Building up piggies on grass

Eddie & Elvis

Eddie & Elvis

Adult Guinea Pig
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Hi, so I've been building my two boys up on grass by adding 15 minutes every time they go out and I'm up to about 2 hours now. I was wondering how long it takes before I can just put them out all day. Do I need to keep going up in 15 minute chunks or does it get to a point and they're used to it enough to go straight to all day? Any advice would be really helpful.
Thank you :)
 
they're probably okay now to be on all day. When you say all day do you mean 10-12 hours? Be aware of the sun.
 
How are their tummies doing? No issues with poop?
I’d say that now they are up to two hours, then you don’t need to go by 15 mins intervals, you can probably have them stay out longer now but just keep an eye on their poops. It’s just that you don’t want fresh spring grass in completely unprepared tummies.
 
Siikibam said:
they're probably okay now to be on all day. When you say all day do you mean 10-12 hours? Be aware of the sun.
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Probably not quite as much as 12 hours maybe 8. I've got towels draped over their run so they don't get too hot and a water bottle attached. Their poops look normal too but I'll keep checking when I clean the cage.
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
Probably not quite as much as 12 hours maybe 8. I've got towels draped over their run so they don't get too hot and a water bottle attached. Their poops look normal too but I'll keep checking when I clean the cage.
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Do be aware that hot breezes pose a risk regardless if they have shade. A hot breeze under a shaded run can be hotter within the space than the air temperature otherwise suggests - if that makes sense.

My piggies live in my shed which gets hot quickly with even the smallest amount of sun so I have to get my piggies out and onto the lawn early in the morning. In the height of summer, even more so with the summer we had last year, even on the lawn was far too hot and they had to come into a playpen in my house. They then went back onto the lawn early evening but still couldn’t go back into the shed until 10pm some nights as it was still far too hot.
 
Thank you I'll be aware of that we especially in the summer. Mine live inside and I take them outside to go on the grass but I'll still make sure they're nice and cool inside on hot days. Today we've had the curtains closed so it stays cooler inside for them.
 
If I do notice changes is their poop what should I do? Should I not out them on the grass for a few days?
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
If I do notice changes is their poop what should I do? Should I not out them on the grass for a few days?
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Yep, exactly that plus also stop giving them vegetables until their guts rebalance and only feed hay and their normal limited amount of pellets. You keep them off grass and veg until their poops go back to normal and then for a further 24 hours after. Once things settle back down reintroduce fresh food and grass slowly to check everything remains stable
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
If that happens they will be hungry without their veggies?
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No because veggies are never the main bulk of their diet. Hay is always the main bulk of their diet.
If veg isn’t on offer they will simply eat even more hay, and this will help rebalance the gut to stop any tummy issues
 
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Hi again, I have seen squishy poos so I've done what you said and not given them veggies or grass. How long should it take for the poos to become normal again and do I hold off on the veggies until they do? They're wheeking at me for their veggies and I can't give any 😭
 
When you say squishy, how squishy?
You stop giving veggies until they come back to normal and then still hold off for a further 24 hours after, then gradually reintroduce.
 
I should probably have mentioned that one of my piggies has to have medicines and one of them he needs him to have food in stomach so this morning I have him a very small amount of celery. I will need to give him a very small amount again this evening. Is this ok?
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
I should probably have mentioned that one of my piggies has to have medicines and one of them he needs him to have food in stomach so this morning I have him a very small amount of celery. I will need to give him a very small amount again this evening. Is this ok?
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What medicine is he having?

They should always have food in their stomach anyway as they should constantly be eating hay but absolutely do what your vet has told you to do regarding how to give the medicine. If it has to be given with some veg, then yes absolutely it’s fine
 
Piggies&buns said:
When you say squishy, how squishy?
You stop giving veggies until they come back to normal and then still hold off for a further 24 hours after, then gradually reintroduce.
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Rather than being individual poops there's clumps that are softer than normal. Not all of them are like that some look normal. I'm pretty sure there's less poops than normal too.
 
Piggies&buns said:
What medicine is he having?

They should always have food in their stomach anyway as they should constantly be eating hay but absolutely do what your vet has told you to do regarding how to give the medicine. If it has to be given with some veg, then yes absolutely it’s fine
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He has Sulfatrim and Baytril twice daily and Metacam one daily. The Metacam is the one that needs food. I was told he needs food in his stomach for the Metacam but it's not specified as veggies.
 
