I Think My Guinea Pig May Be Dehydrated

[Courtneyyyleex]

I was holding my girl, Peanut who is 5-6 months old, and I noticed she had pooped but it was an unusal shape, almost kinda tear drop shaped so I googled it and learned that it's a sign of dehydration. This confused me a bit because I feed her vegetables with water in them such a celery and I make sure that she has water all the time and I change the water regularly. She hasn't been acting strange or anything, she's eating, drinking and playing as usual and even Pop corns so she definitely doesn't seem I'll. also she has a little scab on her nose which I think was done by her cage mate, Rosie, although they are well bonded. It just concerned be a bit because I noticed these two things on the same day. If she is dehydrated how do I help her? I've already given her grass and apple because I know it's got a lot of water in it

 

[Chief Guinea Pig]

It's sometimes a gut disturbance, instead of dehydration. Was it a moist poo? It's probably not dehydration if it's wet/moist.
Has there been any stressful situations that could've caused it, or change in diet?

 

[Courtneyyyleex]

Her poop feels the same as my other piggies it's just the shape and no nothing that I can think of

 

[Caron's Cavies]

Please don't worry as it may just be a one off but the best thing you can do is keep a special watch on her just in case anything else changes for her.

If you don't already weigh them I would suggest you do so (especially for her just now) each week at the same sort of time which will allow you to keep an eye on any changes to her weight.

I will tag @Wiebke for you to see if she has any other advice for you as well.

 

[Courtneyyyleex]

Thank you so much, I originally posted a question about this on yahoo answers and they really made me worry

 

[Chief Guinea Pig]

If you've only seen one the I doubt it's going to be anything sinister considering they're a good texture.

 

[Caron's Cavies]

Thank you so much, I originally posted a question about this on yahoo answers and they really made me worry

I know sometimes the internet can be a scary place as well

You know your piggies better than anyone so it is important that you can keep a watch on her. If you think she is unwell then the best thing you can do is take her to your vet.

Do you already have them registered with a vet so that you know what to do and who to contact in any sort of emergency.

 

[Chief Guinea Pig]

Unfortunately there's a lot of scaremongers

 

[Wiebke]

Tear-shaped poos are not necessarily due to dehydration. If your piggy is eating her veg normally, then she is certainly not dehydrated. They can be a sign of a minor disturbation in the guts. As long as it is one-off, I would not worry, only if there are further signs of an upset gut and/or a loss of appetite/not eating one of the foods, like hay.

Just keep an eye out for her over the next few days and for the time being switch to weighing daily instead of weekly, ideally at the same time in the feeding cycle, like just before dinner, so you get comparable results. The difference between a full tummy/full bladder can make up to 30g/1 oz, so you need only see a vet if there is more than 50g/2 oz loss of weight.

Also keep an eye out for the scab; fungal infections thrive in damp warm wheather and often start with a scab. Again, just keep an eye on it, but don't panic. You are a very observant piggy mum, but that can sometimes be a hindrance rather than a help.

 

[Courtneyyyleex]

I know sometimes the internet can be a scary place as well

You know your piggies better than anyone so it is important that you can keep a watch on her. If you think she is unwell then the best thing you can do is take her to your vet.

Do you already have them registered with a vet so that you know what to do and who to contact in any sort of emergency.

I'm not currently registered with a vet but there's one literally round the corner from me so I would go there if there was anything wrong

 

[Caron's Cavies]

I'm not currently registered with a vet but there's one literally round the corner from me so I would go there if there was anything wrong

That's good. It always pays to be prepared. Perhaps an idea to find out their normal hours and out of hours service and numbers as well.

You generally find that animals like children always seem to have a problem or get ill at the most inconvenient times and if you are already worried and possibly in a panic it will be made even worse trying to find phone numbers or going round there to find they are closed.

I have stored my vets number in my mobile and house phone under vet so that when I am in a panic which I do if any of my babies are ill then I don't even have to remember the name of them I just press vet and away I go

 

[Courtneyyyleex]

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Courtneyyyleex]

In case Anyone was wondering, I checked on peanut this morning and gave her food and veggies and she's still seeming fine. I know piggies health can deteriorate really quickly with a lot of problems but she seems absolutely fine. I'm going to keep a close eye on her though and keep letting everyone who helped me know how she's doing. Thank you all so much for your help

 

[Wiebke]

In case Anyone was wondering, I checked on peanut this morning and gave her food and veggies and she's still seeming fine. I know piggies health can deteriorate really quickly with a lot of problems but she seems absolutely fine. I'm going to keep a close eye on her though and keep letting everyone who helped me know how she's doing. Thank you all so much for your help

It was likely just a one-off, as can happen.

Otherwise, she would have continued to deteriorate in both quality, number and size of poos reflecting a decreasing food intake. Dehydration is noticeable by dry and then increasingly shrivelled looking fresh poos and in a more advanced state by being coated in mucus.

 

[Courtneyyyleex]

There was nothing else wrong with the poops, just the shape. She's acting just fine too. I always panic when it comes to my guinea pigs because I know how quickly they can get ill and die it's so scary!
Thank you so much

 

[Courtneyyyleex]

It's been almost a week since I noticed Peanuts strangely shaped poops and I cleaned the hutch today and found no more odd poops. She has continued to eat and drink normally so I think she's all better thank you all so much for helping me