So I had two Guinea Pigs and one died from pneumonia sadly so now I only have the another who has a cold I’m pretty sure it’s a less severe case with pneumonia, she was just sent home with medication. She’s walking around and drinking water occasionally eatting bits of food but I just don’t see any poop or pee.. I called the place I rescued her from and they suggested I’d buy critical care but I don’t even know how much to give her I’m scared of over feeding her to the point that she can get bloated and can’t poop. The other guinea pig died on Sunday so I’m also afraid that my guinea pig who’s alive may mourn and that’s why she’s not pooping as well I just don’t know what to do and I can’t see anyone until Thursday for my appointment please help !
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Guinea Pig Not Pooping :(
- Thread starter Natalie S
- Start date
Hi and welcome!
Please start with syringe feeding asap. It is vital that you keep the guts going so your piggy has got a chance to survive. There is NO risk that guinea pig will become bloated from syringe feeding! It's never happened to a forum piggy in all the years! Without any feed there is a high chance that your guinea pigs will go into gut stasis (i.e. the guts will stop working) and your guinea pig will die.
If you cannot get hold of Critical Care (ideally fine grind) immediately, you can feed mushed up pellets but you need to prep the syringe tip as shown in our guide.
Take the time to read our syringe feeding guide. It explains every aspect of the process (with pictures) and has been written especially for owners that have never done it before. We cover every aspect from syringe and feed prepping to how to hold and to feed your piggy to how often/how much to feed in various situations, depending on whether a guinea is still eating partially or not at all etc. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. this is why guinea pigs with respiratory infections and/or pneumonia lose their appetite. It will slowly come back once the meds kick in.
Additionally, antibiotics often dampen the appetite, which means a double whammy. Your home care in terms of syringe feeding can make all the difference whether your guinea pig survives the crisis or not.
Please be aware that the poo output reflects what has gone in a day or even two before (depending how much the guts have already slowed down), so do not expect lots of healthy looking poos anytime soon. They will also come in bunches and not nicely spaced apart.
What you can do additionally:
- place a bowl of steaming water next to the cage and keep it refreshed. If you wish, you can add a drop of olbas oil (NOT vicks, which contains substances that noxious for guinea pigs). This is to help ease the breathing.
alternatively, steam up the shower, turn off the water and place your piggy dry and on a towel in there for half an hour. This is kind of an improvised emergency nebuliser. When you take out your piggy, make sure that it is kept dry and warm.
- give a pinch of probiotics, either 1 hour before the antibiotic (US recommendation) or 1-2 hours after the antibiotic (UK recommendation). This is an additional non-medication measure to help boost the guts.
- give extra vitamin C to help boost the immune system. In an emergency you can give 1/8 -1/4 of a human tablet dissolved in a little water and syringed. Oxbow offer special tablets for animals.
All the best! Please take a deep breath and take the plunge, for the sake of your remaining piggy. Syringe feeding is scary at first, but it is mainly a matter of practice. Our guide is very step-by-step, with pictures to help you get it right.
I’m not sure if my guinea pig is bloated she’s not pooping but I’m pretty sure she is not pooping because she had pneumonia and isn’t eatting a lot. But I’m just wondering if syringe feeding helps get rid of this bloating? Or does it cause more bloating?
Your guinea pig is not making any poos because it has not eaten, not because it has got bloat. You cannot digest food if there isn't anything to digest, it is as simple as that. If you do not start syringe feeding ASAP, your guinea is going to die!
Signs of bloating are a visibly swollen, hard belly that is making a hollow sound when you gently knock on it. You cannot mistake a ballooning piggy, I promise you. Syringe feeding does not cause bloating.
PS: I am merging your threads as they deal with the same issue.
Please save your guinea pig's life and give it food and water NOW!
You are already skirting ever closer to the edge as it is hours since you have got our advice. The advice is still the same! Please do not kill your guinea pig by dithering any longer!
I started feeding her every 3 hours, do you think that’s a fine amount? Or should I be feeding her more often. I only started the syringe feeding yesterday afternoon and so far I fed her at 7am before school and after school at 2pm, should I feed her at at 5? Or 6? How often ?Your guinea pig is not making any poos because it has not eaten, not because it has got bloat. You cannot digest food if there isn't anything to digest, it is as simple as that. If you do not start syringe feeding ASAP, your guinea is going to die!
