Know you guinea pig, know your poo

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moonfall

Post   » Thu Jul 11, 2013 1:59 am


I was giving more pellets when I ran out of hay and was worried about the softer poop a few days ago. They are back on more hay/less pellets, and everything looks fine.

Do you have pictures of the "special poops?" I'm not sure I've ever seen green guinea pig poop.

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Ibepatience
Supporter in '13

Post   » Thu Jul 11, 2013 9:13 am


Do you think it's possible that being nervous could cause diarrhea? I asked the vet and she said no but sometimes vets are more "textbook" than actual experience.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu Jul 11, 2013 10:53 am


I doubt that nervousness causes diarrhea.

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Thu Jul 11, 2013 1:11 pm


My vet said stress would not cause soft poo in piggies & I think that would be similar.

wenton5

Post   » Thu Jul 11, 2013 2:34 pm


I think stress or nervousness could cause a fluxuation in stool, or a fluxuation in eating habits which obviously contribute to stool consistency. I don't think stress would cause diarrhea or really soft stool, softer stool, my guess is yes, but not a huge change unless you have seen an eating change along with the stress.
Thanks everyone for the pellet info. that was something I have never considered as I give my pigs a strict amount every morning and have never waivered. I may try cutting down to see what happens. I have one pig with on and off soft stool and my piggy that died of cancer (we tried everything) had huge issues with stool consistency. Thanks, L

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jacqueline

Post   » Sun Jul 14, 2013 7:09 am


Lynx - may I suggest that this be somehow condensed and turned into a sticky? I had to do a search to find this thread and it took me a while to remember the key words.

Also, it seems most of the posts are about soft poos. Not a problem, but Olive seems to be having small poos lately and I'm wondering what that's about? She's on motility drugs right now - she has this odd shaped belly. It makes her head look kind of funny being on a body with a tummy like hers. (yes, she was seen by the vet. It's not bloat, but he did put her on motility meds)

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Jul 14, 2013 9:21 am


Small poops typically mean a guinea pig is not eating enough. An odd shaped belly, if it is distended, could indicate distended intestines but I think then you'd see clumpy poops.

I can make this a temporary sticky. The idea is actually to get all the info we can and add it to the guide in some way with a link back to this thread.

wenton5

Post   » Sun Jul 14, 2013 11:31 am


Jacqueline, I would love pics of any type of abnormal poo. Do you have pics of Olive's small poo?

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jacqueline

Post   » Sun Jul 14, 2013 12:08 pm


I'll work on that today. Thanks

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jacqueline

Post   » Sun Jul 14, 2013 3:48 pm


Okay - here's a shot of Olive's poo. I'm not sure how "abnormally"small they are. She's my pig with an odd shape (small head, big body) and is on cisipro right now.:

Image

wenton5

Post   » Mon Jul 15, 2013 10:28 am


Jacqueline, how old is Olive? Any history of illness? How long have her poos been different? Thanks, L

emilyam19

Post   » Mon Jul 15, 2013 12:45 pm


Every once in a while I'll see slightly smaller poops (~75% the size of normal ones) in the cage. They aren't oddly shaped just a tiny bit smaller. I'm not sure of the cause but I know they have to be coming from one of the girls. They never appear to have any health issues that I can tell and at a minimum have access to hay and fresh water at all times. I'll see if I can get a comparison shot.

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