Bladder Sludge

[Claire B]

Hello

I wondered if anybody maybe able to give me some advice please.

I have two 3 years old guinea pig sows. A couple of weeks ago one of them developed a very wet, smelly bottom. I also noticed that she always seemed to have poop situated in her back passage. I took her to the vets and she was put on Baytril and Metacam for a week. She did seem to improve in this time but a day after coming off the medication, she became very wet and smelly again. I took her back to the vets and she was put on the medication again (0.8ml Baytril and 0.2ml Metacam). She provided a wee sample and there was no blood in it but signs of infection. She was booked in for an x-ray which she had on Tuesday and an ultrasound scan. The diagnosis has come back as bladder sludge.

I have been in contact with my vets and they have also spoken to a specialist vet who has suggested to catheterise her bladder under a general to flush out the contents whilst collecting a sample for analysis at the lab including culturing for a bacterial infection. I have been told though that the build up is likely to recur over time and maybe quite soon.

Has anyone got any knowledge of this condition? I am unfortunately on holiday a week on Saturday and she is due to be left with an animal sitter. I don't know whether to go ahead with this surgery (I am awaiting a call back from the specialist vet to see about getting it organised) or to keep her on antibiotics for a longer period of time and until I am back from my holiday. I have no way of taking her with me on holiday but I am not sure whether it is fair to leave a poorly or a recuperating guinea pig with a pet sitter. She isn't eating as much as she used to and I am also trying to syringe feed her as much water daily as I can with a vitamin C supplement added. She is dropping a little weight. Will this condition get better with antibiotics and Metacam alone?

Many thanks for any advice you can give me.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello

I wondered if anybody maybe able to give me some advice please.

I have two 3 years old guinea pig sows. A couple of weeks ago one of them developed a very wet, smelly bottom. I also noticed that she always seemed to have poop situated in her back passage. I took her to the vets and she was put on Baytril and Metacam for a week. She did seem to improve in this time but a day after coming off the medication, she became very wet and smelly again. I took her back to the vets and she was put on the medication again (0.8ml Baytril and 0.2ml Metacam). She provided a wee sample and there was no blood in it but signs of infection. She was booked in for an x-ray which she had on Tuesday and an ultrasound scan. The diagnosis has come back as bladder sludge.

I have been in contact with my vets and they have also spoken to a specialist vet who has suggested to catheterise her bladder under a general to flush out the contents whilst collecting a sample for analysis at the lab including culturing for a bacterial infection. I have been told though that the build up is likely to recur over time and maybe quite soon.

Has anyone got any knowledge of this condition? I am unfortunately on holiday a week on Saturday and she is due to be left with an animal sitter. I don't know whether to go ahead with this surgery (I am awaiting a call back from the specialist vet to see about getting it organised) or to keep her on antibiotics for a longer period of time and until I am back from my holiday. I have no way of taking her with me on holiday but I am not sure whether it is fair to leave a poorly or a recuperating guinea pig with a pet sitter. She isn't eating as much as she used to and I am also trying to syringe feed her as much water daily as I can with a vitamin C supplement added. She is dropping a little weight. Will this condition get better with antibiotics and Metacam alone?

Many thanks for any advice you can give me.

Hi!

Tightly packed sludge is painful and can really irritate the bladder - hence the very smelly pee, which is usually a sign of an infection in the bladder (cystitis) or the reproductive tract.

Unfortunately, the slush won't come out on its own, so you have two options:
- a traditional bladder op
It is a full operation with all the usual provisos. A bladder op can be repeated.
- a non-invasive bladder flush
The tricky bit with a bladder flush is that the water needs to inserted very gently; too much pressure and water can cause it backing up into the kidneys with fatal results about 10 days after the procedyre. When done properly, your piggy shouldn't have any problems with coming home.

My Cariad developed a very fast growing large bladder stone in 2012 when something in her calcium absorption (which is a complex process) went wrong. She did come through the operation well, but continued to develop sludge soon afterwards and had to have a bladder flush about every 10 weeks at first. With a low calcium diet and filtered water we could eventually extend this to about 4-6 months. She lived another 2 years after her calcium absorption flip to about 5 years of age even though the number of bladder flushes she needed were life-shortening. In addition, she required an emergency spay when her womb went badly wrong half a year after her bladder op, but she sailed through that despite being only 700g.

Here are our special diet tips for bladder piggies; they may not work instantly if your problem is calcium aborption and not diet related, but they will make a noticeable difference over time: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Additionally I would strongly recommend to give a glucosamine-based food supplement like cystease (for cats, which are the other species prone to bladder problems). This is to help the badly affected natural glucosamine coating of the bladder walls. It is again a measure that
is not straight away noticeable but long term support that can make quite a difference in minimising the discomfort inside the bladder.
Because it is classed as a food supplement, it doesn't need a vet prescription.

Depending on how badly damaged the bladder is, you may have to brace for a reaction after the removal of a mass of sludge (bladder trauma) in a bad case. In most cases it means some intensive days of round the clock support care as the pain can be quite massive and impact on the appetite. But this is not related to the way the sludge is tackled, just how bad it is.
Tips For Post-operative Care

I hope that this helps you? It is very much a weighing up as only you know how experienced your vet is and how much you trust them.

 

[Claire B]

Many thanks for your response .

I have been referred to an exotics specialist vet. I’m not sure whether they are talking about a full bladder op or a flush. I have been quoted around £400. Do you know how successful a full bladder op is? The flush doesn’t sound that successful

 

[Wiebke]

Many thanks for your response .

I have been referred to an exotics specialist vet. I’m not sure whether they are talking about a full bladder op or a flush. I have been quoted around £400. Do you know how successful a full bladder op is? The flush doesn’t sound that successful

Bladder ops in sows have generally got a very good survival rate.
I've been through a fair number of them in previous years and never lost one of mine. And thanks to an experienced vet I have been through about a similar number of bladder flushes with no problems, either; they are a lot easier to bounce back from than a proper operation as they do not require cutting anything open. The biggest part of the cost is going towards GA and post-op recovery care.

Since you have been referred, I think that you can look at it more positively.

 

[Claire B]

Sorry to be ignorant but I was told by the vet the procedure is to “catheterise the bladder, under general anaesthesia, to flush out the contents” and like I said at a cost of £400. Is that a simple flush you’ve mentioned and what you had to have done every 10 weeks?