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Constipation in Guinea pigs any advice

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Bobthepiggie

Bob went to the vets last friday to be 'snipped' when we went to pick him up the vet said that Bob seemed constipated as he had rather a lot of poos building up inside. I feed him the Wagg guinea pig food, plus fresh hay and fresh veg, carrots, greens, cucumber, broccoli etc everday. l was wondering if any one had any ideas or knew something that might help Bob out!
 
How old is your boar? Sure this isn't impaction? Doesn't seem from his diet that he's likely to be constipated....though obviously your vet would know better than me!
 
He is 4 years old this summer. From what you say about impaction that does sound as though it is that because when you look at his bum area there does seem a bulge and lots of poos collecting!
 
Age and what you describe, it sounds like it could well be. Neutering sometimes helps, otherwise you'll have to help him ease the build-up yourself. Always offer it back to him to eat- disgusting as it sounds!- as the poos contain essential vitamins.
 
Thank you so much for your advice. Were hoping to get him a little friend real soon.
 
No problem- there's lots of other advice if you search for impaction. Good luck finding him a little lady...sure he'll be very happy!
 
Excersize is very useful for getting the guts going, and one method I've used with great success is swimming therapy. I'm not sure how wise that is so soon after his op though.

I've usually let mine have a swim around in a shallow bath, one end just deep enough to take the weight off their legs, and held my hand under them as they do laps. If he's not too keen on that then you could just lower his back end into some warm water for a similar effect. Though as I said, unsure about this approach due to his stitches. You could just try getting him to run around the lounge or hall, depends how likely he is to wander!

Did the vet listen to his back end? It's possible to hear the disgestive system working, and from memory there should be roughly 2 distinct "waves" a minute. It's not impossible the op has slowed his digestion down, and the vet really should have looked into things a little more than "he might be constipated" in my opinion. I'd suggest getting him back to a vet tomorrow, and ask them to listen to his digestive system. If it's not running at around 2 cycles a minute, then an injection of Metachlopromide (**** spelt that wrong) would most likely be a good thing. It can help with hypermotility (gut going too fast, almost shuffling the contents back and forther rather than through) as well as hypomotility (slow down/ stasis). But it's not ideal to give to a piggy with a fully functioning intestine, so it's important to try and get the vet to check with a stethoscope before giving it.

This is of course if he's still seeming to have problems - Last Friday to now is quite a while for things to pep up for themselves (and equally, quite a while if they haven't). If he's eating, wandering around, pooing and being generally as he was pre op then be less concerned, although still worth a trip to the vet just to be safe.

Edit - Oops, missed the newer posts - Impaction is possible (surprised if the vet didn't pick up on that though?) and it's not too tricky to "unblock", if you're very careful and patient. A little KY, vaseline or even plain warm water will help ease the lump away.

Still worth seeing a vet as it could be the gut isn't working properly which has caused the impaction.
 
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I have used olive oil before for constipation (as per the Peter Gurney health pges). I find this helps without giving the piggy a runny tummy. One of my piggies has a problem in his rear end and I have to clean him out every week (not for the faint stomached). If you r not comfortable checking out your piggies rear end then get him back to the vets who should be able to tell if its impaction. Good luck
 
If it takes more than 10 seconds to empty an impacted boar you are taking too long. Save the KY, vaseline and even the warm water for other uses.
 
Thank you to everybody for their advice etc. We are taking Bob back for his post Op check up so will discuss with the vets to see what he saids.

Julia & Bob
 
Unless you have never done it before, AP. :) Learning how to handle a pig who just does not want to be held that way can take a little time, especially with new/less experienced owners.

Impaction is easy enough to deal with when you get the hang of it, you'll need to check him frequently and clean the sac out at least once a week (if not 2-3 times a week) if he does have an ongoing issue with impaction. As gross as it is, offering the ball of stinky poop to the pig to eat is important; it is the poops he would normally eat himself that tend to build up and need extra help to expel.
 
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