Post vet visit

[somanyquestions337]

Hi this is my first post here, basically yesterday my guinea pigs (2 boys, 11 months old) were passing pointy and soft poops, it seemed they might have just had too much watery vegetables so I took them out of their diet for the day to encourage them to eat more hay and pellets, I also weighed them both at that point. The next day their poops were rounded again, they have been bright eyed and nosy but when I weighed them, they both lost 40-50g each so I took them to the emergency vet she had a look over them and a feel and said everything was looking good, she agrees it must’ve been water weight, just a lot of it as there were probably too much watery veggies, she told me to weigh them again in a couple of days to see how they’re doing.

They’ve been eating hay and their pellets (slowly but surely) since we got back and I fed them a small amount of romaine lettuce each, they’ve also drank some water but they just seem more reserved and like they want to lay in their hides more, they’re also chattering their teeth and standing off with each other more and I’m just wondering if this sounds like cause for concern or whether it’s typical for piggies that have been cooped up in their carrier and poked and prodded at a vet clinic. I just feel quite anxious about them.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

The advice would be to keep them off veg for a few days - adding veg back in too soon can cause a relapse.
When restarting veg, It is better to start with one sprig of a herb as they are easier to digest. You can add in another sprig the next day, and then lettuce and other veg slowly once you know they are definitely ok with a herb.

We would recommend that you actually weigh them every morning for the next week. That way you can spot any further weight loss much more quickly. That enables you to take any necessary action (ie syringe feeding) sooner if needed. Leaving it a couple of days before carrying out the next weight check could mean, if they are feeling unwell, that more weight is lost and then time will also be lost in stepping in.

Make sure pellets are kept strictly to one tablespoon per pig per day as routine.

In terms of their behaviour, they will be resettling their relationship now they are home (stabilizing themselves after the disruption caused by being moved about). With any luck it will not to amount to anything but it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on behaviours.

I have added some guides below to help you further

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels
Wiebke's Guide to Poops

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[Merab]

Welcome to the forum.
You did the right thing taking them off veggies and then to the vet as you were worried.
They sound as if they have landed on their paws with you.
I can only echo @Wiebke ‘s advice.
Hope they settle down soon

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome
I cannot add medical @Piggies&buns advice. Please take the time to read the links; they contain all the detailed how-to tips, advice and in-depth information that we cannot repeat in every post but which you may find helpful.
If needed, peg a towel over the cage, remove any hides with just one corner and make sure that there are no dead corners and let your boys settle after their somewhat stressful trip.

It may be of use to transport your boys in the future in separate carriers in order to avoid incidents from stress-based fear-aggressive overreactions in confined spaces. It's all a bit new for them and their prey animal instincts are quite obviously still rather trigger-happy. That is not uncommon in new rescue piggies from a bad background and takes time, patience and persistence to settle down over the coming months.

After an upset, it is always best with new piggies to go back to square one and restart. They will come out of it quicker each time and will eventually feel confident to no longer need it.

If necessary and if the teeth chattering escalates with boars, put in a quick temporary divider in the cage to allow ruffled tempers to cool down. You can remove it after a day or (in the case of a hormone spike) two.

Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips

New Guinea Pigs: How to Best Manage Arrival and Settling In

A - Z of Guinea Pig Behaviours
Guinea Pig Behaviours in their Context

I hope that this helps you. Please don't be upset. The first vet trip is always the worst, especially with piggies that are still very much on edge already because of the new world that is a complex pet home they have not long entered.

PS: As to re-introducing veg, always start with just a small amount and then upping it gradually to allow the gut microbiome to accustom and the appropriate digestive specialist bacteria to time multiply to cope with any new foods. Ideally you give your piggies at least a day on any added food, seeing that it takes a day for it to reach the other end so you get your feed back as to whether it is working before you proceed.

You best start with a sprig of coriander herb/cilantry or parsley, give a bit more with the next meal, then try a tablespoon of shredded lettuce per piggy with the the herbs; a leaf later on. Next day add a very thin slice of cucumber and then a thicker slice in the next meal. After that you can introduce a very thin slice of pepper and then a larger one. If all is well, go back to your usual menu; otherwise stop, allow the tummy to settle and restart from scratch.

 

[somanyquestions337]

Long story short, on 21/03 they had slightly pointy poops so I took their veg out of their diet, 22/03 the shape had normalised but they lost 40/50g overnight, took them to the vet the same day who checked them and didn’t see anything physically wrong (they are alert, moving around, interested in food, eating hay, pellets and salads they’re given), told me to reintroduce salad slowly day by day and see if their weight stabilises which it has (fluctuates between 1070-1060g for the past 5 days), they’re still sociable and curious, both pooping and weeing, there isn’t as many poops as before but there’s still a good (I would say) amount and they’re doing more by the day, I have critical care to hand in case weight drops drastically again but do we think it’s safe to relax a bit now? Obviously still keeping a close eye and weighing daily, but does anyone think there is any cause for alarm at this point?

The biggest worry for me was the weight drop and I got them seen the same day for that, to which the vet checked them both out and came to the conclusion it was most likely too much water in their diet and the weight of it dropped that much after I took their salads away, but just keep weighing them and if there was another big drop then there would be reason to be more concerned.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

Yes, I would say that as weight has stabilised then you can start to relax!

Up to 50g drop in weight is fluctuation - cause to go on alert (switch to daily weight checks and get prepared to syringe feed if more weight is lost over the coming 24-48 hours) but not an emergency.
If they drop 100g overnight then that is an emergency.

We recommend when reintroducing veg that you start with a herb - literally one sprig - as herbs tend to be easier on the gut, you can then build up and add other things in slowly once you are sure they are digesting it ok.

I hope they continue to improve

I have merged your two posts together - we do ask that members keep to the same thread for the same issue. It makes it easier for us to see background and any previous advice