TurtleToo
Well-Known Member
Have acquired a guineapig who I have known for quite a while as he was a shop pet in the pet shop I work in due to his issues, but have decided that he'd like a quieter life so he has joined me at home.
This isn't going to be pretty.. He keeps getting impacted with poo, very close to the end of the digestive tract, so it is visible and can be squeezed out every few days
. The vet says he has heard of similar cases in older piggies (he's a rescue with no history) previously due to muscle weakness, however my little guy (Buster) suffers quite badly, think a solid lump an inch long, half an inch wide and a quarter of an inch thick, so it does hurt him to have this squeezed out. If done very often it reduces the size so we do this. The bath also seems to give him good relief, and he loves it, stands up on his back legs reaching up to the tap when waters coming out, and happily pitter patters around for 20 minutes if I have the time to stand with him. We have also improved him dramatically by feeding large amounts of fresh veg and hay, and a tiny bit of muesli just because he likes it. Problem is he likes carrots the best, will eat a tiny bit of broccoli and flat out refuses to eat cabbage, and carrots are too sugary for him to eat constantly. He is an older man, so really we just want to keep him happy, but to do so he must also be healthy. He has previously always lived indoors but he will be getting an outdoor hutch and run and introduced slowly to grass (although he'll probably turn his nose up at it) in the next few days.
We have tried liquid paraffin under vet instruction, but it doesn't seem to improve him, and he won't touch pellets, although the muesli is really just a treat. Has to be constantly eating or he doesn't shut up, so he usually walks around with a piece of timothy hay hanging out of his mouth. I am confident that he's a happy old chap, as is the vet, so no judgements on this please.
Has anyone encountered anything like this before, if so, what did you find improved it? Also what veg is good for fussy pigs, think we'll need to encourage him to be a bit braver and try new food
This isn't going to be pretty.. He keeps getting impacted with poo, very close to the end of the digestive tract, so it is visible and can be squeezed out every few days
. The vet says he has heard of similar cases in older piggies (he's a rescue with no history) previously due to muscle weakness, however my little guy (Buster) suffers quite badly, think a solid lump an inch long, half an inch wide and a quarter of an inch thick, so it does hurt him to have this squeezed out. If done very often it reduces the size so we do this. The bath also seems to give him good relief, and he loves it, stands up on his back legs reaching up to the tap when waters coming out, and happily pitter patters around for 20 minutes if I have the time to stand with him. We have also improved him dramatically by feeding large amounts of fresh veg and hay, and a tiny bit of muesli just because he likes it. Problem is he likes carrots the best, will eat a tiny bit of broccoli and flat out refuses to eat cabbage, and carrots are too sugary for him to eat constantly. He is an older man, so really we just want to keep him happy, but to do so he must also be healthy. He has previously always lived indoors but he will be getting an outdoor hutch and run and introduced slowly to grass (although he'll probably turn his nose up at it) in the next few days.We have tried liquid paraffin under vet instruction, but it doesn't seem to improve him, and he won't touch pellets, although the muesli is really just a treat. Has to be constantly eating or he doesn't shut up, so he usually walks around with a piece of timothy hay hanging out of his mouth. I am confident that he's a happy old chap, as is the vet, so no judgements on this please.
Has anyone encountered anything like this before, if so, what did you find improved it? Also what veg is good for fussy pigs, think we'll need to encourage him to be a bit braver and try new food
