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Piggy Can't Eat Veg

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Alfie&joe

Alfie&joe

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Been reading advise from this forum for months it's full of great advice and thank all that reply to this thread

Our boar joe got a case of diarrhoea a few month back so we cut down on the veg and improved the quality of hay even though before this he ate anything and everything (suitable of course)

We have tried many times now to introduce veg again into his diet but each time he gets runny poo's,

he is happy eating science selective pellets and alfalfa hay and portage oats (his favourite) drinking plenty of water but feel he is underweight compaired to his bro and struggling what todo now

The diarrhoea started after a course of antibiotics can't remember which one as we think he hurt himself jumping off a small shelf we had in there home, and was breathing heavy the vet thought could have been chest infection

When joe had the diarrhoea he was seen by the vet again who said try fibreplex his poo was tested and had no traces of any bacteria problems

We are concerned he not getting the full diet required and wondered if anyone else has a fussy pig specially with all veg upsetting belly

Thankyou in advance
 
I have asked this thread to be moved into the Health and Illness section of the forum - to make sure you get an answer from one of our experts .

A few questions ...

Am I right in assuming you have 2 guinea pigs ? Are they kept together ?

Have you weighed Joe at all ?





Are you happy to add your location to your profile ? We have members from all over the world and it is really helpful to know whether you are based in the UK/US – or elsewhere. Having an idea of your Country + location can sometimes help us tailor our advice .



Here is a link to help you do this …



https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...cation-and-creating-an-avatar-picture.107444/
 
Yes have two believed to be brothers both kept together but once a day feeding Alfie outside there home

Yes have weighed joe and Alfie But was a few weeks ago last time so due again
Joe was around 600g and Alfie just over 1kg so quite a difference
 
PiggyOwner said:
Do you not feed Joe and Alfie together ?
Click to expand...
Joe can't eat any veg it really upsets his belly and spends at least 24hrs bloated and heavy breathing every time we feed him veg so Alfie has his veg only separate they eat everything else together.
 
I suspect it was probably Baytril as it is notorious for affecting the gut. I would keep up with the Fibreplex if you can. Can I ask what else he eats? what pellets does he have? Is it actual Alfalfa hay or the brand Alfalfa King? How old is he?

If he has no veg I would look at adding in a multi-vitamin just to ensure he is getting all he needs. This one was recommended to me:


You could also try these digestive supplements from Oxbow

Oxbow Natural Science Digestive Support for Small Animals

I think it is important to get to the bottom of what is causing his issues though so I am going to tag another member

@Abi_nurse
 
I do believe I made a mistake with the hay it's Timothy feeding hay we buy from pets @ home, we swapped from our local independent pets stores own unbranded "straight from the farm hay" as was unsure what that was and found it helped swapping

Science selective Guinea pig food,
Woodlands alfalfa cubes as something to chew,
He loves his morning porrage ( just dry ) did read on this forum porrage can help fatten a little pig up a bit so tried and he loves it


The supplements look a good idea will need too just try one thing at a time with joe so can be sure it's not upsetting him which of these would be best 1st ?

9/10 months old

Thankyou
 
It's a tricky one, but I would probably say to try the digestive one first.

The other thing you coud try is a grainless pellet instead of the science selective, as grains can contribute to digestive issues in some pigs. I usually recommend either of these 3:

Bunny GuineaPigDream BASIC | Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!

Vitakraft Emotion Professional Prebiotic Guinea Pig

JR Farm Grainless Complete Guinea Pig | Free P&P £29+ at zooplus!

The pellets are much bigger and can take some getting used to so I would phase them in with his other ones.

The alfalfa hay can be high can in calcium, I would try and limit that if you can, but it won't be part of his digestive issues.
 
The strange fact is all the food listed he eats and is fine as in no upset poo's but as soon as any veg which he loved to eat within 24hrs is pooing either very soft or diarrhoea

I think 1st step will try is the supplements mentioned

Is Timothy hay alfalfa hay then ? I wasn't sure
 
No but there is a brand of Timothy hay called Alfalfa king.
 
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