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Guinea Pig Boar, Slowly Losing Weight, Soft Stools.

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MT_

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Hi everyone! New here :)

We have a dutch guinea pig forum but I thought I'd give it a go here instead.

I have a Peruvian sow and Skinny boar since August 2014~, they are little over 2 years old now. I had the boar castrated when he was a few months old (without complications) and everything went well until around April/may this year.

The Peruvian sow has been on a stable weight of around 1010/1050g for all this time, but my skinny boar started getting soft stools since around april/may this year. Highest I've seen him weigh is 1040~ but in half a year he has dropped to 975g~. His outer most ribs are sticking out slightly.

I'm not overly worried (yet) but I've come no closer to a solution. I used to give them 125g of vegetables a day, Science Selective and Unlimited Timothy hay.

Already drastically reduced veggies since then (75g for both) and it helped with his stools, but he's no gaining weight at all.

I feel he needs to be closed to 1050/1100g.

I've send a poop sample to my veg (very fresh sample) and she checked it the same day, she couldnt find anything out of the ordinary

Anyone suggestions? Thanks!
 
Try to cut out all veg for the time being and see whether the poos firm up. Once they have done so for several days, you can very slowly start re-introducing them one by one in small quantities at first. See how that goes. Stop as soon as the poos go funny again and try to find out which veg may be causing problems.
You may want to see whether fibreplex could also help to stabilise the guts. It is not cheap, but can help in these cases.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

We recommend ca. 50g ov fresh veg in a day; up to 80% of the daily food intake should be unlimited hay. As long as your boy is eating that, then he should not lose any further weight. If necessary, top him up with syringe feed; as much as he will take. Weigh him daily at the same time in the feeding cycle.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet

Has your vet considered checking the urinary tract and the teeth (especially the premolars); they can also impact on the digestive system.
 
Thanks for the quick reply!

I do change veggies regularly and honestly never seen any indication that it was one particular veggie, also the fact that problems started at a time where i did not really introduce any new
veggies, and pretty much gave the same stuff since they were little.

I'm going to keep an excel sheet and update it everyday and write down the exact intake and veggies of that day, slowly decreasing veggie grams until problems disappear.

Also 80% of the intake should be timothy hay, does that mean i should limit pellets or so?

I've been trying different pellets, and in particular Fibafirst from Science Selective as its a timothy based 'pellet' or rather big sticks, and contain like 23% fiber.

Also normal Science Selective contains mainly alfalfa and since everyone believes timothy based food is better for adults ive always been a bit surprised that its recommended by my vet (and shown on package) for adults as well.

The recommended daily amount of 30-50g per pig seems way too much as they never eat such big amounts lol.

So far they are not extremely enthousiastic about it.
:(

thx!
 
MT_ said:
Thanks for the quick reply!

I do change veggies regularly and honestly never seen any indication that it was one particular veggie, also the fact that problems started at a time where i did not really introduce any new
veggies, and pretty much gave the same stuff since they were little.

I'm going to keep an excel sheet and update it everyday and write down the exact intake and veggies of that day, slowly decreasing veggie grams until problems disappear.

Also 80% of the intake should be timothy hay, does that mean i should limit pellets or so?

I've been trying different pellets, and in particular Fibafirst from Science Selective as its a timothy based 'pellet' or rather big sticks, and contain like 23% fiber.

Also normal Science Selective contains mainly alfalfa and since everyone believes timothy based food is better for adults ive always been a bit surprised that its recommended by my vet (and shown on package) for adults as well.

The recommended daily amount of 30-50g per pig seems way too much as they never eat such big amounts lol.

So far they are not extremely enthousiastic about it.
:(

thx!
Click to expand...


Guinea pigs with ongoing digestive problems would do best with grain-free pellets, as that can also contribute to problems with the diet. There are thankfully several brands around now. I would rather go for them than Science Selective, which is not the best brand. Pellets should only make a very small part of the diet; they amounts on the packets are far too high anyway. I give mine 10g max in a day.
@helen105281 can give you more recommendations on currently available suitable pellet brands.
@Adelle may also help you suggest avenues on what approaches you can try to get on top of the digestive problems and weight loss.

