Millie (born 26 july 2019)
Hopefully a final update, and a happy one at that.
I gave Millie her herbal pills and after they were gone there were still some sticky poos. I ordered more pills and added a liquid probiotica which I have been giving her for a little over a week. Still some weirdly shaped poos, but so far no more poop shoes or dirty butts.
She just turned one last Sunday and today she weighed in at 705 grams. She has been gaining weight at a slow pace, but gaining she is!
I gave Millie her herbal pills and after they were gone there were still some sticky poos. I ordered more pills and added a liquid probiotica which I have been giving her for a little over a week. Still some weirdly shaped poos, but so far no more poop shoes or dirty butts.
She just turned one last Sunday and today she weighed in at 705 grams. She has been gaining weight at a slow pace, but gaining she is!
Alas, I am back again.
It has been about two weeks since Millie had her last herbal tablet and after a week or so the sticky poos were back and this week she went down from 718 to 697 grams.
I have already reduced the amount of greens the piggies are getting, would it be okay if I do not give my piggies any greens, so just hay and pellets, for a week or so to see if this has any effect? (They are getting a vitamin c tablet so no worries on this front). And if it has a good effect, try a green per week to see if that triggers anything?
I could take out the healthy pig to feed her greens, but the other one will want something too then, they always hear and smell the goodies. So I figure just let them share the misery?
I can order more tablets, but they are rather expensive, so if it does turn out to be the greens it would be easier and cheaper to adjust that.
It has been about two weeks since Millie had her last herbal tablet and after a week or so the sticky poos were back and this week she went down from 718 to 697 grams.
I have already reduced the amount of greens the piggies are getting, would it be okay if I do not give my piggies any greens, so just hay and pellets, for a week or so to see if this has any effect? (They are getting a vitamin c tablet so no worries on this front). And if it has a good effect, try a green per week to see if that triggers anything?
I could take out the healthy pig to feed her greens, but the other one will want something too then, they always hear and smell the goodies. So I figure just let them share the misery?
I can order more tablets, but they are rather expensive, so if it does turn out to be the greens it would be easier and cheaper to adjust that.
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- For the Love of Pigs
As for withholding greens, our vet once said all a guinea pig really needs is hay, vitamin C and water. I think the idea of removing all greens, seeing what happens and then introducing them back in one by one might give you some good info. Don't change anything else, so if she's getting the herbal supplement, continue it for the time being, and if she's not, don't begin it again. That is, isolate the variables. I think that's what you're planning to do.
I don't know how to handle this with healthy pig.
I don't know how to handle this with healthy pig.
Yes I’ve withdrawn all veggies and grass (only hay and pellets) when encountering sticky or mushy poos. You could try supplementing a little critical care as this has some prebiotic in it too. Also some very fibrous (brown and stemmy) hay or even food grade paper to nibble on may help. Also it sounds so horrid, but poop soup from a healthy piggy really does help.
Be aware that starchy and sugary veg - peppers, carrots, baby corn, can all exacerbate gut flora imbalance and lead to mushy poo. Have you given the poops a sniff? Yep I’m crazy! Get to know the smells, Normal poops will have a slight poopy/hay/horsey aroma, mushy poops will have a sort of sweet, sickly smell of varying degrees, only apparent if you get up close. Really Nasty smelling poop is a bad sign.
My old piggy craves newspaper if she is having poop issues! I don’t know if that’s a good thing but I never stop her seeking it out.
Be aware that starchy and sugary veg - peppers, carrots, baby corn, can all exacerbate gut flora imbalance and lead to mushy poo. Have you given the poops a sniff? Yep I’m crazy! Get to know the smells, Normal poops will have a slight poopy/hay/horsey aroma, mushy poops will have a sort of sweet, sickly smell of varying degrees, only apparent if you get up close. Really Nasty smelling poop is a bad sign.
My old piggy craves newspaper if she is having poop issues! I don’t know if that’s a good thing but I never stop her seeking it out.
So far a week with no greens hasn’t done much for the unhealthy piggy, her poop is still pretty much the same. Her weight is the same as last week.
The healthy piggy, however, has dropped weight, a little under 30grams. I guess she misses her snacks more than I thought she would.
I am probably going to start up with greens again after I clean the cage tomorrow. That way I can more easily see if there is more mushy poo when they get greens. But I don’t think it will make much difference.
If it all stays the same I am going to order more tablets and hope that will fix things up again.
The healthy piggy, however, has dropped weight, a little under 30grams. I guess she misses her snacks more than I thought she would.
I am probably going to start up with greens again after I clean the cage tomorrow. That way I can more easily see if there is more mushy poo when they get greens. But I don’t think it will make much difference.
If it all stays the same I am going to order more tablets and hope that will fix things up again.