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Bleeding Piggy with diarrohea - help!

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Tani

Tani

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all,
for many months, Pootle (female approx 3 yrs) has had a **** where she squeals when she goes to the toilet. I have taken her to the vets numerous times and had a scan (for stones), and she has been on the usual Baytrill & Metacam for the pain.
However, at Xmas she was weeing blood. I took her to the emergency vets as we weren't local, and they said it's probably cystitis and gave her baytrill again. We then took her to our vets when we got home and they tested her urine which was positive for blood (a good amount!) and also for crystals (negative) . She is still on baytrill and metacam although last night she started having diarrohea so I called the vets and they said it cld just be the metacam and to not give her it today.
The problem is that she is still in pain, still having blood there and now she is going off her food. She does eat a bit but is keeping to herself and looks miserable. Her diarrohea seems to have calmed down a bit and I have been giving her water in a syringe to stop dehydration and today, with some pro-biotics in there (for guinea pigs).

I will obviously be taking her to the vets again, but they don't seem to have any other ideas of what it could be so I need advice as she is going downhill and I can't bear her suffering :0

I have tried pure cranberry juice in the past but it's a battle to get her to take anything via syringe and it's really bitter.

Any advice would be appreciated :(
 
I would recommend having an x-ray for bladder or kidney stones done - it doesn't need to be a full anaesthetics (in fact, it can even be done without any!), but it sounds to me rather like there could be one. Just a urine test for crystals is not necessarily conclusive!

Baytril can impact on the guts and cause loss of appetite. We recommend switching to pediatric septrin (an oral form of the bactrim mentioned) 0,5 ml twice daily - it's much better with urinary tract issues, anyway. Also insist on metacam (anit-inflammatory/painkiller) and lots of probitioitcs. Avipro plus is good with bladder issues because it doesn't contain extra calcium.

Please print out these links for your vet, if he needs convincing:
http://www.guinealynx.info/uti.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/stones.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/antibiotics.html#baytril

Best of luck! I have a had a bladder stone piggy myself and know how much pain that can cause.
 
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I have had a piggy with bladder stone too, and for months he sqeaked when he peed, it was totally heartbreaking, my vet recommended sticking to pellets and hay during the loose poo time, and it seemed to work for my peps, but i would defo be asking for that xray asap too, i really hope your baby recovers soon. I wasnt advised at any time to stop the Metacam though x

ps/ i used Avipro plus and my boy loved it, i couldnt get it down him quick enough.
 
Hi guys,
Thanks so much for replying quickly. The vet did say that an X-ray was an option if she didn't recover with just baytrill. I am trying the Buscopan and cystitis relief for women as previously recommended by this site until I get to the vets again. Already giving her prominence as well. Had a scan when she first started with it and it showed nothing but just worried that if she goes under for an X-ray whilst ill, that it might give her less chance of waking up :( really paranoid about her dying whilst under.
 
theres lots of things that will worry you with this one, believe me, you will be trying everything going by the end of the month lol, luckily for me my vets were very interested and cavy savy, however, i sadly lost peps, even after his stone was removed as he was still squeaking, losing weight and generally in pain :(



There is loads of stuff on here about bladder stones, i wish id been a member when i went through it.
 
p.s I will ask him about the Avipro medicine and see if they can get me it. All they seem to give is Baytrill for everything but I will print out the info and take it with me :)
 
I am using cystease for my current chronic cystitis piggy. It's a food supplement for cats, but now more often used for guinea pigs with bladder stones and chronic bladder infection as well.

Avipro plus is a probiotic which helps getting the guts going and should always be given in connection with an antibiotic. There are quite a few different probiotics, and any will do in a pinch. You can get probiotics even in p@h and can use that!

However, the fact that treatment for cystitis has not worked at all points strongly towards there being a stone issue.
 
Hi again!just spoke with the vets and she is booked in tomorrow to have an X-ray! Hopefully thar will clear up the mystery :)

Thanks and will let you know the outcome x
 
Sorry its abit late but I agree that getting an xray is a good idea. I'm going through and been through UTI's quite alot with my girls (one is prone to them) but I still dont know everything, so I know how sometimes it can feel as if you are out your depth and the vets dont always seem to know!

But yes Baytril did nothing for my UTI girl, she was eventually given Septrim for 10 days which helped but then it came back straight away. She is now on long term Septrim for 7 days, 7 day break then back on in that pattern - she is very well now. Although sometimes vets recommend 10 day pattern, but that didnt work for her, she was back with a vengence by day 10 of the break.

