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Advice On Dental Issues?

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Yet again I've got up this morning to see pink/brown stains on the fleece from Toast :(

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The large stain across the butterfly is a pinky/brown colour.

Is it possible to get a urine sample and check what this is without having to take Toast to the vets?
I only say that because she was so stressed by the dental procedure on Wednesday that she's only just now coming back to her normal self and I really don't want to stress her again if I can help it...

I have phoned the vets this morning I've waiting in the getting back to me
 
You can always test her urine at home if you are concerned. You can buy them from both eBay and amazon.

These are the ones that I use
But please do not become obsessed with checking their urine. I did this over both my piggies who have had health issue. One with IC and the other with diabetes (who is now in remission)

The test sticks can however detect blood in the urine if that's what you're worried about
 
I'm just thinking it could be a UTI, she's never had any abnormalities with her urine before, only since the GA and dental procedure now there's pink/brown/red stains in her pee..:hmm:
 
I think it is probably just for the best to have it checked out as like @pig in the city has advised, stressful situations can bring on cystitis. Toast may or may not have blood in her urine. Whenever my Emma who has IC has urinated pure blood, she has been out of the cage when I have noticed and it usually shows up a light pink colour when fresh. Emma's urine can also look perfectly normal yet a trace of blood can be shown when it is dip sticked.

If you have any worries at all that there may be blood present, I would always recommend the urine to be tested to at least rule it out
 
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Thank you.
I'm waiting on the vet phoning me back.
I'm a bit uneasy about it not being my usual vet who is very good with guinea pigs, he's off on holiday now and the other vet deals more with lizards..
If it is cystitis, does this just require anti biotics or does it resolve itself?
 
Beans&Toast said:
Thank you.
I'm waiting on the vet phoning me back.
I'm a bit uneasy about it not being my usual vet who is very good with guinea pigs, he's off on holiday now and the other vet deals more with lizards..
If it is cystitis, does this just require anti biotics or does it resolve itself?
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A course of antibiotics should clear it up. Septrin is the best antibiotic for a uti. Try not to worry x
 
I'm having a bit of an issue with my vets and I'm not too sure what to do.
Since I noticed the pink/red stains on Wednesday (and every day since), I've phoned to let them know and find out if it requires treatment and I'm not getting anywhere with them..
I keep getting told they'll pass on my message to the vet and get back to me, but I don't hear anything for around 5-6 hours then I get told to keep an eye on it and phone the next day if it's still the same...
This is the second day of being told this and Toast is still leaving pink/red/brown stains and not drinking very much..

Am I over reacting about this and making a bigger deal than it is?
This is 2 days after the GA and she's still not quite her normal self. Eating but not drinking and not too keen to come to me (which is very unusual)
 
Just had a phone call from the vet, not my usual one though, who said he had tablets I could pick up for Toast (will have to be tomorrow morning now as I'm not at home and they close soon) for cystitis.
I cannot for the life of me remember what they are called but he said they come in capsule form, are originally intended for cats but seems to work for guinea pigs. It's not an antibiotic but it has probiotic in it... I've to open the capsule and syringe the liquid to Toast.. anyone know what this is from my description?
 
Could it be Cystease? My Emma has one of these daily for her IC. Some piggies have a quarter or half a capsule and it helps to coat the bladder walls.

If it is Cystease, you mix the powder from the capsule (you will most likely to be advised to give a quarter or half of the powder) with 1ml syringe of water and syringe to Toast
 
Claire W said:
Cystophan is very similar to Cystease and Cystaid. I'm not sure why you would need to mix it with that much water although I guess it will help keep her hydrated if she isn't drinking as much a normal
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Thanks. He did say it wouldn't make much of a difference how much water but as Toast wasn't drinking quite as much as normal to try a bit more.
You mentioned giving a quarter/half the powder. I've been advised all of the powder, would this then be too much?
 
Some vets choose to start off with a smaller dose to see if that helps before increasing but not all vets do.

I have no experience with cystophan but follow your vets advise. It is only a supplement, not a medication and Toast won't overdose on a full capsule.
 
