General small, teardrop poops

[sorensmom]

hi! so soren has been having small, sometimes stuck together tear drop poops for probably a month now. when it first changed I called the vet and they told me as long as he’s eating, drinking, and pooping he should be okay. I heard it could be a blockage, which I checked him for. at the time he looked a little puffy, and sounded hollow like air was trapped. called the vet again, they said the same thing. a few days later he passes the gas, and isn’t swollen or hollow sounding anymore. but the weird poops stuck around. we looked into what could have been the cause, and cut celery and kale out of his veggie rotation. he currently is eating romaine, bell pepper, and every other day he gets carrots. he seems completely healthy and happy , but the poops still look the same. any idea what we could do to get the healthy poops to return? these are photos from when it first changed, on october 13th, but they still look just the same

 

[sorensmom]

hi! so soren has been having small, sometimes stuck together tear drop poops for probably a month now. when it first changed I called the vet and they told me as long as he’s eating, drinking, and pooping he should be okay. I heard it could be a blockage, which I checked him for. at the time he looked a little puffy, and sounded hollow like air was trapped. called the vet again, they said the same thing. a few days later he passes the gas, and isn’t swollen or hollow sounding anymore. but the weird poops stuck around. we looked into what could have been the cause, and cut celery and kale out of his veggie rotation. he currently is eating romaine, bell pepper, and every other day he gets carrots. he seems completely healthy and happy , but the poops still look the same. any idea what we could do to get the healthy poops to return? these are photos from when it first changed, on october 13th, but they still look just the same

after reading similar forums, it could be the lettuce? or maybe the amount. he gets 1 cup, sometimes a little more of lettuce mainly, maybe 1/9 of the cup is bell pepper. he’s a healthy weight, and I always read that 1 cup of veggies is recommended a day, but maybe i’m incorrect? how much lettuce should he be getting a day?

 

[bpatters]

The cup of veggies is the right amount, so I wouldn't worry about that.

Is the poop mushy? Dry?

Do you have another guinea pig that's healthy? If so, you could give this one some poop soup.

 

[sorensmom]

The cup of veggies is the right amount, so I wouldn't worry about that.

Is the poop mushy? Dry?

Do you have another guinea pig that's healthy? If so, you could give this one some poop soup.

it feels the same as his poop used to ! solid, but able to be smushed. he’s my only piggie

 

[Soecara]

I personally would cut all veggies for at least a few days and see if the poops change. If they do then add the veggies back in one at a time, starting with bell pepper, with at least 48 hrs between each veg being re-introduced. Also look into getting him a pro-biotic, bene-bac has a gel probiotic for guinea pigs.

 

[sorensmom]

I personally would cut all veggies for at least a few days and see if the poops change. If they do then add the veggies back in one at a time, starting with bell pepper, with at least 48 hrs between each veg being re-introduced. Also look into getting him a pro-biotic, bene-bac has a gel probiotic for guinea pigs.

aw that’s gonna suck, but i’ll try anything! little dude only likes his floor time because he can eat dinner

 

[sorensmom]

I personally would cut all veggies for at least a few days and see if the poops change. If they do then add the veggies back in one at a time, starting with bell pepper, with at least 48 hrs between each veg being re-introduced. Also look into getting him a pro-biotic, bene-bac has a gel probiotic for guinea pigs.

is there anything else that would be okay to feed him during his floor time or should I stick to a hay and pellets only diet? I have some pea flakes and bay leaves he loves, but if that could make his stomach upset too I won’t feed them to him

 

[bpatters]

Does he eat the bay leaves regularly? If so, I'd cut them out also and see what happens. They do affect the GI tract, and could be contributing to whatever is going on.

 

[sorensmom]

Does he eat the bay leaves regularly? If so, I'd cut them out also and see what happens. They do affect the GI tract, and could be contributing to whatever is going on.

he doesn’t. maybe one every few days

 

[sorensmom]

I personally would cut all veggies for at least a few days and see if the poops change. If they do then add the veggies back in one at a time, starting with bell pepper, with at least 48 hrs between each veg being re-introduced. Also look into getting him a pro-biotic, bene-bac has a gel probiotic for guinea pigs.

it’s been two nights without veggies and the poops still look the same. how long should I continue to withhold veggies? and is there anything else I should try or just get him to the vet if nothing changes?

 

[Soecara]

If it doesn't firm up in the next day or two without veggies its fairly safe to say the veggies aren't contributing to the problem. In that case I would take him to a good exotic vet, ideally find one that has a lot of guinea pig experience. It could be something like parasites, an overgrowth of a certain kind of bacteria, or a yeast/fungus problem.

