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Small, grooves and slightly wet poos (sorry! 😂)

ThePotterPiggie

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi, our washing machine broke down a couple days ago so the guinea pigs have just been on a plain plastic base with a big hay tray on one side and small fleece pads in ‘heavy traffic’ areas as we are unable to wash their fleece bedding. They usually go to the bathroom in the hay tray. The plastic is disinfected and wiped down twice a day to prevent pee buildup but there have been a couple puddles that the pigs have had to endure for a few hours. I know this isn’t ideal but it’s only till Sunday when our washing machine will be fixed. Some of their poos have become wet at one end and have grooves as if they’ve been squished. They’re also a little smaller than usual. Is this due to the plastic base or might they be ill?
thanks x
 
They’ve probably been stepping on the poos. Are you able to at least put down some (many layers of) newspapers or puppy pads or something else? They really shouldn’t be stepping or sitting in their urine.
 
if they are smaller than normal then it can suggest they haven’t been eating quite as much as normal.
I’d keep an eye on them, weigh regularly and speak to a vet if you are concerned.
If the poops themselves are soft because they’re sitting in pooled urine more than normal then that is one thing, but if they are coming out soft then that can signify a gut disturbance and we’d advise to keep them off veg and grass until things normalise.
 
Yes I agree with @Siikibam the poops are probably soggy with pee, putting down 4 or 5 layers of newspaper and/or a towel that you change twice a day is a good idea as a temporary measure until they get their fleece back!
And as @Piggies&buns says if you think there is a poop issue then weighing daily and restricting veg and increasing hay for 48 hours is a good idea, followed up by a vet check if the poops dont normalise once your cage set up is back to normal.
Hope your washing machine and your piggy poops get sorted out soon!
 
Thanks! Daily weighing will start tomorrow. I had actually been feeding extra veggies to try and ‘bulk up’ the poos so will definitely reduce from now on. And I’ll buy the morning paper tomorrow just for the piggies!
 
Thanks! Daily weighing will start tomorrow. I had actually been feeding extra veggies to try and ‘bulk up’ the poos so will definitely reduce from now on. And I’ll buy the morning paper tomorrow just for the piggies!
Pop out to your local train station or bus depot at dawn to collect the free Metro papers, I did that last Wednesday, only to see the lady in front of me also stuffing 7 papers in her bag then not catching a train... she looked round at me, smiled... "for my cat" she said, before hurrying off and letting me grab the 6 papers I needed for a piggy cage clean :)
 
Pop out to your local train station or bus depot at dawn to collect the free Metro papers, I did that last Wednesday, only to see the lady in front of me also stuffing 7 papers in her bag then not catching a train... she looked round at me, smiled... "for my cat" she said, before hurrying off and letting me grab the 6 papers I needed for a piggy cage clean :)
Haha, that’s great! Will do.
 
Hi have been reading up about weighing - I didn’t know it was necessary in a healthy guinea pig so have not done it before. Apparently a healthy weight for a guinea pig is up to 100g, but Teddy is 900g? He is very very fluffy and he doesn’t seem to be chubby compared to the guide on this forum, so should I be worried?
 
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So I’m not sure if this will help but this is his size (sorry about the rubbish photo quality, he wasn’t in a good mood after having his grass and veg intake reduced!) he’s about 27cm long and about 6cm wide, he is a little larger than our neighbour’s pigs but I expected he was just a big boy. His brother’s also about that size but I haven’t weighed him yet today.
 
Piggy weights vary enormously, just like human weights- a healthy adult piggy can weigh anything between a petite 750g and a whopping great 1600g :)
What is more important is to check that an adult piggy is maintaing the same weight (give or take 30 or 40g which is a big wee) week to week, weighing at the same time in the feeding cycle- many of us weigh after cage cleans for consistency.
Heft is also important, that is the amount of fat and muscle mass you can feel over the ribs- you should be able to feel ribs, but under a nice layer of piggy chub, not sticking out.
Start a weight diary and if your piggy's weight is stable over a month they are probably fine :)
 
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