Claire W said:
Some vets choose to start off with a smaller dose to see if that helps before increasing but not all vets do.

I have no experience with cystophan but follow your vets advise. It is only a supplement, not a medication and Toast won't overdose on a full capsule.
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Thank you.
I'm a major worrier with severe anxiety, I feel the need to triple check everything..:doh:
 
My vet usually prescribes cystophan half a capsule twice a day for a week or so then half a capsule once a day. Its usually prescribed with metacam though? I find it doesn't tend to settle the cystitis given alone
 
pig in the city said:
My vet usually prescribes cystophan half a capsule twice a day for a week or so then half a capsule once a day. Its usually prescribed with metacam though? I find it doesn't tend to settle the cystitis given alone
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Thanks :nod:
I did ask about Loxicom but said he didn't think it would be needed yet. I've to give the Cystophan for 5 days and I've got an appointment with my usual vet on Monday morning so I'll see how Toast is and ask about it then.. she doesn't seem to be in pain whilst peeing either
 
Beans&Toast said:
Thanks :nod:
I did ask about Loxicom but said he didn't think it would be needed yet. I've to give the Cystophan for 5 days and I've got an appointment with my usual vet on Monday morning so I'll see how Toast is and ask about it then.. she doesn't seem to be in pain whilst peeing either
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It doesn't just treat pain but helps reduce inflammation in the bladder. Hope she improves soon
 
Just an update so far;

I had an appointment with my vet to discuss the results of dental work and the blood test Toast had taken whilst under GA. (This was taken because Toast was drinking very large amounts of water.)
Luckily it was very mild dental disease and he's very happy that Toast has been eating piles of hay and crunching her pellets now since the procedure.

For the bloods, the good news is it's not kidney failure.
But there were certain things that the levels were very high or very low, I can't remember the technical jargon, but based on these results my vet thinks Toast could possibly have Cushings Disease/Diabetes.
He said these are rare in guinea pigs but it's the two things that are likely based on the blood results.

I've to take Toast back in to get more blood taken on Thursday, not under GA this time just a small pin pick on her foot.

Does anyone have any information on Cushings Disease? I've had a look on Google as to what exactly it is but I can't find much info regarding guinea pigs at all and although my vet was very helpful, his explination was a bit too technical to understand..
Also, does anyone have a specific diet they feed to their piggies with diabetes?
 
The adrenal glands produce a hormone called cortizone,which is used for the flight/fright reaction.cushing syndrome can cause not enough of this hormone,.the sytoms are best explained by your vet,and treatment plan.it can be treated though,so can diabtes,main things is to cut out any very sugary treats or fruit.good luck ,you are experiencing a difficult time.hugs to you.xx
 
Thank you.:nod:
Sometimes I find my vet can be a bit too technical, whereas I need it in plain simple English :P

He didn't go too much into how we'll treat it yet as nothing is definite it's just a possibility based on the blood results that's why I've to take her for more on Thursday to get a definitive answer.

I was just interested in learning more about cushings as there's very little info (that I can find anyway).

I can't quite believe how much both my girls have been through since the start of March. Poor Toast has had 2 UTIs, URI, countless bouts of severe boat, arthritis diagnosis, unexplained weight loss, dental disease/molar spurs and now possible cushings/diabetes. And Beans with her diagnosis of cataracts. :eek:

Surely there can't be much more!
 
You certainly have had a rough time
:(

I know nothing of cushions disease but as you know, Ellen is diabetic although I think she's in remission now. Due to the diabetes, my piggies diet consists of cucumber, peppers (apart from red as it's high in sugar) herbs and lettuces. Plenty of hay and limited pellets. The aim is to feed veggies that are low in sugar and carbohydrates so veggies like carrot and sweet corn are a no no as well as fruit and that includes tomatoes.

Mine have no commercial treats as they tend to be high in sugar too.
 
