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My cavy's EATING bedding LIKE CRAZY

Booth

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Hi

Let me give you the story: One of my guineas, Brownie (5 year old female), seemed to be constipated. She had a big belly bulge, and wasn't pooping the massive piles she usually does. She was sleeping a little more, and her appetite was down.

So, we gave her a small helping of romaine lettuce at two meals, which has done the trick in the past. She had some loose stools, but her appetite came back and she was getting feisty again, and her stools (a day later) are firming up again.

Problem solved? No. Today, she's been shunning her hay and nuggets for CAREFRESH. She grazes it like a field of wild carrots! This isn't your standard little bit of bedding chewing, she was plowing it down. I've never seen such a thing. So, I moved her from her big C&C cage (and her roomate) into an old storebought cage, to get her away from the bedding. I put down a hard blanket, one I never thought she could eat, and she ate a corner off it! Now she's on no bedding.

A: What do I do about this?!? I can't keep her in that small cage forever, and I'd hate to have to partition her away from her (neutered) boyfriend so they could have different bedding.

B: Did this cause the constipation in the first place, maybe?

C: Will it stop and what can I do to stop it?

Help!!!
 

Treen

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I'd go straight to the vet. Bloated stomach, lethargy and lack of appetite are all warning signs something is wrong, even if she appears to have bounced back since. The excessive eating of bedding/ gnawing is also a worry - sometimes pigs do this when they're in pain.

Post for the best health advice at Guinea Lynx (broken link removed) - this board is primarily for cage related queries and advice. But I'd definitely get her to a good cavy vet as soon as you can.

Good luck.
 

Booth

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Got to the vet today, and she said Brownie would be fine. I have to bed her on hay for a week, and giver her a teaspoon of yogurt every day. She checked out clean for infections, and her gut sounds are good. Just one of those things.

It was pretty freaky to see her pounding down all that bedding; the vet said it might have been settling her stomach. It's always nice to get a clean bill of health.

Here's Brownie, by the way:
https://petoftheday.com/archive/2004/August/20.html
 

guinea_luver44

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Ok, definintly go to the vet but I also heard of sand being used instead of the bedding it's a little messier I think, but it's better then her grazing it
 

Ly&Pigs

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I disagree with guinea_luver44. Never use sand or cat litter for bedding pigs. Sand would be more harmful to them if ingested than carefresh.

Booth, I am glad your piggie is doing much better. Sounds like she will be just fine.
 

guinea_luver44

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that is tru.. I just heard of it being used I have never accually used it b4 :/
 

Ly&Pigs

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Then I guess the people who are using it are taking major risks. I am glad you don't use it for your pig/s.
 

tashagurl

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I thought you wernt supposed to give pigs yogurt. they cant have dairy and isint yogurt dairy?
 

Ly&Pigs

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The vet probably wanted her to have acidophilus to help restore any gut flora because of her eating so much of her bedding. Yogurt has live acidophilus cultures in it and that is probably why the vet prescribed it. There are acidophilus tablets you can get that are better for the pigs then they aren't subjected to the dairy products.
 

Booth

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If I understand correctly, cavies can't have dairy products because they are lactose intolerant. Being formerly lactose intolerant myself, I could eat all the yogurt I wanted because yogurt didn't have the lactose sugar that milk and cheese have. In fact, my doctor had me eat yogurt all the time because it seemed to help lactose intolerance.

Of course, I may be wrong, but I think that's what I remember reading about cavies and yogurt.
 

smileyface cavy

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I read that piggies are lactose intolerant, too.
 
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