constipation??

Question
My guniea pig has just recently been suffering from mild constipation.  He cries when he tries to go the bathroom.  My mom and I help clean him out but he isn't acting normal.  I just cleaned his cage and noticed he's been munching on the pine chips.  There were traces of pine chips in his stool.  Should I take him to the vet?

Answer
Dear Leyna,

Guinea pigs get constipation because they don't have enough fluids. Give him juicy fruits or vegetables. A very good one would be strawberries (just small amounts of the strawberries though) which is very juicy. Give him enough vegetables like carrots and lettuce. Also make sure he has enough water and try getting him to drink lots of it. If he's still suffering from constepation in a couple of days--take him to a vet. Preferabally a small animal vet. Try not to hold him too much for a few days, until you are sure he is better--his butt might hurt when you touch him. Eating the pine chips aren't helping his problem, try replacing the sheddings with newspapers cut into tiny pieces.

I hope I've helped.

~~Arielle