Blood In Urine, Tried Everything. Very Worried!

[LKP]

Have taken Winnie to.the vet who.treated her for a urine infection. Didn't clear with antibiotics and painkiller so they x-rayed her and there was no stone found. I read on here about low calcium diets so have reduced her spinach intake as didn't realise how hihh it was in calcium ( as she loves it was giving her every day!) Given her a mix of carrot, pepper, brocolli, green beans, cauliflower, apple ( she has resisted apple but haven't given her much) hay and dry food. Thought the diet was working but she squeaked yesterday then was puffing her body out ( were told this was gas from a previous visit

 

[MerryPip]

Does your piggy have a hard tummy like a drum? If so then this could be bloat, a potential side effect of the antibiotics and can be very serious. Please get your girl to a cavy savy vet asap just to make sure. If you are not sure your current vet is helpfult ehn try out vet locator at the top of the page.

Bladder problems can be very difficult to treat, many of us have problem bladder piggies who are on a range of medications including cystease/cystaid (glucosamine), Metacam (anti-inflammatory) and antibiotics. Please ask your vet to do a urine culture as it may be she needs a different antibiotic to clear the infection. Different germs need different antibiotics to treat them.

Please see a vet as your girl is clearly still not very well if she is sitting all puffed up ...

 

[LKP]

Gave her water via a syringe to increase water intake as thought she may be constipated.Woke to find blood near her stools and urine ( does not look like blood is in her stools though) Took her to the vet who said another infection has formed, she is on anti biotics/ Metacam again and to keep going with her low calcium diet. She is 5 now and vet says because of her age she is more prone to infections. Vet told us to monitor her for the next few days but any advice is greatfully received.

 

[TAN]

Did your vet do an ultrasound? My boar Bumble had similar symptoms to your piggy - squeeky / hooty pink wees that just wouldnt clear after nearly a month on antibiotics - x-rays didnt show anything - so he was referred to an exotics specialist who ultrasounded him - ultrasound showed up a kidney stone over the left kidney - there was gas over the right kidney so she couldnt see if there was anything wrong with that one - she said an op to remove the kidney would be high risk,and there was no guarantee that there wouldnt be a stone in the kidney that was clouded by gas - she suggested I syringe feed him 3 ml of fizzy water 3 times a day,and hopefully the gas in the water would push the stone out of the kidney - and carry on with septrin and metacam for another 10 days - she also advised me to switch to vetcare multimodal food (vet.uk) as it is a low calcium food specially formulated for guinea pigs with sensitive urinary tracts and has extract of cranberry (antioxidant )and nettle (natural diuretic), which she feeds to her piggies (she has 7 and 3 are bladder pigs ).It took a while to find the right fizzy water (17p sainsburys basisc fizzy water he preferred) and you can mix a tiny bit of cranberry juice with it.Getting your piggy to drink more will also help to flush anything through (Bumble used to hardly drink anything,but I now put a small bit of unsweetened cranberry juice into the drinks bottle as well as having a bowl of water in the cage to encourage drinking ) - and all the symptoms disappeared.Upon his last check up at the vets there was no pain around the kidneys - I do find that if I take him off the low calcium food the squeeky pink wees come back (I ran out of the food over christmas ) A similar food in pets at home is called fibrefirst.Hope this helps.

 

[LKP]

Thanks for the advice! Will see how she is after the antibiotics but they checked her twice and found nothing on the ultrasound. Saying that I'm all for having her checked again by an exotics expert. I will also try the food you recommended. It is so worrying when a guinea is ill, we really will try anything to make her better. Thanks again x

 

[TAN]

As merrypip says ask your vet to do a urine culture if they have not already done so ,as Bumble had this done before his ultrasound , but there was nothing unexpected there.My vet whilst having done loads of ultrasounds on other small animals sent me to the exotics specialist for Bumble as he said she would be more practiced / expert at reading / interpreting the ultrasound than anyone at their practice,and he didnt want to miss something she might see.

 

[MerryPip]

Often piggies with recurrent squeaky wees don't actually have an infection but have inflammation and irritation called interstitial cystitis which is managed with low calcium diet, pain relief when needed and glucosamine.

This link explains bit about it:
http://www.guinealynx.info/records/viewtopic.php?t=21

I am pretty sure this is what my Angus has as repeated antibiotics make little difference to his condition...
@Jerrybelly anything else to add that I've missed?

 

[LKP]

As merrypip says ask your vet to do a urine culture if they have not already done so ,as Bumble had this done before his ultrasound , but there was nothing unexpected there.My vet whilst having done loads of ultrasounds on other small animals sent

As merrypip says ask your vet to do a urine culture if they have not already done so ,as Bumble had this done before his ultrasound , but there was nothing unexpected there.My vet whilst having done loads of ultrasounds on other small animals sent me to the exotics specialist for Bumble as he said she would be more practiced / expert at reading / interpreting the ultrasound than anyone at their practice,and he didnt want to miss something she might see.

me to the exotics specialist for Bumble as he said she would be more practiced / expert at reading / interpreting the ultrasound than anyone at their practice,and he didnt want to miss something she might see.

