[Gpdd] [BEHAVIOR] Guinea pig eating cagemate's poop

[Ann Evans]

Hi Sarah and the GPDD Family,

I have only known of one case where an adult cavy would eat the cecal 
pellets directly from the anus of another female piggy. The piggy had 
had a malocclusion and had lost a lot of weight before her dental 
problems were corrected. Therefore, I think she was eating the cecal 
pellets of the female piggys for nutrition. Vedra Stanley-Spatcher of 
the Cambridge Cavy Trust and Guinea Pig Hospital 
http://www.britishassociationofrodentologists.co.uk/ has stopped using 
Oxbows Critical Care which contains probiotics and now exclusively uses 
Critter be Better Digestive Health Powder from American Pet Diner. 
http://www.americanpetdiner.com/ She says that the cavies like it much 
better than Oxbows Critical Care and they put on weight much faster. I 
suspect your new cavy has a nutritional imbalance and that is why she is 
eating other piggys cecal pellets. I would try the Critter be Better. 
Also, have all of your guinea pigs been treated for internal and 
external parasites with Ivermectin and Panacur or Valbazen along with a 
bath in an anti-parasitic shampoo that kills fur lice? Parasites can 
cause nutritional imbalances as well as attach the pancreas and liver.


Cheers,

Ann and the Rescued Piggys of Piggyville, Tampa Florida USA.