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Possible bloat?

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sazmatazz

sazmatazz

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all. I've not been on here for ages, I just wondered if anyone could advise me on Dora, who seems a little bloated.
She's eating fine, veg, grass & pellet food. I also isolated her for a short while & she's doing plenty of pooping.
Her tummy feels a bit bloated, so we gave her some infacol. Also know to lay off the greens, broccoli etc. Is there any other advice anyone can give me?
This has never happened before & the pigs are now 4yrs old. Poppy seems ok.

Thanks

Saz
 
Massage her tummy gently, this will help shift any gas that she has in her system. A sure fine sign of bloat is no poo's and loss of appetite. As long as the poo output is normal her guts are moving. Make sure she is eating plenty of hay.
If she stops pooing, please get in touch with the vet.
 
Will do, thanks. We have a really good guinea vet luckily.
Do I need to keep giving her the infacol? (She doesn't seem to mind being syringed & seems to like the taste, weirdly!) They've been spending a lot more time outdoors with the warm weather so I wondered whether grass could cause it. She is definitely still eating & pooping plenty. I'll keep separating her for a short while to double check.
 
Oh I meant to ask also, could warming her tummy help? Thanks.
 
I wouldn't give her any more infacol for the time being. Get her eating hay and massage her tummy at the sides and slighly underneath that is the most important thing. She is pooing so she isn't in gut statis. Best to get her checked by the vets, they will probably prescribe some gut stimulant such as emeprid to keep everything moving through her system if they suspect gas build up.

Grass can cause tummy upsets so that could be possible. Dora is pooing so that is very good news.
 
How is Dora today?
 
She seems less bloaty, still eating & pooping but she is making noises when she poops, which she doesn't normally do.
 
sazmatazz said:
She seems less bloaty, still eating & pooping but she is making noises when she poops, which she doesn't normally do.
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Noises? Little crys? Or do you mean gut or bottom noises to put it politely :))
 
Ha! I didn't read that back after I wrote it :)
She's vocalising whilst pooping. Little squeaks, which she doesn't usually. Could it be causing her pain?
 
sazmatazz said:
Ha! I didn't read that back after I wrote it :)
She's vocalising whilst pooping. Little squeaks, which she doesn't usually. Could it be causing her pain?
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Possibility of discomfort, when Treacy used to bloat her poos used to be larger after the bloaty episode. This caused her discomfort a little until they returned to normal which was normally a day or two.
 
:( poor pigwigs. I'll see how she is tomorrow, will keep gently rubbing her tummy too. She seems ok in herself. Still very excited by food etc.
 
sazmatazz said:
:( poor pigwigs. I'll see how she is tomorrow, will keep gently rubbing her tummy too. She seems ok in herself. Still very excited by food etc.
Click to expand...

That is a good sign, so too is the pooing. Would get her checked over just to be on safe side if she is still like it or if she stops pooing. Give her a gentle stroke for me. Hope she feels better soon.
 
sazmatazz said:
She seems less bloaty, still eating & pooping but she is making noises when she poops, which she doesn't normally do.
Click to expand...


Are you sure she's making that noise when she's Poo,ing ? Could it be that she's in discomfort when she wee's ?
 
Painful wees and poos can be a sign of an unrelated problem (bladder issues/UTIs etc) so if she is still doing it when the bloat has cleared then a vet check may be useful x
 
It is definitely when she's pooping, rather than weeing. I will keep an eye on her though, thanks everyone x
 
Dora seems much better today and I've not heard her squeaking when she poops. I was wondering about reintroducing her to grass, as I hate to see them cooped up when it's nice weather. Is there any advice on this? Could I put her out just for a short time at first to limit her grazing?
 
It's a difficult one

and I know what you're talking about about keeping them cooped up in this weather but under the circumstances I'd be inclined to wait a few days,! better safe than sorry

Or if you do make sure she only has a few strands at a time
 
I was thinking I could put them outside but off the grass & give them a little bit - however I used weedkiller on the patio a couple of weeks ago so I'd be a bit worried about that. (n.b. I don't use it elsewhere in the garden, the garden is on several levels with the patio at the bottom & lawn at the top so there's no chance of any run off onto the grass or plants)
 
Hi there

Outside but off the grass would be great idea 8;)and if you put weedkiller on the patio a couple of weeks ago I think it would have well washed away by now, plus the flags or concrete on your patio would be good to wear their nails down 8;)

The only thing that I would be cautious of when using weedkiller :( is certain grass's if am not mistaken coach grass I think that is how you spell it (or maybe not lol)

Anyway the type of grass and I'm thinking about spreads all over the garden through the root system, and a lot of weed killers work systemically, that is to say, it is drawn into the leaves and absorbed by the plant into the root system,

So you could put some weedkiller down in one part of the garden and it would travel through the roots of the grass to another part or the garden ,

just my perhaps over cautious thoughts on weed killers lol

but your garden sounds pretty well organized and I don't think that you would have any of that type of grass in there anyway,

just mentioning it as a precaution
 
Gee, if it was me and she wasn't completely well I wouldn't chance it, especially because of the weed killer. Good luck. xxoo L and the gang
 
I didn't put them out in the end, but I do feel bad for them. Hopefully in a few days it will be a possibility. I also did some reading up on weedkiller & apparently good old salt water can be used to kill weeds on patios etc & means that nothing else will grow for a few months at least - will definitely be using that in the future rather than any chemical stuff! (Although it would have to travel a long way to get to the lawn anyway, it's not good for wildlife generally)
 
Hi again everyone, Dora seems to be having on/off problems with a gassy tummy. I don't think she's got full on 'bloat' as she is still eating fine and her pooping seems ok too. Just every few days she seems a little bloaty again. I'm going to take both pigs to the vet just to check out what's happening but I found out last week that our piggy vet who is a specialist has suddenly passed away. :( Very sad as he was a great vet and so kind to small creatures. I am waiting on advice from my local rescue about where would be the best place to take them now. I'm just a bit confused about what could be going on because if she is still eating and pooping, it's not likely to be bloat, but her gut can't have slowed down either because she's still pooping. So what is it? She's still having veg but not spring greens or cabbage, brocolli etc - we've stopped the gassier veg.
Any ideas/advice?
Thanks
Saz
 
I'm sorry to hear about your vet. That's sad :(

I do not have much advise but my Eliza has the same problem as your Dora. She's 6 in November and it all started a few months ago when we had a bad time and she lost her original group of piggies :(

When it happens with Eliza, I massage her tummy and give her baby colic drops which usually sort her out. Like you, I have cut out all gassy veg.

The other week however she was very uncomfortable with it so I took her to the vet who gave her a gut stimulant which helped. Unfortunately it is just one of those things with Eliza x
 
After a piggy has had serious gut problems, it is often more likely to have a tender digestion for quite some time after or even for the rest of its life. If a piggy is gassy, please take them off fresh veg and grass for a day or two until they have stabilised and then reintroduce fesh food gradually. Gentle massaging can also help.

I am very sorry that your expert vet has passed; that is always very upsetting! I hope that the clinic can find a competent replacement soon!
 
Dora has been to the vet & it turns out she has very large cysts on both her ovaries :( she's going back in on Weds to be spayed.
 
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