Constipation

[Wizzy]

i think one of my guinea pigs may be constipated, she is still eating and drinking a lot but does not poo/pee very often and squeaks when she does it. She seems a little lethargic but other than that completely fine. I know a vet visit would be helpful, but my mum refuses to take her. Is there anything I can do to help her, like give her a certain type of veg/fruit? And is there anything I should avoid giving her?
The photo I attached are my guinea pigs. The one at the front is rexy who I think is constipated.

 

[Livia Rabideau]

I would get to a vet asap just to be sure! Other things can cause these symptoms! Hope she feels better soon!

 

[Wizzy]

I would get to a vet asap just to be sure! Other things can cause these symptoms! Hope she feels better soon!

I’ve been saying to my mum all day that she should take her, I even offered to pay with my pocket money but she says I’m just over reacting as rexy is eating and drinking and is pooing(very little though). She just seems very lethargic to me. Is there anything I can do to help her without going to the vet? I know she needs to but no one in my family seems to think so

 

[Wiebke]

I’ve been saying to my mum all day that she should take her, I even offered to pay with my pocket money but she says I’m just over reacting as rexy is eating and drinking and is pooing(very little though). She just seems very lethargic to me. Is there anything I can do to help her without going to the vet? I know she needs to but no one in my family seems to think so

Hi! Please switch from weighing weekly to weighing daily at the same time. Cheap kitchen scales from a supermarket are perfectly fine. Over 80% of the daily food intake is hay. You cannot control that by eye. Only the scale will give the correct picture.
You should see a vet as soon as a guinea pig has lost 2 oz or more in a short space of time (a matter of one or more days).

Guinea pigs don't suffer from constipation. If there are suddenly a lot less poos, means that 1-2 days ago a lot less food has gone at the other end. Loss of appetite is always worrying; it is often connected to a pain issue somewhere in the body, dental problems or sudden changes in temperature or major dehydration (empty water bottle or stuck ball).

Lethargy means that you piggy has gone without enough food for some time now and that its guts have start to slow down and are in the process of closing down (GI stasis, which can kill if the guts stop altogether).
Please step in with syringe feeding fibre and water. You can use mushed up pellets in an emergency, but in that case, you need to prep the syringe tip as shown in our very detailed illustrated step-by-step guide. You can get a needle-free 1 ml syringe from any pharmacy or vet. But the sooner you start support feeding, the more of a chance your piggy has to survive until it can get to vet and until any treatment can kick in!
Not Eating And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
How Soon Should My Guinea Pig See A Vet? - A Quick Guide
List Of Life And Death Out-of-hours Emergencies

 

[Merab]

Sorry you are having a tough time when you want to do what’s best for your piggy but family don’t agree.
Have you shown your mum @Wiebke ’s post?
It might help her to understand.

 

[Wizzy]

Hiya, thanks for all the advice everyone! I have shown my mum @Wiebke post, she says to weigh rexy and if she loses a lot of weight, she will take rexy to the vet. Rexy does seem to be eating, they are in a 120x65cm cage in my bedroom, and at night and early in the morning I can see her eating the nuggets and some hay, and drinking water. I also gave them some apple which she seemed to take gratefully and ate quite quickly. She will often move from one place to the next and stay there for a while, for example all last night she was in the hut, and this morning she went in the hay. She doesn’t run around a lot, like my other piggie pepper, but she never has been overly active. We ran out of the hay we usually buy, and the store closed down so we had to buy some from pets at home, which the guinea pigs didn’t really like as it was quite old and brown. But this afternoon I found this lovely green hay in the range and got it for them. There seems to be a little more poos in the cage now, so could it have been because of the hay?

 

[Wizzy]

Update: I’ve just given rexy a piece of carrot, which she ate then looked around for more she is very cute, A little lethargic still but improving, I am going to keep an eye on her and weigh her anyways. I hope she’s ok

 

[Wiebke]

Hiya, thanks for all the advice everyone! I have shown my mum @Wiebke post, she says to weigh rexy and if she loses a lot of weight, she will take rexy to the vet. Rexy does seem to be eating, they are in a 120x65cm cage in my bedroom, and at night and early in the morning I can see her eating the nuggets and some hay, and drinking water. I also gave them some apple which she seemed to take gratefully and ate quite quickly. She will often move from one place to the next and stay there for a while, for example all last night she was in the hut, and this morning she went in the hay. She doesn’t run around a lot, like my other piggie pepper, but she never has been overly active. We ran out of the hay we usually buy, and the store closed down so we had to buy some from pets at home, which the guinea pigs didn’t really like as it was quite old and brown. But this afternoon I found this lovely green hay in the range and got it for them. There seems to be a little more poos in the cage now, so could it have been because of the hay?

No, it takes about a day or two since guinea pigs need to digest everything twice. They produce two different sorts of poos. The ones that result from the first run through the guts are called caecotrophs. You will hardly ever see them as they get eaten again straight to break down the rough fibre further and extract all the goodness. What you see lying around are the poos that contain everything that is left over.

But it is an encouraging sign; hopefully your girl can get better again.

Please save up for a vet trip on a weekly basis so you can pay for an emergency trip at any time.

I would also recommend to have some things at home so you can help to support your guinea pig until it can see a vet and until medication can start to kick in. Your syringe feeding home care can be as important as any medication in keeping your piggy alive even though it cannot heal in itself and it cannot replace medication or a vet trip.
First Aid Kit For Guinea Pigs

 

[Wizzy]

No, it takes about a day or two since guinea pigs need to digest everything twice. They produce two different sorts of poos. The ones that result from the first run through the guts are called caecotrophs. You will hardly ever see them as they get eaten again straight to break down the rough fibre further and extract all the goodness. What you see lying around are the poos that contain everything that is left over.

But it is an encouraging sign; hopefully your girl can get better again.

Please save up for a vet trip on a weekly basis so you can pay for an emergency trip at any time.

I would also recommend to have some things at home so you can help to support your guinea pig until it can see a vet and until medication can start to kick in. Your syringe feeding home care can be as important as any medication in keeping your piggy alive even though it cannot heal in itself and it cannot replace medication or a vet trip.
First Aid Kit For Guinea Pigs

That’s really helpful, I will save up money in case there’s an emergency