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Sticky poops?

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I've recently been introducing a new food (Excel blackcurrent and oregano pellets) to my pigs, I've done it gradually and have been mixing it in with their usual muesli. However, I've been noticing poops in the cage that aren't formed very well and seem to be light-ish brown/greenish in colour with a sort of pointy bit on the end. The poops are soft and almost sticky and when Bradley had a poop before, a couple were joined together and he squeaked when passing them. The poops aren't liquid but is the new food causing this? And what can I do to help my boys? I'm not sure if both have the soft poops, it could just be Bradley.

They're eating and drinking normally and they've always been rather lazy and sluggish anyway.
 
Short answer is to change them back to their original diet for a week and see if their poos revert to normal.

Other causes could be overdose of veggies or giving pre-packed slightly off colour veggies (spinach/lettuce/salads are notorius for causing squishy smelly poops even within their sell-by dates....unless they are absolutely fresh then it can upset their tummies)

Pointy ends and squishy suggests something is deffo wrong...however aside from dietary changes, it could also be an early warning indicator that something else is wrong that is preventing your piggie from eating properly (e.g. pain/dental/URI/UTI/stones)

Suggest you go back to their original diet and if poos haven;t reverted within 3 days then a trip to the vet is in order.

Are they getting enough hay?

HTH
x
 
UPDATE:

Yesterday I noticed that Bradley couldn't seem to poop much and when he did it was a bit dollopy. I gave him a bath and massaged his bum area and he ended up doing 20 absolutely normal poops in the bath, no softness or stickyness to them.

Later that night I heard him give a little squeak and a normal looking poop came out and then he ate it! I've heard about them eating the squishy ones but not the normal poops.

This morning he seems ok, he's eating very well and is now tucking in to his hay, I gave him some of his old food last night and he very happily ate it. I'm going to keep a close eye on him. All poops in the cage look normal but I'm not sure if they're his poops or Barney's.

He does seem a little lethargic and sleepy, he's currently lying down in his hay but his brother is the same, they are lazy piggies by nature.
 
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FURTHER UPDATE:

Bradley is back to squeaking when pooing and his poops have gone soft again and are that horrible pale-ish brown/greenish colour. I've swapped them back to their usual food and if nothing improves it will be the vet on Monday. I read that he may have a bladder stone or a UTI, yet he pees absolutely fine, no squeaking at all. He seems to have trouble actually pooping so I'm thinking it could be constipation? But his poops are soft and not hard... :{

Any further help would be very much appreciated!
 
ANOTHER UPDATE:

I went out yesterday and instructed my mum to keep an eye on Bradley, when I got back she said he'd been wheeking for his veggies and seemed very bright. He's been eating hay and his muesli but I'm not sure if he's been pooping. This morning he's very lethargic again and just wants to sit in his house. He's just not himself.

I switched over to puppy pads instead of towels under my fleece a couple of weeks a go and I've noticed that the outer edge of the puppy pads seem to have been nibbled (even though hidden under fleece) and yesterday I noticed Bradley trying to nibble again. Could it be bloat that's making him like this? He's very up and down, one minute he's nearly his usual self and the next he's ill and barely moving.

What are the symptoms of bloat? The awful thing is that the only vet near me isn't an exotic vets, I'm worried that when I take him they won't know what the matter is, could he even have bladder stones? Though I've not noticed him squeaking anymore.

Advice desperately needed!
 
Just checked his tummy and it seems larger than usual, also sounds hollow when I tap on it. It would explain why he's eating a lot slower than usual and not moving much, I've read it can be fatal but I can't see the vet until Monday at the earliest!
 
Just gave Bradley another bath as it seems that's the only way he can poop, to get him to poop I have to massage his bottom and then he will give little squeaks as he's passing it. His first poops were green, soft and not formed, then he started to pass normal-ish looking pellets, still soft and green but formed.

My problem is that he can't seem to pass his poops without a little help and when he does pass them he seems to be in discomfort. I bought some probiotic powder from pets at home yesterday, do you think I should try him with that? I noticed he was passing gas in to the bath water as I could see the bubbles. I'm thinking to just give him probiotic and hay today?
 
I've had him in a cardboard box all day by my feet, he's done lots of normal looking pellets that are a teeny bit green and only slightly soft. His tummy does sound hollow but I'm not sure if I'm checking correctly. I've put him back in his cage with his brother and he's eating and drinking, not 100% in himself but better. I've put some probiotic in his drinking water and I don't think he's in as much discomfort as he was, he's on no veggies and I've limited his muesli so he doesn't gorge himself silly.

I don't know what else I can do and whether he is suffering from bloat or not.
 
From your updates it certainly does seem he has a problem with his guts.....but what that problem is could be many and varied. Most important thing is to change back to his previous diet otherwise that is the first thing the vet will tell you to do.

In light of his worsening symptoms (ie the possible bloat - which is just another symptom - not CAUSE - of "grumpy guts") ....I suggest a vets visit tomorrow and that he gets thoroughly checked out for the possible CAUSE.......i.e. teeth/stones/URI and possible abdominal lumps.

While this is going on you might like to discuss with your vet prescribing zantac to treat the symptoms......buy off the shelf in a supermarket the brand name pink tablets....crush/dissolve one 7.5mg tablet in 7.5ml of water and feed a 1kg piggie 0.2ml of the liquid once a day (or alternatively your vet may wish to prescribe the veterinary oral preparation that is given to dogs etc...and work out the concentrations from what I have given for a 1kg piggie )

He might also need to be given a small oral dose of metaclopromaide to get his guts moving better (my Bandit got bloat last week - massaging, some critical care plus a 0.3ml dose of metaclopramide sorted him out overnight)

Zantac is normally considered an antacid..but in dogs/cats and piggies it is known to have gut motility properties that can help sort out "grumpy guts" (ileus) in piggies....as i have seen time and again with my pigs...and the different causes have been shown to be adhesions, teeth and xs veggies

Please print out this email and take it to your vet - if after reading your vet wants to talk to my vet about zantac/metaclopramide then I am happy to supply name/phone number....I just need your vets contact details.

HTH
x
 
This morning he is a lot more active and interested in his surroundings, his poops are normal and he has only a slight gurgling noise in his belly now. Will still be taking him to the vets just in case. I checked my other 2 pigs, who are fine in themselves and yet their bellies sound hollow too? He has been back on his old food for a couple of days and has drunk some of his probiotic water as well.
 
UPDATE:

Bradley has been producing normal poops and this morning he gave a little popcorn! I am so happy because although he's not 100% back to his old self he's looking and feeling so much better, his tummy is squidgy now and I haven't been hearing any squeaks when he's pooing/weeing. Lol he couldn't stop farting last night so I think it was the gas finally being let off. Will be keeping him on probiotics and no veggies for a while yet, vets are on standby just incase he gets ill again.
 
I was just thinking about it and realised that the other day he was feeling better, gave him a carrot and then the discomfort started and the bloatedness and the squeaking. Has he got some sort of intolerance perhaps?
 
I am not a specialist, but it helped our boar a couple of time for bloating as it sounds to me like he might be bloated: get some medicinal charcoal - very cheap and effective.

I give it to my guinea pigs when I suspect they are bloated. Also, Vedra suggested giving it if poop is too soft, almost shapeless and it worked like magic. I used charcoal before, but heard an opinion that it absorbs nutrients in the gut, so stopped, but Vedra said it's not true.
 
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