Jon Snow's Rumbly Tum And Squeaking When Pooping

[DM030819]

I've posted about this a few times, and he's been to see Kim and Simon at The Cat and Rabbit clinic a couple of times too.

He's almost 4 and it has been going on since I got him a few months after he was born.

Jon has a very rumbly tummy. If you hold him when it's rumbling you can feel it, popping and rumbling.

He also has very misshapen poops, very small compared to a normal pig. He'll squeak when he poops sometimes, and he always eats these ones.

He was diagnosed as having the piggy equivalent of IBS and we can only help him by eliminating trouble veg and offering Metacam if it seems to be a bad day for him.

There are a few veg that makes it worse, such a dill, green pepper and tomato.

He eats a variety of other fruit and veg and no combination seems to make it better or worse.

He has Harringtons pellets but I've trying to swap them onto Bunny or some other grainless, but they won't eat them.

He also has probiotic daily, as the vet said it won't harm even if it doesn't help.

He has no problems with peeing or pooping other than the squeaking when passing poops that he eats

I just wondered if someone could cast an eye over what's going on, and let me know if there's something obvious I can try. Maybe a certain diet to try, or medication or supplement to try. A different pellet or hay, or anything else

 

[Wiebke]

Sorry, I can't help you much. Not much is known and it is still mostly in the individual trial and error stage.
There are now more grain-free pellet brands available.

I assume that you have long since tried fibreplex; it has done the trick with Nosgan's very rumbly tummy/loss of appetite as a reaction to zithromax?

 

[DM030819]

Sorry, I can't help you much. Not much is known and it is still mostly in the individual trial and error stage.
There are now more grain-free pellet brands available.

I assume that you have long since tried fibreplex; it has done the trick with Nosgan's very rumbly tummy/loss of appetite as a reaction to zithromax?

Yeah, we tried Fibreplex and poop soup about a year ago. The Fibreplex was quite hard to get into him as he hated it, and the syringe is huge but he had the whole tube.

I might give it another try.

We're slowly working through the grainless foods to see if he'll eat any. JR grainless went down okay for a while but the Bunny he refuses. He even takes them out of rhe dish and puts them on the floor.

His poops look a bit dehydrated but he drinks more than any of my other pigs have/do. Simon and Kim said that his digestive system will be moving faster and so he could possibly be not absorbing alot of the nutrients. Which makes sense that he eats quite a few of his poops.

They also mentioned that his digestive system is more likely to go into stasis if he ever needed sedation, so we've never attempted an xray to see what he looks like inside.

He's healthy and happy in all other regards, which I'm very thankful for. He's a lovely pig. He might be small (1kg) but he makes up for that with his attitude.

 

[Wiebke]

Have you tried Versele Laga? Zooplus have recently enhanced their assortment of grain-free/low calcium brands. It may worth trying to work your way through them.

Sadly, most piggies don't like bunny pellets; they were just the first grain-free ones available in the UK.

 

[DM030819]

They're next on the list!

I might post a thread on here offering the Bunny ones to someone. They're really getting wasted at our place!

 

[GPTV]

Have ibs &a sensitive digestive system. I find that on bad days a tablespoon of gripe water works wonders!
Its a favourite to use on guineas suffering from gassy bloat.
Not sure if a few drops would be enough to settle him or whether it would work at all. Think I would give it a try even if I asked the vet to ok it first.

Another thing that I have used before is 'Verm-x for rabbits'
I won it in a competition (gpig mag ) its not officially called a wormer but its a natural intestinal tract herbal supplement that aids digestion too.
One of my girls would push the others away from the bowl to get at it first!
Cheapest for a single item is the tub from pets at home £5.79 (200g'ish tub lasts for weeks). Unless ordered off say viovet or similar with a big order so no postage payable.

Just add a few pellets to their food a day (a scoop is provided &is approx 5-6 pellets)

This tub is 8kg but the 200g pot is all that's needed to try it.

Verm-X for Rabbits

Its got slippery elm in it which I've read has a few beneficial qualities can't remember I think digestion is one of them

Think that its dill is good for digestion too
Raspberry leaves are good for diarrhea/soft poops too.

Hope u can sort little man
Keep us updated.

