Impaction

[Lilly]

Despite being neutered due to prostate problems and being only 3 years & 7 months old, it looks like impaction may be in PB's future.A few days ago he started producing poops where two or three were clumped together. The he squawked in pain & produced this monster!


I counted 14 stuck together. After that one he then tapered off by having smaller clumps and now no clumps at all. The vet has given him a check-up and could find no illness, just the likelihood that helping him poop is in my future!.

 

[Wiebke]

Poor boy!

Please make sure that he gets lots of fibre in his diet. The pouch in a neutered boar is not as big as in a full boar, so it will hopefully be easier to get things out.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/impaction-recovery-how-to-help-your-guinea-pig.120787/

 

[Lilly]

Thanks for that video@Wiebke seems a very gentle way to clean out compared to other videos I've seen on the Internet. My vet did it the same way except she didn't use warm water which I will do. We don't have fibreplex or anything like that in this country. He does get meadow hay in his hay tray and timothy hay in his hay bag. Also grass regularly since it grows year round here. I still have some critical care on hand from his lat illness. Would that provide extra fibre? Anything else I can give him for fibre? .

 

[Lilly]

Thanks for that video@Wiebke seems a very gentle way to clean out compared to other videos I've seen on the Internet. My vet did it the same way except she didn't use warm water which I will do. We don't have fibreplex or anything like that in this country. He does get meadow hay in his hay tray and timothy hay in his hay bag. Also grass regularly since it grows year round here. I still have some critical care on hand from his lat illness. Would that provide extra fibre? Anything else I can give him for fibre? .

Sorry @Wiebke didn't tag the above properly

 

[Wiebke]

Sorry @Wiebke didn't tag the above properly

Critical care is fine; you could also look at fibreplex.

We are glad to have found this video and got permission from the owner to use it, as the other one that is making the rounds is far too rough and aggressive.

 

[lauraboara]

Hi Lilly. I have an older boar who needs this kind of 'mucking out' everyday! Never that big a lump as on the video though.Sometimes a little bit of baby oil helps to losen the lump.
I have found 2 things that help reduce his impaction - 1 = giving him a predictable diet fed at the same time each day - don't ask me why but routine seems to be good for him and his bottom! The other thing is a pinch pro-biotic every morning with added vit C (fed on cucumber). A larger than normal helping of green veg makes his impaction worse. Hope your boy improves soon.

 

[Lilly]

Hi Lilly. I have an older boar who needs this kind of 'mucking out' everyday! Never that big a lump as on the video though.Sometimes a little bit of baby oil helps to losen the lump.
I have found 2 things that help reduce his impaction - 1 = giving him a predictable diet fed at the same time each day - don't ask me why but routine seems to be good for him and his bottom! The other thing is a pinch pro-biotic every morning with added vit C (fed on cucumber). A larger than normal helping of green veg makes his impaction worse. Hope your boy improves soon.

Thanks you for that advice. All easily available here and easily done. Peanut Butter didn't have a lump as big as that on the video either but as you can see, the photo I gave of his monster lump is pretty bad.

 

[worried val of york]

I hope you are coping with PB's impaction. My 5 year old Maxwell went to the vet this week. He produced a massive Poo Ball when he was on my knee without making any noise. So I know what a shock it is when something like that appears. Max is back to his usual size poos now. They like to keep you involved don't they.

 

[Lilly]

I hope you are coping with PB's impaction. My 5 year old Maxwell went to the vet this week. He produced a massive Poo Ball when he was on my knee without making any noise. So I know what a shock it is when something like that appears. Max is back to his usual size poos now. They like to keep you involved don't they.

Glad to hear Maxwell is back to normal poop size for now. Peanut Butter is OK for the moment as well. Honestly, since last October my life seems to revolve around PB's poops.

 

[worried val of york]

It's only on this forum that you can discuss problems like this. If I happen to mention it to anyone else (which I actively try to avoid) I get strange looks. Mind you when I got my guinea pigs 2 years ago I did not have any idea of the health problems guinea pigs have these days. When I had my first guinea pig when I was 12 (many years ago) he never saw a vet, He lived by himself in a wooden box with hay , wood shavings and ate bran (or oats its so long ago I cannot remember). he came out for runs in the dining room. I cleaned his hutch with Dettol and he never had any health issues. Oh how I wish modern guinea pigs were as robust.

 

[Lilly]

It's only on this forum that you can discuss problems like this. If I happen to mention it to anyone else (which I actively try to avoid) I get strange looks. Mind you when I got my guinea pigs 2 years ago I did not have any idea of the health problems guinea pigs have these days. When I had my first guinea pig when I was 12 (many years ago) he never saw a vet, He lived by himself in a wooden box with hay , wood shavings and ate bran (or oats its so long ago I cannot remember). he came out for runs in the dining room. I cleaned his hutch with Dettol and he never had any health issues. Oh how I wish modern guinea pigs were as robust.

I agree. I think most pets have been so inbred in the last 20 years they are just not as healthy as they used to be. In the '70s we had a Syrian hamster who was supposed to live to only 2 years and he lived to be 4.Never sick, ran on his wheel during his last night, found him dead in the morning. Now I have my poor sickly piggy Peanut Butter who was discovered to have an over bite with X-ray when he was only 2 months old. The vet said this was inbreeding as a death sentence like this does not happen in the wild. Since then he has frequently been ill with other serious problems. My young granddaughter always gets upset when he has a problem and wonders if he is going to die.

 

[Lilly]

Wooohooo, have found a UK Ebay seller who will ship Fibreplex to OZ! (We don;t have this stuff here). From what I've read it's a paste and you're supposed to give 1ml per body weight. Is that right @Wiebke and do you just syringe it in?

 

[Wiebke]

You can try to syringe feed, but if your boy likes it, he may eat it on a bit of veg or from a spoon. See whether it makes a difference!

 

[Mulder and Scully]

Hi Lilly. I have an older boar who needs this kind of 'mucking out' everyday! Never that big a lump as on the video though.Sometimes a little bit of baby oil helps to losen the lump.
I have found 2 things that help reduce his impaction - 1 = giving him a predictable diet fed at the same time each day - don't ask me why but routine seems to be good for him and his bottom! The other thing is a pinch pro-biotic every morning with added vit C (fed on cucumber). A larger than normal helping of green veg makes his impaction worse. Hope your boy improves soon.

Totally agree! My Scully has suffered with impaction since he was about 6 & we do the exact same thing. The other thing I find is encouraging him to do some running during floor time (he can be so lazy sometimes) as this seems to strengthen the muscles in his legs and bum...sounds weird but definitely helps him push poops out! We still have to clean him out weekly though...thank god for the nose peg!

 

[Lilly]

Ooooh Mulder & Scully! I'm an X-files fan. I'll be throwing all this advice at my boy. It's just upsetting that he is getting impacted at such a young age and having been neutered as well which apparently reduces risk of impaction. But then that's my Peanut Butter! He keeps me on my toes with all his strange illnesses.