Vet did a your
uote="MerryPip, post: 1505382, member: 7703"]Does your piggy have a hard tummy like a drum? If so then this could be bloat, a potential side effect of the antibiotics and can be very serious. Please get your girl to a cavy savy vet asap just to make sure. If you are not sure your current vet is help

Does your piggy have a hard tummy like a drum? If so then this could be bloat, a potential side effect of the antibiotics and can be very serious. Please get your girl to a cavy savy vet asap just to make sure. If you are not sure your current vet is helpfult ehn try out vet locator at the top of the page.

Bladder problems can be very difficult to treat, many of us have problem bladder piggies who are on a range of medications including cystease/cystaid (glucosamine), Metacam (anti-inflammatory) and antibiotics. Please ask your vet to do a urine culture as it may be she needs a different antibiotic to clear the infection. Different germs need different antibiotics to treat them.

Please see a vet as your girl is clearly still not very well if she is sitting all puffed up ...

fult ehn try out vet locator at the top of the page.

Bladder problems can be very difficult to treat, many of us have problem bladder piggies who are on a range of medications including cystease/cystaid (glucosamine), Metacam (anti-inflammatory) and antibiotics. Please ask your vet to do a urine culture as it may be she needs a different antibiotic to clear the infection. Different germs need different antibiotics to treat them.

Please see a vet as your girl is clearly still not very well if she is sitting all puffed up ...[/quote]
Thanks my husband took her to the vet first thing

Does your piggy have a hard tummy like a drum? If so then this could be bloat, a potential side effect of the antibiotics and can be very serious. Please get your girl to a cavy savy vet asap just to make sure. If you are not sure your current vet is helpfult ehn try out vet locator at the top of the page.

Bladder problems can be very difficult to treat, many of us have problem bladder piggies who are on a range of medications including cystease/cystaid (glucosamine), Metacam (anti-inflammatory) and antibiotics. Please ask your vet to do a urine culture as it may be she needs a different antibiotic to clear the infection. Different germs need different antibiotics to treat them.

Please see a vet as your girl is clearly still not very well if she is sitting all puffed up ...

Thanks, took

Does your piggy have a hard tummy like a drum? If so then this could be bloat, a potential side effect of the antibiotics and can be very serious. Please get your girl to a cavy savy vet asap just to make sure. If you are not sure your current vet is helpfult ehn try out vet locator at the top of the page.

Bladder problems can be very difficult to treat, many of us have problem bladder piggies who are on a range of medications including cystease/cystaid (glucosamine), Metacam (anti-inflammatory) and antibiotics. Please ask your vet to do a urine culture as it may be she needs a different antibiotic to clear the infection. Different germs need different antibiotics to treat them.

Please see a vet as your girl is clearly still not very well if she is sitting all puffed up ...

Does your piggy have a hard tummy like a drum? If so then this could be bloat, a potential side effect of the antibiotics and can be very serious. Please get your girl to a cavy savy vet asap just to make sure. If you are not sure your current vet is helpfult ehn try out vet locator at the top of the page.

Bladder problems can be very difficult to treat, many of us have problem bladder piggies who are on a range of medications including cystease/cystaid (glucosamine), Metacam (anti-inflammatory) and antibiotics. Please ask your vet to do a urine culture as it may be she needs a different antibiotic to clear the infection. Different germs need different antibiotics to treat them.

Please see a vet as your girl is clearly still not very well if she is sitting all puffed up ...

Thanks, took her to the vet this morning ans she is

As merrypip says ask your vet to do a urine culture if they have not already done so ,as Bumble had this done before his ultrasound , but there was nothing unexpected there.My vet whilst having done loads of ultrasounds on other small animals sent me to the exotics specialist for Bumble as he said she would be more practiced / expert at reading / interpreting the ultrasound than anyone at their practice,and he didnt want to miss something she might see.

As merrypip says ask your vet to do a urine culture if they have not already done so ,as Bumble had this done before his ultrasound , but there was nothing unexpected there.My vet whilst having done loads of ultrasounds on other small animals sent me to the exotics specialist for Bumble as he said she would be more practiced / expert at reading / interpreting the ultrasound than anyone at their practice,and he didnt want to miss something she might see.

As merrypip says ask your vet to do a urine culture if they have not already done so ,as Bumble had this done before his ultrasound , but there was nothing unexpected there.My vet whilst having done loads of ultrasounds on other small animals sent me to the exotics specialist for Bumble as he said she would be more practiced / expert at reading / interpreting the ultrasound than anyone at their practice,and he didnt want to miss something she might see.

Vet carried out a urine culture and there was

As merrypip says ask your vet to do a urine culture if they have not already done so ,as Bumble had this done before his ultrasound , but there was nothing unexpected there.My vet whilst having done loads of ultrasounds on other small animals sent me to the exotics specialist for Bumble as he said she would be more practiced / expert at reading / interpreting the ultrasound than anyone at their practice,and he didnt want to miss something she might see.

