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Bladder stones.

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Midge&Panda

Midge&Panda

Adult Guinea Pig
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About 6 weeks ago Midge was rather uncomfortable around her middle/ back end and the vet suspected a severe kidney infection. She had a long course of baytril and things improved. On Friday I noticed she was passing pink blood so because I thought it was the old problem I started her on some baytril that was in the house. Fast forward to Monday no improvement although she still wasn't squeaking when weeing. She went for a check-up and was given an injection of terramycin causing severe side effects resulting in me and the daughter hand feeding and syringing water. Well she went back to the vets this afternoon she now has septrin - 1ml per day and if there is no improvement by Monday back for an xray and possible surgery if there are bladder stones present. Midge is nearing 5yrs old and I'm a bit concerned about possible surgery. Any advice about this condition would be greatly received.
 
Unfortunately bladder stones and associated problems are far too common in piggies :( I lost my own beautiful Benny to a bladder stone 18 months ago, and my Jerrypig has bladder sludge.

Sorry to hear that Midge is going through this.

A piggy her age may take a little longer to recover from the GA and the operation, but provided that she is otherwise healthy then I don't think her age would carry any extra risks for the operation itself.

Do you have an specific questions you would like advice with? x
 
Basically if it is stones rather than a bad infection anything I can do e.g diet, I know about calcium ratios although its a bit of a difficult one to sort through or if there is any supplements that she can have. Is there any other cure/ treatment rather than an op.? Thanks
 
Sorry to hear Midge is poorly. Hoping the Septrin may help if it is an infection. If there is no change in around 3-4 days then a X-ray will be needed to rule out stones. Hoping it is a infection that will clear up. Cytease is always worth a shot for bladder problems and 2 capsules a day has reall helped Cookie with her cystitis.

Hoping someone with some more advice may be able to help further
 
If it is stones I would most certainly give her the chance she's not old my P was over 5 when he had his bladder Op which turned into a major operation, he was under for 1hour and 45minutes, he came round wonderfully, Don't right a 4 year old pig off, some pig's can live for 8-10 years's its natural to worry as she's a bit older but with a good vet she can go on to have many years's left with you.

P did go on to again develop stones, we chose to do bloods to ensure his kidney's where still working before operating unfortunately he was in kidney failure so in that case it would have been cruel to carry out another bladder surgery however if his kidney weren't failing I would have had the op again.

Pig's are hardy my Fred has a Ga every 5 weeks, we've never had any problems with Ga's and all my pigs are older. You can only do what's best for your pig's.

I personally found syringing additional fluid's to P helped greatly however it's difficult to do if the pig hates it
 
Thanks for your replies, Midge is still passing pink wee and has developed a squeak when passing wee and poo. She has also become a little bit wobbly when walking, this has me worried a bit. I'm thinking something is pressing on a nerve somewhere. I phoned the vets and she is booked in for a x-ray and possible surgery tomorrow. Am I expecting too much improvement after just 3 doses of septrin. ?
 
I think X ray is a good choice here, if it's a stone you can give all the ABs you like but the problem will still be there. At least with an X ray you will know what you're dealing with & choose treatment based on that definite information.

I have had GA on piggies both very young (9 weeks) & older (3 -4) years & all were fine. There is always a risk for any GA or procedure animal or human. The very important thing for pigs is to get an experienced guinea vet to do the GA & tests, it makes all the difference in reducing the risk. I only have GA done for my pigs by our exotics vet who specialises in small mammals.

Best wishes to Midge xx
 
Just a thought but I'm too late to edit the other post:

Of course it could be a raging UTI & needs a different AB or longer or higher dose of the septrin. While she is out you could ask the vet to do bloods to check kidney function & you could also send a urine sample to check on which AB is needed if it is a UTI. Midge should not be getting worse on the septrin if it the right AB & right dose. I generally look for some improvement or at least things to stabilise after 48-60 hours after starting an AB
 
An x-ray is needed. Bladder stones don't go away by themselves; if left untreated they continue to grow and damage the bladder walls. They are also very painful. Thankfully, bladder stone operations in sows are usually pretty straight forward, as is the healing.
It is always important to make sure whether it is a stone or just a persistent cystitis; the sooner the better.

My 4 year old Cariad was found to have a huge, very quickly grown 11 mm stone last November; she was down to about 700g weight at that time (which is very low). But she has bounced back well from her operation. She has ongoing problems with the calcium absorption and is due another bladder flush/op next week again, but her quality of life is otherwise not bad.

Wishing Midge all the best!
 
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PS: Ask for septrin instead of baytril, even though it is not licensed (you may need to sign a form). Septrin is more effective with bladder/cystitis problems.
http://www.guinealynx.info/uti.html (Septrin is an oral form of bactrim)
http://www.guinealynx.info/stones.html

Cystease or barley water are good for coating the bladder walls in those cases where you are dealing with mechanical irritation from sludge or a stone, or an inflammation of the bladder and not an urine infection.
 
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We've just weighed Midge and I'm very pleased to say she has only lost 20g, (within a week) because she was very quiet and subdued and needing hand feeding at the beginning of the week I was expecting a much larger weight loss. I feel a bit happier knowing this if she does have to have surgery tomorrow.
 
I've just been speaking to the vet and the good news is there is no stone but she does have a little bit of grit. He did mention flushing the bladder but because of her age he's a little bit reluctant to do this. We discussed the options and have decided on a long course of septrin and using a product similar to cystease as well as metacam. Thanks again for all your advice and good wishes for Midge. x
 
Midge&Panda said:
I've just been speaking to the vet and the good news is there is no stone but she does have a little bit of grit. He did mention flushing the bladder but because of her age he's a little bit reluctant to do this. We discussed the options and have decided on a long course of septrin and using a product similar to cystease as well as metacam. Thanks again for all your advice and good wishes for Midge. x
Click to expand...

Jerry's bladder sludge is controlled with a daily dose of Metacam, half a capsule of Cystaid (which we increase to a full capsule if he seems uncomfortable), a pinch of Dibenyline, and a high dose of vitamin C.

He has good and bad days. Sometimes he'll go all day happily weeing and pooing, and some days he'll squeak a few times when he goes. It's more of an annoyed squeak though, rather than an outwardly painful one. Every couple of months his wee will also be slightly pink, which is caused by the sludge irritating the bladder walls. If this happens, or if he has a few days in a row of uncomfortable wees/poos then we increase his Cystaid to a full capsule for two weeks.

In himself Jerry is incredibly happy. His weight stays around 1160g, and he popcorns and bounces around his cage more than any of my other boys.

It is possible to 'manage' bladder sludge, and if done properly the pigs can live very happy, normal piggy lives :)
 
I've picked up Midge from the vets along with her medicine. The capsule is called 'nutracys + she has 1/2 capsule daily along with her other medication. I've also started to give her 50mg vit c daily. Hopefully this should help her and keep her condition under control. Just to warn you I will be asking further questions on this condition as its completely new territory for me and the gang. :))
 
It may sound odd but if you have a chance check your guinea pigs nugget ingredients, a good food should have less than 1% calcium in it. (Burgess i think has 0.9%) Over 1% and you may want to change to help prevent any other urinary issues :)
 
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