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Effie has soft poos

Sian25

Sian25

Adult Guinea Pig
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Hi all, poor Effie has soft poos. They look pretty formed to the eye, a bit lighter in colour and bigger, but are quite squishy when picked up. This started at some point Wednesday and I noticed that evening. I didnt give her veg that night and haven't done since (despite the many protests from Effie).

She seems bright in herself, but has lost 80g weight since the last time I weighed her 3 weeks ago, but soft poo didnt start until Wednesday. As I say, I removed veg and planned to take her the vet yesterday if she had not improved. Her poops seemed to be getting better a bit, so I didnt take her as I thought she was on the mend, but today they seem squishier again. I have given her some poop soup from Flo a few times over the last few days, but no improvement. I am going to take her to the vet tomorrow, but the only issue is that I cant get to my exotic vet as it closes before I finish work. I can go Tuesday/Wednesday, but I dont want to leave it any longer. So I have a few questions:

- She has not had veg since Wednesday morning and I'm getting concerned about lack of vitamins. Should I be supplementing or should she be okay for the time being?
- What should I expect from tomorrows consultation with a regular vet? Should she be given something like fibreplex? Should she get antibiotics even though an infection isnt confirmed? Critical care? Any other meds I should ask about?
- If it was simply that she had more veg than usual, would the poops have returned to normal by now? Although I've not fed more than usual or anything new.
 
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Can’t advise but will hold you in my thoughts.
Hope the vet can find a cause of Effie’s problem and treat her
 
Is she eating Hay?

Did you feed her any new veg?

I would suspect the weight loss down to lack of veggies.

Also maybe I would suggest a probiotic or poo soup to help the gut flora.

Maybe ask the vet for some metachlopromide to keep pushing poo through. Once the poop has formed up I would suggest introducing a veg at a time to see if anything sets her off
 
sport_billy said:
Is she eating Hay?

Did you feed her any new veg?

I would suspect the weight loss down to lack of veggies.

Also maybe I would suggest a probiotic or poo soup to help the gut flora.

Maybe ask the vet for some metachlopromide to keep pushing poo through. Once the poop has formed up I would suggest introducing a veg at a time to see if anything sets her off
Click to expand...
Come to think of it, I opened a new bale of hay Friday and thought it didnt look as nice as usual.. not as green. She is eating it and I haven't noticed her eating a reduced amount, but I cant be sure she is eating as much as usual. I will try and get more hay tomorrow. The soft poo did start before this new hay, but whether shes eating a reduced amount and its hindering poops returning to normal.

I didnt feed any new veg. She could have possibly eaten some of Flo's share of veg, but Flo is the greedier pig. If that was the case, would her poo have not returned to normal by now? (Its been 4 days without any veg at all). I have given her a few doses of poop soup over the last few days, but no improvement. Should I be giving it more often?
 
Sounds right on the poo soup amount.

Fibreplex would be a good idea at this point also
 
Have you got any pro C ? It’s easy to buy in most pet shops or off the Internet. A pinch in water will help guts as a probiotic and also has vitamin c so she won’t miss out.
 
Pro-C is very good. My Piggies love it. I got mine from Amazon. I put a pinch in an egg cup full of water, give it a quick stir then syringe it in. Just syringe in a bit at a time.
 
Betsy said:
Pro-C is very good. My Piggies love it. I got mine from Amazon. I put a pinch in an egg cup full of water, give it a quick stir then syringe it in. Just syringe in a bit at a time.
Click to expand...

Mine queue up at the bars for a syringe of Pro C. Not sure what it tastes of, but whatever it is, they enjoy it.
 
VickiA said:
Mine queue up at the bars for a syringe of Pro C. Not sure what it tastes of, but whatever it is, they enjoy it.
Click to expand...
Yep I agree. Velvet loved it. I had to syringe in as much liquied as I could twice a day for 2 weeks to get rid of bladder sludge, she wasn't keen on plain water but by day 3 of Pro C she was taking 1ml down in one go. She just couldn't get enough of it.
 
Thanks all. Have been to the vet this eve. Effie has recovery food as she has lost a bit of weight, fibreplex and I have just picked up some pro C. The recovery food is not oxbow though, it is science selective as that's all they had. Is it much different? Also, its fibreplex for rabbits, is that correct? Fingers crossed this will help her. She is to go back in 3 days
 
I dont want to speak too soon but theres no soft poos in the cage this evening. I cant say for sure that the solid ones are Effies as I've not actually seen her do any yet, but her typical poop spots are all solid. I doubt the meds have worked that soon, so I'm guessing she has felt better today, but I didnt have time to check poops before the vets as was straight out after work. Fingers crossed though!
 
Let's hope all goes well and she doesn't take long to get back to her full self x
 
Sian25 said:
Hi all, poor Effie has soft poos. They look pretty formed to the eye, a bit lighter in colour and bigger, but are quite squishy when picked up. This started at some point Wednesday and I noticed that evening. I didnt give her veg that night and haven't done since (despite the many protests from Effie).

She seems bright in herself, but has lost 80g weight since the last time I weighed her 3 weeks ago, but soft poo didnt start until Wednesday. As I say, I removed veg and planned to take her the vet yesterday if she had not improved. Her poops seemed to be getting better a bit, so I didnt take her as I thought she was on the mend, but today they seem squishier again. I have given her some poop soup from Flo a few times over the last few days, but no improvement. I am going to take her to the vet tomorrow, but the only issue is that I cant get to my exotic vet as it closes before I finish work. I can go Tuesday/Wednesday, but I dont want to leave it any longer. So I have a few questions:

- She has not had veg since Wednesday morning and I'm getting concerned about lack of vitamins. Should I be supplementing or should she be okay for the time being?
- What should I expect from tomorrows consultation with a regular vet? Should she be given something like fibreplex? Should she get antibiotics even though an infection isnt confirmed? Critical care? Any other meds I should ask about?
- If it was simply that she had more veg than usual, would the poops have returned to normal by now? Although I've not fed more than usual or anything new.
Click to expand...

Hi!

Guinea pigs do not have the need to make their own vitamin C (unlike rabbits) because the mainstay of their diet, fresh and dry grass/hay, are actually pretty high in vitamin C. As long as she is eating plenty of hay and vitamin C reinforced pellets, she will be OK for a little while.
Support products like probiotics and critical care also contain vitamin C ;)

It is good that you see a vet because something is not quite right. With a mild tummy upset (soft but NOT runny poos), poos normally start firming up completely within 24-48 hours. If the proplem persists longer than that, then you should seek vet care.
Any diarrhea (i.e. runny poos) you should see a vet promptly because some forms can be very serious and also because of the risk of dehydration.
 
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