As you are not living in the UK it would help us a lot if you please added your country to your details, so we can take that into account when making any recommendations. Click on your username on the top, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you!
 
Thank you, done :)

Overseas neighbour :)

Money isn't a problem, but perhaps other good grain free pellets are not as easy to come by here :/ I'll try and find some later today.
 
MT_ said:
Thank you, done :)

Overseas neighbour :)

Money isn't a problem, but perhaps other good grain free pellets are not as easy to come by here :/ I'll try and find some later today.
Click to expand...

If you can get on zooplus online in the Netherlands, they sell several grain-free products (the links are to the UK zooplus shop, but it is a German company, so zooplus should be accessible from your country, too):
JR Farm Grainless Complete Guinea Pig | Free P&P £29+ at zooplus!
Versele-Laga Cavia Complete Guinea Pig Food | Free P&P £29+
Bunny GuineaPigDream BASIC | Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!
 
I agree with @Wiebke about cutting back the veg completely until his poos firm up- this should always be the first port of call for loose stools.

It sounds like you are trying to get on top of it but u need to take one step at a time, as changing too much can actually prolong the problem.

Giving him some small animal
Probiotics will either help or
Do nothing- it won't harm him.

Try not to keep changing pellets at the moment. Put him back on whatever you fed him before this started, and stop all veg until at least 48 hours after the poos are normal.

Once you are reintroducing veg, do
It one at a time. One a day, if you hit a problem then don't feed said veg anymore.

If it's still an ongoing issue at that point then you can try grain free pellets.

All the best
 
Ok so hes 950g now, i've decided to start critical care fine grind, luckily he seems to enjoy it rather well lol. He's literally pulling on the syringe with his teeth.

I'm bringing him up to 1000+g first and continue my search for the possible culprit then
 
Has his teeth been checked by a piggy savvy vet? The fact he is clearly hungry and wants to eat yet isn't eating as well as he should be and losing weight as a result could indicate a dental issue. This can cause gut problems too
 
Adelle said:
Has his teeth been checked by a piggy savvy vet? The fact he is clearly hungry and wants to eat yet isn't eating as well as he should be and losing weight as a result could indicate a dental issue. This can cause gut problems too
Click to expand...

I agree with Adelle. An ill guinea pig usually has no real appetite. A dental guinea cannot eat and is very hungry when you start syringe feeding. Not eating enough, especially not being able to chew hay for a while can cause gut problems that are secondary to the dental problem; that is also the cause for the weight loss.
 
He has been checked his teeth by my vet, and she definately knows if something's wrong there., he doesnt appear to have any issues grinding away anything, carrots, huge timothy hay pieces, carrots....

He's also enthusiastically eating any food i give my female sow...

I've had a former boar with dental issues and i think i wouldve noticed anything unusual as well.
 
Edit: Giving him two big syringes of Critical Care a day, stopped veggies, since two days.

Seems to be gaining some weight, stools not normalized yet.

I've been giving the regular Timothy hay and about 30g science selective (for both guineas)
 
He finally reached 1000+ grams in just a few days with Critical care, wow what a great product! He was only 950g a few days ago.

Think ill continue till hes back on his original weight of 1050~g

Then I gotta figure out what the hell is wrong with my diet. His poopies still soft and 'tear' drop shaped mostly.

I assume the culprit is either way not related to too much fluid from veggies as he's now gulping on the water bottle much more. I dont have a feeling it has ANYthing to do with the veggies in the first place. Few days now with no veggies and no dice.

Btw I've been mixing the Critical care with fresh poopies from my other guinea pig (yum) i guess it cannot hurt. Pro biotics :)
 
And back to 950, measured him yesterday at 1007g.

Ok this is probably half a empty/full stomach thing, still lost weight. Its like hes not eating much at all at day, just sitting in his sleep house eating hay all day. I wonder if he just really dislikea the pellets and doesnt bother getting out of his sleep house for it... My sow comes out all day.

That might explain the massive weight drop since i lowered veggies, now he gets even less nutriciens he need.

