Is it GI Stasis?

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courtbh

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 11:41 am


Some background -- I have a female GP (we think she's around 5 now) who underwent surgery to remove a bladder stone at the end of May 2017.She lost a lot of weight from the stress/non-eating that accompanied recovering but was back to normal pretty quickly.

Past few weeks -- She still hasn't seemed to gain the weight back. Was eating great, hay pellets and veggies daily. For the past week, she has had some trouble passing feces. She does not seem in pain when defecating, but the poop pellet will just stick around half-way out of her bum for a little bit before actually falling out. Seemed a little strange to me, but she was eating great and active so I decided to monitor.

Fast forward to last night (8/13) and now (Puddin') is lethargic and hardly pooping. I really noticed it because I picked her up and she had stringy poo trailing from her bum. It looked like a strand of beads. I gave her .2 ml of olive oil (reading on here that it can help move things through) as well as about 6ml of critical care. Before going to bed, I saw about 8 normal looking moist poops behind where she was sitting.

This morning, I was watching her for a while before doing more CC, and she did have a long trip at the water bottle. I was relieved to see her drinking. I put fresh hay in the cage and she ate some for about 5 minutes. I then proceeded to give her 6 more ml of CC (about all she will take before getting super fussy).

I am just not sure where to go from here. She isn't herself, but she's also not in a critical state. I am not totally convinced I need to take her to a vet, and the stress of the visit alone is something I do not think she can afford at this age and little weight. I was thinking of picking up some Bene-Bac at lunch today to add to our CC feeding routine. Any pointers would be greatly helpful.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 11:59 am


Benebac might help. I'd certainly try it.

Stringy poop isn't an indicator that olive oil is needed. It's an indicator that something is wrong in the GI tract, but backed-up poop isn't it.

I'd get her to a vet. Motility drugs early in a GI upset can prevent a very serious situation farther down the road.

courtbh

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 1:04 pm


Probably right..I've made an appointment for tomorrow. She's currently eating hay which is a good sign. Does anyone know what the cause of half-released poos would be? Maybe her muscles down there are just getting weak? Seems strange, even with the normal ones she has been producing.

courtbh

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 1:24 pm


Also - can alfalfa be given to a guinea pig who needs to gain weight?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 1:49 pm


You shouldn't give alfalfa to an adult pig -- too much calcium.

It's very hard to get an adult pig to gain weight. But if the pig is healthy and has a good diet, they'll put it on very slowly unless they're seniors. In that case, maybe not. You can sprinkle a few rolled oats on the veggies -- that may help a bit with weight gain.

I see bums with half a poop showing fairly frequently around here. I never thought it was anything unusual.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 2:58 pm


How much does she weigh? How much weight loss did you see?

courtbh

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 4:28 pm


Honestly I do not keep a scale, although I've been considering buying one. She was right around 900g when the bladder issue first started at the vet office. Right now she is easily under a pound. She is quite bony along her spine and hips - but does eat like crazy! Fresh veggies daily and always in the hay. This is before the past few days, of course, but even now she is still eating hay and veggies.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 9:13 pm


You need to get a scale asap. It's the only way to really know how she is doing - if she is eating enough or not. Be prepared to hand feed if she is losing weight.
handfeeding.html

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