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Sticky poo, bad diet?

Maeneth

Maeneth

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
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Location
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Dear Guinea Pig Community,

My guinea pig has been showing several concerning symptoms over the past few days. Perhaps it’s nothing, but it’s noticeable. He has had teary eyes, without the need to groom and also frequent sneezing, where at times there is green nasal discharge present. In addition to this, his droppings have been abnormal, appearing wet and soft, with one containing a small bubble (Disclaimer: images show piggy droppings. See link here: Imgur Link). These symptoms together feel like a cause for concern. We have lost one piggy before, so as a piggy owner, I am more vigilant when it comes to both my boys; Tribble and Onyx. Should I make an appointment and take him to the vet, or wait a few days with a few alterations to his diet to see if his droppings improve? We do give them both a lot of vegetables during Christmas and New Year to celebrate, including carrots, lettuce (in Dutch we call it Krop Sla – I do not know the proper, English translation) cucumber and Chicory.

Edit: I forgot to mention that Onyx does run around and continues to eat his hay, biscuits and veggies.

All advice is welcome, if any.

Kind regards, owner of Tribble and Onyx.
 
So sorry that your piggy is sick.
A vet trip would be wise.
If his droppings are soft and wet you need to cut out vegetables and weigh him daily to ensure he’s eating enough hay.
Hope he’s ok.
Please let us know how you get on at the vet.
 
Please do see a vet asap.

It is possible that the sneezing and green nasal discharge could be a respiratory infection. The soft poops can indicate that he has reduced his hay intake as a result of feeling unwell, and thus meaning that the veg to fibre ratio in his diet has become unbalanced.

I would cut out all veg entirely (feeding only hay, and nuggets if they normally have them).

You also need to switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh daily so you can more closely monitor hay intake. If weight loss occurs then you need to step in with syringe feeding.

I’ve added guides below to help further

I hope he is ok


Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
How to Improvise Feeding Support in an Emergency
 
Thank you for all these replies. <3 I really appreciate it. I've made an appointment for Monday, only time we can get him in. So for now, I will weigh him daily and cut off the vegetables. Will give an update when I hear more. I'll also take a read of those guides too, thanks again.
 
Good evening everyone,

Small update. I purchased a small weighing scale and went to visit a veterinarian located in the same town I live in to buy critical care for him! Sadly, I have to wait till Monday, since they had no space left to squeeze in Onyx for a checkup, which is a shame.

I tried feeding him critical care, but he isn't having it. I'll ask my partner to aid me because Onyx is too rebellious.

Kind regards,
Maeneth-
 
Maeneth said:
Good evening everyone,

Small update. I purchased a small weighing scale and went to visit a veterinarian located in the same town I live in to buy critical care for him! Sadly, I have to wait till Monday, since they had no space left to squeeze in Onyx for a checkup, which is a shame.

I tried feeding him critical care, but he isn't having it. I'll ask my partner to aid me because Onyx is too rebellious.

Kind regards,
Maeneth-
Click to expand...
Have a look at the syringe feeding guides in the health and illness section.
That helps.
You have to be determined with the piggies sometimes.
I used to add a tiny piece of mashed banana into the critical care which went down very well.
 
Merab said:
Have a look at the syringe feeding guides in the health and illness section.
That helps.
You have to be determined with the piggies sometimes.
I used to add a tiny piece of mashed banana into the critical care which went down very well.
Click to expand...
I did, thank you! Onxy seem to enjoy the banana taste briefly, but he then turns his face whenever he sees the syringe. Tribble on the other hand is very cheeky to give the critical care a try, and he seems to love it!

Onyx current weight fluctuates between 1010kg, and1020kg. I monitored his weight for two days now.

Kind regards,

Maeneth-
 
Maeneth said:
I did, thank you! Onxy seem to enjoy the banana taste briefly, but he then turns his face whenever he sees the syringe. Tribble on the other hand is very cheeky to give the critical care a try, and he seems to love it!

Onyx current weight fluctuates between 1010kg, and1020kg. I monitored his weight for two days now.

Kind regards,

Maeneth-
Click to expand...
It’s good that you are monitoring Onyx’s weight.
10g either way is not serious, if the loss is steady and he loses 50g or more that is cause for concern..
Keep a note of your weights to give to your vet on Monday.
Onyx is very lucky to be in such good and caring hands.
 
Good afternoon everyone,

Another small update. Feeding him goes a lot easier than before, I think he's slowly warming up to the idea that it is for what it is. His weight is down to 991kg when I weigh him this morning. I would have loved to see a small improvement in his weight but alas :C

I'll keep you guys posted when I get back from the vet tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the support! <3

With kind regards
Maeneth-
 
Syringe feeding is about stopping weight loss rather than making them gain weight, and a continually downward weight trend means that he is likely going to need more syringe feeds.

I hope he is ok
 
Piggies&buns said:
Syringe feeding is about stopping weight loss rather than making them gain weight, and a continually downward weight trend means that he is likely going to need more syringe feeds.

I hope he is ok
Click to expand...
Ahh, alright, I shall give him more.

I accidentally found a new technique to feed Onyx, he prefers licking the critical food from my fingers rather having it from the syringe! It makes things easier for sure.
 
We went to the vet for a consultation today, and the diagnosis is that one of his back teeth is overlapping another, which is making it difficult for him to eat and swallow food. He will need a dental procedure to file down the tooth so that he can eat normally again, which should hopefully be about in a couple of weeks. We don’t know when just yet.

In the meantime, the vets have provided medication as well as additional critical care support. Until the date of his surgery, we’ll be feeding him six times a day and administering his medication. His current weight is around 1 kg (he’s a 2-year-old piggy), and we’ll continue to monitor this closely.

