hi everyone!

[Kmb059]

Hi my name is Kristina and i have a 2 1/2 year old guinea pig named roscoe! i'm going to be honest, i became a member to ask questions regarding his health! Tuesday night i started to notice a change in his behavior. I brought out his normal plate of veggies that he usually loves and he didnt greet me by my bed when i came in. He stayed sleeping in his pigloo. I immediately became worried. Then I noticed he was not pooping, let alone eating or drinking anything. That night all he would eat was the veggies. I had to force him to drink water. Yesterday I took him to his vet (exotic specialist). She ran some tests and said everything came back fine! She said his teeth looked perfect, lungs were fine, nose and heart were good, etc. The only thing she found in the tests was hair when she reached in to get an intestine sample. She said she thinks he has a hairball and it is blocking him from pooping. She put him on Bene Bac Small Mammal Gel to help his digestive system (once every 24 hours), and Emiraid Herbivore (force feeding formula) to keep up his nutrients. I brought him home yesterday and gave him the formula and gel and he still would only eat his veggies. He would not touch his hay and would only pick at his guinea pig pellet food. This morning, I woke up to find some small poops!! They were runny but hey, it was poop! I gave him his gel again and bought a brand new bag of hay and even new guinea pig pellet food at the store. He picked at some of the hay and pellet food and then went to sleep. He still mostly takes to lettuce and his veggies and actually cleans the plate! He has pooped but they have been small and quite soft. What is going on here?! Is there something I am doing wrong??? Am I going to lose him sooner than I think!? I am so confused and his behavior is different as well! there is no popcorning and making squeaks when I bring out food. I feel helpless Any answers would be much appreciated!!! Thank you soooo much

 

[Crystalkate]

I am so sorry your little guy is sick I am no pro so I wouldn't even begin to have an idea what is wrong. Hopefully one of the moderators would have an idea. Did your vet say anything about possibly removing his veggies for a bit and see if things change? I wonder if the veggies are making him constipated. What type of lettuce do you feed him? Make sure it's not iceberg lettuce. I hope he gets better!!

 

[LaurenB16]

What about cleaning his insides? I don't know what its called but yu do it to males when they're impacted?
I'm no expert and if I'm wrong someone will correct me, but that might be a good idea; to force some poop out

 

[Kmb059]

can i do that cleaning thing myself or does it have to be done by a vet??

 

[LaurenB16]

No you can do it yourself.
https://www.guinealynx.info/impaction.html
thats the basic info

 

[LaurenB16]

Not a problem, like it says, if you're not sure how to do it, go to a vet, but people here do it all the time themselves. It's probably easier with two people; one to hold him down, one to wield the q-tip

 

[Kmb059]

yeah ill have to try it! and as for his veggies, i only feed him romaine lettuce. earlier for dinner he wouldnt eat his pellets or hay so i gave him a plate of veggies and spinach and he cleaned it up pretty well. i just dont understand why he wont eat hay!! this is unheard of!!

 

[bpatters]

If your pig is pooping and has runny poops, he definitely is NOT impacted. However, males do need to be checked regularly to make sure they don't have "junk in the trunk" -- see post #7 in this thread for how to do it: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/about-guinea-pigs/64297-cleaning-perineal-sac.html

What kind of pellets are you feeding him?

Red and green leaf lettuces are better choices than romaine -- some pigs have problems with excess calcium in the urine when fed romaine lettuce. Spinach is also not a good choice for a regular food -- it's way too high in vitamin A for regular feeding. See https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...y-nutrition-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html for what you can feed when.

The BeneBac will hopefully settle his digestive tract down and get him back to normal. Has he started eating hay again? Usually it's best to limit vegetables if a pig has runny stools, but he also has to eat. If necessary, you can feed him a pellet mash to keep some food going through him.

 

[Kmb059]

i did not know that about romaine lettuce and spinach. thank you for informing me i will be buying him red and green leaf lettuce soon then! i went ahead and cleaned his perineal sac. that was GOD AWFUL. the smell was terrible. his poops look better shaped though so i guess thats good. the pellets i feed him are the Supreme Gerty Premium Guinea Pig Food. ive been giving it to him for over a year now though and he loved it up until this situation started on tuesday. this morning i went and bought him a brand new bag of Sunseed Sunaturals Guinea Pig Diet because i thought maybe he was tired of his old food and needed a change. i also read good reviews about that food. sure enough he picked at it this morning and sat there for awhile eating it and then stopped and didnt eat anymore the rest of the day.....just veggies :\

 

[Kmb059]

ps. what is a pellet mash?? that sounds like it could help

 

[bpatters]

You grind up pellets and add some water to make a mash. Some of them will eat it off a spoon or a plate -- you'll be home free if he does that. If not, see www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html.

The fact that he eats veggies and not hay points to a dental problem. Did the vet anesthetize him to look at his teeth or take an x-ray? You can't see enough of a guinea pig's teeth by looking in its mouth when it's awake to tell what's going on.

Also, too many veggies can cause runny poop. Don't overfeed him veggies just because he's not eating hay -- you'll get his whole digestive tract out of whack.

 

[Kmb059]

the vet didnt anesthetize him. she opened up his mouth and looked inside with a light but that was all. she did not take any x-rays either. i guess she assumed that since his teeth looked okay they didnt need an x ray :\

 

[bpatters]

Sorry, that is not an adequate dental check. If he's not eating hay but will eat softer veggies, he needs a good dental check. They will anesthetize him very lightly, and x-ray the teeth. That way they can see the roots as well as the teeth, and be able to assess what's wrong.