Daisy's Poo Problems

[Pippy & Daisy]

Hi everyone. This is quite a graphic post so it's probably best not to read while eating!

Daisy is off to the vet today but she's not going to be able to get in until later this afternoon and I'm in panic mode. SO, yesterday morning I noticed a bit of a smell coming from the hutch and immediately thought it was diarrhoea as it smelt very much like the minor diarrhoea problem she had a couple of months ago. She didn't come running out for food (she had earlier when my mum gave them a snack) but after I took the pigloo out she did happily go and eat. And, sure enough, I saw what I initially thought was diarrhoea but was probably really more just soft poo and wee. I wasn't able to stay home but was told she was munching on hay all day and acting fine. I did make an appointment at the vets but when I got home and saw her she seemed fine so after watching her for a couple of hours I decided to cancel the appointment - her poos were soft but I really didn't think that was reason enough to get her to the vets since it could've just been that she'd had too much cucumber or something.

Anyway, I was up with her all night and realised that actually there is something wrong because she lifts up like she's straining when she poos and tends to squeak quietly. I've also heard a kind of farting/squirting noise from her bum. She actually is pooing pellets so it's not diarrhoea, they're just very soft and often fairly small. This morning I also noticed some kind of white gel on some of her poo so I'm not sure what that is but she was eating white paper (one of their beddings) so I don't know if it could be that.

I'm going to book her an appointment once the vets open but I can't get there until almost 4 (it's almost 7 now, the last time I physically saw her poo was 6 but that's not to say she hasn't since then as I'm not watching constantly, that's just the last time I can guarantee it 100%!).

In every other way she's acting completely normally - munching on hay constantly, hasn't had any trouble eating veggies and has been asking for them, I saw her eating pellets not long ago, and she's not having any trouble moving. I held her yesterday and she didn't seem to mind her stomach being touched or pushed lightly and she had a run around during floor time. I've seen her drinking water a couple of times, not much but she's not really much of a drinker anyway so I wouldn't say she's drinking any less than usual. She looks fine as well and is very responsive.

I'm just so worried about waiting until this afternoon! I She didn't get any worse through the night and seems to be pooing a bit more even if they aren't healthy poos so I think she'll be fine until this afternoon, I just don't like the wait I have some leftover metacam but I don't really want to be giving her anything that might upset her tummy more.

Any ideas about what could possibly be wrong? Obviously the vet is the only one who can know for sure but last time he said she just had an upset stomach from possibly eating something contaminated but I've been so fussy about their food I can't imagine what it would be this time. I also don't know whether to keep her off veggies to get her poo to harden up, or to give her some veggies to help everything pass through easier for her!

Any help is really appreciated. Thanks

 

[sport_billy]

Definitely vets visit needed.

Small poo's, mucas and wetness shows something is going on with her guts.

Maybe a little colic style gas. Causing a little bloaty episode? I would advice feeding lots of hay and no veggies. Syringe feed if needed. You are seeign the vet this afternoon so that is good. What time are you in Oz now?

We had a piggy that would stop pooing, get all colicky with gas (bloat) She would then start pooing again wet poo's with mucas. We had to work out what veg was causing the gas problems.

Each time we would give her some gut stimulant (emeprid) to keep her guts moving and gently massage her sides only feeding her hay until it had passed then reintroduce the veggies carefully.

Would certainly recommend asking for something like metachlopromide to have at hand at home. Pooing is a good sign.

@helen105281 @Abi_nurse

Love to Daisy x

 

[Pippy & Daisy]

Thanks @sport_billy

It's 7:30am here now. The vets don't open until 8:30 so I can't make an appointment yet but am aiming to get one at 3:30.

She seems to be eating hay on her own without a problem, as well as the pellets. Gave her a tiny bit of parsley because she was begging but I won't give her anymore veggies. I just put a big pile of hay in and she started digging into that straight away.

Thanks for your help and well wishes! Hopefully Daisy will be feeling much better very soon

 

[helen105281]

I'm thinking gas too, though the vet will need to make sure there isn't any kind of blockage. I always recommend massage and fluids too when they are gassy. I have a massage pad but you can use an electric toothbrush. Also encourage her to move about as it helps to disperse the gas. Woodwards Gripe water can help too though am not sure if you can get that in Australia.

 

[Pippy & Daisy]

Sorry for the delayed update!

Daisy is almost completely fine again now other than a tiny bit of discomfort and the occasional soft poo. The vet checked her fully and believes she just has a sensitive stomach but there's nothing actually wrong. So it's a bit annoying knowing it could happen again and there's nothing I can do, but a relief knowing it's not a real problem. As long as she's eating, going to the toilet and it's not actual diarrhoea the best thing is to just limit veggies and get her to fill up with as much hay as possible until it passes. By the time we got there her poos were pretty much back to normal and she's back on veggies but I'm still limiting them a bit and will wait a day or so before giving her any cucumber.

Not sure if it's now well-known or not but my vet is in regular contact with the top exotics specialist in Sydney and he's said that a lot of exotics vets now believe that the skin of cucumber can cause some problems in piggies with sensitive stomachs so that might be useful to know!

Luckily I think Daisy helped herself quite a lot because she was moving around heaps and filling herself with hay so it was a pretty quickly resolved problem