Strange poop problem

[Emmamarie123]

Hi guys my 8 piggies have been on a mixture of meadow and Timothy for the past couple of years but recently I have been just giving meadow as I have found a new supplier. I am not sure whether it is the hay but essentially the poops are all getting crushed under feet and sticking into the fleece which smells way worse even just after cleaning! I am not sure whether it is the hay or something else. The droppings are still hard so I don’t know what’s causing it. I am also wondering whether it’s the fleece bedding but I’ve only had them a year so I don’t think they should degrade that fast.
Sorry for the strange question- wasn’t sure who else to ask.

 

[ILoveGilbertTheGuineaPig]

Hello! If all of your pigs are starting to have poops that are being crushed, I suspect it is the diet. Has anything else about their diet changed? And did it start when you switched their hay?

 

[Swissgreys]

I have a similar issue with Ruby and I have always attributed it to the fact that she seems to eat and drink twice as much as my other pigs.

Maybe the new hay is so delicious that they are eating more of it and producing more poops.
When they produce more poops they are more likely to tread in them before the fully harden.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi guys my 8 piggies have been on a mixture of meadow and Timothy for the past couple of years but recently I have been just giving meadow as I have found a new supplier. I am not sure whether it is the hay but essentially the poops are all getting crushed under feet and sticking into the fleece which smells way worse even just after cleaning! I am not sure whether it is the hay or something else. The droppings are still hard so I don’t know what’s causing it. I am also wondering whether it’s the fleece bedding but I’ve only had them a year so I don’t think they should degrade that fast.
Sorry for the strange question- wasn’t sure who else to ask.

Hi!

Soft poos are diet related.

1) Hay should make over 80% of the daily food intake. Are your guinea pigs eating as much hay as before your switch?
2) How much veg (and fresh grass) are you feeding? Soft poos are generally the result of the ratio of fresh food : hay slipping towards too much fresh food.

Take your piggies off any fresh food (veg/grass) for a day or two and see whether that does the trick.
Switch from weighing once weekly to weighing daily at the same time in order to monitor any chances in feeding habits.
More information on weighing and weight monitoring in this guide here: Weight - Monitoring and Management