Tiny poops?

[danuutka]

Mainly since yesterday I’ve noticed that my piggy is producing really tiny poops. His normal poops are at leat 3-4x bigger... (see the images, I put a nugget of Burgess next to it for comparison).

I’m monitoring his food and hay intake, and his appetite has seemed to reduce a little bit, but then he will happily chomp on cucumber and celery. I got so worried that I made a little mix of his burgess nuggets with some apple in it (all mushed together), and he ate it in an absolute heartbeat. He seems a bit lethargic to me, but I don’t know if I’m being hypersensitive because I know something is up with his poop.

I’ve not seen him drink really, and he’s nibbled his hay here and there.

Why could this be happening? Is there anything I can do for him? Am I overworrying?

 

[Siikibam]

The poos look a bit wet and one or two are VERY slightly pointy at the end. Not drinking much is fine. Remember some of the veg has all the water they need. Perhaps keep him off watery veg for a day or two. What do you feed him?

I forgot to ask does he have a friend? They need constant companionship. Board can only live in pairs, or with sows. If sows they must be neutered and then wait 6 weeks.

 

[Lady Kelly]

I don't think they look particularly unusual. However if they are smaller than normal it is an indicator that not enough is going in. Please switch from weighing weekly to daily at the same point in the feeding cycle to check for any weight loss

 

[danuutka]

The poos look a bit wet and one or two are VERY slightly pointy at the end. Not drinking much is fine. Remember some of the veg has all the water they need. Perhaps keep him off watery veg for a day or two. What do you feed him?

I forgot to ask does he have a friend? They need constant companionship. Board can only live in pairs, or with sows. If sows they must be neutered and then wait 6 weeks.

Hi! Yes, he has a companion who he seems to get along with very well, so that’s not a worry - a little brother named Ozzie.

I feed the boys a bowl full of veggies (pepper, celery, romaine, cucumber, carrot, parsley etc on rotation), and a quarter cup of pellets in the evening. The rest is just hay.

I know for a fact it’s his poops, because I saw him produce them. They may seem a bit more “shiny” because he had literally JUST pooped when I took the picture.

 

[danuutka]

I don't think they look particularly unusual. However if they are smaller than normal it is an indicator that not enough is going in. Please switch from weighing weekly to daily at the same point in the feeding cycle to check for any weight loss

I think what’s throwing me off is that I know how big his poops are normally, and this is significantly smaller - maybe 1/4 of his normal poop size. I will do that, thank you.

 

[Lady Kelly]

I would step in with syringe feeding straight away as you have noticed a reduced appetite and some lethargy. You do need to get him to a vet to work out why this is happening. Timing isn't great unfortunately but it never is. As you are UK based I would suggest getting him to the emergency vet for a quick check over as he might need pain relief, gut stimulants or both etc and this might give you more time to find a cavy savvy vet when the usual vets are back to normal opening hours

 

[VickiA]

Smaller poop reflects a change in gut digestion. What goes in must come out so for some reason the intake has been reduced. As suggested, you need to switch to daily weighing and step in with syringe feed top ups until you can get to see a vet. Here is the link to the syringe feeding guide. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

 

[danuutka]

I would step in with syringe feeding straight away as you have noticed a reduced appetite and some lethargy. You do need to get him to a vet to work out why this is happening. Timing isn't great unfortunately but it never is. As you are UK based I would suggest getting him to the emergency vet for a quick check over as he might need pain relief, gut stimulants or both etc and this might give you more time to find a cavy savvy vet when the usual vets are back to normal opening hours

He seems to be eating a bit of hay and some of his favourite veg, not drinking at all though. Mainly he just seems to be laid down for ages - but I don’t know if I’m over sensitive to it

 

[Lady Kelly]

He seems to be eating a bit of hay and some of his favourite veg, not drinking at all though. Mainly he just seems to be laid down for ages - but I don’t know if I’m over sensitive to it

Hay is near on impossible to monitor intake by eye. I would say any vet would much rather see a worried owner when there isn't a problem than an owner who left it too late