Xx

 

[GPTV]

Have ibs &a sensitive digestive system. I find that on bad days a tablespoon of gripe water works wonders!
Its a favourite to use on guineas suffering from gassy bloat.
Not sure if a few drops would be enough to settle him or whether it would work at all. Think I would give it a try even if I asked the vet to ok it first.

Another thing that I have used before is 'Verm-x for rabbits'
I won it in a competition (gpig mag ) its not officially called a wormer but its a natural intestinal tract herbal supplement that aids digestion too.
One of my girls would push the others away from the bowl to get at it first!
Cheapest for a single item is the tub from pets at home £5.79 (200g'ish tub lasts for weeks). Unless ordered off say viovet or similar with a big order so no postage payable.

Just add a few pellets to their food a day (a scoop is provided &is approx 5-6 pellets)

This tub is 8kg but the 200g pot is all that's needed to try it.

Verm-X for Rabbits

Its got slippery elm in it which I've read has a few beneficial qualities can't remember I think digestion is one of them

Think that its dill is good for digestion too
Raspberry leaves are good for diarrhea/soft poops too.

Hope you can sort little man
Keep us updated.

Xx

Oops just realised u said he can't eat dill as it causes him problems.
Dont try that then .xx

 

[DM030819]

Oops just realised you said he can't eat dill as it causes him problems.
Dont try that then .xx

Weirdly, he's okay with gripe water. He's had it a few times. I felt awful once as I accidentally gave him my other pigs veg and he immediately took off at top speed with a tomato in his mouth. He ate about 1/4 of it. His tummy was going crazy afterwards and the vet said to try a bit of gripe water then. It helped him quite a lot.

So I'll definitely see what the vet thinks about Verm-X next time I see them.

Thank you xx

 

[Critter]

I second the Versele Laga. I also order my pig food from ZooPlus, buying a few different varieties so that the pigs don't get bored, but if they get picky and choose one over another they are still getting a balanced diet. Mine also didn't like the Bunny pellets. I had one pig, Oreo, who would eat absolutely anything and everything - except the Bunny pellets!

Can I just add that please be cautious of grass time (when the weather finally allows us all to indulge our piggies). One of my pigs, Sunrise, had colitis and would actually bleed out of her bottom after eating grass. She could hardly tolerate any amount of it. Grass may set yous off. Sunrise also had a reaction with sloppy poos (but appeared otherwise well) when eating herb-based supplement treat food, so I had to cut that out too. I know IBS and ulcerative colitis are different, but the triggers can be similar.

 

[DM030819]

I second the Versele Laga. I also order my pig food from ZooPlus, buying a few different varieties so that the pigs don't get bored, but if they get picky and choose one over another they are still getting a balanced diet. Mine also didn't like the Bunny pellets. I had one pig, Oreo, who would eat absolutely anything and everything - except the Bunny pellets!

Can I just add that please be cautious of grass time (when the weather finally allows us all to indulge our piggies). One of my pigs, Sunrise, had colitis and would actually bleed out of her bottom after eating grass. She could hardly tolerate any amount of it. Grass may set yous off. Sunrise also had a reaction with sloppy poos (but appeared otherwise well) when eating herb-based supplement treat food, so I had to cut that out too. I know IBS and ulcerative colitis are different, but the triggers can be similar.

Thanks Critter.

My boys never really had access to grass as I had a boy that would have a reaction to being outdoors. He always had breathing issues afterwards, even after a vet visit.

I was actually thinking of growing grass for them now that he is gone, so I'll keep that in mind

 

[Lily & Rose]

I've posted about this a few times, and he's been to see Kim and Simon at The Cat and Rabbit clinic a couple of times too.

He's almost 4 and it has been going on since I got him a few months after he was born.

Jon has a very rumbly tummy. If you hold him when it's rumbling you can feel it, popping and rumbling.

He also has very misshapen poops, very small compared to a normal pig. He'll squeak when he poops sometimes, and he always eats these ones.

He was diagnosed as having the piggy equivalent of IBS and we can only help him by eliminating trouble veg and offering Metacam if it seems to be a bad day for him.

There are a few veg that makes it worse, such a dill, green pepper and tomato.

He eats a variety of other fruit and veg and no combination seems to make it better or worse.

He has Harringtons pellets but I've trying to swap them onto Bunny or some other grainless, but they won't eat them.

He also has probiotic daily, as the vet said it won't harm even if it doesn't help.

