Conditions Abnormally large, moist, and weirdly shaped poops

I found a fresh sample, definitely from Pumpkin. The one on the lower left is a normal one of Rhoo's.

These ones are extra large, greenish, slimy, and very mushy. I also noticed that Pumpkin had poop smushed all over her little feet. She seems maybe a bit lethargic, but I might just be seeing that because I'm already thinking that she might be sick. Right now she's sitting in a cuddle cup grooming herself. She weighs about the same as she did last week, but I weighed her after dinner today so it might be off.

I'd take her off veggie s for a couple of days and see if things go back to normal. If so, add veggies back one at a time, with a couple of days between each new one, so you can see if one of them is the culprit. If not, you might want to see a vet.

I'll try that, but I don't why it would be from these veggies. She gets the same amount of the same veggies every day and she's normally fine.

It's not necessarily from the veggies. But usually the first thing you do when there's a possible digestive upset is to take them off all veggies. You can't very well take them off hay! Taking them off for a couple of days gives their innards a chance to calm down, and then you add them back one by one to make sure that none of them is aggravating the problem.

@pigger123 Penny had that same thing going on a few weeks ago, oddly enough cranberries were the culprit.

Rywen said:

@pigger123 Penny had that same thing going on a few weeks ago, oddly enough cranberries were the culprit.

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That's very interesting! I actually noticed this in the morning, before she had any cranberries.

She was definitely not thrilled about the lack of salad this morning, but her poops look better already.

It happens to one of mine and its usually after having some strawberries but my others thiers dosent change .

Hi @pigger123! How did this turn out for Pumpkin? Did you find a veggie culprit? My Bubbles has a similar thing going on occasionally.

I hope she is all better now!

janinehunt said:

Hi @pigger123! How did this turn out for Pumpkin? Did you find a veggie culprit? My Bubbles has a similar thing going on occasionally.

I hope she is all better now!

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She's back to normal again, I think it may have been the cranberries. I thought it had happened before she got any, but maybe I was wrong. What I don't understand is that I have given her cranberries before and not noticed an issue. I'm not really sure what happened, but she's been fine ever since that one day.

I'm glad she's okay now!

@pigger123, that's great that Pumpkin is all better now. I notice this off and on with Bubbles, but her poops tend to be smaller, pinched and pointy looking. She had a piece of beet yesterday, maybe it was that.

@spy9doc, time for my usual suggestion! Have you tried Chester on fresh grass since he doesn't eat much hay? He'd probably love it, and as I'm sure you know, you just need to start him off gently on it. My girls eat loads of the stuff. I've just been outside clipping a carrier bag of it in the rain! But I'm in rainy Brittany and you're in Connecticut, so your grass may be under several inches (feet?!) of snow. Do you give him vitamin C as well? I'm going to start that, as well as probiotics.

I noticed in another thread that you were giving him oats occasionally. I guess that has made no difference to the weight loss? I hope he makes a swift recovery!

spy9doc said:

My apologies for not responding to your suggestion previously.

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Hi @spy9doc, I don't think I suggested grass to you before, but I have to loads of people. It's my piggy panacea! I was thinking of keeping his teeth worn down since he's not eating much hay.

I find it makes a big difference how the hay is served too. When I had it in a hay rack they hardly ate any. But when I put it in a kitten litter tray they went mad for it, and would climb right in and snuggle down for a snack/poop/snooze. Tonight I'm going to stuff some in a paper bag and put that in for them to enjoy.

Since you are giving him critical care, have you considered adding a wee pinch of psyllium husks to it? In humans it treats both constipation and diarrhea, regulating the digestive transit as required, as well as improving the condition and the function of the intestinal mucosa and absorption of nutrients. Recently I was looking after a friend's pig who had a diarrhea following antibiotics. A wee bit of psyllium husks added to the poop stew I was syringing her stopped the diarrhea within a few hours. One needs to make sure that plenty of water is ingested with it, as psyllium husks absorb a lot of water in the digestive tract. Anyhow, just a suggestion - hope you don't mind.

Wow, no snow there! That's unusual, no?

Good luck with your kids!

spy9doc said:

I never mind intelligent suggestions, and in fact, am open to learning something new and useful. I had him on BeneBac for a month or two and it made absolutely no difference in the quality/quantity of his stool. Regarding the psyllium husks, I would have to be extra cautious since Chester doesn't drink much water except when he eats pellets. It's certainly worth considering. Right now I'm trying to avoid too many added variables until we can isolate the probable cause of the issue.

It's interesting that the vet put him on a 10-day course of metronidazole which increases g.i. motility. Her reasoning is that if perhaps his stomach was empty, he would realize he was hungry and be ready to eat. Oh, yes, it worked with the motility. Poor little fellow was almost incontinent for the last week of the treatment. Both he and I were happy it was over!

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Poor little guy! Yes, when my friend's pig had the diarrhea it was quite disturbing for both of us.

If you do decide to try the psyllium husks, you could soak some in water for 20 minutes to get them well hydrated, then add a very little to his critical care, to be on the safe side. For human usage it is recommended to start small and increase the dosage over the course of a week to accustom the body to all that fibre. I completely understand keeping it simple though, to get to the source of the problem. Bon courage Chester!

spy9doc said:

Just wanted to add a postscript to our conversation. Guess I outsmarted myself. I went shopping for psyllium husks yesterday, and while browsing through the products, it occurred to me that the psyllium husk powder would be very easy to measure and mix with the Critical Care. Only problem with that is that the psyllium powder begins to expand immediately and puts the CC on hyper-expand before Chester ingests it.

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I've never seen the powder over here, but the husks expand too and turn into a thick gel when you add water. Why don't you keep the powder, and just prepare your critical care plus psyllium (wee pinch) mix 15 or so minutes in advance to let hydrate, and then you can adjust the consistency before you give it to Chester by adding a little more water or critical care if it needs it? I think it is a good thing to expand it in advance, and it will still continue to absorb moisture as it passes through the intestines, and the fibre and the mucilage give a better consistency to the stool, and make them easier to pass.

Good luck!