Antibiotics often cause upset tummies in piggies so it may well not be the grass causing it at all. It is advisable to give a probiotic to a piggy who is on antibiotics as it can help settle their tummies. You should give a probiotic in between antibiotic doses (an hour before or after an antibiotic dose)
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
 
I've been giving antibiotics to him for about 3 weeks now and he's had no problems with it until now so I'm pretty sure it is the grass. He's also been back to the vets for them to see how he's doing and they didn't say be needed probiotics. Sorry if I sounds like I'm trying to prove you wrong because that's not why I'm saying all this so I really hope it doesn't sound that way 😬.
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
I've been giving antibiotics to him for about 3 weeks now and he's had no problems with it until now so I'm pretty sure it is the grass. He's also been back to the vets for them to see how he's doing and they didn't say be needed probiotics. Sorry if I sounds like I'm trying to prove you wrong because that's not why I'm saying all this so I really hope it doesn't sound that way 😬.
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Vets won’t say they need probiotics because probiotics aren’t veterinary prescribed medications. They are supplements which you may give to help settle upset tummies.
You can also make up poop soup from the fresh poops of a healthy piggy. They contain all the good gut bacteria needed to help reestablish the good bacterial colony in a poorly piggy

If you don’t want to give probiotics then that is absolutely fine - it’s just advice we give to piggies who are on antibiotics and often have tummy issues being on them, antibiotics kill off the good bacteria as well as the bad and the probiotics may help settle things . Keeping him off the veg and just giving hay (and the normal limited amount of pellets) will help rebalance the gut if it is the grass which has caused it.
 
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Thank you very much for the advice but I don't think I will give him probiotics. He's been been fine throughout and honestly I'm not sure I can face having to give him another syringe of stuff every day 😂
 
That’s absolutely fine. As I said then, you will just need to keep him off veg until everything goes back to normal, and then for a further 24 hours after that. When you reintroduce veg do it very slowly, a little at a time and it can be best to start with herbs as they can be gentler on the tummy.
 
Thank you. I hope the little bit of broccoli he's had this evening with his medicine won't be a problem. Also since I last replied on here I've cleaned their cage and the all the poops in there looked completely normal (before I was going off the poops they'd don't since being out for floortime today) so hopefully they'll be back to normal soon.
 
Hi again, most of the poops are normal but there's still 2 or 3 clumps of squishy ones like yesterday. Will they still be ok without veggies still since they haven't had veggies for more than a day. I just want to make sure they're getting all the nutrients they need. Sorry for going on about it, it just feels so odd not giving them their veggies...
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
Hi again, most of the poops are normal but there's still 2 or 3 clumps of squishy ones like yesterday. Will they still be ok without veggies still since they haven't had veggies for more than a day. I just want to make sure they're getting all the nutrients they need. Sorry for going on about it, it just feels so odd not giving them their veggies...
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Keep them off veggies until things go back to normal and then still for a further 24 hours after normal. They will likely need to be off veg for several days. It’s absolutely fine as the bulk of their diet is hay in any event.
 
Hi again, I'm going to start slowly adding in veggies again. Are there any veggies that it would good to start on? I've decided to avoid lettuce because too much can chase squishy poops. Do I need to do this or can I just give them anything they would normally have?
 
Piggies&buns said:
Do be aware that hot breezes pose a risk regardless if they have shade. A hot breeze under a shaded run can be hotter within the space than the air temperature otherwise suggests - if that makes sense.

My piggies live in my shed which gets hot quickly with even the smallest amount of sun so I have to get my piggies out and onto the lawn early in the morning. In the height of summer, even more so with the summer we had last year, even on the lawn was far too hot and they had to come into a playpen in my house. They then went back onto the lawn early evening but still couldn’t go back into the shed until 10pm some nights as it was still far too hot.
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Did you ever think of having their hutch OUTSIDE of the shed when it was so hot?
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
Hi again, I'm going to start slowly adding in veggies again. Are there any veggies that it would good to start on? I've decided to avoid lettuce because too much can chase squishy poops. Do I need to do this or can I just give them anything they would normally have?
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Herbs can be best to start with as they are often more gentle on their tummy
 
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