He has no problems with peeing or pooping other than the squeaking when passing poops that he eats

I just wondered if someone could cast an eye over what's going on, and let me know if there's something obvious I can try. Maybe a certain diet to try, or medication or supplement to try. A different pellet or hay, or anything else

How did they diagnose the IBS? My Poppy has a lot of problems with her digestion, she can't eat any veg, the only thing that doesn't give her soft poos is coriander.

I tried the Bunny pellets with my girls for a few weeks. They were interested in them at first, but soon lost interest. I've now bought the Versele Laga pellets which they love.

 

[DM030819]

It was from my descriptions of what was going on, a visual check of his poop, and body and a detailed listen of his stomach (it's really vocal sometimes).

They said IBS is probably the closest diagnosis they can get. It's as specific as the human version which is used when there isn't a true diagnosis.

 

[Lily & Rose]

It was from my descriptions of what was going on, a visual check of his poop, and body and a detailed listen of his stomach (it's really vocal sometimes).

They said IBS is probably the closest diagnosis they can get. It's as specific as the human version which is used when there isn't a true diagnosis.

I'm sending the vets a sample of Poppy's poos on Monday to be analysed, just to rule out parasites or yeast. I don't think the vet thought this was necessary but I don't know what else to do. I feel so bad for Poppy as she loves veggies.

I have recently bought Protexin Pro-Fibre but Poppy won't eat them.

 

[DM030819]

I'm sending the vets a sample of Poppy's poos on Monday to be analysed, just to rule out parasites or yeast. I don't think the vet thought this was necessary but I don't know what else to do. I feel so bad for Poppy as she loves veggies.

I have recently bought Protexin Pro-Fibre but Poppy won't eat them.

Jon's poops aren't that bad that we've tried no veg yet. I would feel like the worst owner if I had to do that. But if the vet thinks it's a good idea then it's always worth it.

I really hope they find something with Poppy's poop. At least something can be done then. Sometimes I just want to get Jon tested for everything, it would be so much easier to deal with if we had an exact diagnosis and knew what to do to stop it

 

[Poppy'sMum]

I'm sending the vets a sample of Poppy's poos on Monday to be analysed, just to rule out parasites or yeast. I don't think the vet thought this was necessary but I don't know what else to do. I feel so bad for Poppy as she loves veggies.

I have recently bought Protexin Pro-Fibre but Poppy won't eat them.

If all your vet does is a fecal float test then that won't give you enough information. My vet sends poop samples to Mary at Chester Zoo, she does an in depth fecal analysis. It may be something @Jaycey might want to consider too as it is non-invasive

 

[Lily & Rose]

If all your vet does is a fecal float test then that won't give you enough information. My vet sends poop samples to Mary at Chester Zoo, she does an in depth fecal analysis. It may be something @Jaycey might want to consider too as it is non-invasive

The poo sample does get sent away, but I wasn't told where. Poppy's problems are definitely related to veg, as it clears up once she's been off veg for a few days. The only thing she can tolerate is coriander. This has been going on for a few months now. My other pig, Lily is now starting to have the same problem with her poos, which also seems related to veg, so that's why I have requested to have Poppy's poos analysed. If it shows anything, I will have Lily's poos analysed too. Sorry Jaycey for hijacking your thread!

 

[DM030819]

No worries! I might learn something to help Jon!

 

[Poppy'sMum]

The poo sample does get sent away, but I wasn't told where. Poppy's problems are definitely related to veg, as it clears up once she's been off veg for a few days. The only thing she can tolerate is coriander. This has been going on for a few months now. My other pig, Lily is now starting to have the same problem with her poos, which also seems related to veg, so that's why I have requested to have Poppy's poos analysed. If it shows anything, I will have Lily's poos analysed too. Sorry Jaycey for hijacking your thread!

I would check with your vet what the analysis involves. I had similar problems with 2 of my piggies, it turned out they both had a type of Saccharomyces which could be treated with an oral anti-fungal called Nystatin. However I did lose them both at a later date due to liver tumours, before we tried the anti-fungal, they were related so it could have been something genetic.
Jaycey have you had a full fecal analysis done?

 

[DM030819]

@Poppy'sMum we haven't. My vet wasn't overly worried as it doesn't affect his behaviour at all, and he still seems quite happy.

I will ask about it next time we're there for a check up though!