Veggies that make poop go *squish*

[wiggley_narco]

So I'm curious...

Wiggley and Narco lived on fleece for a while before I got York, and there was never a squishy poop mess. Since I've added York, however, the mess is ridiculous. Wiggley's side of the cage stays clean, as he only poops in his hidey house (I had to separate him a while back). Narco and York's side of the cage, however, is always a gross mess. I vacuum it out twice a day (the most I can manage with my work schedule), but it's really almost impossible to vacuum because half the poop is mashed and ground up into a mushy mess in the fleece. They have a kitchen area, but they (unlike Wiggley) poop EVERYWHERE. It's York's poop that I have noticed is incredibly squishy. It's not diarrhea, as it does come out in pellet-form... it's just very soft and mushy so that when the boys walk over it, it squishes everywhere.... kind of like mud, I guess. It cakes onto the fleece in between vacuuming times.

This problem obviously has something to do with his diet (or so I assume). So I'm wondering if there are any veggies that can cause squishy poop that I should cut back on.

The boys' diet consists of:

-KM's Hay
-KM's timothy pellets
-Romaine/red/green lettuce (depending on what looks good at the store)
-Bell pepper
-Cilantro/Parsley (again, depending)
-Cucumber
-Broccoli (rarely)
-Grapes (one per pig occasionally)
-Orange slices (occasionally)
-Corn husks
-Corn silks (occasionally)
-Grape tomatoes
-Apple (rarely)
-Baby carrots (one per pig)

I think that's about it... any ideas as to what makes poop go *squish*?

[willowfaery]

Welcome to the wonderful world of the squishy poo piggy! I am having the same problem with one of mine. Take a look at this thread. It might be that your piggy has an intestinal flora imbalance. I have tried the acidophilous suggestion, but it didn't work. Her poo is still squished everywhere including between my other pigs' toes (which then gets on my neck and clothes when I pick them up). Ya gotta love it (sarcasm). Anyway...I'm going to try feeding her the healthy poo of my other pigs. Hopefully this will work. My vet said some pigs just have squishy poo in their genes. And leave it to me to have a pig with this gift...amongst other gifts such as spraying urine. LOL But through all the pee and poo I do love them all very much

[Ly&Pigs]

How much lettuce do you give each pig per feeding and how often do you feed cucumber and in what amounts? Those are veggies that have a higher water content.

Also fresh poos are soft so if they are stepping on them right after going then that would explain it too. It takes a few minutes for them to harden up after they are expelled.

[willowfaery]

http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...used-help.html

Here is the link to the thread I was referring to. Sorry. I forgot to paste it.

[wiggley_narco]

I feed 1.5 leaves of lettuce per pig per feeding and I feed one 1/4-inch slice of cucumber per pig every other day.

[Ly&Pigs]

Try leaving the cucumber off for a couple days and see if that helps. Do your pigs drink a lot of water?

[wiggley_narco]

York drinks insane amounts of water for a piggy (and backwashes... ugh). I hadn't thought about that. He drinks about 1/2 a water bottle a day by himself (so about 12 oz.). Think that might be what it is? If so, is there anything I can do to help with the problem, or is he just a gross piglet? Hehe.

[nismosmama]

I had to switch out of using fleece for this exact reason . I really like fleece for my pigs, but the mess is TOO much, I was having to wash their feet at least once a week because their feet would become covered in dried poop that they stepped on while still mushy. I use Pine now and the problem is gone....it's just a bummer than my piggies can't have the benefit of the soft fleece anymore because of the smooshy poop.