mypinkballoon
New Born Pup
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- Apr 8, 2015
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I have an approximately 2 and a half year old guinea pig named Charlie. He has never had any abnormal health ailments thus far...knock on wood. Last Thursday morning I was spot cleaning his cage and noticed he may be impacted. Now up until that point he has passed those larger ball looking poops on his own. He would pass one a month maybe. So at the time I thought nothing of it. I went off to work and about 9 hours later I arrived home & went to spot clean his cage a second time and notice he was still impacted. Thinking 9 hours was way to long for him to not pass it; I panicked, called the vet, and made an emergency appointment.
The vet showed me how to ease it out and told me impaction is common among older male guinea pigs. Since Thursday I have had to help relieve Charlie every morning and night. He is still eating, but not as much as he normally does. He is also not as active as he use to be.
To note - in the past month I have moved and Charlie is still getting accustomed to his new surroundings. I know these little guys stress easily. I know impaction is caused by muscle loss, but could this just be an upset stomach due to stress? I have no problem helping to relieve Charlie, but with my work hours picking up I am a little worried about him. I don't want him to be in discomfort/pain or have a lower quality of life due to this ailment. If this is impaction, is this a sign of direr things to come? Is it possible for him to live a comfortable and happy few more years with impaction happening at least twice a day? I am thinking of having him move back in with my parents to see if that will alleviate potential stress and see if his digestive issues clear up.
Charlie is the 4th male guinea pig I've had and he is the first to have this issue. Any help/guidance anyone could offer would be much appreciated!
Also - this is my 1st time ever posting in a forum. I hope creating a new thread is okay! I wasn't sure if I should be asking this as a comment on another thread.
The vet showed me how to ease it out and told me impaction is common among older male guinea pigs. Since Thursday I have had to help relieve Charlie every morning and night. He is still eating, but not as much as he normally does. He is also not as active as he use to be.
To note - in the past month I have moved and Charlie is still getting accustomed to his new surroundings. I know these little guys stress easily. I know impaction is caused by muscle loss, but could this just be an upset stomach due to stress? I have no problem helping to relieve Charlie, but with my work hours picking up I am a little worried about him. I don't want him to be in discomfort/pain or have a lower quality of life due to this ailment. If this is impaction, is this a sign of direr things to come? Is it possible for him to live a comfortable and happy few more years with impaction happening at least twice a day? I am thinking of having him move back in with my parents to see if that will alleviate potential stress and see if his digestive issues clear up.
Charlie is the 4th male guinea pig I've had and he is the first to have this issue. Any help/guidance anyone could offer would be much appreciated!
Also - this is my 1st time ever posting in a forum. I hope creating a new thread is okay! I wasn't sure if I should be asking this as a comment on another thread.
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