Perhaps i should just buy the pellets you adviced and see which he absolutely likes, and slowly transition to that.

I just have a hunch this might be it, bowels half empty all the time...
 
If his appetite has decrease further i would take him back to the vet, no veggies shouldn't cause weight loss x
 
No I ment that in april/may he started regular soft stools, but his weight remained steady around 1020/1050g. Only when i started 'experimenting' with limiting pellet dosage and veggies since a month or teo he started losing weight, so thats why i suspect he simply might dislike the pellets.

Whatya think? Why else would he barely go out of sleeping house at day and just eat hay all day.

His appetite is great when i come with veggies, every evening they both enthiusiatically stand at the edge of the cage waiting for it, and he eats it all up.
 
Just measured him after i gave him veggies, hes now 1020g versus 950g earlier today... what a huge jump. that means he ate 50/60g of veggies, i usually give them 100g both, so pretty split.

Nothing wrong with his appetite!
 
With so many inconsistencys it's really hard to say what's going on. If the soft stools continue you will need to get him a full work up at the vets.

Good luck
 
Update: Still soft poo's. His weight is stable at around 975/1000g. No signs of illness.

Eats plenty of hay, drinks plenty. I have started veggies again as it doesnt appear to matter in the slightest. I've also read different studies that putting guineas off vegs might not even be be smartest idea as it might take away their appetite completely.

I'm gonna try changing pellets (i bought all the ones you advertised) and see if that might change things.

I think I'll pick the one he will enjoy most, once i figure that out :D
 
His poopies firmed up last few days, they are sometimes two colored though like dark brown mixed with lighter brown, is normal?

He hasnt gained any weight back on but hasnt lost anything dramatic.
 
Not sure if anyones still reading here, but hes around 900g now. Brought him to the vet a few days ago for 24 hours to observe him and his fresh poo's, vet said again nothing found. Teeth also fine (as expected)

They did say he shows little interest in pellets, and i should try increase his pellet intake? He might also not compensate this with enough hay intake.

Ive tried other pellets with 20%+ fiber as suggested but i dont see him being too enthousiastic about those either. (the ones recommended on this thread)
 
I don't know what's wrong but I hope he gets better soon. It may be worth trying fibreplex to try and help his gut. One of my boars went through a phase of having squidgy poops and I just cut out veg completely for a few days and gave him a product we get called "tummy care" think its prebiotic type stuff. If he gets soft poop I just cut out all watery veg (cucumber, celery, lettuce (I never feed iceberg lettuce, as it causes diarrhoea). your piggies are gorgeous btw.
 
Ty!

I am now mixing up different probiotics with lots of different stems and guinea fiber mix with critical care and some guinea pig vitamine drops.

He eats from the syringe until he wants to more, he almost pulls it out of my fingers!

Guess ill keep doing that for a while until his gut has fully recovered and (hopefully) gained enoigh weight.

And then slowly reintroducing veggies one by one

His poopies has actually been pretty good this week, altho still lost some weight i wonder if that is due to him losing all the sticky gunk poos and cuz his gut is moving more, so he lost a lot of stools .
 
These piggies like to pull on your heart strings. Hope he keeps improving.
 
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Sleepless nights... lol

One last question, my female sow has been incredibly dominant (or horny) for the last couple of months, making these 'brrrrrrr'
sounds and she often sprays on my boar with urine and tries to hump on my boars back. Not a day goes by and i can hear her 'brrrrr' -ing multiple times a day, often around my boar.

Could it have any relation to it at all? He's not provoking her in any way.
 
MT_ said:
Sleepless nights... lol

One last question, my female sow has been incredibly dominant (or horny) for the last couple of months, making these 'brrrrrrr'
sounds and she often sprays on my boar with urine and tries to hump on my boars back. Not a day goes by and i can hear her 'brrrrr' -ing multiple times a day, often around my boar.

Could it have any relation to it at all? He's not provoking her in any way.
Click to expand...

Are either of them Neutered? She may just be in season and sensing he's a little off so taking advantage of trying to be top pig.

If it continues and she is acting out of the ordinary then maybe pop her along to the vet next time your boar is due a visit X
 
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