Looking For Some Advice About Poops!

[Stansmyboy]

Hi there!

Apologies if I have posted this in the wrong place. I am new to the forum.

I was wondering if any of you lovely fellow piggy lovers could give me some advice about my boy, Stan.

Stan's toilet habits are not great recently. Some of his poops are squishy and very smelly, whilst others are the normal shape and consistency (hence my confusion!)

His food and veggies have not changed but I have noticed he is eating more of the nuggets and less of the hay/veggies. He's bright enough and doesn't appear to be in pain. I give him Pro Cin his water to help his tummy.

He recently had dental work done. Prior to that he was on 2 different antibiotics (though he hasn't had either of these in weeks) because the vet thought he had a URI. I kept him on a probiotic to protect his tummy but it has yet to go back to normal.

Any suggestions as to the cause? I intend to take him to a vet but I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this before?

Thanks!

Joanne

 

[Wiebke]

Hi there!

Apologies if I have posted this in the wrong place. I am new to the forum.

I was wondering if any of you lovely fellow piggy lovers could give me some advice about my boy, Stan.

Stan's toilet habits are not great recently. Some of his poops are squishy and very smelly, whilst others are the normal shape and consistency (hence my confusion!)

His food and veggies have not changed but I have noticed he is eating more of the nuggets and less of the hay/veggies. He's bright enough and doesn't appear to be in pain. I give him Pro Cin his water to help his tummy.

He recently had dental work done. Prior to that he was on 2 different antibiotics (though he hasn't had either of these in weeks) because the vet thought he had a URI. I kept him on a probiotic to protect his tummy but it has yet to go back to normal.

Any suggestions as to the cause? I intend to take him to a vet but I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this before?

Thanks!

Joanne

Hi and welcome!

Are you weighing your boy daily at the same timeto check on his food intake? Please top him up with fibrous syringe feed, either mushed up pellets, recovery food or a mix thereof. Hay should make up to 80% of the daily food intake; it's fibres are what keep the guts balanced. Hay is often the first food group that is dropped when a piggy is in pain.
This should hopefully help to steady the guts.
Our syringe feeding guide has got a section on care for dental guinea pigs. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

if your boy has got a healthy companion, you can also try feeding poo soup, i.e. syringing water in which you have soaked some fresh healthy poos. It is a bit gross, but it mimics natural behaviour from recovering guinea pigs and it help re-stock the guts with the "right stuff". Piggies usually love it.

it can take several rounds to rebalance the dental system properly.

Where are you located? We have got members from all over the world.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...cation-and-creating-an-avatar-picture.107444/

 

[Stansmyboy]

Thanks for replying Wiebke.

I have made an appointment to take Stan to the vet today. His chin is soaking wet this morning which would suggest to me that his teeth are too long again. He has been eating wee bits here and there and hasn't lost any weight but he struggles with harder veg and takes longer to eat his food pellets (again, indicating teeth are a problem).

When I cleaned his cage out this morning I noticed most of his toilet pellets are normal. I cleaned his anal sack after my first post and gave him a warm bath this morning. I think he may have had impaction. He's drinking as normal too and he still squeaks when he hears the fridge door!

I'm hoping he doesn't have to go under anaesthetic again for his teeth but I know this may have to happen.

Joanne

 

[Stansmyboy]

His appointment is in an hour. He is currently on his table eating a little bit of Basil and some nuggets. I will definitely hand feed him today because he is obviously hungry!

 

[Wiebke]

As experience with dental guinea pigs has shown that unless your vet can get on top of the teeth and keep them balanced before they start going wrong again, you are facing repeated dentals, unfortunately.

Where are you located, please, so we can help you better? Please click on your username at the top, then go to personal details and scroll down to location to add your country, state/province or UK county.

Here are our post-op care tips: Tips For Post-operative Care

@furryfriends (TEAS) @MintyAndGarry (TEAS)