What to do for guinea pig compacted anus? Is castor oil safe?

Any eye problems should be examining by a veterinarian. You should not leave an eye problem untreated. Constipation can be caused by many things but usually it is due to a poor/incorrect diet. You need to make sure your husbandry is 100% correct. Your guinea pig's daily diet should contain hay, clean water and fresh greens. Pellets provide vegetable matter combined with vitamin C, but if your cavy eats too many in proportion to his regular diet he may get constipated. I suggest you feed him some low-sugar fruits (such as a piece of unpeeled apple or pear peel) and some leafy greens as they have a high water content. Putting a few drops of olive oil on a treat he enjoys can also help move things along. Finally, you should start him on a probiotic. ( https://www.jefferspet.com/products/bene-bac-plus ) ( https://www.petco.com/content/petco/PetcoStore/en_US/pet-services/resource-center/food-nutrition/guinea-pig-care-diet-and-feeding-tips.html ) I would recommend Oxbow hay and pellets that you can buy at your local Petco or online. If he is still having trouble in 12-24 hours I suggest you have him examined by your local vet.

Hello, and thank you for your question. I'm sorry to hear that Shadow is unwell. Guinea pigs often hide their illness until they are very sick, so I would recommend getting him to a guinea pig-savvy vet as soon as possible in the morning. The blockage at his anus may be indicative of constipation, which may be secondary to dehydration due to some other underlying illness, such as dental pain, gut stasis, infection or cancer. The vet will perform a full physical exam, check for dehydration and fever, and may recommend further diagnostic tests such as blood work or x-rays to determine the underlying cause of illness. At minimum, they can try to rehydrate him through fluid therapy, and prescribe pain medication and a special diet to help maintain his nutrition. In the meantime, try to offer him a variety of his favourite foods (hay, veggies, fruits) in order to keep up his strength and hydration. Keep him in a warm, non-drafty area. You can try to gently remove some of the impacted feces using warm water and a soft cloth. However, if he resists or struggles, I would not continue trying, as stress may worsen his condition. I hope this helps, and that Shadow feels better soon.

I'm not sure why you think impaction is a condition restricted to males only, but it's not- females and males can get impaction, bloat or total blockage. Diarrhea or soft poo is always a concern, if you find it again I would recommend taking them to the vet, in some cases this problem needs to be treated with antibiotics.

Thanks for reaching out about Fin and Blackie. This is probably on the rump and is a normal gland on guinea pigs. But the lesions can get infected, or can change with higher fat diets. If guinea pigs are overweight, they sometime have difficulty turning around and self cleaning the gland. A warm wet washcloth with a mild detergent such as Dawn dish soap can be used to clean the glands. If you continue to have problems, seek an examination with a veterinarian. Good luck.

Hello, you do not need to apply any castor oil on your puppy. You could wipe his rear with a damp cloth and allow him to walk around more to stimulate him to go on his own. Feed hime wet food over dry food or offer him more water. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Castor oil can be quite irritating and gut spasm is not helpful in such cases. Gentle lubricant laxative such as hair ball paste and frequent small meals can help encourage such items to pass but any colic, vomiting or constipation should be checked by your vet

Hi there! Yes, you should definitely take Pepper into a your vet for an examination. I don't think it's an emergency but I would do it soon. Be sure that you take her to a vet that is used to treating guinea pigs. There are a many things that could be going on. Most common at her age would be a tooth issue causing her not to be able to chew her food appropriately or an intestinal impaction/constipation. Be sure you are feeding the correct type of hay and you are getting it from a good source. Poor quality hay can cause a lot of problems. I like Oxbow products: http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/products/farm-fresh-hay I hope this helps. Best wishes!