• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Green Poo

Status
Not open for further replies.
Cat906

Cat906

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jan 2, 2015
Messages
95
Reaction score
52
Points
255
Location
Coulsdon, Surrey
I have two new piggies which live outside. I bring them inside in the evening for some play time and generally this is when I get to see them eat. Because they are in a hutch with bedding it is hard to keep track of their poos but when I've cleaned it I've only seen normal ones. Anyway when inside this evening one of the buggies has done a really long soft green poo. It almost looks like one of the pellets they have! Could this be because they aren't used to fresh food? The shop I bought them from May well have only given dried food. Should I be seriously concerned? It's really hard to describe!
 
Are you sure it was not just one of the poops they eat? Did you introduce vegetables slowly as they were not used to it?
 
Pretty sure it was a poo- it certainly wasn't there before and it was much fatter and longer than the pellets in their dried food. No I made the mistake of giving them veg straight away- I'm not sure what their previous diet was so I just went for it which was probably a mistake.
 
Well that was not your fault. If all their poops are soft then it means the veg is upsetting their stomachs but just one could be the type they are meant to eat. Did you know they do a special type of poop which they eat to retain vitamins? Usually they eat it straight from their bottoms but sometimes they do not.
 
That's a good point, I only saw the one odd poo and the rest in the hutch looked normal, although it is hard to see amongst all their bedding. I cleaned out the hutch tonight so will have a really good look tomorrow to see if I can see any others. I didn't know about the special type of poo!
 
Please start slowly with introducing veg to piggies that are not used to it and never introduce more than one new variety at a time to give their digestive system time to adapt. Veg should make only about 10-15% of food intake anyway.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...or-a-balanced-general-guinea-pig-diet.116460/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/how-do-i-settle-shy-new-guinea-pigs.36239/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...stincts-and-speak-piggy-body-language.117031/

PS: How winterproof is your hutch? We generally recommend bringing any outdoors piggies inside under cover out of drafts and dampness if that is at all possible, especially youngsters that are not acclimatised and slowly hardened off.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...are-for-guinea-pigs.54309/page-6#post-1663232
 
Yes I think I made a bit of a mistake being over enthusiastic with the veg. Will just stick with red pepper for now.

The hutch is as winter proof as I can make it. They have a fleece bed with a hood, a nice warm snuggle safe and lots and lots of hay. The hutch also has a blanket and waterproof cover over it to minimise drafts and help insulate. I would love to have them inside but it's just not feasible so I've given them everything I can think of!
 
If the poo is not firm, I would leave off all veg for a day and then start slowly again.

Thanks for clarifying the housing situation; we want to make sure that especially new member's piggies are taken adequately care off outdoors.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top