Blood In Urine!!

[cassybaby89]

Hello All!
Last night after a fresh fleece change in the cage I noticed a pee puddle that was tinted red. I started looking at the pigs and noticed Teto's bum was wet and had some brown stains. This was new since I spent time with them that morning. I took her out of the cage. She is in no pain when touching under her belly and her back end. There are no wounds or abscesses. She did urinate again while on my lap and it was red again on the pee pad. No squeaking or wheeking while peeing. She is acting normal running around and jumping. Eating hay and veggies like normal. She has gained wait since last check which is her normal since she is still growing, turning 1 this month. We have a vets appointment tomorrow night which was the first available with the guinea pig specialist. I have been getting her out and syringing water twice a day. I have ordered Shilintong online and am waiting for the rush delivery to start giving her this. Is there anything else I can do to help her until the vet appointment? Thank you in advance.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello All!
Last night after a fresh fleece change in the cage I noticed a pee puddle that was tinted red. I started looking at the pigs and noticed Teto's bum was wet and had some brown stains. This was new since I spent time with them that morning. I took her out of the cage. She is in no pain when touching under her belly and her back end. There are no wounds or abscesses. She did urinate again while on my lap and it was red again on the pee pad. No squeaking or wheeking while peeing. She is acting normal running around and jumping. Eating hay and veggies like normal. She has gained wait since last check which is her normal since she is still growing, turning 1 this month. We have a vets appointment tomorrow night which was the first available with the guinea pig specialist. I have been getting her out and syringing water twice a day. I have ordered Shilintong online and am waiting for the rush delivery to start giving her this. Is there anything else I can do to help her until the vet appointment? Thank you in advance.

It is most likely a urinary tract infection, as she is far too young to have a bladder stone. You do not need to do anything special if she is still well in herself.

What you can do, is get some probiotics to help buffer the effect of the antibiotic that she will be prescribed on the guts. You can get them online or from a pet shop. As a caring owner, you have caught it obviously while it is still in its early stages, so it should not develop into a big problem.
If you have a choice in antibiotics, go for bactrim rather than baytril and also ask for some metacam (anti-inflammatory and painkiller). However, if your vet prefers baytril (which is still the only officially licensed antibiotic for guinea pigs), then that is OK, too. Neither antibiotic is good tasting, so you may want to cover up the taste of especially baytril with some fluid fruit concentrate that you add to the syringe when you give the medication (not more than the same amount of medication).
Administering Medications
Tips For Vet Visits

 

[cassybaby89]

It is most likely a urinary tract infection, as she is far too young to have a bladder stone. You do not need to do anything special if she is still well in herself.

What you can do, is get some probiotics to help buffer the effect of the antibiotic that she will be prescribed on the guts. You can get them online or from a pet shop. As a caring owner, you have caught it obviously while it is still in its early stages, so it should not develop into a big problem.
If you have a choice in antibiotics, go for bactrim rather than baytril and also ask for some metacam (anti-inflammatory and painkiller). However, if your vet prefers baytril (which is still the only officially licensed antibiotic for guinea pigs), then that is OK, too. Neither antibiotic is good tasting, so you may want to cover up the taste of especially baytril with some fluid fruit concentrate that you add to the syringe when you give the medication (not more than the same amount of medication).
Administering Medications
Tips For Vet Visits

Thank you so much for this! Any advice on brand of antibiotic or what to look for when buying one?

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much for this! Any advice on brand of antibiotic or what to look for when buying one?

Antibiotics are prescription-only and can only be got via a vet after a peoper diagnosis. Please never treat on spec or after just an online conversation. All we can do is point out avenues to raise with your vet, but are in no way qualified to replace a vet visit and a hands-on diagnostic consultation.

The names is have mentioned are brand names that are available and most used in the US.

 

[cassybaby89]

Antibiotics are prescription-only and can only be got via a vet after a peoper diagnosis. Please never treat on spec or after just an online conversation. All we can do is point out avenues to raise with your vet, but are in no way qualified to replace a vet visit and a hands-on diagnostic consultation.

The names is have mentioned are brand names that are available and most used in the US.

I apologize! I meant probiotic not antibiotic! I was trying to order the probiotic online ahead of time. Does this look right?

Bene-Bac Plus Probiotic Pet Gel 15g Syringe in Safety Seal, 3-Pack w/Free 1g Travel Size Gel

 

[Wiebke]

Sounds OK. Otherwise, a simple small animal powder one will do, too. Probiotics are just a little added booster to help towards keeping the appetite going during antibiotic treatment. Thankfully, in most cases the antibiotic is not causing any problems past some slightly softer poos.

 

[Flutterby]

Sending healing vibes!

