Diarrhea?

[Kylie80]

Just did the morning spot clean of the piggies cage and found some brown wet stains that look like diorreah but my dad can't see anything because he's colour blind and thinks it's just part of the pattern. I just put their new vet bed down yesterday and noticed pee wasnt wicking through straight away so thought maybe when they pee'd it just sat on top and they poo'd and trampled it through the wet patches making brown stains. I've just put a new lighter coloured fleece down and am keeping watch and if their is still wet brown patches will take them both to the vet when my partner comes home from work but I thought i might get other's opinion since I have never experienced this before.

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

What sort of veg have they had lately? Sometimes particularly wet veggies can cause wet/soft poos that get trampled on and mushed a bit. Are they eating plenty of hay? And do you weigh them weekly, any weight loss?

 

[Wiebke]

Just did the morning spot clean of the piggies cage and found some brown wet stains that look like diorreah but my dad can't see anything because he's colour blind and thinks it's just part of the pattern. I just put their new vet bed down yesterday and noticed pee wasnt wicking through straight away so thought maybe when they pee'd it just sat on top and they poo'd and trampled it through the wet patches making brown stains. I've just put a new lighter coloured fleece down and am keeping watch and if their is still wet brown patches will take them both to the vet when my partner comes home from work but I thought i might get other's opinion since I have never experienced this before.

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Please take any piggy whose digestion you worry about off any fresh veg until the poos firm up again. If that is not happening within 24 hours see a vet.

If the diarrhea (no normal poos!) is very dark, watery and extremely smelly (you can't miss the stink) and your piggy is looking very off, please have it seen as an emergency asap at any time of the day or night.

Are you sure that it is watery poo or not just very strongly oxidised pee and that the poos are actually normal looking?

 

[Kylie80]

I put a lighter fleece down when I first noticed the stains as the vet bed is quite dark and after that there was just solid poo's and they were not soft or mushy just their normal regular poo's but piggies have been on watch ever since and they will be straight to the vet if I see anything "not normal". It could have been oxidized pee but it just didn't look normal for them and there was no strong smell and they were both running around at bed time chasing each other.

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Might just have been a poo that has been trodden on, my girls often trample the poops and have been known on occasion to wear them like a toe ring

 

[Wiebke]

I put a lighter fleece down when I first noticed the stains as the vet bed is quite dark and after that there was just solid poo's and they were not soft or mushy just their normal regular poo's but piggies have been on watch ever since and they will be straight to the vet if I see anything "not normal". It could have been oxidized pee but it just didn't look normal for them and there was no strong smell and they were both running around at bed time chasing each other.

I would take a deep breath and calm down!

It was at the worst a tiny tummy upset like they can happen occasionally.
Generally, taking a piggy off any fresh food takes care of most minor tummy upsets as long as the poos are still firm to at the worst shapeless "cow pads". See a vet if the poos are not starting to firm up again within 24 hours or if the problem is persistent/recurring.
Any full diarrhea (no poos visible, just fluid output) should ideally be seen on the same day or the on next morning, the sooner the more off a piggy looks really of or is very apathetic.

There is one type of diarrhea that is life-threatening and that has to be treated as an absolute emergency; that is the one I have described to you (very dark, stinky and watery diarrhea, no firm poos and piggy in very bad state very quickly due to dehydration). It is thankfully very rare with good care so you are very unlikely to come up against it, but it is one of these things that you have to be aware of.