She also was given cystease which although didnt help her alot, is recommended for pigs and can help.

Good luck xx
 
Wiebke said:
I am using cystease for my current chronic cystitis piggy. It's a food supplement for cats, but now more often used for guinea pigs with bladder stones and chronic bladder infection as well.

Avipro plus is a probiotic which helps getting the guts going and should always be given in connection with an antibiotic. There are quite a few different probiotics, and any will do in a pinch. You can get probiotics even in p@h and can use that!

However, the fact that treatment for cystitis has not worked at all points strongly towards there being a stone issue.
Click to expand...

Where do you get Avipro plus from? I need to get my girl onto a pro biotic but unsure which are suitable as all I saw in Hollan and Barret werent vegan friendly.
 
Char-x said:
Thanks. I notice it was said that its necessary with Baytril, I pressume a pro biotic is necessary with Septrin also?
Click to expand...

Wow, the vets have never told me to use a pro-biotic with it! typical. They aren't very piggy savvy. Would love to find one who is in my area :(
 
Char-x said:
Thanks. I notice it was said that its necessary with Baytril, I pressume a pro biotic is necessary with Septrin also?
Click to expand...

Probiotics help with any antibiotic - the bacteria that are necessary for the digestion are always affected too (same as with us humans!). Baytril is quite well known for not being tolerated by all piggies and that it can cause diarrhea and complete loss of appetite; however, it is currently still the only officially licensed antibiotic for guinea pigs.

You may have a bit of a battle on your hand asking for septrin first time round, but it is well worth (which is the reason why I have given you those links to print out if necessary)! Septrin is nowadays quite widely prescribed for guinea pigs. It has also the advantage that it is a children's antibiotic and has a banana flavour, so most piggies just love it! :))

My vets trust me now when I bring specific suggestions from the forum, as long as I allow them to do their own research first or have the contact number of another vet who has experience with a particular med.

All the best for tomorrow!
 
Luckily my vets are the same as yours are now - they trust me. But I've found a fab vet who actually suggested Septrin straight away and was telling me how its better than Baytril (which I already knew and thought I would have to convince him about!).

Sorry to hijack, but do you know how long Septrin can last before going out of date? The leaflet says refer to the date on the box but I dont know if thats 'it will last once opened until 2014' or 'it can stay shut and open it by 2014 and it lasts a month once opened' - my vet wasnt sure but said Baytril has a date of a month so presummed the same.
 
Tani said:
Wow, the vets have never told me to use a pro-biotic with it! typical. They aren't very piggy savvy. Would love to find one who is in my area :(
Click to expand...

Perhaps you could phone around and ask whether they are guinea pig savvy? Hope the Xray goes well xx
 
Yes, I will for future reference. My vet says he has done loads of piggy ops so hoping she will be ok.

Tonight, her urine smelt so strongly of ammonia - but not sure if that's the cystitis powder for women that's caused that orsonethinv else. It was really overpowering. Also, she seems to really want to eat and is interested in food but then only takes a few nibbles and loses interest.
She has lost loads of weight - down to 750 from over 1kg! We r so worried :(
 
Hi guys,

Well I brought her into the vets at 9.30 this morning and they r letting me wait while she now has an op to remove the stones they found in the X-ray. She got worse last night and wouldn't eat or drink anything. I wanted to stick around so she got as many cuddles as poss in case she doesn't wake up. Dreading them keeping her in overnight though as I know wont sleep from worry. She will want cuddles and soneone she knows afterwards I'm sure :(
 
awwww sending huge vibes to your girl, let us know as soon as you can, really hope shes ok xxxxxxxx
 
Update - pootle is now recovering after a successful op! They sent me home till she is rested so I can go back later and give her cuddles.
They have to keep her overnight tho which I'm still anxious about but know it's for the best.

Thanks for year support x
 
Update to Pootle's Op

Hi all!

Well I brought Pootle home at lunch time. She is... not quite herself yet. Just very quiet and spaced out although she has eaten loads of salad leaves which is positive.
Weirdly, she seems to have a load of wetness on her chest and around her mouth which looks like iodine colour but doesn't smell like anything bad. She was checked over by the vet before she came home so all I can do is keep an eye on her tonight and see what happens.

I need to post another thread regarding her diet as I need some help with it....
 
I am glad that Pootle has made it through the op and has a good appetite. In my experience, it takes 2-3 days for the body to settle down after an op and the healing process to gather speed. It takes some time for the meds from the op to filter through the system and be worked out as well.
 
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