Constipated Guinea pig

[MissShapesMissStakes]

Noticed our male Rex has a bottom full of poo (sorry!). He really smells today too! Of actual poo, inoffensive guinea pig poo.

I've had a go myself very carefully and managed to get quite a bit out but he has the vets later.

Does anyone else's guinea pig suffer from this?

Are there any foods that are especially good or bad for constipation?

Thanks in advance - and sorry for the topic!

Currently they have a handful of nuggets each day, constant supply of timothy hay, and fresh fruit and veg every evening - mostly carrots, fine green beans, broccoli, baby corn, cucumber, peppers, banana skin, lettuce. Not all every day. But usually a couple of those each time.

They also have two bowls of water in their cage.

Just back from the vets. I'm not sure what to do now. He said he was quite impacted and managed to get a lot of it out. He's given me fibre to give him three times a day. Which is all fine.

But he also said that they don't need to have fresh veg every day. That occasional fresh herb snacks are ok as a treat and that nuggets and hay are all they need.

But then if you look online most places say they need fresh veg every day too.

I'm no guinea pig expert but have had a pig with constipation before which was due to a mouth injury he got from chewing a wilko gp toy and getting a bit stuck in his mouth. Due to this he couldn't eat which is lethal to gps because they need to eat every 4 hours to keep their digestive system going - hence why they poo a lot!! So he ate very little (I had to feed him via a syringe in the end bless him) and therefore he got constipated. So has he been eating normally/enough? I also gave fresh veg everyday and as far as I'm aware there's no harm in that it just has to be the right veg and not too much as it can do the opposite and make there stools mushy (which also isn't good)! I found the vets terrible when my gp was poorly they didn't know what they were doing so I eventually got a second opinion from another vet in town who were really good and knew their stuff but unfortunately it was too late for him in the end. I would keep an eye on him and make sure he's drinking and eating often and if it continues maybe get a second opinion?

How old is your boy?

Unfortunately one of the downsides of lovely male guinea-pigs is a tendancy to impaction . It's not constiptation, he's getting the pooh out but it's getting stuck in his saggy arse muscles !

I had one boar - little uncastrated Abby who did the biggest droppings about once a week but they never stuck. If I picked him up with one of his Ferrero Rocher sized droppings I popped him back in the cage till he eased it out

We had one with the ferrerro rocher droppings, our parties were a sight to behold.

I had to help him get them out of his bottom when he got older, the vet said it was one of those things. A blueberry a week was recommended and seemed to help but the guinea pigs thought that the vet should have said a whole pack of blueberries a day. They have fresh veg daily which our vet recommends but not all the same type as they have to have ones like kale in moderation, our Guineas will tell you that is wrong too.

I am now worried that I wouldn't know if ours were constipated. I mean, I'd know if there was no poo when I clean them out, but I wouldn't know that one of the two wasn't doing any.

Toot I had three sharing and there were definate 'pooh nests' where they'd sit and just pooh for Britain.

And ( as I always say , get to know your guinea-pigs pooh ) there are subtle differences in size and shape between piggies .

When I was a child we had a feisty sow . One day we couldn't touch her sides she was so unsettled -so out of desperation, put her in a box of nice hay . The amount of droppings that came out of her was unholy !

Maybe she was bunged up? She certainly let us know she was unhappy though

@Toottootcar

I am now worried that I wouldn't know if ours were constipated. I mean, I'd know if there was no poo when I clean them out, but I wouldn't know that one of the two wasn't doing any.

Oh no, you would know - you just have to pick them up and look at their bottom and you'll see it ready and waiting for you to get it.

FGS I was going to do meatballs for dinner tonight. I'm not hungry now

An impacted pooh you'd know !
But if they aren't doing any pooh it's mre difficult to spot , but they'd be a really miserable piggie .

I once picked up GP2 with a monster pooh and put him in the travel box to go in the run. By the time I walked to the run...it was out !

At least the Vet didn't feel gulity putting the thermometer up his bottom

Thanks for the poo advice!

@70isaLimitNotaTarget thank you so so much. Yes it's the Ferraro Roche poo, not constipation! He seems to poo and poo. But then I picked him up that tine and it was properly wedged in there! He's never smelt before but this time actually stank of proper poo. Not guinea pig poo.

I've not been able to stick to no veg at all. It's just not fair. I've cut it down. I'm struggling to get the fibre stuff down him. He just doesn't like it and keeps his mouth shut. I'm not forcing it in because I don't want to damage his mouth when he is actually pooing now. I manage to smuggle the stuff in on parsley and other more tasty veg so I'm just giving him what I can of it.

He's 5 and a big Rex. His pal isn't a Rex and is much smaller (but completely the boss) he is fine on the diet they're on. So I'll leave them on it and monitor him. As lovely as that is!

ooh yes it can stink sometimes

We had a Rex and he was quick to dry, unlike our current sponges. Our blond pigs permanently looks like he is dirty round his rear end because he has pale blond fur all over but then dark on his head and at the ends. Being shelties they get very long fur, we end up cutting it often.

Yes he dries pretty fast. Though we only really dip his bum anyway

He's not really got a messy bum at all. It was just this one time the cluster of poo seemed too big to come out at all. 🤢

Love Rex. We had two other Rex boys before but they have both died now. Such lovely characters.

This boy is with a smooth hair we rescued so a funny fit for each other but the smooth hair is very much the boss of them, despite being smaller.

I'm wondering if Rex don't live quite as long as other species?
The eldest of the other pair was 6 and just died in the night. Or maybe I'm just not as attentive as I think I am!

@MissShapesMissStakes

Yes he dries pretty fast. Though we only really dip his bum anyway

He's not really got a messy bum at all. It was just this one time the cluster of poo seemed too big to come out at all. 🤢

Love Rex. We had two other Rex boys before but they have both died now. Such lovely characters.

This boy is with a smooth hair we rescued so a funny fit for each other but the smooth hair is very much the boss of them, despite being smaller.

I'm wondering if Rex don't live quite as long as other species?
The eldest of the other pair was 6 and just died in the night. Or maybe I'm just not as attentive as I think I am!

I don't know, we had to rehome ours as he was a fighter and couldn't be with other boars, unexpectedly he fought and broke the leg of another pig when in holiday care. He was neutered and went to live with two wives so hopefully he's very happy there.

Our lovely Rex boy came to live with us at 6 weeks , bonded with GP1 , then after GP1 died we had him castrated and got him GP4 and GP5 (sows) .

He was only 18 months when he died
He went to his Piggie Vet , had a subcutaenous saline injection, medication but didn't recover . He had gone downhlll very rapidly with liquid pooh . (Never good in guinea-pigs)
Our other two pigs weren't affected .
I contacted the Rescue he came from the let them know and they had lost a pig the same same , same symptoms .

DD was allergic to his Rex fur . When we were ready to get another boar , I got Teddy GP6 .......DD was even more allergic to him!

Please don't go without giving your guinea pigs fresh vegetables. They need them every day. Your list is poor nutritionally though. You need much more leafy greens.
guineapigcages.com/forum/forums/80-Diet-and-Nutrition has loads of information about more suitable vegetables for you to feed.