Know you guinea pig, know your poo

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emilyam19

Post   » Sun Jun 30, 2013 3:24 pm


It turned out to be a difficult task because his nails were so encrusted with poo I couldn't see a thing.
This is a problem for all the pigs in my herd because of Charlie's poop issues. Running it under water or using a damp cloth doesn't work once the poop has dried. I have to pick it off dry with my finger nails. They hate it (sometimes the poop is so thick I can't exactly see where I'm picking so I think I might actually be scratching their toes) but it's the only way I can get this stuff off their toes. Then after I wash off their feet and put them in the cage, they'll step in another poop pile and I'm right back where I started.

I try to spot clean at least once a day and daily I change out pads to cut down on how many soft poops are in the cage but it's a constant battle to keep things somewhat sanitary. The food bowls are usually caked with poop along the rim (this can happen overnight). The beds and most of the fleece are smeared with poop each day.

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pigwidgeon

Post   » Sun Jun 30, 2013 8:13 pm


Thanks, guys! The pig is currently in a 2x3 C&C. My suspicion is that he doesn't get enough hay, because my niece insists on giving him his hay in a small little ceramic bowl instead of a hay rack or hammock like most owners on here seem to. Like just a small kid-sized handful of hay. I told her he needs a constant supply of hay, and she keeps assuring me he has one, but I find it hard to believe a little handful of hay will suffice while she's at school and her parents are at work.

My Dad told me to make them a hay rack like the one I use (I know my pigs whack hay like there's no tomorrow.) Here's a photo:

Image

But I'm not sure my niece's family will use it b/c the kid got very upset when I put a large (grownup-size) handful of hay in the cage instead of a neat little kid-sized one in the ceramic bowl.

That's another problem. My niece seems to have her own little system for taking care of the pig (the cage is in her bedroom) and gets upset if it seems like I'm criticizing it, no matter how tactful I try to be. And her parents just get mad at me for upsetting the kid even though that wasn't my intention.

I will try to follow your advice, Lynx, although it might be difficult since I don't see them all that much, and as I said above, i'm dealing with a family who is very set in their pig care ways, and who don't seem to mind the soft poos and the smell since the pig seems otherwise healthy. But if I'm going to be called over every time they need to clip his nails, I'm going to tell them they gotta learn to clip his nails themselves (I linked the GL page), because I am not here for scraping poop off with my fingernails and the smell legit makes me want to boot. Maybe they are used to it so they don't mind as much, but for me, it's always an unpleasant shock. It makes me feel bad to say that, but you know, I already got two piggies of my own to take care of. I'm glad to help, but they gotta learn sometime.

My brother, at least, seems more amenable to taking my advice and was asking about a more open hidey than the pigloo, like the one I use (it's just a desk organizer shelf thing I got at an office supply store, and then pinned a scrap of fleece to as a "curtain"). My niece is a good kid, but is still a kid, and I don't feel very comfortable with her being the pig's primary caretaker. It bothers me that she was the only one observing carefully during my nail clipping adventure. I should've insisted my brother watch since he's going to be doing this next time. Sigh.

Thanks again for the responses!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Jun 30, 2013 10:46 pm


I wonder if putting the pig in a shallowly filled sink with a bowl of greens to help soften the poop on the feet would help.

wenton5

Post   » Mon Jul 01, 2013 3:52 pm


pigwidgeon, it is great that you are pushing the hay issue, I would be concerned about the smell. Maybe a little dose of benebac would help clean his gut out. Stinky poo is something that would get my attention.
Thanks,
L

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Tue Jul 02, 2013 2:18 pm



Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Tue Jul 02, 2013 2:34 pm


The second link is from Topaz and the third from slavetofuzzy.

wenton5

Post   » Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:27 pm


Awesome! I would also like to refer back to Charlie's medical thread by emilyam, there is mention of Giardia, check list for possible problems, poop and medical chart and Zoe's long term on and off poops. Thanks everyone. :) L

wenton5

Post   » Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:42 pm


I know that this is for humans but I did read somewhere that a guinea was diagnosed with this. Just something to add to the mix when trying to target hard to diagnose cases.
http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Helicob ... h-Pain.htm,

moonfall

Post   » Sun Jul 07, 2013 1:16 pm


When you say soft and stinky, how soft and how stinky? Is this a different odor than urine smell, and by soft, does it appear different than poop that has simply been stepped in?

wenton5

Post   » Sun Jul 07, 2013 1:18 pm


Can you give some bckround on your pig? Did you check out the normal poo pics?

moonfall

Post   » Sun Jul 07, 2013 1:25 pm


I did, and that's what they usually look like. I saw one or two odd-looking pieces but don't know which pig made them. The cage smells a bit already even though I just cleaned it, although I think it's more of a urine smell. I ran out of hay and am hoping that's the only issue (will be getting more, of course.)

moonfall

Post   » Sun Jul 07, 2013 1:48 pm


Not able to edit, but I just swept the fleece, and a few pieces were longer and thinner than usual, and I did find broken bits that I am guessing were stepped on. I just went back to fleece after about a month of Carefresh, so I'm hoping that's why I'm smelling something.

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