The vet also recommended placing a warm water bottle in his habitat to help keep his body temperature up, as it was low during the check. The good news is that he absolutely loves it, his ears are even warm now. Will keep you all updated on how things progress. 😊
 
UPDATE: Onyx had his surgery today, and it was successful. His back teeth were in very poor condition, so we’re really glad we were able to have them filed down in time. He took a little longer to recover from the anesthesia, so the vets kept him under observation for a while afterward. Tribble stayed with him the whole time, so they were together throughout.

They’re both home and safe now. We’ll continue feeding Onyx critical care for a bit longer until he’s comfortable eating on his own again, as his mouth may still be sore. As advised, we’re also keeping him warm with a couple of hot water bottles, which he loves to lie on. Now the healing begins. <3

P.S: A happy Onyx says 'Hello, I am feeling better, do you have food for me?'
 

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So good to hear positive news.
Glad all went well for Onyx.

After Phoebe had some dental work I was advised to shred her vegetables into thin, manageable strips to make it easier for her to eat.
 
Update: Onyx his weight went from 1005kg down to 985kg and that is concerning in my opinion. I do not think he is ready to actually chew and grind his hay, so I am forced to give him critical care till he is able to fully eat on his own. I hope he will make a very swift recovery! Furthermore, I gave him a piece of cucumber, he avoids the surrounding crust/skin and eats around it.

I shall keep you guys posted about any progress, Onyx makes.
 
Forgot to add. I give Onyx about 60/75ml of critical food in a single day, that should suffice to keep his weight in balance.
 
There will also be the time he was under anaesthetic when he wasn’t eating to take into consideration - you will likely see a gap in poop production due to that.

You will likely need to continue feeding him for a while yet. They can need up to 100ml to keep their weight stable
Is he still on painkillers?
 
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I handed Onyx over at around 9:00 AM, and I got a phone call to pick him up at 3PM!

No, he is not on any painkillers at the moment as he has been given quite a bit of medication during his dental work and the vet told me not to give him medication anymore. Of course, I still have his medication to relieve him from pain if he has any.
 
Good evening everyone,

Another update: Onyx is eating his Oxbox pellets, a lot! It appears he is slowly getting used to his normal eating pattern, but I have not seen him eating hay yet. I wonder how much critical care I should give him by now?
 
I’m glad he is feeling better. You can only stop feeding critical care when he is eating hay again.

Pellet feeding quantity is just one tablespoon per day, equating to around 5% of day food intake. They aren’t important in the diet (some of us don’t feed pellets at all) so while it is good he is showing improvement in appetite the pellets aren’t enough to keep him stable or fulfill his needs. Also keep in mind that pellets tend to go soggy so dental piggies can find eating pellets easier than chewing hay and then can try to favour them over hay
He needs to be eating plenty of hay.

Hay is the main food intake, around 75-80% per day. Critical care replaces hay intake while they aren’t eating it for themselves so while he is not eating hay you have to continue to feed him enough critical care to keep his weight stable.

If you are feeding the recommended one tablespoon of pellets per day but it he isn’t eating enough hay, and you then stop feeding critical care then he is going to lose weight.

If his weight is stable day to day and he is eating hay then you can cut out a critical care feed and see if he remains stable the next day. If he is stable with one less feed per day, then you may be able to cut out a second feed over the coming days and again see if he remains stable.
If he lose la weight when you cut out feeds then he is not eating enough hay and isn’t yet ready for you to cut feeds out.

I hope that makes sense
 
Piggies&buns said:
Pellet feeding quantity is just one tablespoon per day
Click to expand...
Ahh, I have diminished their pellet intake significantly after reading what you put down, thank you for that.

Yes, that does make a lot of sense and just out of precaution I took Onyx his weight and he went from 985kg to 1020kg. Perhaps he is eating hay whenever I am not looking, who knows! He is a sneaky piggy.
 
Another update! His weight seem stable between 985kg and 988kg.

I went to see the vet, and she informed me that Onyx requires another week of metacam since he is still a little sore from his dental work. He does chew on small bits of hay at times.

Maeneth~
 
Dear community,

I am still quite worried about Onyx his recovery journey, perhaps even frustrated at this point. My partner and I have been feeding him daily 100ml steadily around the clock, 5 feeding sessions in a day. His weight fluctuates between 963 and 977. He is not gaining nor losing weight. Also, he feels bony around his hips and spine. I can also feel his ribs, but that takes effort since I feel a fat layer.

He often seems quite eager (Super willing!) for his critical care, especially in the morning.

I wonder how long it’ll take for Onyx to start eat more hay. He does eat hay, but not that much.
 
It’s good that you feel a fat layer around his ribs.
The fact his weight is stable is good as it means you’re getting enough syringe feed into him.

Dental piggies can lose confidence in eating hay - they think it is going to hurt them; or the dental is still not done quite right and he is still unable to eat enough hay properly; or there may be discomfort.
His surgery only happened a week ago so it may take a bit longer yet for him to get back his confidence (if that is what the issue is) .
If you are worried about him then the best you can do is speak to your vet
 
Piggies&buns said:
It’s good that you feel a fat layer around his ribs.
The fact his weight is stable is good as it means you’re getting enough syringe feed into him.

Dental piggies can lose confidence in eating hay - they think it is going to hurt them; or the dental is still not done quite right and he is still unable to eat enough hay properly; or there may be discomfort.
His surgery only happened a week ago so it may take a bit longer yet for him to get back his confidence (if that is what the issue is) .
If you are worried about him then the best you can do is speak to your vet
Click to expand...
I believe it might be a confidence issue, but I am not 100% certain. I'll monitor and feed him for another week before I see a vet.
 
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