Girlie Poo, Mushy Poo and Diet- Newly Adopted, Unhealthy Girlies

[bbddf]

I've adopted two female adult guinea pigs who were not properly cared for.

This is the younger female's poo, is this normal or healthy? I have two boars so I'm sure you can imagine what their poo looks like!

The slightly older girlie has very mushy poo and no doubt a case of scurvy as her coat is thoroughly rough. I will be taking them both to the vet for a check up next week by the latest, sooner if the one girlie's mushy poo doesn't improve.

Their diet was $5 muesli pellets with seeds, corn and the coloured bits. A massive bowl per day with about 5% fiber and no vitamin c. One carrot. No water bowl. Meadow hay and unlimited grass. Occassionally they would get cabbage or brussel sprouts.

I didn't anticipate them to be this unhealthy and it does hurt to think of them, and it is quite stressful for me. I won't take a photo of the mushy poo as I don't want to disturb her nest area, but I think we know what that is like too.

Let me know what you thank, many thanks in advance.

 

[bbddf]

* Sorry, no water bottle either as the previous owner said there was enough water in the grass........ so I'm thinking a bit of dehydration too.. wondering how I can also encourage them to use a water bowl.

 

[PigglePuggle]

Hi, those poos look a bit small but some piggies do have smaller poops, our Blodwen does tiny dainty poops about half the size of the boys! Grass does contain vit C and also a fair bit of moisture so things may not be as bad as you think, but the muesli diet does sound dreadful. A vet check is the first obvious thing to do, and introducing more veg- cucumber is a good idea if the piggies arent used to drinking water- you can ditch the muesli straight away but introducing other new foods should be done gradually. Maybe a probiotic might be a good idea short term, maybe some pro-C that you can syringe feed a couple of mls so you can see they are getting some extra water as well as the vit C and probiotic?
2 years ago I brought home 2 piggies who had been fed unlimited muesli and carrots while living in a hamster cage, they were very obese and could barely waddle 3 feet without getting tired, so I know it can be a bit overwhelming to start with, but a few weeks later they were completely different piggies- best of luck!

 

[munchmonster]

I hope those poor piggies get sorted and can see a vet soon. It sounds like they are now in a place where they can be happy and loved with you. Sending you and them my best wishes x