Pitch Black, smelly poops!

[5StarPigs]

I know this is like the hundreth post of the day but i am worried about Alfie, today he has started pooping pitch black poops that smell awfull! He is eating his hay, running around acting normal and drinking well. If he is acting fine, what could it be? Or am I just overreacting? They look kind of runny too, or i dont know if it is pee on top of them

 

[Wiebke]

I know this is like the hundreth post of the day but i am worried about Alfie, today he has started pooping pitch black poops that smell awfull! He is eating his hay, running around acting normal and drinking well. If he is acting fine, what could it be? Or am I just overreacting? They look kind of runny too, or i dont know if it is pee on top of them

Hi!

Please take him off any fresh veg and food for a day and see whether that settles the gut again.

If not, or if Alfie is developing fluid diarrhea, see a vet. I can well be that he has a reaction to a veg his gut is not accustomed to.

 

[Pawz]

What have you been feeding him lately aside from hay and pellets?

 

[5StarPigs]

Hello, I have been feeding him spinach and baby carrots as his daily veg since I ran out of romain lettuce the other day. And I ran out of pellets a few days ago and we are probably going get him some more tomorrow. So all he has been eating for the past few days is hay, and spinach and baby carrots as his daily veg. Spinach and baby carrots are not new veggies to him.

What have you been feeding him lately aside from hay and pellets?

 

[5StarPigs]

Okay, will try that

Hi!

Please take him off any fresh veg and food for a day and see whether that settles the gut again.

If not, or if Alfie is developing fluid diarrhea, see a vet. I can well be that he has a reaction to a veg his gut is not accustomed to.

 

[Merab]

Hope Alfie recovers from his tummy upset soon

 

[Wiebke]

Hello, I have been feeding him spinach and baby carrots as his daily veg since I ran out of romain lettuce the other day. And I ran out of pellets a few days ago and we are probably going get him some more tomorrow. So all he has been eating for the past few days is hay, and spinach and baby carrots as his daily veg

Hi!

Please read our diet guide with its picture of a balanced sample diet; that is not exactly a balanced diet with or without lettuce - for once, it is too low in vitamin C and too fattening, too high in calcium and vitamin A, which accumulates in the liver.

Here is our diet guide and our sample diet - no carrots, no spinach and very little lettuce if at all (it stands in for your own choice of extra veg). When introducing new veg, you need to be very careful with a piggy whose mother has obviously not had any, nor has the baby; so its digestive system is not yet adapted.
Hay should make over 80% of the food intake and pellets only 1-2 tablespoons per day (2 for babies up to 4 months; 1 for adults)
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[5StarPigs]

Okay, if I am understanding you correctly, I cannot feed Alfie carrots, spinach and lettuce anymore? Just the veg you have a picture of?

Hi!

Please read our diet guide with its picture of a balanced sample diet; that is not exactly a balanced diet with or without lettuce - for once, it is too low in vitamin C and too fattening, too high in calcium and vitamin A, which accumulates in the liver.

Here is our diet guide and our sample diet - no carrots, no spinach and very little lettuce if at all (it stands in for your own choice of extra veg. When introducing new veg, you need to be very careful with a piggy whose mother has obviously not had any, nor has the baby; so its digestive system is not yet adapted.
Hay should make over 80% of the food intake and pellets only 1-2 tablespoons per day (2 for babies up to 4 months; 1 for adults)
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
View attachment 113457

Stop as soon as you get funny poos to allow the guts to rebalance and then go careful when re-introducing veg again to not tip it over straight away. It is a slow process, but worth being careful. Ideally you wait 24-48 hours until the poos have normalised again before you gradually reintruce veg again after a tummy upset. Yours is very borderline, though.

 

[5StarPigs]

Thank you

Hope Alfie recovers from his tummy upset soon

 

[Wiebke]

Always ttop as soon as you get funny poos to allow the guts to rebalance and then go careful when re-introducing veg again to not tip it over straight away. It is a slow process, but worth being careful. Ideally you wait 24-48 hours until the poos have normalised again before you gradually reintruce veg again after a tummy upset. Yours is very borderline, though.

A guinea pig can live without pellets at anytime and without daily veg, but it cannot live without hay. Whenever the gut is unbalanced, going back to hay helps. Ideally fresh poos from a healthy piggy soaked in a little water help to rebalance the gut as they reintroduce the gut microbiome that is essential for the digestive process. Your job right now is to gradually build up what Alfie's background has not allowed him to do.

 

[5StarPigs]

Okay, I am so sorry if I keep asking but just want to be 100 percent sure I understood you correctly. I wait 24-48 hours until Alfies poops normalize, during this process I keep feeding him hay and no veg? After his poops normalize I can slowly reintroduce him to healthier veg? And then feed him a balanced diet of hay, pellets, and the correct veg?

Always ttop as soon as you get funny poos to allow the guts to rebalance and then go careful when re-introducing veg again to not tip it over straight away. It is a slow process, but worth being careful. Ideally you wait 24-48 hours until the poos have normalised again before you gradually reintruce veg again after a tummy upset. Yours is very borderline, though.

A guinea pig can live without pellets at anytime and without daily veg, but it cannot live without hay. Whenever the gut is unbalanced, going back to hay helps. Ideally fresh poos from a healthy piggy soaked in a little water help to rebalance the gut as they reintroduce the gut microbiome that is essential for the digestive process. Your job right now is to gradually build up what Alfie's background has not allowed him to do.

