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Older Chap, Cecal Pellet Issues?

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claire2281

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My little chap George who is now seven years old is generally in decent health. He's got a cataract in one eye but otherwise he's lively and in good condition. I have noticed however that he feels skinny across his hip bones now - I can feel them quite distinctly where I couldn't before. He's lost a bit of weight (he's gone from 1280g to 1220g) but he's remained steady at that weight for a week. I've noticed a few occasions where he's had smaller poops which shows he hasn't eaten as much but most of the time they're perfectly normal.

I'm a bit paranoid after losing his brother at Easter (George didn't seem bothered at all though!).

Obviously the heat last week won't have helped (he was very lethargic) and he's had more grass time rather than veggies and I suspect there's less calories in grass than veggies which may account for the weight. I've been giving him a bit of extra Critical Care off the spoon (only a couple of teaspoons a day) as an added extra to top him up a bit but he seems to be eating fine overall. I'm a bit concerned though about his cecal pellets which are soft, mushy and smelly. He seems to be a bit impacted although his normal poops are fine (if sometimes with little tails which I think can mean dehydration? He rarely drinks from a bottle and gets most of his liquid from veggies).

I've read other threads on here that sticky out hips just happens in old age but I'm concerned with his mushy cecal poops he might be missing out on something nutritionally which could cause a loss of condition. Anyone got any advice with looking after a senior chap?
 
My first thought is that if he has been having mainly grass that may be a factor? How much hay has he been eating? If you suspect he is dehydrated I would syringe extra fluids to him. The tail on his normal poos can also indicate slower gut transit. Are you clearing out the impaction? if you do you can offer it to him to eat as it will contain all the nutrients he needs. I would also supplement with vitamins for a while such as Metatone which you can get from the vitamin aisle in the supermarket. I dose at 0.5ml a day for the first week and 0.3ml a day for a second week. He is a really good weight for his age though. I think older pigs do tend to feel more skinny. If you are worried at all though you could get him checked by a vet just to be sure.
 
He's been outside for about 3 to 4 hours a day and he eats grass very enthusiastically. Possibly stuffing himself on that so not eating as much hay when he gets in? He is definitely still eating his hay (bedding and from hay blocks) but he's not quite as enthusiastic with the timothy hay at the moment for some reason. Might get him some different stuff for a change/some encouragement.

Can a lack of fibre cause slower gut transit?

I do clear out the impaction (messy, smelly job since it's all soft!). My other pig suffered from it for a couple of years so it's a job I'm used to. Good call on the Metatone - I do have some of that and I didn't even think to use it. Fortunately I'm very experienced at syringe feeding things to guinea pigs now.

I'm not concerned about his behaviour since he's lively and still eating (only exception being in the really hot weather where he wanted mostly to sleep) but I don't like feeling those bony hips. It's hard to tell though whether it's something wrong or just an old man thing. He's still chubby around his belly and sides.
 
I think it is an old man thing but get him checked if you are worried.

Yes lack of fibre can cause slower gut transit and if he has been outside in the weather we have had lately he may have eaten less then usual and could also be slightly dehydrated still. Do his normal poos seem dry at all? or pitted?
 
His normal poops aren't dry or pitted. I'm very wary with gas because my other boy had real issues with that. George isn't so delicate digestion wise. The ones he's done today look perfectly normal. A tiny tail on some of them but they're few and far between now. He's been eating normally today apparently, munching on his hay.

I've got him a different, softer type of Timothy hay so I'll give that to him for a bit of a change. I'll give him the metatone as well and a bit of critical care for the extra fibre - i'm lucky he'll eat it off the spoon.

Is it worth giving an older animal probiotics on a regular basis? I've got lots of bio lapis sachets from when the other one was ill.
 
It's not vital but it wouldn't do any harm, and would give his gut a bit of a boost.
 
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