piggy trouble pooping

Question
hi my pig is 3 years old he seems to be eating fine but have noticed he is having trouble pooping and when he does the pellets are small and thinner than normal also it seems to be hurting him or causing discomfort. I have also noticed he is occasionally having small spasms only minor though, can you help as all my local vets just want to pump him full of drugs.
thank you

Answer
Hello Paul,

You didn't mention his diet. If he is not on a constant supply of timothy hay, that may be the problem. Piggies need alot of fiber in their diet and the hay keeps their tummies working properly. Give him as much hay as he can eat and this should help. If he is already on unlimited hay, check him for an impaction. If he's impacted, there may be a knot on his tummy near his genitals. Get a warm damp washcloth, gently open the pouch (they have a pouch where they store the poos they eat and if it gets clogged they will have trouble pooing) and clean out the impaction. If this isn't the problem, go to the drug store. Near the vitamins you will find a supplement called Acidophilus. Crush the tablets and either sprinkle on his veggies or mix with a bit of water and syringe feed it to him. This will help replace the good bacteria in his tummy and help with his digestion. If none of these solutions work, he'll have to see the vet and likely be put on medications because he is actually ill. Check around and try to find the vet you are comfortable with and know he really knows piggies. As for the spasms, these could indicate a serious illness, and if so, he'll have to see a vet soon. However, when piggies are happy, they popcorn. I don't know if you've ever seen a piggy popcorn or not (if you have and he is spasming and not popcorning, see the vet right away). Popcorning looks a bit like a seizure. The piggy will pop up off the ground and twist his body, sometimes even flipping over backwards or throwing himself off his feet. This just means your piggy is very excited and happy to be with you. Popcorning is a piggy happy dance. Good luck. Hopefully one of these things will help and he'll be just fine in a few days.

-kkat
http://www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs