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Rescue

D

destinyheaven

New Born Pup
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Aug 17, 2025
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Hi, I do not know a lot about guinea pigs but I’m trying to educate myself. I just rescued a pig that was being abused by a family member. He’s about 4-5 years old. It broke my heart. He was basically living alone in the travel trailer on their property without a cage mate. They checked on him weekly to give him water and pellets. He never got hay or fresh veggies. He had a URI and eye infection due to living in the nasty bedding for so long. As soon as my mom told me about the situation I drove hours to get him and then took him to the nearest vet. I live in a rural area. The closest exotic vet in 2+ hours away and they are M-F. Thursday night he started getting meds antibiotics, eye meds, and pain / inflammation meds. He’s feeling so much better. He’s eating, playing, being himself. I think the long car ride, along with being sick and in a new environment really stressed him out Friday when we returned home. He didn’t eat much Friday but since he’s been eating like crazy. He’s been drinking a little bit of water, but not much. I tried calling the vet because I haven’t noticed any poop in about 24 hours. He’s eating, he’s acting normal, he’s drinking a little water. He’s a different pig than when I got him Thursday! I know not pooping is a really bad sign. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if today is reflecting Fridays diet and stress. I have critical care food, but haven’t given it to him since I feel like he’s eating pretty good, but maybe he could be more hydrated. I don’t know why he’s not pooping. Any advice?
 
:wel: and very well done for rescuing that poor piggy!
You asked if the lack of poop reflects the linger journey and stress on Friday. This is probably the case, as poop is 24-48 hours behind eating. He probably didn't eat much while travelling as it was unfamiliar and probably a bit frightening for him. If he is eating again now, he should start pooping again soon. I presume he has plenty of hay and is eating that most of the time?
As regards water, the vet should have checked for dehydration I should think,(usually by pinching the scruff of the neck to check it's elasticity) and ought to have told you if he was dehydrated. But if you're concerned he's not drinking more, possibly because he's not used to the bottle etc, you could try carefully syringing feeding a little water if he will take it.

It might also be a good idea to check if he is under or overweight and start weighing him regularly to monitor his progress and health now he is being properly cared for.
Weight-monitoring-and-management-underweight-overweight

i hope the poor boy will now have lots of happy todays with you!
 
Thank you for stepping up and helping this piggy that sounds in desperate need of help. I’m not an expert, but remember reading that poop output is usually a couple of days behind what you’re seeing at the moment. So it’ll take a day or so before you start seeing poops from when you took over the piggy’s care. If piggy is eating and drinking well, I wouldn’t think you’d need to top up with critical care, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt if you wanted to offer some. If you can weigh piggy on some kitchen scales to get a baseline weight, that’s helpful. It’s good practice to weigh once a week, at around the same time so you can monitor piggy’s progress. There’s loads of helpful information guides on this forum that go into detail about all aspects of care as well. Do you have a name for him/her yet? We love to see pictures too!
 
Congratulations on your new piggy. Yes, giving him some critical care would be a good thing. If you put your ear to his tummy, can you hear digestive sounds. There should be a lot of poop, so seeing a vet would be a good thing when you can. Thank you for saving this lovely piggy. I hope he will be OK and a lovely pet for you 🙏
 
Poor boy, Well done for taking him in.

Please do weigh him each morning. Once a week checks can be done once he is better but for now he needs to be weighed every day. It is important you monitor him very closely while he is poorly and getting used to a new situation.
Any loss of weight then he does need to be given the critical care.

Are you giving him lots of hay now?
It needs to be 75-80% of his daily food intake.
As hay is the main food intake, by weighing you are monitoring hay intake (hay intake cannot be gauged by eye). More than 50g of weight loss means not enough hay is being consumed and you would then need to prepare to step on with syringe feeding.
However if he has only been used to eating pellets then getting him into a good hay based diet and removal of total reliance on pellets may cause some weight loss.

I’m glad you are seeing poop now. Poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake so there can be a gap if piggy hadn’t eaten properly. However it is also why watching poop output is an unreliable way to gauge food intake hence the importance of weight checks.

I would not introduce new vegetables at this point. Too much fresh veg on an unprepared gut can cause digestive issues as he has never had it then you could make him poorly by giving it.
For now, feed him lots of hay, make sure pellets are the recommended one tablespoon per day. You can look to introduce veg very slowly and carefully once he is stable.
Antibiotics can upset the gut so you do just need to be a bit careful not to overload his system with too much dietary change too soon.

When you do introduce veg it needs to be done slowly - give one small piece of one type of veg for several days ie one sprig of cilantro. After a few days add in a small piece of lettuce; a few more days add in a slice of bell pepper etc. then after that you can start to slowly increase the amounts of the four safe daily veggies (lettuce, cucumber, bell pepper, cilantro) until he is up to a cup per day.

I hope he is ok

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/weight-monitoring-and-management.171577/
Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

New Owners' Essential Information and Practical Tips Starter Collection
 
Yay! Thank you for getting him out of that situation, what a lucky boy you rescued him! ❤️
We would love to see pictures!
 
Welcome to the forum.
Good for you taking on this poor boy.
Hope the forum is proving helpful.
We look forward to getting to know you and seeing pictures of your piggy.
 
How wonderful of you to travel so far to help that poor piggy, he will have a happy life now and know he is cared for. We would love so see pics soon.
Sending best wishes
 
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