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blood in hutch

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rachelsharp

rachelsharp

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i've just gone into the hutch to clean it out and i've noticed there's blood - i don't know it's origin, whether it's poo or wee. i've just checked all three bums (poppy meg and rufus) and no signs of any blood anywhere.

does this look like it's poo or wee? i've never had any experience of this, and they all seem to be fine pottering around on the grass (i know they can cover up illness well though...). the most difficult bit is figuring out who it's from. it must have happened in the last 12 hours, i put them to bed at 11, and they've been out on the grass for about an hour now. :{

IMG00607-20110724-1220.jpg
 
Silly question to ask- have you checked their nails. Piggies sometimes rip a nail out :( but you'd have noticed I'm sure. Is it bright red ? Have they eaten anything that may colour their poop/wee ?
Put them on white bedding if possible and the only sure way to trace the source is to keep them separated which is not always an option.
Hope you can sort it and please keep us informed.
 
they've not had / done anything unusual. had kale, carrot, peppers for breakfast yesterday and then were out on the grass all day.

i will have a little check of their nails just in case. it's strange because it is bright red, like if we'd cut a finger, it's definitely blood and it doesn't even look diluted as if it was wee. x
 
They may have a urinary infection, I found blood in my cage and my piggie had to go on baytril to clear it up:)
 
Probably a good idea to put one at a time in a box with a white towel/white sheet of paper & wait for them to wee :) If the box is plastic (like a storage box without a lid) then you can pour the wee into a container once you found which one it is, & take the urine to get it tested by the vet.

Have they eaten any beetroot recently? Are they male or female?
 
I will say one of mine always had a pinky urine if she was out on the grass, she never did it otherwise, which was very odd!
 
i've got two older females (4 1/2) and one young male who has recently been neutered (7ish months). i've checked the girls' front and back bums, and rufus' bits and bum wiping with a tissue to see if anything is there - nothing to see. it's the first time i've seen anything like it in the cage, and it's about a week since i put rufus in with them in the hutch so he hasn't been their long. none of them like beetroot, i can't think of anything that would colour their wee, and looking at it it definitely looks like blood, not even diluted in any way. not sure what to do, will try separating them out later in a plastic box and do as you said. hoping everythings's ok. it seems strange because there's nothing at all to indicate on any of them they've been bleeding. x
 
It doesnt look like wee because its so concentrated in 1 spot. Wee is normally more fluid, and would probably have spread further....if that makes sense?

That looks to me like its dripped from somewhere?

Very strange.....youve checked all toes, feet, mouths, tummies etc?
 
update is that after bringing them in for bed from their run on the grass, there are patches of dark staining - i've wiped over them with kitchen towel and it's definitely blood. looks like bloody wee. i'm going to but the three of them in separate cages overnight to see who the culprit is and take them to the vets in the morning. all a bit strange - i did think the patch in the hutch was pure blood, but now from what is on the grass it looks to be wee. x
 
From experience - when I saw Patrick urinating blood it did appear pure, as he has cauliflower willy I could see it trickling down his foreskin. Had I not known he was urinating I would have thought it was pure blood.
 
the more i'm thinking about it, it does seem to br wee even in the hutch - it had trickled all down the door, and maybe the blood within the wee had puddled and the more watery wee had run. definitely a trip to the vets in the morning. maybe it is a urine infection. i am thinking of when i've had a urine infection and it's horrible - poor pig! x
 
Poor babies. I am sending lots of kisses their way. Let us know what the vet says
 
thank you so much.

they're all in their separate cages indoors for tonight, i feel really mean because it's the first time my two girls have spent the night apart (even though they're side by side!). will see what the vet says tomorrow.

thank you everyone for advice xx
 
well they were all separated out overnight, and it turns out meg, one of my girls is the culprit. i was at work today but fortunately my lovely dad took them. rang the vets this morning and their electricity was out -so ended up having to go to their branch (well, my dad did!).

apparently it seems to be cystitis, they didn't do x-rays or anything, just had a feel of her bladder which was full and the vet gave her an antibiotic injection and then some oral antibiotics starting tomorrow for a week. apparently she squeaked and squeaked the practice down when they gave her the injection :(. if that doesn't clear up she'd have to go back for an x-ray to see if it's bladder stones and then for an op etc, so fingers crossed it's just an infection!

i think she's had a bit of a traumatic day as fortunately she's never been unwell up until now. she's settled back in with the other two and is fast asleep under the hay rack. poor pig! x
 
Oh poor little thing. The injection must have been painful. I really hope she gets better soon. I am sending her my love.
 
thanks everyone. the vet has suggested giving her antibiotics with ribena, so we had a practice run last night just with the ribena and she lapped it up! x
 
Our vet recommended ribena when one of my boys had cystitis (which turned out weeks later to be a bladder stone :()
Out of curiosity, Baytril is normally given with ribena as it is very bitter, Septrin is the better medication for any bladder problems and a lovely banana flavour.
Just wondering what your vet prescribed ?/
 
she's been given marbocyl, to have 0.3mls once a day for a week. is this usually used for cystitis? x
 
this is really interesting ive had the same experience with my girl piglet 5 1/2 months old vet has no idea whats wrong with her shes 100% happy and apears healthy and this was 4 months ago its happened once since then but still no clue whats wrong very happy guinea still ive heard piggies can occasionally bleed while in heat so perhaps this has happened
 
rachelsharp said:
she's been given marbocyl, to have 0.3mls once a day for a week. is this usually used for cystitis? x
Click to expand...

Found this:
http://www.vetuk.co.uk/pet-meds-prescription-only-marbocyl-c-21_741
Cystease is also good for piggies with bladder problems, ask your vet for these too. My boar who had a bladder stone is on it now as it lines the bladder walls apparently and helps ward off any reoccurence of UTI/Cystitis. I had this advice from members on here and asked my vet about it - she was surprised we knew of it but agreed to do a prescription.
 
i think i'll mention that if she needs to go back. also, i have a feeling (i know not exactly scientific) that my other sow may have an infection. i'm going to separate her tonight and keep her indoors. is it possible that more than one could have cystitis at the same time? can it be something that is 'caught' by both guinea pigs at the same time? x
 
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