 

[Wiebke]

Okay, if I am understanding you correctly, I cannot feed Alfie carrots, spinach and lettuce anymore? Just the veg you have a picture of?

You can feed all three veg occasionally, the lettuce most often, but preferably as part of the pictured mix. You will find the veg listed in the guide together with the reason why they are on the plate.

I won't say that it is the only possible diet but I can confidently say that our long term members all practise a similar diet and have seen a noticeable increase in general health and longevity of their piggies.
I certainly have a much higher percentage of my piggies reaching the average life span and often the upper end or even beyond that since I switched to it about 7 years ago. I have also not had any new bladder stones in all that time - despite having 20-30 piggies at any time.

 

[Wiebke]

Okay, I am so sorry if I keep asking but just want to be 100 percent sure I understood you correctly. I wait 24-48 hours until Alfies poops normalize, during this process I keep feeding him hay and no veg? After his poops normalize I can slowly reintroduce him to healthier veg? And then feed him a balanced diet of hay, pellets, and the correct veg?

Yes, basically - but do it slowly, the veg by adding one more with each meal.
Best start with the cilantro/coriander; that gives him vitamin C and trace minerals without much bulk.

 

[5StarPigs]

Okay, thank you so much. I am happy Alfie has nothing serious going on. I will start the process tomorrow slowly. I will from now never give him spinach anymore as I dont want to risk another tummy upset. Do you know if regular carrots are healthier than baby carrots by any chance?

Here is a list of veg I will feed him after he recovers, (most of these are veggies he already eats and likes)
Kale
Romaine Lettuce
Cucumber
Red Bell Pepper (i will try him on this as he hates green bell pepper)
Baby carrots or regular carrots OCCASIONALLY


Is this an acceptable veg list?

Yes, basically - but do it slowly, the veg by adding one more with each meal.
Best start with the cilantro/coriander; that gives him vitamin C and trace minerals without much bulk.

 

[Wiebke]

Okay, thank you so much. I am happy Alfie has nothing serious going on. I will start the process tomorrow slowly. I will from now never give him spinach anymore as I dont want to risk another tummy upset. Do you know if regular carrots are healthier than baby carrots by any chance?

Here is a list of veg I will feed him after he recovers, (most of these are veggies he already eats and likes)
Kale
Romaine Lettuce
Cucumber
Red Bell Pepper (i will try him on this as he hates green bell pepper)
Baby carrots or regular carrots OCCASIONALLY


Is this an acceptable veg list?

Go lightly on the kale and don't feed daily. It is very high in calcium. We use greens in our diet, which are the lowest in calcium of all brassicas/cabbages.
Please rather feed 1-2 sprigs of fresh cilantro or another herb daily (cilantro is again the one least high in calcium).

You can feed carrot in any form twice weekly as a special treat.
Like spinach, we recommend to feed kale only occasionally.

You can find the whole list of what you can feed how often in which quantity in the diet guide. I have made it as detailed and as precise as possible. It is really worth clicking on the link and having a look at it.

 

[5StarPigs]

Yes and i know about kale, even before his tummy upset i fed it only on special occasions I will try him slowly on cilantro next time we get to go grocery shopping.

Go lightly on the kale and don't feed daily. It is very high in calcium. We use greens in our diet, which are the lowest in calcium of all brassicas/cabbages.
Please rather feed 1-2 sprigs of fresh cilantro or another herb daily (cilantro is again the one least high in calcium).

You can feed carrot in any form twice weekly as a special treat.
Like spinach, we recommend to feed kale only occasionally.

You can find the whole list of what you can feed how often in which quantity in the diet guide. I have made it as detailed and as precise as possible. It is really worth clicking on the link and having a look at it.

 

[Wiebke]

Yes and i know about kale, even before his tummy upset i fed it only on special occasions I will try him slowly on cilantro next time we get to go grocery shopping.

I have found that fresh herbs always go down best with piggies recovering from illness and are eaten by most.

 

[Wiebke]

Spring greens are a relative of kale, but not as strong. If you want to feed kale daily, please feed an accordingly smaller amount.
Can you get them in US? They do not make the classic head with their central leaves.

 

[5StarPigs]

Thank you for all of your help and advice I will be sure to feed alfie the correct veggies now, and a more balanced diet. I will be getting him Oxbow adult guinea pig food whenever We get to go to the pet store again

I have found that fresh herbs always go down best with piggies recovering from illness and are eaten by most.

 

[5StarPigs]

Yes! We can get spring greens in the US and I have seen them in stores before. Will be sure to try those one day with him, to clarify, they cannot be fed daily either?

Spring greens are a relative of kale, but not as strong. If you want to feed kale daily, please feed an accordingly smaller amount.
Can you get them in US? They do not make the classic head with their central leaves.

 

[5StarPigs]

Alfies bottom smells just as the poops do, or idk if its regular old boar smell

 

[AutumnThePig]

Alfies bottom smells just as the poops do, or idk if its regular old boar smell

You could make a small “bathtub” for him out of a container to store food (that has enough room for him) and let his bottom soak in room temperature water for a few minutes. I wouldn’t fill the water over his belly, though. Also, you could use a baby brush to lightly brush his fur—minding his private area— after he is towel dried. This might help the smell.