Slight diarrhea, not acting 100% himself

Post Reply
amberkenn2016

Post   » Sat Aug 03, 2019 2:25 pm


Hello!

I have a 1.5 year old piggy named Leo, and the only health issues he's ever had were ear mites and a URI a month back. After the passing of his cage mate, George, we've been babying him and basically giving him whatever he wanted. However, because of this, we're thinking we've been giving him too many vegetables (especially cucumber), because he's not as active as he usually is and his poops are looking a little smaller than normal and a bit smellier. I've noticed in the past, when we tried giving him vegetables for the first time, he had a bit of an upset stomach and had a hard time pooping. After a day of not giving him veg though, he was as right as rain.

The approximate amounts of veg we've been giving him these past few days was at least 4 slices of cucumber every day (I didn't realize how bad this was for his tummy, so we've stopped cucumber altogether until we can figure out what's wrong), 1/4 green bell pepper every other day, and one small chunk of carrot per day. He also has at least one green leaf lettuce leaf a day.

He is also peeing pretty frequently as well, not sure if it's because of the cucumber we've been giving him due to its high water content. He's also been a little more tired than usual as well, snuggling up in his hidey more.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sat Aug 03, 2019 4:42 pm


What you should do in situations like this is an elimination diet. Take him off all vegetables for 24-48 hours, until his poop firms up. Then add them back, one at a time, 48 hours between each new one, until you find the culprit. At that point, you can eliminate or severely restrict that veg from his diet.

FYI, green leaf lettuce and bell pepper should be the staples of his vegetable diet, and he should get them every day.

amberkenn2016

Post   » Sat Aug 03, 2019 7:08 pm


bpatters- He is getting leaves and green bell pepper every day. The only thing that has changed is the amount of cucumber we've been giving him. He's currently doing his normal poops, which I'm glad he's back to, but he's still acting a bit down. Normally, he will respond by bringing his head up when I call his name, but now he's hardly doing that. He's still eating hay and drinking water, but I'm still going to monitor him to see if he eats his pellets.

Question, but can cucumbers cause bloat if given in large amounts?

Vesperia

Post   » Sat Aug 03, 2019 7:28 pm


Yes, cucumbers can cause bloat. 4 slices of cucumber is not a lot at all, if he's getting bloated from that I would take it out of his diet altogether.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Aug 03, 2019 8:23 pm


4 slices of cucumber is a lot of cucumber. That most definitely could have caused stomach upset. Also. not all guinea pigs can eat green pepper without causing gas, so you might try knocking that out for a few days as well. When my guys do get it, they only get a small amount. It's loaded with vitamin C, but it's not worth it if it causes bloat. Are you noticing any stomach distention? Does his belly feel/sound hollow when you tap it? The small poops might also indicate a motility issue.

As bpatters suggested. I would start with just leaf lettuce and then gradually add another (small amount) of veggie over the next several days/week+ to see how it goes.

Again, the lethargy could be gas/bloat, but possibly also depression if he's lonely.

amberkenn2016

Post   » Sat Aug 03, 2019 8:40 pm


Leo's poops are looking more normal and aren't smelly anymore, so I hope that's a good sign. He's been eating normally and drinking, so that's good too. I haven't noticed much distention if at all, and I've tried to see if his belly sounds hollow but I don't think it does. And when I put my ear to his stomach I don't hear gas, like those little clicks you'd hear.

I'm going to keep encouraging him to eat through the night and see how he does, and I'll give him some belly rubs too for good measure.

Also, he was treated with Revolution for ear mites last month, but he's been itching his ears pretty frequently lately on top of this. I was only given one dose and that was it. Is it possible that mites could be causing him to be lethargic as well?

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Aug 03, 2019 8:43 pm


Yes, it could be causing a lot of discomfort. He may need another treatment.

amberkenn2016

Post   » Sun Aug 04, 2019 11:08 am


Alright, so he's still pooping regularly and eating, but at times he almost seems reluctant to? It's been a little over 24 hours since his last bite of cucumber. I gave him a small amount of green leaf lettuce last night, but besides that it's mainly been his hay and pellets.

I have an appointment scheduled for him but it won't be until tomorrow afternoon. I was wondering what I should do in the meantime while we wait? He's still straining to go to the bathroom, so I'm not sure what I'm up against.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sun Aug 04, 2019 11:56 am


Are you thoroughly cleaning his anal sac? If you don't dig all that old, hard poop out, he'll still have problems pooping.

See

amberkenn2016

Post   » Sun Aug 04, 2019 12:49 pm


I have taken a look down there myself and it's pretty clean for the most part. The last time he had a digestive upset he had a little bit stuck up there, but now he doesn't. As for the straining, last month he had an ultrasound to check for stones and there were no stones in sight. And he has had no stone issues to the best of my knowledge, we got him from a humane society a month and a half ago.

I also put some hydrogen peroxide on his urine, and it didn't bubble so I take it there's no blood in his urine, so I'm hoping and praying it isn't anything urinary and it's just a tummy upset.

amberkenn2016

Post   » Sun Aug 04, 2019 5:17 pm


I have some Metoclopramide here at home for a piggy that recently passed. Would it hurt to give that a try as long as I had the right dosage? Or should I start the critical care route along with fluids? He seems to be about the same as my last update. I haven't barely left his side all day just checking up on him.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sun Aug 04, 2019 6:19 pm


Is he still pooping? What do they look like?

Post Reply