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Bloat?

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CarnivalPiggy

CarnivalPiggy

Adult Guinea Pig
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Sick to my stomach in fear. Ginny's sides and under stomach seem a bit hard and he doesn't like it when I touch under his stomach. I worry it could be my fault from the possibility he ate a bit of a puppy pad Ate Puppy Pad mum is ringing the vets now. I can't see him displaying many symptoms, seems quite alert etc
 
Called vet, said by sounds of it he should be ok until normal vet hours. Have him downstairs, in a fleece with a snugglesafe heated under it. He's very happily chewing the hay, but refuses to have his water. Bit worried about his output of poo
 
My vet isn't responding to out of hours :hb: waiting for an old toothbrush to charge so I can massage him. He stopped eating his hay to my panic, and then when I put a bowl of pellets in front of him he ate. Better than nothing but not sure how good it's doing him

His poo output is worryingly low. I'm going to give him some pro c biotic if he doesn't within 20 more min. His sides feel better, but his stomach is very sensitive - he doesn't like me touching at all.

He just peed without wheeking, no blood I can see
 
Sorry to keep posting. Put him back from 5:20 until now to give him a run around. Found him resting by the cardboard box, but ate some hay after I bothered him. I'm unaware of he's done any poo as I didn't think to seperate him from the girls. Have him out now eating hay. So tired lol, haven't a wink of sleep all night

Edit - he's just done a poo

edit - has perked up a bit. Has now done four poos which is good and eating n drinking water
 
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Sounds like you had an eventful night. Hope you are getting some rest now. The fact he was eating hay and pellets in the night is really positive and hopefully his gut action will settle over today.
How is the poo output going? do u feel more in control today? It always feels worse when things go wrong in the night
 
I found a chewed puppy pad yesterday too! I'm keeping a close eye on Poppy, but she's eating ok. She's a new piggy, none of the others have ever touched the pads - there's always one haha!

I hope everything goes ok with you. If he's eating then that's a really good sign.

Back to paper for us, I really need to train them and get some fleece in! xx
 
@CarnivalPiggy It sounds like he's okay, if it's bloat then it should just be a mild case. Good on you for being so observant though.

It'll be worth popping him to the vet though, just for your peace of mind. If his tum is a bit sensitive then a bit of Metacam should help.

If he's still pooping and peeing then the vet might not want to interfere and give your gut stimulants but see what they say. Ask about gripe water though, they might say a few doses of that might help him get any gas out.

I notice that bloat pigs get very lazy quickly so having him out for floor time is good, having a run around with the girls will be a great help at jiggling his tummy around.
 
Thanks :) he went to the vets this morning, on way home. Vet couldn't feel anything out of the ordinary, any bloat or gas etc and didn't prescribe any meds. Still worried around his poo output though.

Minja was prone to gas and had gripe water once or twice. Not sure if I want to give it to Ginny though as I've seen bad situations coming from it
 
Sometimes I feel my mind is imagining problems or there actually is one. For example, Porridge seems quite big, but I wonder it's bloat or has she always been that way? I try to recall previous nights and find it hard to remember.
 
The shape of pigs sometimes makes them look bloated when they're actually ok. My Podrick has really bulging, spongy sides and it sounds hollow if you do the flick test on it. But he's always been like that and eats, poops and behaves fine.

If you monitor their weight regularly then that's a good indication of something that's wrong.

One of my boars used to suffer from bloat quite often. I could never remember what was normal for him so I used to keep a little diary so I could compare when I was starting to panic that he was acting different:

- I'd monitor his poop output weekly and make a note on how many there were (not exact but round about)
-I'd weigh him each week
-I'd spend lap time stroking his tummy so I knew what the differences felt like. Before and after veg time is a massive difference. Their tums can get huge after they've stuffed themselves with veg!
- I'd take videos or photos of him sleeping and lying in strange positions. That would remind me that him sleeping with his foot sticking out or completely on his side was what he did and I could compare what he was doing now to what he usually does.

I wouldn't offer Ginny any gripe water if the vet thinks he's okay. Give him more floor time and get him more active today. The jiggling around will work out any bits of gas he has.
 
