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Slightly wet and smelly poops

Butterfluf

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi guys,
I have 8 sick piggies at the moment who are all on antibiotics at the moment (baytril and doxycycline). I was cleaning out both cages today (4 boys in one and 4 girls in the other) and both cages have these slightly wet and smelly poops. If I pick them up and squish them a little they're a bit squidgy.

I feed them both set veg everyday (I have a veg plan so I have a mix of different veg every day of the week). I can send in a pic of the veg plan tomorrow morning in case there is specific veg that might be causing the issue that I should remove.

I do have a probiotic "pro c probiotic" by vetark. I haven't used it yet as when I suggested it to the exotic vet she didn't seem enthusiastic and said to leave it for now.

I'd be grateful if anyone has any suggestions as to what I could do to improve their poops as it's probably uncomfortable for them to have issues. Again I will send in a photo of the veg plan in the morning. Thank you guys!
 
Are the poops properly formed or have a bit of a point at one end? It may be a mild upset tummy. So I would take them off all veg, until their poops are back to normal for 1-2 days.

I don’t know if I remember correctly, but I think baytril can mess with their gut balance. I’ll tag @Wiebke @Piggies&buns @PigglePuggle they know more.
 
Are the poops properly formed or have a bit of a point at one end? It may be a mild upset tummy. So I would take them off all veg, until their poops are back to normal for 1-2 days.

I don’t know if I remember correctly, but I think baytril can mess with their gut balance. I’ll tag @Wiebke @Piggies&buns @PigglePuggle they know more.
Reasonably well formed just a little wet and squishy. Dark too if that makes a difference.

I think it is fairly harsh but the vet didn't seem to want me to try a probiotic. Will they be OK without veg for a few days? I don't want them to miss out on any vitamins they need if their sick already
 
So that's the veg plan I follow. To clarify beans are green beans. And herbs are usually a mix of coriander, parsley and sometimes a little mint if there is any.

They really aren't keen on any colour of peppers but I still try put some in. I am out of green beans for now so instead I'll probably throw in a little savoy Cabbage or I just got some 'chayote squash'. Don't know how to serve it to them yet but it's meant to be good for their immune system.
 

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Honey, Baytril has been the absolute bane of my life the past month or so. It definitely affects the gut, and can also definitely affect appetite so please watch closely how much they are eating and weigh your piggies regularly to make sure that they are eating enough. My vet failed to mention any of this to me and unfortunately I have just had to learn through experience.

I would strongly advise giving probiotic, I put it in my piggy’s water while I was syringe feeding her
 
Your veg plan does look to contain rather a lot of watery low nutrition veg like celery, cucumber and lettuce. There are various arguments for and against feeding a wetter diet generally, but at a time of soft poops, watery veg should be reduced- and please do not add it any extra new veg until the guts have settled!
Removing all veg or reducing it to just a little nutritious herbs for a couple of days should help the poops. Baytril can kill off the good gut bacteria and cause tummy upsets so this may be contributing to unusual poops.
I'm not sure why the vet isnt keen on the probiotic as many people routinely give 1-2mls of pro-C when their piggies are being treated with antibiotics, just at least an hour before or after the medicine to be effective.
The answer may be to do with whatever illness has needed the antibiotic treatment?
 
Your veg plan does look to contain rather a lot of watery low nutrition veg like celery, cucumber and lettuce. There are various arguments for and against feeding a wetter diet generally, but at a time of soft poops, watery veg should be reduced- and please do not add it any extra new veg until the guts have settled!
Removing all veg or reducing it to just a little nutritious herbs for a couple of days should help the poops. Baytril can kill off the good gut bacteria and cause tummy upsets so this may be contributing to unusual poops.
I'm not sure why the vet isnt keen on the probiotic as many people routinely give 1-2mls of pro-C when their piggies are being treated with antibiotics, just at least an hour before or after the medicine to be effective.
The answer may be to do with whatever illness has needed the antibiotic treatment?

They are being treated for respiratory infections possibly as a result of bordetella. One of the Guinea pigs was with a rabbit in the pet shop and she was solely with a rabbit. The day I got her from the petshop I realised she had pneumonia. Now it seems to have spread to all of them. They are getting baytril once a day and doxycycline twice a day. What veg would you recommend I replace with lettuce Cucumber and celery? I've been trying to find veg that's safe for them that can be fed regularly :(
 
Honey, Baytril has been the absolute bane of my life the past month or so. It definitely affects the gut, and can also definitely affect appetite so please watch closely how much they are eating and weigh your piggies regularly to make sure that they are eating enough. My vet failed to mention any of this to me and unfortunately I have just had to learn through experience.

I would strongly advise giving probiotic, I put it in my piggy’s water while I was syringe feeding her
Can I just sprinkle it on a bit of food and feed it to them that way? I'd be worried if I mixed it in their water that they'd stop drinking if they think it tastes weird.
 