As merrypip says ask your vet to do a urine culture if they have not already done so ,as Bumble had this done before his ultrasound , but there was nothing unexpected there.My vet whilst having done loads of ultrasounds on other small animals sent me to the exotics specialist for Bumble as he said she would be more practiced / expert at reading / interpreting the ultrasound than anyone at their practice,and he didnt want to miss something she might see.

As merrypip says ask your vet to do a urine culture if they have not already done so ,as Bumble had this done before his ultrasound , but there was nothing unexpected there.My vet whilst having done loads of ultrasounds on other small animals sent me to the exotics specialist for Bumble as he said she would be more practiced / expert at reading / interpreting the ultrasound than anyone at their practice,and he didnt want to miss something she might see.[/quote Vet carrirf out a urine culture when we took her nearly 2 weeks ago and her urinevwas a bit chalky

As merrypip says ask your vet to do a urine culture if they have not already done so ,as Bumble had this done before his ultrasound , but there was nothing unexpected there.My vet whilst having done loads of ultrasounds on other small animals sent me to the exotics specialist for Bumble as he said she would be more practiced / expert at reading / interpreting the ultrasound than anyone at their practice,and he didnt want to miss something she might see.

Vet did a urine culture 2 weeks ago and her urine was chalky. So I reduced the amount of calcium in her diet. I will look up an exotic animals expert as I'm not completely satisfied with having her put on antibiotics all the time! She is coping so well though, bubbles a lot and runs around. Just want her to be 100% again

 

[LKP]

Often piggies with recurrent squeaky wees don't actually have an infection but have inflammation and irritation called interstitial cystitis which is managed with low calcium diet, pain relief when needed and glucosamine.

This link explains bit about it:
http://www.guinealynx.info/records/viewtopic.php?t=21

I am pretty sure this is what my Angus has as repeated antibiotics make little difference to his condition...
@Jerrybelly anything else to add that I've missed?

Thanks. She has been on a low calcium diet for a week now and we gave her Metacam when she started squeaking in.pain. I agree that the antibiotics may not help but because there was blood in her urine the vet thinks she has another different infection. Going to look up an exotic animals expect though as I want some sound advice. The vet has been helpful but is not a guinea expert and just want Winnie healthy again as she is happy most of the time bubbling when stroked, eating and running laps around the kitchen! Just want her back to excellent health. Thanks for your help.

 

[Jerrybelly]

Often piggies with recurrent squeaky wees don't actually have an infection but have inflammation and irritation called interstitial cystitis which is managed with low calcium diet, pain relief when needed and glucosamine.

This link explains bit about it:
http://www.guinealynx.info/records/viewtopic.php?t=21

I am pretty sure this is what my Angus has as repeated antibiotics make little difference to his condition...
@Jerrybelly anything else to add that I've missed?

I think that's everything

'Bladder piggies' require up to ten times the daily amount of vitamin C that a healthy piggy requires. It can be helpful to supplement their vitamin intake with something like Oxbow Daily C.

Nuggets will be a piggy's main source of calcium, so it's important to switch to a low calcium brand if you suspect that the issue is calcium-related and not recurrent UTIs.

 

[LKP]

Thanks. I will check the level of calcium in her feed on the packet, but think I'll change this too. Is there a low calcium brand that you'd recommend that is available in the UK as there are lots on the market. What is Oxbow Daily C ( guessing a vitamin supplement?) and where is it available from? Many thanks.

 

[MerryPip]

Thanks. I will check the level of calcium in her feed on the packet, but think I'll change this too. Is there a low calcium brand that you'd recommend that is available in the UK as there are lots on the market. What is Oxbow Daily C ( guessing a vitamin supplement?) and where is it available from? Many thanks.

Oxbow Daily C is a piggy specific vitamin C tablet and you can get them on amazon or other online retailers. You can crush them up and syringe feed them or my boys crunch them up like sweeties!

 

[TAN]

Low calcium nuggets are Vetcare multimodal (on line from vetuk ) oxbow cavy cuisine - on line or some independent pet shops will order them in for you - fibrefirst (like vetcare it looks like long thin shredded wheats) fibrefirst is sold by pets@home.

 

[LKP]

Ok thanks. I will buy some Fibrefirst and look up a specialist and take her to see them. Will then get some vetcare for the long term. Thanks for all the advice, you are all very caring guinea pig lovers! Will keep you updated on her progress. She is munching on broccoli at the moment!

 

[LKP]

Took Winnie to a different vet who is a small animals expert. He carried out two x-rays to check for kidney stones and to check if her urethra was blocked. All came back negative. He has prescribed a different antibiotic course ( as the Baytril clearly wasn't working) we are to add a vitamin C supplement ( as suggested by Merry Pip- thanks!) feed her different nuggests but introduce gradually and encourage as much exercise as possible so she drinks more frequently.

 

[LKP]

He also encouraged romaine or kos lettuce to increase water intake but to.monitor her so her poops don't become too loose. He was so thorough with her checking everything rrom her eyes, to heart and lungs before she had x-rays. Have to give an update on her progress but she is not squeaking and went straight to her hay when I.brought her home from the vets! Thanks for your advice

 

[TAN]

Glad to hear she is getting better.