Bloat?

[Amberly81]

Hello

I have two 4 and a half year old guinea-pigs called Bella and Swift.
I'm just going to dive right in and say I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with the vets as I feel there is more to my guinea-pigs health.
Swift has had quite a bloated belly for a while now and she has recently had a scan and they told me she has some gas and to reduce her vegetable consumption. The thing is, she's eating, drinking and her poos are normal. She's doing plenty of them too. However when she sleeps at night, I don't know if she's snoring or is in pain as she is making a noise, only when she sleeps. I lay with her on my chest until nearly quarter to two in the morning this morning and I was just shaking her a little on my chest like you would with a baby (shoogling we say in Scotland) just to give her a little vibrations and I was massaging her tummy at the same time. She seemed to like this and even feel asleep on her side. But I could feel the gas popping and bubbling away inside her. I could smell something a couple of times too and when I lifted her she had done a lot of poos so I'm so confused if it's bloat or not. Internet tells me they stop eating and pooing, etc. Swift seems lively but her tummy is so big. Her sister Bella had a scan recently too as her nipples were crusty but on her scan, they found nothing. I'm really confused with my guinea pigs health but I don't want them getting to the stage where treatment could be too late. Anyone have any idea what's going on with my girlies? Thanks

 

[Wiebke]

Hello

I have two 4 and a half year old guinea-pigs called Bella and Swift.
I'm just going to dive right in and say I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with the vets as I feel there is more to my guinea-pigs health.
Swift has had quite a bloated belly for a while now and she has recently had a scan and they told me she has some gas and to reduce her vegetable consumption. The thing is, she's eating, drinking and her poos are normal. She's doing plenty of them too. However when she sleeps at night, I don't know if she's snoring or is in pain as she is making a noise, only when she sleeps. I lay with her on my chest until nearly quarter to two in the morning this morning and I was just shaking her a little on my chest like you would with a baby (shoogling we say in Scotland) just to give her a little vibrations and I was massaging her tummy at the same time. She seemed to like this and even feel asleep on her side. But I could feel the gas popping and bubbling away inside her. I could smell something a couple of times too and when I lifted her she had done a lot of poos so I'm so confused if it's bloat or not. Internet tells me they stop eating and pooing, etc. Swift seems lively but her tummy is so big. Her sister Bella had a scan recently too as her nipples were crusty but on her scan, they found nothing. I'm really confused with my guinea pigs health but I don't want them getting to the stage where treatment could be too late. Anyone have any idea what's going on with my girlies? Thanks

Hi and welcome

You can find more practical information on bloating care in this guide here. If it is ongoing, please see your vet or another vets for gut stimulants to help getting rid of the gassing; if necessary even in an obviously mild case like yours - which is the reason why your vet obviously though that just stopping fresh food for a little while would be enough to allow the gut to rebalance. Please stop feeding any fresh food; it contributes to the dysbiosis (overgrowth of the wrong kind of digesting bacteria in the gut); but continuing with it, you basically encourage the bacteria that cause the gassing.
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
Vet Locator

You may also want to review your current diet whether you are feeding too much veg and too much high sugar/starch veg at that. Please keep in mind that preferably green veg and fresh herbs should make only a comparatively small amount of a diet that is mostly hay/grass based (ca. 80% of the daily food intake). The more hay your piggies eat, the better for gut and dental health (it is the silica in grass and hay that is what grinds down the crucial chewing back teeth at the back in a balanced dental system) and that can extend the average healthy life span from the bottom end to upper end and beyond. Any careful introduction of fresh, dog pee free grass has of course to wait until the disgestive system has normalised. Some guinea pigs are more sensitive than others when it comes to the gut.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time

Please take the time to read the green information links so you can understand better what is going on and what you can do yourself to minimise the risk of bloating now and for the long term.