Hey everyone, it’s Caroline! Welcome back to my website, Petite Cavi. If you have guinea pigs as pets, you might have noticed that these adorable little creatures are quite the pooping machines. Today, I want to explore their digestive system and explain why they poop so much.
Let’s start with how their digestive system works. First, food enters through their mouth and gets chewed. Then, it travels down the esophagus and into the stomach, where most of the food is processed and digested, much like in humans. After that, the food moves into the small intestine and then into the large intestine. This is where the magic happens!
The large intestine is specially designed to extract energy and nutrients from their fibrous diet. At the entrance of the large intestine, guinea pigs have a large sac called the cecum, which is filled with helpful microbes. These friendly bacteria break down tough fibers and release nutrients that the guinea pigs can absorb.
The entire journey of food through their digestive system takes about 24 hours before it is passed as poop. This is the average time for healthy guinea pigs.
Now, let’s talk about the types of droppings. Normal feces are usually odorless, dry, and hard. On the other hand, cicrotrophs are softer, moist, and greenish in color. These special droppings contain valuable nutrients like amino acids and vitamins B and K. Since some nutrients can’t be absorbed in the cecum, guinea pigs eat their cicrotrophs directly from their anus. While this might seem strange to us, it’s a completely normal and essential process for guinea pigs and some other animals.
Feeding is also crucial for their digestive health. Unlike humans, guinea pigs need to eat regularly to keep their intestines moving. That’s why it’s important for them to have unlimited access to hay at all times. If they stop eating for more than 12 to 24 hours, their intestines can slow down, leading to serious health issues. Hay and other foods with hard fibers help maintain their dental health and normal gastrointestinal movements. A guinea pig’s daily diet should consist of hay, fresh vegetables, pellet supplements, and fresh water.
So, are guinea pigs really pooping machines? To find out, I decided to count how much my guinea pigs poop in a day. I did this over an 8-hour period. On a Friday morning, I observed the girls while they enjoyed their vegetables. After returning them to their clean cage, I made rounds every two hours to collect their droppings.
In total, I counted 417 droppings from my four guinea pigs, which averages out to about 13 droppings per hour per guinea pig. That means they produce more than 300 droppings in a 24-hour period!
By understanding how their digestive system functions, we can see why guinea pigs poop so much. Do you think they are little pooping machines? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you found this information helpful. I look forward to sharing more with you soon! Bye for now!