Signs of bloating are a visibly swollen, hard belly that is making a hollow sound when you gently knock on it. You cannot mistake a ballooning piggy, I promise you. Syringe feeding does not cause bloating.
PS: I am merging your threads as they deal with the same issue.
Please save your guinea pig's life and give it food and water NOW!
You are already skirting ever closer to the edge as it is hours since you have got our advice. The advice is still the same! Please do not kill your guinea pig by dithering any longer!
rome_italy
Adult Guinea Pig
Natalie, is there anyone else at home who can syringe feed your piggie? I think his gut needs to be stimulated every 2-3 hours... at least this is what a vet suggested to me long ago when my piggie was very ill... I don't know the rules in your country, is it allowed to stay at home from school for 1-2 days? (here students can stay at home for personal reasons, for short holidays, for any reasons... but I know that abroad rules are different). Pneumonia will recover but if the gut stops working it is a big trouble...
My mom stays home while I’m at school so I’m sure she can syringe feed her by the time I’m back home from school. I’m going to make sure to syringe feed her every two and a half hours just so I could make her digestion start going
Janice C
Adult Guinea Pig
hello Natalie,
Your piggy will need syringe feeding every couple of hours or so and will need about 3 to 5 mls per feed fed as third of a syringe at a time given slowly and carefully so that the piggy has time to swallow between mouthfuls. Slow business but necessary so Piggy doesn’t choke. Please ask if someone else in your house could help out? A feed later on at night would help keep her going until someone could help you in the morning early again.
rome_italy
Adult Guinea Pig
this is very good! 
maybe in 1-2 days the gut will work again
maybe in 1-2 days the gut will work again
Janice C
Adult Guinea Pig
Good ! You can show your Mum the advice on how to syringe feed that’s on the Forum!,
Thank you for starting to syringe feed.
Feed as often as you can during the day and if possible once or twice during the night until the meds kick in in a day or two, especially if you get less than 10 ml per feeding into her in each session. Add up the number of full syringes that you feed and try to come as close to 40 ml (i.e. 40 full syringes) as possible in 24 hours. If there is somebody in the house who can help you out with the feeding sessions, that would be great!
Make sure that you do not give more than she can swallow in one go (around 0.3.ml/ one third or quarter of the syringe for a young, half a syringe for a fully grown piggy) and wait until the feed has gone down before giving more. It is usually a real struggle to get food in at this stage, but it really can make the difference between life and death. We see this regularly on this forum.
Please be aware that it takes 1-2 days for the antibiotics to work, and equally long for your syringe feed to come out at the other end, especially since the guts tend to slow down quickly when there is no food. This is the tough time you need to get your poorly piggy through if at all possible. But hopefully your girl is going to perk up again a bit over the next day with some food in the works!
She will still need syringe feed support for a few more days after the crisis, but in the measure that her airways clear she will have gradually more appetite and hopefully start eating for herself. By then you can go down to first 4, then 3 and at last 2 support feeds a day (you will see when the time comes as your girl will hopefully be able and willing to eat more feed in ever session) and stop when her weight is stabilising and she is no longer interested in the feed but well in herself; during the recovery stage, you aim for 60-90 ml a day. A healthy adult eats about the equivalent of 120 ml in a day.
Weigh your piggy once daily at the same time to keep an eye on her food intake (just seeing a piggy chew on crud can be very misleading) and go back to the once weekly weigh-in when your girl is healthy again.
If your guinea pigs have developed the infection within 2 weeks of buying them and two weeks of your other piggy coming down with it, then your parents can reclaim the vet cost from the shop if they present the vet bills together with the sales receipt at the shop, as exposure and infection have happened at the shop and you have been sold ill animals. cheap kitchen scales from the supermarket are perfectly fine for the job.
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig
I am ever so sorry that you have such an awful start to your piggy life. Respiratory infection is a killer, but the anorexia (loss of appetite) kills as many as the bug directly, so well done for feeding!
Fingers VERY firmly crossed!