 

[sorensmom]

If it doesn't firm up in the next day or two without veggies its fairly safe to say the veggies aren't contributing to the problem. In that case I would take him to a good exotic vet, ideally find one that has a lot of guinea pig experience. It could be something like parasites, an overgrowth of a certain kind of bacteria, or a yeast/fungus problem.

okay, he has a nice vet! the poops are pretty firm, just wrongly shaped. we bought a new type of pellet two weeks before the poop photos were taken, should I try cutting pellets out if the veggies don’t help anything?

 

[bpatters]

No, don't cut out the pellets. Does he drink enough? You might try syringing him a couple of times a day, 5-10 ml. if he'll take it. You can flavor the water with a bit of some fruit juice that he likes, or get some Pedialyte and dilute it.

 

[sorensmom]

No, don't cut out the pellets. Does he drink enough? You might try syringing him a couple of times a day, 5-10 ml. if he'll take it. You can flavor the water with a bit of some fruit juice that he likes, or get some Pedialyte and dilute it.

I think he drinks enough. he drinks a good amount of water. he does look a tiny bit skinnier than normal, so it’s sounding like the parasite. any idea how he could have gotten one? trying to make a vet appointment

 

[felishalee30]

after reading similar forums, it could be the lettuce? or maybe the amount. he gets 1 cup, sometimes a little more of lettuce mainly, maybe 1/9 of the cup is bell pepper. he’s a healthy weight, and I always read that 1 cup of veggies is recommended a day, but maybe i’m incorrect? how much lettuce should he be getting a day?

I need someone to help me I can’t figure out how to wrap my own thing on here but my five year old has laid on my guinea pig and she’s not eating and drinking like she was. I’m worried she’s not moving around much. She ate some hay earlier, but it wasn’t very much and all she does is quiver while she’s eating. My daughter told me that she laid on top of her and then she musshed her in the couch. I don’t know what to do and I can’t stop crying I need help.

 

[sorensmom]

I need someone to help me I can’t figure out how to wrap my own thing on here but my five year old has laid on my guinea pig and she’s not eating and drinking like she was. I’m worried she’s not moving around much. She ate some hay earlier, but it wasn’t very much and all she does is quiver while she’s eating. My daughter told me that she laid on top of her and then she musshed her in the couch. I don’t know what to do and I can’t stop crying I need help.

find a 24 hour exotic vet and go. soren was stepped on last year and we drove three hours late at night to the first place that would take him

 

[bpatters]

You need a good exotic vet, ASAP.

And for what it's worth, going forward, five is too young to play with a guinea pig without close adult supervision. Guinea pig backs can be very easily injured, and internal injuries can also occur.

 

[Seerseyes]

I need someone to help me I can’t figure out how to wrap my own thing on here but my five year old has laid on my guinea pig and she’s not eating and drinking like she was. I’m worried she’s not moving around much. She ate some hay earlier, but it wasn’t very much and all she does is quiver while she’s eating. My daughter told me that she laid on top of her and then she musshed her in the couch. I don’t know what to do and I can’t stop crying I need help.

You need an exotic vet immediately, if you can't get one survival isn't likely. Based off this it seems you love your pig greatly so you probably got this on your own, but don't leave children with small animals. A child who isn't capable of understanding the concept of death isn't old enough to understand severe injuries lead to death. Or how fragile small animals are. I was in a similiar situation with my little brother a very long time ago, but with a puppy. Said puppy did manage to survive, however dogs are much stronger then pigs.
In the meantime critical care may be good. Food and water are necessities. If your pig stops eating it *will* go into gi statis and die. Be very attentive of any signs of pain, and if the pig is housed with others make sure they aren't harming it (normal dominance activities can be deadly for injured pigs). These things will never beat a vet though, and may not help significantly.

 

[Seerseyes]

You said he's your only pig so it should be easy to track, do you know how much he's drinking daily? Afaik teardrop poops are a huge sign of dehydration.

 

[sorensmom]

update on soren lately.
so over the past week I was out of town, and left him with his secondary care giver and dad. when I returned last night he had lost 200 grams (sitting at 640) and I immediately rushed him to the e vet. his temp was 99.0. I took the stool in his cage from the last day and they were light brown, very long and skinny, and a few were strung together. apparently he wasn’t eating as much over the week i was away and the decline was slow enough for his dad to think it wasn’t a big deal. he was given some pain meds (vet wants a dental done) fluids, and some critical care. he was a completely different pig this morning, happy, squeaky, and was eating pellets, which he was reluctant to do while I was away. this evening, I notice him walking with his butt higher than normal, and seems a little off balance. does anyone know why that may be? during his work up last night he was cleared to go home with instructions to give him critical care if he stops eating and heat support. i’m not sure if they noticed this yesterday or if he was even doing it.