a full-on bonding session for them. Every new separation is extremely upsetting for them.

A strong antibiotic is killing off gut microbiome and can also cause digestive problems. It is not contagious.
Please follow our advice for mild bloating in this guide link here: Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

 

[51 Home]

Hi!

Please put them back together after an another session on neutral ground. It is now increasingly recognised that most separations are counterproductive because they put group animals under huge stress and slow down recovery.
Guinea pigs don't do play time; it is a full-on bonding session for them. Every new separation is extremely upsetting for them.

A strong antibiotic is killing off gut microbiome and can also cause digestive problems. It is not contagious.
Please follow our advice for mild bloating in this guide link here: Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

Thank you so much for your reply! I will do that as soon as possible.
They seem to be interested in each other's poops, will it be counterproductive if they eat each other's soft poop?

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much for your reply! I will do that as soon as possible.
They seem to be interested in each other's poops, will it be counterproductive if they eat each other's soft poop?

No, they are exhibiting normal recovery behaviour try to re-stock their own gut microbiome with healthy live biome from the companion. Keep on with feeding plenty of probiotics. you may also consider a course of fibreplex. We copy this kind of beahviour for our poo soup. Just make sure that they get plenty of rough fibre (hay) and a little brown cardboard (please not too much as that could cause problems) in order to help them to re-start and re-balance their gut biome.

Here is a list of non-medical gut support products: Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

 

[51 Home]

No, they are exhibiting normal recovery behaviour try to re-stock their own gut microbiome with healthy live biome from the companion. Keep on with feeding plenty of probiotics. you may also consider a course of fibreplex. We copy this kind of beahviour for our poo soup. Just make sure that they get plenty of rough fibre (hay) and a little brown cardboard (please not too much as that could cause problems) in order to help them to re-start and re-balance their gut biome.

Here is a list of non-medical gut support products: Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

Thanks for sharing ❤