Thank you guys so much :) without this forum I'd be in a more even frenzy panic lol. Ginny's out now, plan on getting the girls out in a bit after I have a shower and calm down.

I didn't feed Ginny any veg yesterday because of my worry. How do I introduce him back onto it slowly? If it is sneaky gas I don't want to upset his stomach
 
Just give him a tiny bit of one thing to see how he reacts. If he's okay give him a little bit nore later. Then over the next few days add back in his other veg bit by bit.

I tend to introduce the same way I do with a pig who has had diarrhea.

I'm glad he's okay. Take care of yourself today and try to have a relax and treat yourself too!
 
Thanks :) getting a bit more concerned about how much he's pooing or lack of thereof.

There is some where he's sitting but I've no clue if that's his or not
 
It's difficult not knowing who the pooh belongs. I shouldn't think chewing the puppy pad has anything to do with it. From what I know it just happens. I had a sow with bloat, she had some injections to get things moving & she was fine. The only thing she has now is belly flop. She needs to get to keep fit. Lol
 
Lol x good to hear she's better. Whatever gas or what was in has gone quite a bit. As I picked him up, found him doing a poo. Half looked OK and the other looked rather weird in shape (as in looking like it had been repeatedly tied like a wrapper) but it's a start
 
Also it looks quite prominent in these pictures, but I find the fat ? gas ? seems to distribute itself to what side he's leaning on. Does anyone find this happens? It seems to distribute equally when he's standing. He's just done another poo, seems quite ok tho has a teardrop
image.webp image.webp
I've just heard my nan has most likely days to live. I'm trying hard not to get emotional but it's incredibly hard, I don't want the pigs to pick up on negative emotions
 
Aww, I'm so sorry about your nan. Give the pigs a big hug, they're great to hold and snuggle when you're feeling down.

Their podge does tend to move. With Poddy I can press it in on one side and then it sticks out the other side.
 
i would syringe plain water via a one ml syringe,tear drop poos can mean he is a little dehydrated.Gripe water may help,ive used it in a bloated piggie,0.3 mls,twice aday with good effect.toothbrush is a great idea.you are doing well.Hope your piggie improves.x
 
Ah rightio @CarnivalPiggy . Give him no more than 0.3ml at a time so he has chance to swallow.

Tear drop shaped poops are a sign of mild digestive upset, which is common with bloat. So don't force water if he doesn't want it but it certainly won't harm you giving him a few ml every now and then.
 
I wouldn't syringe, I would give him wet veggies. Really sorry about your Nan.
You would probably find, that stroking the piggies would have a calming effect on you.
If your piggie is still bloated, gripe water would help.
 
Thanks. I ended up giving him a bit of syringed water. @Tiamolly123 I can't give him wet veg right now as he has been taken off them due to suspected gas yesterday night. I'm going to have to slowly build it back up.

Also, part of me wonders if it is older age? Like doesn't something become too lax it becomes harder for them to push poo out? How do I know if it's this?
 
Thanks. Feeling frustrated as they all feel like they have slightly hard bellies unless I'm just overworrying , but aside from Ginny who has gone down I can't see any other things. Am I overfeeding veg? Could that cause it?
@Wiebke hope it's ok to tag you in but I'm clueless
 
Sometimes older boars can get impaction issues, that's when the poop can get caught in their butt and it comes out in large balls, which you sometimes have to help them with. It's caused by relaxed muscles around their bum. Arthritis can cause it. I really don't think your boy has it @CarnivalPiggy

Too much veg can cause stomach issues but I would imagine that would happen soon after you got them. Plus they'd likely have diarrhoea.

Bloat is cause by many things, food that's too rich, food that has gone off, food that's too cold, antibiotic issues, neurological issues and I even think it happens sometimes just because.

Try not to worry too much, they're all okay.

Hard tummies can sometimes just be full tummies.
 
@CarnivalPiggy What veg does he normally have? I'd give him about a square inch of something. When my Jon had diarrhea a few weeks ago I gave him a little bit of lettuce for his first veg. I did try carrot but he didn't want it.

Herbs and fruit were the last things I added back in.
 
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