GI Slowing
- Thread starter Zeroshero
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Oh noooo, I am so disappointed Zero has soft stool. I am hoping I interrupted a ceco-poop but I am not so sure. I just gave him Simethicone 15 minutes ago and was rubbing his tummy and he had lots of gas in there. He has been pooping normally all day and he is still eating and drinking, I let him out to play and he only want to sit on my lap which is normal for him. I guess the worrying must continue. He has been drinking a lot of water lately I assumed it was because of the increase in the amount of hay he is eating. Is there such a thing as drinking too much?
Soft cecotropes are going to be different than normal cecals. Soft ones will be mushy and sticky, and may be unformed so they don't even look much like cecotropes. If that's the case, then you will probably want to stop the pellets for now, until his poops are back to normal.
Drinking a lot of water can be normal, or it can be a sign of kidney problems. It could just have to do with his increased hay consumption.
Drinking a lot of water can be normal, or it can be a sign of kidney problems. It could just have to do with his increased hay consumption.
He had normal fecal pellets last night! When I checked on him at 3am, he also nibbled on hay and drank water. This morning he seems to be his normal self but I am definitely going to remove the pellets for now. Is it whatever forms the pellet they don't tolerate? I wonder if I moistened them or ground them up it would help. Just a thought
If you find that when you take the pellets away, that the gas problems stop again, and you don't see anymore soft poops, then it's definitely got to be something in the pellets. My guess would be that it's either an ingredient that's in both kind of pellets that isn't in the critical care, or it's excess sugars and maybe the critical care doesn't have too many sugars but the pellets do. After several days of stopping the pellets, and there not being anymore problems, you'll know it's for sure something about the pellets. In that case, you can continue to keep him on a diet of critical care and hay. It's not the best because of the low protein, but you may just have to do it. Another alternative is to try a different kind of pellet with different ingredients than the oxbow alfalfa and timothy pellets. There are two that I can think of that you could try: Oxbow bene terra organic that is timothy based, uses canola and sunflower meal instead of soy, and uses natural fruit instead of molasses, or you could try sherwood forest fortifying essentials concentrated formula, which doesn't have soy either, doesn't have any added sugars or grains, but is made with alfalfa(will also send a free sample). So if you are really wanting to try pellets again, that would be my suggestion, to maybe try one of these, or if you can find anouther one with different ingredients than what you are using. The bene terra still has a lower protein because of the timothy, so you could maybe feed a little more to try and make up for it, but if you can find an alfalfa based pellet that he tolerates, that of course would be better. After he's feeling better from not being on the pellets, maybe you could try giving him a little alfalfa hay to really see if alfalfa is causing digestive issues or not. Cause if it's not, then you could maybe try the sherwood pellets, or at least add alfalfa hay into his diet so he is getting more protein.
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Zero seems to be back to normal, on Tuesday I am supposed to start weaning him to two feedings of Critical Care. He did lose two grams today but it could have been a result of a little gas he had going on from last night. He had hiccups, based on what I read they are suspected to be caused by gas.
By Friday he is supposed to be off Simethicone, ugh I am not liking this weaning schedule. Poor Zero I hope he does okay with it.
By Friday he is supposed to be off Simethicone, ugh I am not liking this weaning schedule. Poor Zero I hope he does okay with it.
