Guinea pig and HUGE poos (sorry!)

[MissShapesMissStakes]

Our Rex is about 5 now.

For about 6 months he started doing some mammoth poos. I took him to the vets but it was lockdown and I'm not entirely sure what he did but he cleaned him out a bit and gave us some fibre type stuff to use for a week that didn't seem to do anything.

The vet also said that Guinea pigs don't need fresh veg and to stick to nuggets and hay. So I kind of felt like he didn't know much about Guinea pigs and did lots of research and then carried on with the veg. I know he gets a healthy diet, also his friend is totally fine.

I read that older males can get weaker muscles around their bottom which makes these bigger poos.

He doesn't seem to show any signs of pain but I know that, as prey animas, they don't do that really. He eats as normal.

I am trying to find a vet that knows more about Guinea pigs but wondered if I can be doing anything in the meantime. The fibre stuff from the vet seemed to do nothing but can I use it longer term?

Also I worry about him being in pain. He's my daughters Guinea pig and she is incredibly attached to him but would hate to think he is in pain with this. This morning we found the biggest poo yet in there. I don't know how he even got it out. And surely that must have been hurting him?

Has anyone else any experience of this?

What a long post about Guinea pig poo!

Hi, I’m sorry but I don’t have any advice to give (just got my guinea pigs) but I am on this forum.
theguineapigforum.co.uk some guinea pig owners on there might be able to offer some advice.

Is your vet an exotic specialist? I’d look for one that is if not.
It sounds like impaction which one of mine had. It didn’t used to bother him but occasionally we’d need to help him out with a bit of a clean,

The best way to know if a guinea pig is unwell is to keep an eye on their weight. If you weigh them regularly you will know what their normal weight is and if you notice it go down start weighing them every day. If they lose more than 30g in a day for more than 3 days in a row it's urgent and they need to see a vet asap.
Large poos can be a sign of impaction, so cleaning the bottom area can help, but it can also be a sign the digestive system is shutting down which is more serious. A specialist vet would definitely have a better idea of what may be going on.

Thank you for the replies. I've found a vet recommended by others with Guinea pigs so have an appointment on Friday now.

It's been a thing for a while now. We've tried our vet and I've searched online but he eats well and has maintained a steady weight too.

We've also tried to increase his fluid by putting in a few different ways for him to drink but it's not made much difference.

Fingers crossed this vet can help him out longer term this time.

Oh just saw this . Yes keep an eye on the droppings , they are a very good indicator of their health.

Your Rex boy (at 5yo) is a MidleAgedBoar and I'm guessing if he's an entire (un castrated ) he'll be headed into SaggyArsed Older Boar territory . Most rescues will now castrate their boars , not to avoid impaction, but makes re homing easier as they can lives with the sows .

Rex are big . We had a Rex boar (had him castrated when his cagemate died ) he was massive .

Our little Abbysian boar (entire) used to do droppings the size of a Ferrero Rocher ( I kid you not) .
Often they were an inoffensive round ball that he slid out with no problem, so no impaction, If I lifted him, and noticed one I put him back till he'd shifted it himself .
Very rarely his pooh stank ( not envy] ) so it was a wipe and clean.
To keep them in god condition, you need the fibre and your Vet is right that they don't ^need* anything else than hay/pellets/water ..... but what a boring sad life for a little mammal who has the sole purpose in life of Eating.
Cut down on hgh sugar foods like apple carrot parsnips .
Be wary of dark green - parsely , kale , spinach
And keep his weight in check ( yeah good luck with that one ! )

If he gets stuck going to the loo you might need to deftly help him with a warm water bum dip and a tidy up . You can put a tiny bit of edible oil (olive or almond ) round his bum to help .

I rook one of the poohs in a sealed bag to show our Vet (GP specialist clinic) he was impressed ! but not overly horrified ,
I don't think our boy felt pain, he could evict one of his poohs in the time it took me to take him from the shed to the run.
His brother never had problems .Always normal losenge pooh

If they had a long grazing day we only gave them hay/peelets/water for supper (much to GP1 disgust Pah , I spend all day cutting the lawn and get Dry Supper )

It is one downside of the charm that is The Boar .

How does your vet not know that guinea pigs need vitamin C, so fresh green veg regularly?

Pellets contin the Vit C they need .
And guinea pigs will eat a good amount of pellets (unlike rabbits who need an eggcup)

I think the problem with the domestic cavy is they are a bit spoiled and overfed . (Gulity as charged )
I was always looking in the fresh veg bit of the supermarket or our local market thinking "Oh leafy sweetcorn ! Leafley celery . Cavelo Nero"
Nice for the piggies of course . But my goodness these animals eat !

I'd have thought it would be a case of too much fibre rather than a lack of? I agree with pp that a specialist vet is required.in the meantime maybe give him more watery food like lettuce to make his poo a bit softer and easier to pass?

Shapes look up some articles from Peter Gurney (he kept a lot of boars ) and theres the Cambridge Cavy Trust

Its difficult to keep the balance , you don;t want to overload his guts with sugar (which is naturally present in veg as well as fruit ) , It can ferment and cause yeast imbalance .

At this time of year my NDN were used to the sight of me out with my scissors cutting grass and dandelions

Mad Guinea-Pig Mum
(Rinse and bring to room temp)
Our pigs loved a plate of grass in winter

Thanks everyone for all the detailed responses. They are all much appreciated. Surprisingly I don't find a lot of people in real life who are happy to chat about Guinea pig poo!

I do love a Rex!

Some 'developments' as such:
Went to a specialist vet on friday and they mentioned x rays and ultrasound but also said they are very tricky with GPs and honestly I don't think I'd go down that road anyway.

Two of the vets had a look at him and couldn't find any obvious reason. Said he had a good diet etc. He was prescribed Emeprid twice a day for two weeks or even more. Since we started him on that he's pretty much passed a whopper every day. I'm hoping it's clearing him out a bit.

This afternoon though my dd went to see him and he was laid on his side and then got up slowly and was dragging one of his legs. Not picking it up at all. He had also passed his biggest poo yet (well over the size of a golf ball - I have a photo - for the vet, but I'll spare you that!).

I called the vet and took him straight in as honestly expected the worst.

At the vets he acted like a spring chicken and didn't limp at all! The vet has prescribed a pain killer for a week as obviously GPs like to act brave. Also she checked him all over and said he's actually in pretty good shape. She was worried it could be a mass if some kind causing all the symptoms but couldn't feel anything.

He came home and immediately began to drag his leg again. But he isn't lethargic and is still eating so we will just see how things go.

Just been to check on him and he's not looking great. He's not coming for food and is just flopped down. Hopefully he's just tired from the stress of the vets and his meds and picks up tomorrow.

This is the saggy bottomed chap. He loves his hay dives.

Take a video of him so the vet can see next time even if he decides to 'perform' for them.

Look at that nose!

Thanks. Yes we've tried a few times but he's reluctant to move about at all now. And you have to get the phone under him to video it. Will try again later. I feel like he deserves some peace from being poked and prodded now

How the piggie today?
Is he moving a bit more ?
Hopefully eating , it is not a good sign when they lose the will to eat

Thanks.

He's actually been moving about a bit more. He's limping at times but then also using his leg more than half the time now. So I'm hoping he just hurt it and did no major damage.

I was worried his back end issues along with his leg was related to some sort of mass in the area (no idea if that's likely) but he's been felt and poked and prodded so much recently by vets that I'm sure they would have noticed.