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Guinea pig not pooping

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MamiSandra

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Our 4 year old Aby Coco has been unwell since Wednesday. I took her to the vet that day because I noticed she had a wet chin. The vet could not see any signs of oral fungal infection or molar overgrowth, so prescribed antibiotics (Baytril) because Coco has had a few lumps all around her body for years (she is just very lumpy) and the vet thought maybe the one near her neck is infected.

So we started the antibiotics on Wednesday. At this point, Coco was still ok in herself, eating etc but just had this wet patch.

Then on Thursday she worsened and I noticed she did not seem to be eating much anymore. I separated her from her mate, so I can monitor pooping - and she was not pooping. So I started syringe feeding her, every 2-3 hours, a mix of pellet & cucumber mash with water. She happily took this from me, but was also still happily eating veggies at breakfast and dinner time. I just noticed that she wasn't having pellets from the bowl or much hay.

I took her back to the vet yesterday morning who now suspects bloat as the reason why there are no poos. We started Infacol 3 times a day plus Inflacam in case she is in pain (and still finishing the antibiotics). Yesterday, Coco did about 15 poos between 11 am and midnight, but she has done no poos at all since midnight. I know exactly what she produces because she lives on fleece and I spot clean this regularly to see what is going on. I have been giving her tummy massages (which she hates) and put her on a vibration pad (which she also hates and keeps walking off). I read on one Guinea Lynx that lactulose can be an option. Does anyone have experience with this?

This morning, she was not interested in her morning veg which is a first. I am so scared she will die right under my nose. We are due back at the vet at 11 am, but is there anyone here who can help me with advice. The vet did say that she is old (though I don't think 4 years is that old) and that not everything is fixable at this age. But I cannot give up, not yet.

Please can somebody help me?
 
@MamiSandra How is her weight? If it is reducing then she's not eating enough.

Lack of poops means she's not eating enough, not matter what the reason is. You'll need to increase her syringe food intake.

Why does your vet think it is bloat?
 
Jaycey said:
@MamiSandra How is her weight? If it is reducing then she's not eating enough.

Lack of poops means she's not eating enough, not matter what the reason is. You'll need to increase her syringe food intake.

Why does your vet think it is bloat?
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The vet thought it was bloat when she saw her yesterday, but today she does not seem bloated at all. I am actually starting to think that the lack of poos seem like it because Coco is eating them. You know how they eat their own poos anyway. When they are on antibiotics, they increase this habit to repopulate their own gut with good bacteria - but they take the poos from other, healthy piggies because they are unaffected by antibiotics. I have had to keep Coco separate from Fluffy to monitor Coco's poo output, so she has not had the option to eat Fluffy's poos. Just now I caught Coco eating her own poo. So that must be why there are so few poos in her bedding. I have found two today, so that is better than nothing. I will keep syringe feeding her 3-4 hourly to keep her strength up and her bowels going. Also, I have read online that Baytril can make you lethargic and affect appetite. Could this be why she is not interested in eating anything?
 
Merab's Slave said:
Hope the vet can find a solution for you.
Holding you in my thoughts
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Thank you. It is so hard, especially because since Thursday I have been sick myself with an upset stomach, so getting up two nights on the trot, every 2 hours, to feed by sick piggie has not been easy x
 
MamiSandra said:
The vet thought it was bloat when she saw her yesterday, but today she does not seem bloated at all. I am actually starting to think that the lack of poos seem like it because Coco is eating them. You know how they eat their own poos anyway. When they are on antibiotics, they increase this habit to repopulate their own gut with good bacteria - but they take the poos from other, healthy piggies because they are unaffected by antibiotics. I have had to keep Coco separate from Fluffy to monitor Coco's poo output, so she has not had the option to eat Fluffy's poos. Just now I caught Coco eating her own poo. So that must be why there are so few poos in her bedding. I have found two today, so that is better than nothing. I will keep syringe feeding her 3-4 hourly to keep her strength up and her bowels going. Also, I have read online that Baytril can make you lethargic and affect appetite. Could this be why she is not interested in eating anything?
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It could be. Are you giving her probiotic?

Have you considered putting her back with her friend as she can then eat her poo and may feel more at home? Or if you want to keep her separate you could give her "poop soup" which is a healthy pig poop soaked in water and then the water syringed to her?
 
Jaycey said:
It could be. Are you giving her probiotic?

Have you considered putting her back with her friend as she can then eat her poo and may feel more at home? Or if you want to keep her separate you could give her "poop soup" which is a healthy pig poop soaked in water and then the water syringed to her?
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Yes, have put her back with Fluffy and she has already eaten one of Fluffy's poos. She has also been eating her own. I am giving her Protexin Bio Lapis and Vetark Professional Pro-C Probiotic. I will do the poop soup, too - can't wait - NOT!
 
MamiSandra said:
Yes, have put her back with Fluffy and she has already eaten one of Fluffy's poos. She has also been eating her own. I am giving her Protexin Bio Lapis and Vetark Professional Pro-C Probiotic. I will do the poop soup, too - can't wait - NOT!
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She'll give you the worst stink eye ever, haha. They seem to know that it is and are disgusted with you. Eating someone elses poop for themselves is fine but they hate you trying to give them it.

Hopefully her stomach settles down soon and she tries to eat again so you can see id she still can.

If she's still not eating by Monday I'd probably opt to see a different vet. They might be able to work out what's happening.
 
Jaycey said:
She'll give you the worst stink eye ever, haha. They seem to know that it is and are disgusted with you. Eating someone elses poop for themselves is fine but they hate you trying to give them it.

Hopefully her stomach settles down soon and she tries to eat again so you can see id she still can.

If she's still not eating by Monday I'd probably opt to see a different vet. They might be able to work out what's happening.
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Completely agree. I rang one exotic vet today and they said they could only see us on Monday, but want a £100 for a second opinion. Is this normal?
 
£100 is quite expensive for a consultation to be honest. My vet is £30 (I think!).

It could be because they're exotic vets though. I used to use a local exotics vet and they were generally more expensive because they were situated in a big manor house and had high running costs because of the equine facilities there.

Don't worry about asking what's included in the £100. They could be covering tests or it might include a referral charge as some exotics class themselves as referral vets.
 
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