Sundae had dental work done a few years ago. Hers was under general anesthesia (in Canada I've yet to hear of a vet doing conscious dentals, many vets don't have guinea pig experience at all.) Sundae was having difficulty chewing and losing weight and pulling her lips like things were caught in her teeth. She had her back molars filed (she had a large spur cutting into her tongue or cheek.) After that she resumed eating normally for a month or two, at which point she had the same symptoms again and needed her teeth evened out again. A couple of months later, we were needing to do dental work again, but around that time he cheek puffed up with a massive abscess. It had probably been underlying the problem all along by causing her pain which led her to favor one side while chewing, causing the other teeth to overgrow. So that time she had another dental filing and the abscess lanced and drained at the same time. We did have to syringe-feed her over the weekend while waiting for her abscess drainage because she was so swollen that she couldn't open her mouth, poor little thing! After the abscess was addressed she didn't develop any more dental issues. She was under anesthesia each time because that's just how it's done here... all of my pigs have done well with anesthesia (knock on wood!), even in one case where the piggie was very sick at the time. There is an inherent risk, but it's fairly small with a vet with small animal experience.
 
Claire W said:
You certainly have had a rough time
:(

I know nothing of cushions disease but as you know, Ellen is diabetic although I think she's in remission now. Due to the diabetes, my piggies diet consists of cucumber, peppers (apart from red as it's high in sugar) herbs and lettuces. Plenty of hay and limited pellets. The aim is to feed veggies that are low in sugar and carbohydrates so veggies like carrot and sweet corn are a no no as well as fruit and that includes tomatoes.

Mine have no commercial treats as they tend to be high in sugar too.
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Thank you, I actually meant to tag you in this as I remembered you saying about Ellen.
Does this mean I would be better feeding them seperate, as there's no reason Beans couldn't have carrot or would I be better just to feed them both the same diet?

What pellets do you use? I feed P@H nuggets as I was told these are lowest in calcium, are these still suitable for a diabetic piggie? And how many pellets do you give?
 
Freela said:
Sundae had dental work done a few years ago. Hers was under general anesthesia (in Canada I've yet to hear of a vet doing conscious dentals, many vets don't have guinea pig experience at all.) Sundae was having difficulty chewing and losing weight and pulling her lips like things were caught in her teeth. She had her back molars filed (she had a large spur cutting into her tongue or cheek.) After that she resumed eating normally for a month or two, at which point she had the same symptoms again and needed her teeth evened out again. A couple of months later, we were needing to do dental work again, but around that time he cheek puffed up with a massive abscess. It had probably been underlying the problem all along by causing her pain which led her to favor one side while chewing, causing the other teeth to overgrow. So that time she had another dental filing and the abscess lanced and drained at the same time. We did have to syringe-feed her over the weekend while waiting for her abscess drainage because she was so swollen that she couldn't open her mouth, poor little thing! After the abscess was addressed she didn't develop any more dental issues. She was under anesthesia each time because that's just how it's done here... all of my pigs have done well with anesthesia (knock on wood!), even in one case where the piggie was very sick at the time. There is an inherent risk, but it's fairly small with a vet with small animal experience.
Click to expand...
That's what happened with Toast, spurs sticking into her cheeks, luckily her spurs were very minor and the molars were only overgrown by 3mm.
Almost right after coming around from the GA she was eating hay and veg, although it took her a few days to be able to chew her pellets again.

How old was Sundae when she had her teeth done under anaesthetic?
 
Beans&Toast said:
Thank you, I actually meant to tag you in this as I remembered you saying about Ellen.
Does this mean I would be better feeding them seperate, as there's no reason Beans couldn't have carrot or would I be better just to feed them both the same diet?

What pellets do you use? I feed P@H nuggets as I was told these are lowest in calcium, are these still suitable for a diabetic piggie? And how many pellets do you give?
Click to expand...

It's really up to you whether you'd like to feed them seperate or not. I just feed mine the same diet as my vet said the diabetic diet wouldn't harm Emma (she has IC) although I do sometimes give her a bit of carrot away from Ellen.

They have about 1/8 cup (30g) of pellets each per day.

I feed Harringtons pellets although I expect the pets at home ones would be fine to carry on feeding
 
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