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New hay, soft poops?

Sally Newbie

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jun 21, 2020
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Lancashire
Hi
We have made our own hay which is very fresh and green and the guinea pigs poops have gone softer - can this happen with very fresh hay? We are going to keep them off it and their veg for 48 hours and just give them their previous more yellow hay and Excel pellets for 48 hours - does this sound ok? Their exercise run is outside so they have had grass today for about 30 mins.
 
Hi
We have made our own hay which is very fresh and green and the guinea pigs poops have gone softer - can this happen with very fresh hay? We are going to keep them off it and their veg for 48 hours and just give them their previous more yellow hay and Excel pellets for 48 hours - does this sound ok? Their exercise run is outside so they have had grass today for about 30 mins.

Guinea pigs can get soft poos from any new food the gut is not prepared for. Always try things first in a small quantity with their normal food and then slowly build up.

Please give the gut 24-48 hours on the old hay in order to recover.
 
@Wiebke , are they allowed their exercise time out in the grass run in the next 48 hours? I was thinking I could cover the grass with towels so they wouldn't be able to eat it but that could freak them out especially when they can see all the grass outside the run?!
 
@Wiebke , are they allowed their exercise time out in the grass run in the next 48 hours? I was thinking I could cover the grass with towels so they wouldn't be able to eat it but that could freak them out especially when they can see all the grass outside the run?!

No fresh grass, either.

Instead of your village (which we do NOT recommend for your own safety and protection) could you please just add your county or city to location in your details so all of us others without local knowledge can all get a fair idea which general area of the UK you are in. Unfortunately, I have no idea which part of the country you are in so please take into consideration your local weather in the coming week. It is going to be too hot for piggies to be outside during the heat of the day in the southern half of the UK.
Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike
 
I've changed the location now, my previous location wasn't a village. My piggies won't be outside in the heat of the day but when it is cooler in the evenings. What do you think about covering up the grass?
 
I've changed the location now, my previous location wasn't a village. My piggies won't be outside in the heat of the day but when it is cooler in the evenings. What do you think about covering up the grass?

If you have a blanket big enough to cover the entire area in one go, then yes covering the grass and still allowing them time in the run is fine. If you have to use multiple blankets to cover the entire area, then they will be more than likely to burrow under the overlaps and find their way underneath the blankets and get to the grass.
 
I've changed the location now, my previous location wasn't a village. My piggies won't be outside in the heat of the day but when it is cooler in the evenings. What do you think about covering up the grass?

Thank you for changing the area. We have members from all over the UK and a fair number of international members, too. It helps those of us from other parts of the country to help roughly place you when giving advice.

PS: I agree about the blanket advice - if there is a chance that your piggies can wiggle underneath, leave it for today. They will hopefully be fine again by tomorrow evening.
 
We'll have tea outside with them so can keep an eye on them! they probably won't come out with no grass to eat and terrifying old beach towel patterns on the ground!
 
We'll have tea outside with them so can keep an eye on them! they probably won't come out with no grass to eat and terrifying old beach towel patterns on the ground!

Put the blanket in their cage now so they can scent mark it and it is not as frightening an experience. Sprinkle and hide some pellets in the blanket for them to interact with it.
 
So I guess I have to reintroduce their veg slowly again as well - pepper, coriander, celery, cucumber and lettuce as the mainstay - before the new hay? If no reaction from each food, is a new food every 48 hours to build back up to their original amount too quick?
 
So I guess I have to reintroduce their veg slowly again as well - pepper, coriander, celery, cucumber and lettuce as the mainstay - before the new hay? If no reaction from each food, is a new food every 48 hours to build back up to their original amount too quick?

Start with coriander as the first meal; if that goes down well, then you can add the cucumber for overnight and the other veg tomorrow morning. If that is going down well, you can go back to fresh grass. Introduce any of your own hay only slowly more as a little treat at first. If you continue to have problems with your own hay, then there is a risk that the grass could have fermented at the start of the drying process.
 
I know it will go down well! Their poops are better than they were after a day and 1/2 of no veg. Their last veg was yesterday morning so 48 hours without it is tomorrow morning and then they could have their coriander tomorrow morning and then coriander & cucumber tomorrow night?
 
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