Hard white mucus surrounding poop

[PiggiePerson]

Hi piggie people of the interwebs!

I had my two 3 month old sows on a blanket for cuddles this evening, eating veggies and being quite active. When it was time to put them back in their hutch I noticed a few normal poops but one of them had a white substance surround it which had dried VERY hard onto the blanket. After I’d put the piggies back, I poured boiling kettle water over the substance on the blanket to try and soften it up but it was still pretty stuck.

Now I have read about boar glue but my pigs were both sexed as female prior to me receiving them and I have checked myself, although I’m not confident with things like this I am fairly certain after my check (following all the guides) that they are indeed sows. Does anyone know what this could be? It’s completely random and I’m not sure which pig it came from so I will be sure to keep an eye on any continuation/change etc!

Any insight would be appreciated, thank you!

 

[Siikibam]

Who confirmed the sex? Sows have a fleshy seal just inside the slit. Boars have a penis ridge which you can feel above the slit. I would check again.

Your best bet is to take her to the vet.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please check their sexes again yourself. If they are both the same sex (even if they do turn out to be male) then that’s fine but what you don’t want is to discover a mixed sex pair as you’ve then likely got a pregnant piggy and you must immediately separate them. Please do confirm the sexes yourself. https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/illustrated-sexing-guide-for-all-ages.156297/

otherwise, it would be best to have your piggy checked by a vet to find out if there is a medical issue concerning the mucus.

 

[VickiA]

 

[PiggiePerson]

Thanks all, saw a vet this morning and was surprised to find out they are in fact BOTH boys! Now just to change one of their names but a relief to know there will be no unplanned babies...

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thanks all, saw a vet this morning and was surprised to find out they are in fact BOTH boys! Now just to change one of their names but a relief to know there will be no unplanned babies...

I'm so glad they’re both the same sex, even though it wasn’t the one you expected!

now to read up on keeping boars! The most important thing being that they have a big enough cage - two boars need a 180cm x 60cm as they need more space than sows. Lack of space between two boars can cause problems in their relationship. Also ensure you handle the dominant piggy first to respect their hierarchy.
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

 

[PiggiePerson]

Absolutely, thank you for the links and tips - so helpful. I had heard about the space requirement for boars although I currently have a double decker hutch, where the upstairs is the ‘bedroom’ and the downstairs is a run accessed by a ramp. I need to have a proper measure up again but if the total area space is equivalent to the minimum dimensions, would this be ok? Obviously the bedroom upstairs is just over a third of the size of the run itself, and the piggies sleep together in here, but I’m not sure if that needs to be bigger too.

 

[Siikibam]

They are ground roaming animals so the space requirements need to be on one floor. Additional floors don’t count towards the space needed. So your lower floor needs to be the minimum space.

If you can set up a play pen around the hutch that they have access to 24/7, that could work.

 

[Piggies&buns]

upper levels do not count towards the cage size. It’s only the bottom level of the cage which can be counted and needs to meet size requirements.
if the downstairs part is bigger but don’t have constant access to it and get locked in the upper part at any time, then the upper part must also individually be big enough.

 

[PiggiePerson]

Thank you both!