Charlie's Medical Thread

[Lynx]

Those are pretty unusual droppings. Glad they firmed up though. Let me know if you'd like it permanently added to your thread (and maybe added to the know your poop thread).

[emilyam19]

Feel free to add anything you think is helpful. I'm not sure if the shape is also related to his system slowing down a few days ago.

Can a guinea pig get bloat without eating greens? When my mom was watching Charlie she said (after I got home and wouldn't panic) that at one point he was almost despondent. She tried tapping his stomach and said it sounded a little hallow. She was trying massage his abdomen too.

I forgot to add one small detail. The vet said she believes that since his droppings are firming up even though he's getting greens, the issue isn't diet related. Instead this points to the bacterial imbalance being the cause.

[Lynx]

Yes, a pig can get bloat without eating greens. Bacterial imbalance sounds reasonable.

[emilyam19]

I saw Charlie eat one of the girl's droppings this morning (and I think he might've done it last night but I'm not sure). I know some pigs might do that if they aren't feeling well. Should I call the vet about this? Do you think he might be at risk for some kind of deficiency?

[Lynx]

I think the theory is they are looking for more nutrients if they steal poop (I think I've heard of some ill pigs following well pigs around, hoping for a special poop).

[emilyam19]

It wasn't a fresh poop though I'm not sure how long it was there. He sniffed another one before that and then walked over to eat the other poop.

[emilyam19]

Last night Charlie had a small bout of the messy soft droppings. It wasn't for very long but it did smear on my clothes. The weird thing is within 10 minutes from that he had a perfectly normal dropping. I have never seen one like that from him (the most normal poops from Charlie still have a Hershey's kiss tip to them) and wouldn't have believed it if he didn't do it in front of me on my lap.

This morning when I gave him his meds, I noticed he had some fecal matter smeared on his underside. I'm really confused about the huge difference in his droppings in such a short period of time. I emailed the vet photos.

Here are what most of his droppings looked like in the past few days.

[emilyam19]

It looks like Charlie is backsliding. Tonight his droppings are becoming more like the gooey mounds he had earlier. When I picked him up this evening all his feet were covered in his soft droppings and it was smearing everywhere. I also saw some stuck like before when they were too soft to pass. Also I’ve been giving him probiotics the last few days. I’ll email the vet an update. It looks like we’re going to have to move onto an antibiotic.

[Delaine]

I am so sorry Charlie stools are getting softer. It must be frustrating trying everything with no results.

There are little white spots in the first photo. Do you know what they are?

[bpatters]

Have you tried flagyl? I'd do that before I'd go to an antibiotic.

[Delaine]

I thought flagyl (Metronidazole) was an antibiotic but one that is effective against anaerobic bacteria and certain parasites.

[bpatters]

I think there's some nit-picking over whether it's an antibiotic or not. It's not a general-use one, and is often classified as an anti-protozoal.

But it's worked well for my pigs when they've had smushy poops.