 

[cassybaby89]

Sending healing vibes!

thank you so much! I have been an nervous wreck since finding the blood. I am just glad I found out who it was so quick and am doing everything I can. And I am relieved to hear she is too young for a stone to be likely.

 

[Wiebke]

PS: You give the probiotic either 1-2 hours after the antibiotic or as much before, as seems to be more of a recommendation in the US. it doesn't make a great difference.

The UTI sounds still in its very early stages when the bloody pees are only off an on. You may find that a very red patch can contain very little or no blood while a clear patch of pee can score very high on a tester.

Anyway, your little girl should hopefully not suffer much.

 

[Flutterby]

It's awful when they are ill. All we can do is our best and it sounds like she has a fab piggy mum!

 

[cassybaby89]

It's awful when they are ill. All we can do is our best and it sounds like she has a fab piggy mum!

We try don't we! I am sure she will be fine! Keeping fingers crossed until we see the vet

 

[Flutterby]

Fingers crossed for you too.

 

[VickiA]

Try not to worry too much - sure this will all be sorted with a course of antibiotics. I've been dealing with the same issue over here. Just finished antibiotics for Mabel who's been discharged by the vet and is tickety boo. Poppy is still on ABs until Friday and then goes for review again next week. Both are doing fine.

 

[cassybaby89]

Try not to worry too much - sure this will all be sorted with a course of antibiotics. I've been dealing with the same issue over here. Just finished antibiotics for Mabel who's been discharged by the vet and is tickety boo. Poppy is still on ABs until Friday and then goes for review again next week. Both are doing fine.

thank you for the reassurance!

 

[cassybaby89]

PS: You give the probiotic either 1-2 hours after the antibiotic or as much before, as seems to be more of a recommendation in the US. it doesn't make a great difference.

The UTI sounds still in its very early stages when the bloody pees are only off an on. You may find that a very red patch can contain very little or no blood while a clear patch of pee can score very high on a tester.

Anyway, your little girl should hopefully not suffer much.

We saw the vet today and they did an x-ray. No stone but definitely has a UTI on urine testing. They gave us Cipro twice a day for two weeks. She said she doesn't think that she needs the Metacam but gave it to me just incase. Vet also said that they usually do not use probiotics when a pig is only on an antibiotic for two weeks. But if I wanted to use the one I purchased to give two doses three days apart. Is that correct? Or should I do it after each dose of antibiotic?

 

[Wiebke]

We saw the vet today and they did an x-ray. No stone but definitely has a UTI on urine testing. They gave us Cipro twice a day for two weeks. She said she doesn't think that she needs the Metacam but gave it to me just incase. Vet also said that they usually do not use probiotics when a pig is only on an antibiotic for two weeks. But if I wanted to use the one I purchased to give two doses three days apart. Is that correct? Or should I do it after each dose of antibiotic?

Glad that there is no stone! that is always a huge relief!

How much probiotic you want to give is basically down to how your piggy reacts to the antibiotic. If - as in most cases - the guts continue to work well and there is no problem, then there is no need to give a probiotic and in my own experience, it doesn't make any difference.
If your piggy happens to react badly and suffers from a diminished appetite or loses its appetite completely, then I recommend to go to the maximum to help support the guts to get back to working order. In those extreme and thankfully pretty rare cases, it is usually more effective to give poo soup and splash out on fibreplex.

It is worth keeping in mind that any probiotic is only a supportive aid at best, but it is no medication and it cannot prevent a bad reaction to an antibiotic nor can it heal that. It is also worth keeping in mind that what you see online is mostly the bad cases as all the problem-free ones mostly go unrecorded.

 

[cassybaby89]

Glad that there is no stone! that is always a huge relief!

How much probiotic you want to give is basically down to how your piggy reacts to the antibiotic. If - as in most cases - the guts continue to work well and there is no problem, then there is no need to give a probiotic and in my own experience, it doesn't make any difference.
If your piggy happens to react badly and suffers from a diminished appetite or loses its appetite completely, then I recommend to go to the maximum to help support the guts to get back to working order. In those extreme and thankfully pretty rare cases, it is usually more effective to give poo soup and splash out on fibreplex.

It is worth keeping in mind that any probiotic is only a supportive aid at best, but it is no medication and it cannot prevent a bad reaction to an antibiotic nor can it heal that. It is also worth keeping in mind that what you see online is mostly the bad cases as all the problem-free ones mostly go unrecorded.

Thank you so much for your knowledge and support! I keep trying to remind myself that like you and the vet said most times all goes well. Although I am watching her like a hawk I am very relived to know there is no stone! That was my biggest worry. So far she has been taking the antibiotics like a champ. She has lost 38g in the two days since this started. I will weigh her again tonight before her dinner