The Poop: The Indicator Of Your Guinea Pig’s Health

Maintaining your guinea pig’s health is not an easy task. You need to consider their diet and even their surrounding for their well being. Also, you need to check your guinea pig poop. This will help you to know if your little fellow is suffering from any health problem or not.

Let’s learn about what the different types of poops indicate and how many time guinea pig poops.

Different Types of Guinea Pig Poop

Have you noticed any difference in your guinea pig’s poop? The different types are indicators of some kind of problems if the poop is not normal. It is also important to check your little fellow’s feces to catchthe health problems at an early stage. The following are the types of poops of your piggy.

Green Poop

Greenish poop can be a sign of fecal pellets, which your piggy re-ingests sometimes for nutritional health. Well, don’t worry! It is a completely fine, normal, and healthy thing for the guinea pig.

So, please don’t freak out if you catch them eating their own feces.

Soft, Smelly, and Mushy Poop

Wet or smelly poop can be a sign of diet or nutritional problem. First, make sure whether your piggy is hydrated. Secondly, give them plenty of guinea pig hay (not a bowl of hay, only piles of it) to help your pet’s gut to work properly. The key is to keep the hay available in your home to use it at the right time.

The last thing you need to do is to feed them fresh veggies. But of course, not too much. Fresh veggies play the role of supplements. They are not the source of nutrition. Remember, the main diet of your little piggy is always fresh grass hay. You can follow the general rule of thumb, giving a guinea pig 1 cup of veggies each day.

Not to mention, if your piggy is suffering from diarrhea, rush to the vet immediately. This is an emergency and can cause a serious problem for your little fellow.

Dry, Tear-Shaped Poop

Sick piggy has a risk of becoming dehydrated. It can affect their overall health, and it is important to pinpoint its symptoms as early as possible. Poop that appears small, dry, and tear – shaped are signs of dehydration. You can do subcutaneous therapy, which involves injecting fluids under the skin on the back of your pet’s neck. It will help to rehydrate your guinea pig.

Clumped Poop

Guinea pig poop stuck near their rectum or clumped together indicates some intestinal problems, such as a blockage. Moreover, some aged male guinea pigs lose control of the muscles around their anus. The feces can affect the piggy’s perineal sac. If this happens, your vet may suggest you take out the sac manually using Q-tips and mineral oil for their better health.

Bloody Poop

This feces problem is rear, but if you find out bloody poop in your little companion’s cage, you should take your pet to the vet right away for a complete checkup. The blood must be coming from your piggy’s urine, which may sign bladder stones or infections of the kidney or bladder.

Do Guinea Pigs Poop a Lot?

It’s true that a piggy poops a lot compared to other animals, but several factors can impact their feces quantity and patterns. Some of the common factors include diet, age, weight, and exercise. But do remember the amount of feces varies from pig to pig, usually depending on their lifestyle and diet.

If you are planning to bring a new family member to your home, then keep in mind that they will poop a lot. Like other animals, you piggy don’t have a particular time and regular patterns for feces. They can poop all day when they want to.

This ability is the same as other rodents; they poop while sleeping, eating, or when they are comfortable, and just whenever they urge for it. Well, it’s not easy to know how much your piggy will poop, but you can guess through their eating habits and lifestyle.

For instance, if your little fellow is eating more than they usually do in a day, they will poop continuously. This means you can also see changes in their feces if you change their diet or eating schedule.

How Much Should a Guinea Pig Poop?

There is no limit because some piggy poops a lot than others. But if you are talking about average, then your piggy can poop around 100 droppings in a day. However, in some cases, it can be more than that of average.

If you keep a guinea pig as your pet for the first time, you can expect your piggy to do more than 100 droppings a day.

Some owners say that they need to clean out the feces 4 to 5 times a day. So, just keep yourself prepared. It can take a lot of time to clean all the cage, but you will get used to it.

Many people use a handheld vacuum to do the cleaning job because if you have to clean the mess 4 to 5 times a day, you will need a quick and easy way to do it.

Bottom Line

Now you may understand the reason for your guinea pig poop and what they indicate. If you find out that your piggy is in serious trouble, take it to the vet immediately.