On and off mushy poops?

[Hiitshannah]

My 5.5 year old piggy Cashew developed very mushy poops on Monday. They were normal shape, but very soft, until the late afternoon when it was a pile of mush we had to extract from his bottom. We took him off veg, and started giving him pro-c.

Went to the vets Tuesday and he didn’t seem concerned, gave us fibreplex (which cashew won’t take at all, spits it out even if I wrap it in veg or treats!) and his poos seemed normal most of the day.

This seems to be a pattern, where his poos are normal in the morning, blockage of mush late afternoon, normal in the evening then soft at night, and there are long periods where he won’t poo at all. He seems normal when his poos are good, but seems withdrawn when they are bad. His tummy seems to be more sensitive than usual, and he’s lost 93g in the past week, though he was quite large to begin with. He seems to be drinking more than usual, and eating loads of hay.

I’m taking him back to the vets tomorrow, but I just wondered if anyone has any advice or ideas what could be wrong, or any other symptoms I could be missing? I haven’t noticed blood in his urine except today when it looked slightly pink as a one off. He also had a 5 day course of baytril ‘as a precaution’ about 10 days ago for something unrelated, and I’m wondered if that’s made some sort of infection fight back with a vengeance, if that’s possible.

 

[Siikibam]

I don’t know what could be wrong. But when giving antibiotics, they can cause gut disturbances so it’s not a bad idea to give probiotic an hour before or after the antibiotic. You’ll have to weigh him daily at the same time because although you say he’s eating lots of hay, he’s losing weight. Which means he’s not eating enough of it. That may be down to the baytril also ruining his appetite.

I hope you can get to the bottom of it. All the best.

 

[Wiebke]

My 5.5 year old piggy Cashew developed very mushy poops on Monday. They were normal shape, but very soft, until the late afternoon when it was a pile of mush we had to extract from his bottom. We took him off veg, and started giving him pro-c.

Went to the vets Tuesday and he didn’t seem concerned, gave us fibreplex (which cashew won’t take at all, spits it out even if I wrap it in veg or treats!) and his poos seemed normal most of the day.

This seems to be a pattern, where his poos are normal in the morning, blockage of mush late afternoon, normal in the evening then soft at night, and there are long periods where he won’t poo at all. He seems normal when his poos are good, but seems withdrawn when they are bad. His tummy seems to be more sensitive than usual, and he’s lost 93g in the past week, though he was quite large to begin with. He seems to be drinking more than usual, and eating loads of hay.

I’m taking him back to the vets tomorrow, but I just wondered if anyone has any advice or ideas what could be wrong, or any other symptoms I could be missing? I haven’t noticed blood in his urine except today when it looked slightly pink as a one off. He also had a 5 day course of baytril ‘as a precaution’ about 10 days ago for something unrelated, and I’m wondered if that’s made some sort of infection fight back with a vengeance, if that’s possible.

Hi!

Please switch from the normal life-long weekly weigh-in and body check to weighing daily at the same time in order to monitor the food intake; especially the crucial 80% of hay that you cannot judge by eye.

Take your piggy off any fresh food until 48 hours of them having stabilised again. then start with a little fresh herb and add one more fresh veg with every passing meal over the nesxt couple of days, provided the poos and the weight stays stable. This in order to the help the dysbiosis (overgrowth of the wrong kind of bacteria) to settle down and the normal microbiome to build up again.
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

Support your piggy'd gut with adding probiotic powder or by making VERY fresh 'poo soup' (i.e. leve healthy guinea pig gut microbiome transfer) made from just dropped poos from a healthy piggy not on any medication.
You can find more information, including the poo soup recipe in this link here: Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

See your vet again for a faecal lab test if these measures don't help and problems persist. Be aware that older piggies can have a more sensitive digestion. All the best!

 

[Hiitshannah]

@Wiebke and @Siikibam thank you for your replies! I have just weighed him to compare to yesterday and he’s actually gained 1g so pretty similar. I’ll continue to monitor daily.