Honey, Baytril has been the absolute bane of my life the past month or so. It definitely affects the gut, and can also definitely affect appetite so please watch closely how much they are eating and weigh your piggies regularly to make sure that they are eating enough. My vet failed to mention any of this to me and unfortunately I have just had to learn through experience.

I would strongly advise giving probiotic, I put it in my piggy’s water while I was syringe feeding her
Also, because I have them on 2 antibiotics (baytril once a day and doxycycline twice a day) do I give the probiotic twice or just once?
 
If I give pro-C I usually give it by syringe, 1 or 2mls, 2 hours after each dose of antibiotics. Putting it in the water bottle can be done but I wouldnt recommend it as it does affect the taste and could also lead to baterial growth in the water bottle.
As for the diet, celery, cucumber and lettuce can all be fed daily, but probably all 3 of these on the same day is a bit too watery and low nutrition- more fresh herbs is a good idea, these are much more nutritious. Its a shame they dont like peppers much as many of us feed peppers daily as an excellent source of vit C. My piggies enjoy beansprouts once or twice a week, these are also a good source of vit C.
But apart from reducing water veg please dont make any dramatic dietary changes until their guts settle!
 
If I give pro-C I usually give it by syringe, 1 or 2mls, 2 hours after each dose of antibiotics. Putting it in the water bottle can be done but I wouldnt recommend it as it does affect the taste and could also lead to baterial growth in the water bottle.
As for the diet, celery, cucumber and lettuce can all be fed daily, but probably all 3 of these on the same day is a bit too watery and low nutrition- more fresh herbs is a good idea, these are much more nutritious. Its a shame they dont like peppers much as many of us feed peppers daily as an excellent source of vit C. My piggies enjoy beansprouts once or twice a week, these are also a good source of vit C.
But apart from reducing water veg please dont make any dramatic dietary changes until their guts settle!
I get you I'll try shimmy the veg around so they aren't all on the same day! I have 5 babies (just over a month old) on the antibiotics and one that's 5 months and 2 that are roughly a year. Is it still OK to give the little ones probiotics too? Thanks for your help 😊 I just worry about their food cuz I don't want to give them something that makes everything worse. 😔
 
The probiotic should be fine for the younger ones too. Hope your piggies get well soon x
 
Aw, hope they all get better soon, must be awful for you x
Thank you, i lost a piggie last Friday to this so as sad and upset as I am I still want to make the others better and happy
 
Hi!

The rule of thumb with soft poos is:
- When on antibiotic treatment, please add plenty of probiotics because the antibiotic is also impacting on the gut bacteria that are crucial for the digestive process.
If you have a healthy companion, then the most effective support is totally freshly made 'poo soup' in order to transfer healthy gut microbiome. This mimics natural behaviour and is more targeted than probiotic powder but that will have to do if all your piggies are on medication.

- If the problem is dietary (too much fresh grass, watery veg or a mild tummy upset), then please take your piggies off any fresh veg for 24 hours until the poos have normalised again.
In more serious cases you have to wait 24-48 hours until after the poos have normalised again and then re-introduce veg slowly again, starting with herbs and being careful when adding watery veg a bit more with every passing meal. Stop again if the problem reoccurs and see a vet if your piggy has a tender digestion with recurring mild issues (not uncommon especially in older piggies).

- See a vet within 24 hours if your piggy has runny diarrhea; as an out-of-hours emergency if they are very poorly and not eating/drinking.
Also contact your vet if your piggy is losing its appetite totally when on antibiotics and follow the tips in our emergency/crisis care guide: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

More information on digestive problems here: Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
 
Hi!

The rule of thumb with soft poos is:
- When on antibiotic treatment, please add plenty of probiotics because the antibiotic is also impacting on the gut bacteria that are crucial for the digestive process.
If you have a healthy companion, then the most effective support is totally freshly made 'poo soup' in order to transfer healthy gut microbiome. This mimics natural behaviour and is more targeted than probiotic powder but that will have to do if all your piggies are on medication.

- If the problem is dietary (too much fresh grass, watery veg or a mild tummy upset), then please take your piggies off any fresh veg for 24 hours until the poos have normalised again.
In more serious cases you have to wait 24-48 hours until after the poos have normalised again and then re-introduce veg slowly again, starting with herbs and being careful when adding watery veg a bit more with every passing meal. Stop again if the problem reoccurs and see a vet if your piggy has a tender digestion with recurring mild issues (not uncommon especially in older piggies).

- See a vet within 24 hours if your piggy has runny diarrhea; as an out-of-hours emergency if they are very poorly and not eating/drinking.
Also contact your vet if your piggy is losing its appetite totally when on antibiotics and follow the tips in our emergency/crisis care guide: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

More information on digestive problems here: Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
Thank you, I'll start giving them the probiotic tonight a couple of hours after the antibiotic. I'll remove some of the wet veg too and switch them all around to give a better nutritional meal.
 
Hi guys, just want to make sure I'm doing this right, I'm putting this much probiotic (in picture) on each piece of food for each Guinea pig, is this too much or too little I don't want to do it wrong 😭
 

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