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Blood from Bum?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Harley-Quinn
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Harley-Quinn

Hello All!
New to the forum.
I am the proud owner of two very fiest middle aged sows. One of them, is having quite the problem. In November she got listless, stopped eating/drinking, had bloody poops etc. took her to the vet, got antibiotics, gave her critical care and she's been great up until today.
Her symptoms are different today though. She's going into the vet tomorrow but I'd like to get some advice from other cavy owners, as we are so new to this and I'm at a loss.
She cries, it's really sad, real crying, when she poops and then its covered in pale liquidy blood, and the blood drips out for a while after the poop. Is this blood or is it pee? Do piggies pee and poop at the same time? I know they can do both separately, but maybe this is bloody pee? I'm not sure. She's eating fine, being bossy fine, drinking like normal. Their diet consists of Timothy hay, vitamine c tablets (1 a day) and veggies.
I just don't know whats wrong. What would cause bleeding. Her poops are also a teensie bit smaller with a more pointed end compared to the very symmetrical normal poops.
Thanks!
 
Does she lift her legs when she wees? If so it's most likely a UTI & the bloody liquid would be urine. She's crying because it's painful (like cystitis in humans). Her poops will have changed shape as she's most likely not eating as much because she's in pain. She needs antibiotics & probiotics from your vet :)

Can i also ask why you give them extra vit C as they should get all they need from their veggies :)
 
our vet said she wasn't getting enough vit. C, so I give her a little tablet from the vets.
We give her carrots, parsley, celery, orange as a treat, romaine, carrot tops, etc.
The blood coming out of her is bright red, as if it is pure.
I was worried it was the aspen bedding she is on, so tonight we went out and picked up fleece so I'm going to switch them out shortly.
She does lift her back end up when she potties, and I haven't noticed the leg lifting, but her entire back end is propped right up, like she's on tip toes.
I'm not entirely sure how old she is, we're figuring around 5, so I know she has a few more years left, the bad part is she had a BAD start, she belonged to a single parent family with no time for her...missed feedings etc, then to a drug addicts where they gave her stuff like potatoes, and mice attacked her in her cage. She STUNK so badly when we took her in, I bathed her in neem oil soap twice and built a nice big cage for her (it's 29" deep and 57" long). Her white is now back to white instead of the gross brown. I have no idea what she was exposed to, and she's been with us only since the end of august.
Anymore advice on her care would be SOOOO Welcomed! I'm new to piggies and am just learning how sweet and silly they are and I want to take care of these girls the best I can.
 
The veggies you're feeding are fine & would provide her with enough Vit C.
The fact the blood is now bright red & she lifts her rear end points to a UTI or poss bladder stones.
She really does need to see a vet asap as piggies go downhill so very quickly. I had a boar with similar symptoms, only he didn't cry but he lost an awful lot of blood. 10 days on antibiotics & he was fine, a lot thinner but fine. :)

She sounds a lovely girl & very lucky to now have you. :)

Just to add: Parsley is high in calcium which "can" result in stones. Flat leaf has less than curly but take a look at the shopping list on here, http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42
there are many veggies/fruits listed which will give her all the Vit C she needs :)
 
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Ok well she does have stones.
She's on medicine now.
Thanks SO much for all the help!
 
The vet wants her to drink a lot of fluids. She suggested putting a carrot into her water to gently flavour it. Anyway she doesn't drink a lot to being with and seems to be drinking less,and her friend drinks tons is drinking less...maybe they don't like the carrot in the water bottle.
Anyway should I syringe water into her? I'm just really concerned as I need to flush her out with fluids as much as possible in order to dissolve her stones.
 
I personally wouldn't put a carrot into her water, it could even put her off drinking. If she doesn't drink much then before you give her her veggies run them under the cold tap and then give them to her. The veg would collect/hold the water droplets from the tap. Another option would be to give her foods which have a high water content such as celery, cucumber, tomato, etc. I would cut down on the green veg such as kale, parsley, broccoli as these contain high amounts of calcium and it is too much calcium which causes bladder stones. You could also syringe extra water to her if it doesn't stress her out. Give her as much as she is willing to take :)
 
I've not heard of vets leaving bladder stones before. For a short while perhaps, but the risk of the stone adhering to the bladder would mean when the stone needed removing, it would damage the lining.

If the stones are small enough, you may be able to flush them out. For this, subcutaneous fluids would need to be given in large amounts every day. 40ml is the standard total subcue amount for a pig, but for one who needs the bladder flushing out to that degree, I'd think at least another 10-20ml.

I know the bladder can be flushed with catheters, a method sometimes opted for by owners of pigs with bladder sludge, but this would be a surgical procedure and it wouldn't work with stones.

Carrots, kale, spinach and herbs like parsley, dill and basil are all high (some very high) in calcium which commonly aggravates bladder conditions and can lead to the formation of stones.
I have found that coriander (cilantro) and bell peppers are great staples, and lettuces, cucumber and tomatoes are great for getting extra water into them. That makes up the standard diet here, as I have two sows with intermittent bladder issues. Often when I give parsley or carrots as treats (once or twice a month in small amounts) the calcium deposits in the urine return, and the pigs squeak when peeing/pooping again.

Some pigs with these symptoms have diagnosed conditions, others just seem to have very sensitive bladders!

I hope your piggie is feeling better soon.
 
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Off topic, I know, and sorry, but just a quick question. CCC4 said that coriander is also known as cilantro? Can someone confirm, because I've been looking everywhere for fresh coriander and could never find it, always figuring it would be right next to the fresh cilantro (alphabetical, right?), which there's usually a lot of.
 
well we don't have much options for vets in this town, and they are the best available, the science centre in town even brings their exotics to them.
She has passed the stone that was in her urethra and seems to be feeling much better! She drinks a lot which is good. She also can't be sure that there may not be blood coming from her uterus....she said the older sows get ovarian cysts (and Harley has those) and it can cause uterine disease. She can't spay her though because of the location of the ovaries...up under the ribs or something.
Anyway all told Harley is doing MUCH better she will finish her anti-biotics and is taken them quite easily. I really appreciate all the quick answers I got on here and all the great tips.
 
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