The pro-c probiotic was given to him throughout his course of baytril (1hr before as suggested) and he’s had it consistently since I noticed his poop going mushy. I will try and get some ‘poo soup’ in him later as you suggest! I also have some critical care in the fridge and may try and give him a food ‘top up’ later, though I treated him to some super fancy hay today to try and get him eating more and he doesn’t seem to have stopped eating! He’s always been very difficult with anything in a syringe so it will be a battle

I’ll see what the vet says about a fecal lab test tomorrow, I didn’t realise that was a thing so very useful info. We are also going to try to get a urine sample to take in for the appointment.

 

[Wiebke]

@Wiebke and @Siikibam thank you for your replies! I have just weighed him to compare to yesterday and he’s actually gained 1g so pretty similar. I’ll continue to monitor daily.

The pro-c probiotic was given to him throughout his course of baytril (1hr before as suggested) and he’s had it consistently since I noticed his poop going mushy. I will try and get some ‘poo soup’ in him later as you suggest! I also have some critical care in the fridge and may try and give him a food ‘top up’ later, though I treated him to some super fancy hay today to try and get him eating more and he doesn’t seem to have stopped eating! He’s always been very difficult with anything in a syringe so it will be a battle

I’ll see what the vet says about a fecal lab test tomorrow, I didn’t realise that was a thing so very useful info. We are also going to try to get a urine sample to take in for the appointment.

The shorter you can keep the time between healthy poos being dropped and the water in which you have soaked them shortly, the more live microbiome will reach the gut. I prefer to take a healthy piggy out, feed it a little veg treat in order to stimulate pooing and then work from there.

Poo soup is mimicking natural recovery behaviour although piggies prefer to eat the redigested caecotroph poos with the yet not fully broken down fibre for the second run through the gut because they are particularly high in gut biome but they are pretty impossible to get for us humans as piggies usually pick them directly from their anus. Normal waste poos from either run do however still contain microbiome, too and are effective.

The effectiveness of probiotic powder is still contested among vets. If one of my piggies has a more serious or persistent issue, I prefer a course of fibreplex in addition to poo soup as it is more effective since contains a bit more than just probiotics.

All the best. If your piggy is keeping their weight and the poos are just mushy but not runny, the tummy issue is still on the milder side.

 

[Hiitshannah]

Just to update: Cashew had an x-ray today and it was found he has 6 bladder stones! We will obviously be going through with surgery for him, but if anyone reading this thread has any advice for us that would be fab we already give the piggies filtered water, 1tsp nuggets per day (burgess excel with mint) and a range of veg, but will be looking at the calcium content of their veggies to try and switch to some lower calcium options. Poor Cashew!

 

[Wiebke]

Just to update: Cashew had an x-ray today and it was found he has 6 bladder stones! We will obviously be going through with surgery for him, but if anyone reading this thread has any advice for us that would be fab we already give the piggies filtered water, 1tsp nuggets per day (burgess excel with mint) and a range of veg, but will be looking at the calcium content of their veggies to try and switch to some lower calcium options. Poor Cashew!

Hi!

You may find these guides here helpful:
- Tips For Post-operative Care
- Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets (see special diets chapter). Make sure that you feed more watery veg in order to encourage regular strong urination to minimise the build up of calcium in the bladder.

Be aware that any dietary measures will take several weeks to filter through and also accept that there are often several factors in play when the complex calcium aborption process is going wrong. Diet is the angle we can intervene whereas a genetic disposition or the process itself going wrong is not something we can control.

I would also recommend to start with glucosamine supplements in order to support the beleaguered natural glucosamine coating of the walls of the urinary tract that prevents the corrosive urine coming into direct contact with raw tissue when the stones and crystals are banged around every time your piggy pees and are scratching that coat. Again, it takes several weeks to build up but really helps with pain and discomfort in the urinary tract.
We recommend Feliway cat cystease capsules (UK brand), mainly because they are easiest to dose and give. Just mix the contents of 1 capsule in 2 ml of water, shake and give either at once or 1 ml twice daily; shake before use. I find using a little medications bottle best. Either use an old one if you have one or ask your vet to give you one when you take your boy.

All the best!