Guinea Boar pointed poops

[Guineasmama]

Hi all

My 4 year old Boar Milo has been doing pointed poops as of yesterday. I’ve obviously searched this up and some say to give more vegetables as sign of not eating enough, some say to keep them off vegetables for a day and some say sign of dehydration. I’ve had him next to me and he’s has several of his pellets and water. I’ve seen him eat Timothy hay so what should I do? I’m clearing out the cage once a day to keep an eye on his poop.
Are there any vegetables that are a definite no? I don’t want to make this worse.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all

My 4 year old Boar Milo has been doing pointed poops as of yesterday. I’ve obviously searched this up and some say to give more vegetables as sign of not eating enough, some say to keep them off vegetables for a day and some say sign of dehydration. I’ve had him next to me and he’s has several of his pellets and water. I’ve seen him eat Timothy hay so what should I do? I’m clearing out the cage once a day to keep an eye on his poop.
Are there any vegetables that are a definite no? I don’t want to make this worse.

Hi

Pointed poops are generally the sign of a mild tummy upset. Please take him off any fresh food and any treats for 24 hours after the poos have normalised. As the appetite is not impacted and as 15% of veg (as opposed to ca. 80% hay and 5% pellets as the proportion of the daily food intake), you do not need to give support feed, just give the gut microbiome time again to cut off the overgrowth of bad bacteria and settle down again (dysbiosis). The need to drink comes before the need to eat, so a normally eating piggy won't dehydrate.
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

 

[Guineasmama]

Can I just confirm, so no fresh vegetables this evening or tomorrow morning? And wait for normal poops tomorrow? Do I watch him to see if he’s eating his hay and pellets? If he’s not having his vegetables, will he make up his loss of this food with pellets and hay (he loves his food, weighs 1450g)!

 

[Wiebke]

Can I just confirm, so no fresh vegetables this evening or tomorrow morning? And wait for normal poops tomorrow? Do I watch him to see if he’s eating his hay and pellets? If he’s not having his vegetables, will he make up his loss of this food with pellets and hay (he loves his food, weighs 1450g)!

Hi!

You take you piggy off fresh veg for 24 hours to see whether they normalise in that time or not. If they normalise, wait another 24-48 hours (depending on the severity of the problem) or contact a vet if there is no improvement or a deterioration. Start with feeding a little veg like fresh herb and see whether the gut can cope before re-introducing more veg. Keep in mind that good quality hay actually does contain vitamin C and is the reason if not as much as fresh growing grass. It is after all the reason why guinea pigs never had the need to make their own vitamin C in the first place and the food the gut is laid for dealing with. Your piggies won't suffer being just kept on hay.

Just keep any pellets to 1 tablespoon per piggy per day and review your veg; many people overfeed on veg, especially high sugar veg like root veg or fruit, which should be occasional treats at the most. it is the sugar in the diet that is fuelling the overgrowth of the wrong kind of bacteria.

But keep in mind that what you are dealing with is the mildest form of a tummy upset. The rules are however the same as with all forms that are not runny. Rebalancing the gut microbiome is your main aim.

 

[Guineasmama]

Ok thank you. Will let you know how we get on xx