Sick Poop problem?

[GinnyAndBobble]

My guinea pig Bobble has a URI. I took her to the vet immediately after I noticed her raspy breathing and they prescribed her Baytril. I've been giving it to her since Saturday and shes doing A LOT better. But her poop is an almost fake looking bright green color and its also really sticky. It's not runny, so its not diarrhea. I know that guinea pigs are supposed to occasionally eat their poop and that it can be that color, but all the poop in her cage is that color. I haven't found any answers about green poop online except for that one.

I actually noticed the poop about a week before her breathing problems, but I just thought it might have been from these green rice pop treats I feed her. I was wondering if this might be an indication that she has a more serious problem than a URI. She does seem to be getting better, although still breathing kind of hard. She's eating a little more and drinking, but not nearly as much as she used to. Does anyone know how long it usually takes for their breathing to get better after the medicine kicks in? (I still intend on giving it to her until its gone even if she doesn't have any symptoms.)

On a side note, I got her from a Petsmart. She was free because she was classified as having tilt head. Except instead of her head being tilted, she bobs it up and down (hence her name.) I haven't found anything online about that either and I have never seen a guinea pig that does that. I've had her for almost 2 years and so far her bobbing hasn't given her any problems. But if anyone else has seen or heard of this I'd be very interested in hearing about it.

 

[bpatters]

Green rice pops? What are those? They don't sound like anything that's good for a guinea pig. What exactly is her diet like? What brand pellets do you feed? What veggies? How many? Does she have hay available all the time?

Baytril can upset their digestive tracts, and also make them less hungry. But they MUST eat, or you'll wind up with a medical emergency. If she'll eat when you hand-feed her, then try that. If not, you may have to force feed her.

 

[GinnyAndBobble]

They're called "fiesta puffs" and they're treats made by All Living Things. The first ingredient is rice but it does have food coloring in it, which I know isn't good. I also usually give them each one yogurt drop a day. I feed them Vitakraft Vitasmart, but after looking it up online I'm definitely switching it to that KMS stuff. I give her carrot bits, lettuce and apples sometimes, but not a lot at once. She's also got hay out the wazoo. I give her a vitamin C supplement that I put in the water, but I'm gonna stop doing that too after finding out that it's basically pointless.

As for her eating, she started eating more after I started giving her the medicine. Before that she was not in good shape, and I honestly thought she was gonna die. I ended up taking her to a 24 hour vet at 2 in the morning. It all happened in less than a day. That's when I started thinking about the poop and wondering if it might have had something to do with it. That was the only warning sign I can think of. She is doing much better, but that poop still bothers me.

 

[PiggleLove2013]

Those are terrible, and so are yogurt drops. Fruits are the only "deserts" piggies should have. Hope your pig feels better soon!

 

[Soecara]

Guinea pigs shouldn't be given yoghurt drops, they are lactose intolerant. Most treats sold in pet store are actually completely improper to be fed to a guinea pig, if you want to give her a treat you are better off sticking to small amounts of fruit (but be careful how often as too much sugar is bad for their digestive system). You are also right that vit C in the water is pointless as it degrades very fast in water, particularly when exposed to light.

You should also look into the different veg she can eat, they should get 1 cup of veg per pig per day. The best veg you can feed her is bell peppers (as they are high in vit C, but also low in calcium) and green/red leaf lettuce (not iceberg as it can cause diarrhoea, or romaine as it has been implicated in the formation of bladder stones). Both lettuce and bell peppers can be fed every day.

Hope she starts feeling better soon, keep us updated on her progress.

Here is the link to the nutrition chart in the diet and nutrition section (it is a little out of date and could do with some updating but the basics are there) - https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List

 

[GinnyAndBobble]

Why is it that almost everything they advertise for guinea pigs is bad for them? They shouldn't be allowed to sell things that are gonna hurt the animals and pass them off as good for them. "Vitasmart" my ass.

When I got her, they had her in the back of the store in a tiny little pull-out tub that wasn't even see-through. That's also where they had my other "special" guinea pig Tilt. Apparently they couldn't put them on the sales floor because they had "defects." That should've been my first clue right there. I thought it was terrible that they were stored away like extra stock. I was trying to pay for them and I was surprised when they told me that they were free.

Thank you everybody for all the advice and the tips. I can't wait until she gets all the way better. Shes eating and drinking way more and she's got a lot more energy. But she's still breathing heavy and at times its a little raspy. She absolutely hates the medicine but I'd rather her be mad at me than sick.

 

[bpatters]

Unfortunately, you've learned that pet stores are not reputable sources of guinea pig information. And the pigs they sell are bred and kept in horrible conditions until the sows are too old to reproduce. It's not surprising that so many of the animals in the stores are sick, the wonder is that any of them are healthy.

I hope your piggy gets better -- do keep us posted on how she's doing.

 

[GinnyAndBobble]

You would think pet stores would know what they were talking about. I guess that's why they have so many with deformities.

Thank you! I will.

 

[bpatters]

Pet stores exist only to make money for the owners, not to provide care for pets. And if my local Petco is any representative of big pet stores, they have a string of clueless employees that pass through there like a marching army -- now you see them, now they're gone and another one has taken their place. They can't possibly get any training in how to care for the animals.

 

[GinnyAndBobble]

She's got two doses of medicine left and she still has that raspy breathing at times. Everything else seems to be normal except for that and the green poop.

 

[Rywen]

She probably needs to be on the antibiotic longer, or on a stronger one. If you're not already giving her a probiotic with the antibiotic trying some benebac may help with the poop problems.

 

[GinnyAndBobble]

It has actually turned a lot more brown in color since I last posted. I'm really glad.

I gave her the last pill about an hour ago. I'm gonna contact a vet tomorrow and see what they think I should do.