guinea pig feces

Question
QUESTION: my male guinea pig seems to be pooping out of its penis it seems like there might be a build up on his anus and I'm not sure what to do. I read something about trying to feel if there is a blockage but it can find anything that helps. what should i do to make him poop out of his anus again like normal?


flushing out the pouch   ANSWER: I guarantee you he's not pooping from his penis. Anatomically that's not possible. What he probably does have is a backup of stool in the pouch that is right underneath the penis. The rectal opening is right there in the pouch.

As boars age they often lose some of the muscle strength to push the stool clear out. If it's very warm it also softens and builds up in the pouch. There's a very simply and easy way to deal with it.

Here are a couple of pictures of an older boar of mine that needed to have his pouch flushed out about once a week. Don't try to use a Q tip to dig the stool out. You might injure that tender and delicate tissue. I have a utility sink that I use for this purpose as well as to bathe the pigs in. The water doesn't have to be on full force but with enough pressure that it gets into the pouch and the pile up of poo flushes right out.

You can usually feel on both sides of the pouch that it is full of stool. When you pinch it a little bit the stool starts moving out. This is a common issue with boars especially as they age but is often weather related.

I would try flushing out his pouch to clear it of leftover stool. It's not difficult and I'm sure you could do this.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thank you! you helped a lot because i was getting very anxious! Is there an obvious way to find if or should I just look it up? is this a very common thing that happen and finally you said this usually happens to older guinea pigs, because mine is not even a year old yet is that normal and OK?

Answer
It's more common in older boars but certainly happens in younger adult boars as well. I'm not sure what you mean by 'finding it' but if you're talking about the pouch all you have to do is turn him over and you will clearly see the soft stool between the testicles.

As you can tell by my boar they don't mind it at all. The secret is to make sure they feel you have a comfortable grip and they don't fear falling. Allow the water to just run right into that area and you'll be surprised how fast the stool comes out.

If you need to you can spread the area apart a bit so you can get a better visual as to what you're going to flush. You're not going to hurt him, so don't fear that you might.