Irregular poops, crusty eyes.

[Sullivancourt]

I adopted another guinea pig, a few weeks ago. His weight seems to be good, his eating habits are normal. He drinks water. He’s active with his cage mate, and seems to be doing really well. Except that every once in a while he has crust in his eye. Sometimes one, sometimes both. It’s never a lot, and definitely not everyday. Also his poops can sometimes come out irregular. Like a little ring in the middle of his poops like in the picture I’m attaching. Lastly with every new cage changing I see little white marks usually where he was laying. Should I be worried enough to take him to the vet?

 

[Piggies&buns]

It’s always a good idea to get a new piggy checked by a vet once you bring them home anyway, so yes, I’d pop him (and take his cagemate with him) along to a vet check up and just mention these things to the vet anyway

 

[Wiebke]

I adopted another guinea pig, a few weeks ago. His weight seems to be good, his eating habits are normal. He drinks water. He’s active with his cage mate, and seems to be doing really well. Except that every once in a while he has crust in his eye. Sometimes one, sometimes both. It’s never a lot, and definitely not everyday. Also his poops can sometimes come out irregular. Like a little ring in the middle of his poops like in the picture I’m attaching. Lastly with every new cage changing I see little white marks usually where he was laying. Should I be worried enough to take him to the vet?

Hi!

The white pees mean that your guinea pig is excreting excess calcium the normal way. Please check your diet as to whether it is too high in calcium (filtering water and feeding only 1 tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day as most calcium comes from these two food groups but a look at your veg selection won't hurt either).

The poo consistency is pointing to a very mild tummy upset. Please take any piggy off fresh food (veg and green grass) for 24-48 hours to allow the gut to settle down. New foods your new piggy is not accustomed to can cause problems in the digestive system. If you have other healthy piggies, then giving 'poo soup' (if correctly done it is transfer of live healthy gut microbiome) during this time will be helpful to introduce exactly the right stuff into the gut and not having to wait until your newbie's digestion has caught up. Please be a aware that the poo output always reflects what has happened a day before (1-2 days in very ill piggies with a potentially slowed gut); for up to date monitoring you use your kitchen scales.

Small transparent crusts point towards minor irritation in the eyes (hay dust, A/C unit or something stuck under the eye lid).
If in any doubt, please have your piggy vet checked.

You may find these guide links here helpful; they contain all the detailed background and how-to information that I could only touch on in my post:
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links (contains poo soup 'recipe')

New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Guinea pig body quirks - What is normal and what not?
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely

All these guide links are part of our new owners guide collection, which is there to help them learn what is normal and what not, understand guinea pig behaviour and making friends with them in their own body language and specifically addressing all the most often asked questions and worries that come with new guinea pigs. You may want to bookmark the link and use it has a helpful resource. The guide format allows us to update and extend our information. The full and even wider information resource can be accessed by the guides shortcut on the top bar.
Here is the link: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

I hope that this helps you.

 

[Sullivancourt]

He definitely favors the pellets, how do I direct him to eat more hay? He definitely does eat it, but I feel like it’s not enough.

 

[Piggies&buns]

He definitely favors the pellets, how do I direct him to eat more hay? He definitely does eat it, but I feel like it’s not enough.

What is his pellet portion size? Are you leaving a bowl full of pellets in the cage all the time?

Pellets should be kept strictly limited to just one tablespoon per day, they should not have constant access to them. Once their one tablespoon portion is gone the bowl should be removed and no more pellets given until the next day. They then have constant access to hay to eat at all other times. Pellets and veg are just small snacks, hay is their main food source.

 

[Sullivancourt]

What is his pellet portion size? Are you leaving a bowl full of pellets in the cage all the time?

Pellets should be kept strictly limited to just one tablespoon per day, they should not have constant access to them. Once their one tablespoon portion is gone the bowl should be removed and no more pellets given until the next day. They then have constant access to hay to eat at all other times. Pellets and veg are just small snacks, hay is their main food source.

I definitely need to limit their pellets. Removing the food bowls is a good idea! Thank you!