Male Guinea Pigs Problem with Impacted Poop

Question
Hi, Jenny.  I hope you can help.  My husband and I just lost another darling male guinea pig this week.  We're not sure of his exact age since all our piggies are rescued but he wasn't old, probably only about 4.  My husband tries to check their butts regularly for impacted poop, since this has been a problem with our males only.  He swore he had been checking little Ozzie, but this is apparently what happened to him as well.  He was a sweetie and we feel so badly about it.  My husband knows how to clear their butts but we really didn't get any warning with Oz and with another of our piggies who apparently died for this reason.  My question is, is there anything we can do, like a supplement we can feed them, to prevent this from happening?  Or anything we may be doing that is causing this??  We feed all our piggies carrots and spinach leaves every day (and occasional apple) in addition to their regular pellets.  Thank you!

Answer
Hi Teresa,

First of all ... please cut down on the spinach. It is best for guinea pigs to have 2-3 leaves a week, maximum. A varied diet is the best; try alternating carrots, cucumber, brocolli and red peppers.

I've never had a guinea pig with an impacted rectum, but it is common in older boards. You will need to remove the droppings daily to keep your piggies alive, but if this is done a guinea pig can live for a long time with the condition. Make sure you offer some of the droppings to them; I know this sounds disgusting but you may have noticed your boys (and girls) occasionally eat some of their poo (usually they take it directly, by ducking their head between their legs). These special poos contain lots of vitamins, and without them, a piggy cannot live very long. Even a very poorly piggy will eat these when offered (and will turn away any ordinary poo).

Additionally, in "the really useful guinea pig guide" aka guinea pig bible it suggests that when you first notice the problem, to feed a piggy two crushed brewers yeast tablets weekly, for two weeks - this helps to replace the special poos, as he will not be able to eat as many as he needs, as even if you offer them to him, some will be very unappertising after being stuck to his bottom with the ordinary droppings.

The good news (according to the book) is that he will gradually adjust to picking out certain bits he needs more of from his dried food, and ingesting some of his ordinary poos, to compensate. This claim is backed by the late great Peter Gurney, so it's probably true and is good news indeed. You will still need to help with the bottom-cleaning, but will probably be able to reduce it to once every two days.

Hope this helps and if you have any other questions, just ask!

Jenny.