Are UTIs contagious? UTIs/Bladder stones, 3 different pigs...

[Hiitshannah]

Potentially stupid question, but I wondered if UTIs are easily spread among Guinea pigs?

I have a pig with stones (Cashew - 5.5 years old), there’s a whole other thread about that, but he seemed to have an infection as well as the stones. He’s been treated with antibiotics, and is doing so much better now (sadly he’s on palliative care but I won’t go into that here). About 2 weeks ago, one of my other piggies (Nutmeg - 4.5 years old) started having pink urine, and squeaking whilst weeing. He’s been on sulfatrim/loxicom for 2 weeks, and the symptoms seem to have gone and it appears he’s on the mend, but he did test positive for blood last night (it wasn’t visible, and he tested negative this morning, so I’m not sure how much to worry) he is also still drinking quite a lot, maybe 200ml per day. I’m going to ask for another week or so of antibiotics as they run out on Monday and I keep reading that UTIs need longer to fully clear up.

Being paranoid, I got urine test strips to check these things, and now a third piggy (Cinnamon - 5 years old) has tested positive for blood - it’s not visible blood at all, but he has cauliflower Willy so I’m guessing it would be easier for him to pick bacteria up from the others anyway? Does anyone know if he could pick this up from the other pigs? I’m not sure when to go to the vets either - he’s had no visibly abnormal urine, no pain noises etc. He drinks a tonne anyway (always has, around 250-300ml per day!) so it’s sort of hard to watch for that as a symptom!

I feel like I’m living in a nightmare at the minute and I’m terrified all of them have bladder stones too, but again I’m not sure when to request an x ray? I’m equally scared about them being sedated for x rays, and the vets won’t do it without because they want to get a good angle to check for stones. I also don’t know how much to worry about the samples testing positive for blood when none is visible...

(P.S. they are all on glucosamine supplements, drink filtered water and are fed the IC diet recommended on the forum!)

 

[Wiebke]

Potentially stupid question, but I wondered if UTIs are easily spread among Guinea pigs?

I have a pig with stones (Cashew - 5.5 years old), there’s a whole other thread about that, but he seemed to have an infection as well as the stones. He’s been treated with antibiotics, and is doing so much better now (sadly he’s on palliative care but I won’t go into that here). About 2 weeks ago, one of my other piggies (Nutmeg - 4.5 years old) started having pink urine, and squeaking whilst weeing. He’s been on sulfatrim/loxicom for 2 weeks, and the symptoms seem to have gone and it appears he’s on the mend, but he did test positive for blood last night (it wasn’t visible, and he tested negative this morning, so I’m not sure how much to worry) he is also still drinking quite a lot, maybe 200ml per day. I’m going to ask for another week or so of antibiotics as they run out on Monday and I keep reading that UTIs need longer to fully clear up.

Being paranoid, I got urine test strips to check these things, and now a third piggy (Cinnamon - 5 years old) has tested positive for blood - it’s not visible blood at all, but he has cauliflower Willy so I’m guessing it would be easier for him to pick bacteria up from the others anyway? Does anyone know if he could pick this up from the other pigs? I’m not sure when to go to the vets either - he’s had no visibly abnormal urine, no pain noises etc. He drinks a tonne anyway (always has, around 250-300ml per day!) so it’s sort of hard to watch for that as a symptom!

I feel like I’m living in a nightmare at the minute and I’m terrified all of them have bladder stones too, but again I’m not sure when to request an x ray? I’m equally scared about them being sedated for x rays, and the vets won’t do it without because they want to get a good angle to check for stones. I also don’t know how much to worry about the samples testing positive for blood when none is visible...

(P.S. they are all on glucosamine supplements, drink filtered water and are fed the IC diet recommended on the forum!)

Hi!

If you have a tendency for anxiety, I would strongly recommend to stay off testing strips; they can create a whole new universe for your fears to tap-dance in.

UTI and sterile interstitial cystitis (i.e. a non-bacterial recurring bladder infection) can be transmitted via scent marking since the scent gland is located just in front of the genitalia. However, if your companions are healthy and have a fully working immune system, they will usually get on top of it on their own without ever showing any acute symptoms or at the worst only very mildly for a short while and don't usually require any treatment until they get it acutely themselves. So please don't panic and please stay off those strips!

The best defence against transmittable bugs off all sorts (including skin parasites) is a good grass hay/fresh grass based diet without too many fattening veg and only 1 tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day. Fresh growing grass is high in vitamin C and good quality hay also contains enough - they are the reason why guinea pigs never had the need to make their vitamin C in the first place and what their digestive system is laid out for. This means that their immune system will also work at its best to fend off many of these opportunistic bugs that get occasionally carried in.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets