Blood Smudges In The Cage

[Solspiggies]

Hi, I have had my guinea pigs for just one week, they are very young, maybe 2 months old and were born and kept outside in a chicken coop,quite rough conditions. Since I've brought them home (2 sisters) they have been happily adapting to their new 2x3+2x2 loft C&C cage with fleece bedding. They have been approaching me and even taking food from my hand.
Two day's ago I noticed tiny little spots of blood here and there, maybe 6 or 7 in total, spread around the cage, not in one area only. I explored them thoroughly, checked for wounds and around genital area but absolutely no sign of were the blood maybe coming from.
I've decided to just monitor them and see if it increases or not.
Yesterday I did a full cage clean and this morning I found maybe 3 minute little smudges of blood on the fleece. I'm not talking about drops, and checking the towels under the fleece there is no diluted blood in the urine stains. They are literally very thin smudges no more than a few millimeters big.
What could be causing this? I msged my local vet but she is not an exotiuc animal vet, just cats and dogs kind of vet.
What shall I do?
I live in Spain by the way.

 

[DM030819]

Are you certain that it's blood?

The only reason I ask is that sometimes urine can dry into a rusty brown colour, which is normal. Blood spots tend to be very red in colour.

Unfortunately I don't have any experience with girl pigs, so hopefully someone else will be able to give you some ideas.

 

[GPcrazy]

Following on from the above comment - what have you been feeding them? Some foods can change the colour of urine. Also, can you take a pic of the spotches?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! You could test the urine for traces of blood. Sometimes, the very early stages of a developing UTI (urinary tract infection) can be very off and on; all you can do is wait and observe. Not every pee contains necessarily blood in the early stages; red patches may not contain any blood while clear ones can. I have been there with piggies of mine!

Alternatively, it could be strongly oxidised pee or pee that is coloured from veg like red pepper or carrot.

 

[Solspiggies]

Thank you all. They were fed since birth only fresh grass and veggies and fruit, not sure what kind or quantities though. They had never eaten hay and are taking their time getting used to it. Since I've had them I've been feeding them lettuce mainly, cucumber, some carrot, they won't touch peppers ANY COLOUR. I haven't given fruit yet and I mix their hay with fresh grass to get them used to eating hay. And they drink plenty from their water bottles. Oh and I have a little bowl off mix dry food I bought, not purely pellets, it has other treats and things in it, need to find a source for better quality pellets. Pet stores here are a bit rubbish, even the hay is a bit dry and coarse.
I'm not sure if it's blood 100% as my fleece is blue and its hard to tell, but I spotted one spot on the newspaper in their kitchen area and looked very much like blood, not brown, red!
What do I do if they have a UTI? Not sure there is a guinea pig vet in my area?
Apart from that they seem happy, lively, curious...not abnormal behaviour at all and no sounds of pain.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you all. They were fed since birth only fresh grass and veggies and fruit, not sure what kind though.they never ate hay and are taking their time getting used to it. Since I've had them I've been feeding them lettuce mainly, cucumber, some carrot, they won't touch peppers ANY COLOUR. I haven't given fruit yet and I mix their hay with fresh grass to get them used to eating hay.
I'm not sure if it's blood 100% as my fleece is blue and its hard to tell, but I spotted one spot on the news uproar in their kitchen area and looked very much like blood, not brown, red!
What do I do if they have a UTI? Not sure there is a guinea pig vet in my area?

Hi!

Please persist with the hay; it should be the mainstay of their diet. Do feed fruit only very rarely and little, rather feed fresh herbs like cilantro/coriander for extra vitamin C. Just persist with the right diet. Young guinea pigs learn what is safe to eat from their mothers and other elders in their group, but if those have not been on a good diet or they have been separated too young, it can be difficult and can take time.
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading

Could you please add your country, state/province or UK county, so we can tailor any advice to what is relevant and available where you are straight away, taking into account vet access and climate. We have members from all over the world. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.
We can provide a link for recommended vets in some countries.

Here is some information on urinary tract infection: Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading

 

[Solspiggies]

Hi!

Please persist with the hay; it should be the mainstay of their diet. Do feed fruit only very rarely and little, rather feed fresh herbs like cilantro/coriander for extra vitamin C. Just persist with the right diet. Young guinea pigs learn what is safe to eat from their mothers and other elders in their group, but if those have not been on a good diet or they have been separated too young, it can be difficult and can take time.
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading

Could you please add your country, state/province or UK county, so we can tailor any advice to what is relevant and available where you are straight away, taking into account vet access and climate. We have members from all over the world. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.
We can provide a link for recommended vets in some countries.

Here is some information on urinary tract infection: Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading

Thank you, I've done that now but says my nearest vet is in the UK! I M definitely going to persist with the hay, I'm looking g into buying online. I'll try posting photos of the blood spot's.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you, I've done that now but says my nearest vet is in the UK! I M definitely going to persist with the hay, I'm looking g into buying online. I'll try posting photos of the blood spot's.

If the guide doesn't work, you can copy pictures that you have uploaded online (if necessary via saving to a file of yours). We have sadly not any access to a list of exotic vets in Spain, but perhaps another Spanish member may be able to help.

Otherwise, we can talk you through what to ask your vet for. UTI will require an antibiotic, which is presciption-only.

 

[Solspiggies]

 

[Solspiggies]

 

[Solspiggies]

 

[Solspiggies]

 

[Solspiggies]

Sorry for the repeated images, don't know what happened there, uploaded them from my phone. but you can see they are very small faint smudges. Any ideas?

 

[GPcrazy]

No ideas, but you are right, it does look like blood smudges. Hope someone else can shed some light on what it could be.

 

[Wiebke]

Sorry for the repeated images, don't know what happened there, uploaded them from my phone. but you can see they are very small faint smudges. Any ideas?

It is very difficult to say whether there is a little blood in the urine or not, but if in doubt, ask your local vet for a urine test. Make an appointment during regular hours.

If it is a urinary tract infection, the urine should show traces of blood (even if it is not discoloured) and it should also show increased levels of protein (sign of an infection). You are a very observant owner, so it is very early stages yet and may still be somewhat difficult to diagnose for a general vet.

If your local vet comes to the conclusion to treat for URI, you will need an antibiotic (baytril is still the only licensed one for guinea pigs), but if your vet can treat with sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (brand names are bactrim, septrin or sulfatrim) that would be better; it has become standard treatment for urinary issues in the last few years here in the UK. Ideally you double the dosage for a guinea pig compared to the respective weight of a cat, as guinea pigs have a much quicker metabolism and you also halve the daily dose and give it preferably twice daily instead of only once.
You NEVER give any medication in the water! Baytril tastes absolutely horrendous, not that you will ever get a guinea pig to drink alterated water willingly. They have double the number of taste buds to us humans and a multiple to that of cats!

Also ask for metacam, a painkiller/anti-inflammatory that can als help to bring the initial discomfort down and help tackling the infection.

Make sure that your piggies have plenty of fresh water. You can help flushing out the bladder in the early stages by feeding mildly diuretic fresh dandelion (that has not been peed on by dogs or foxes), lettuce or cucumber, but not so much that you cause diarrhea. It helps to flush bacteria from the bladder.

Administering Medications

Get some probiotic from the pet shop and give a pinch about 1-2 hours after the antibiotic. This helps to bolster the guts, as antibiotics not only work on the bad bacteria but also the good ones that are vital for the digestion. Please contact us and your vet asap if your piggy ever stops eating when on antibiotics.

 

[Solspiggies]

Yes, I watch them , sit with them , hand feed them as often as I can. I'm new at this and not much guidance here in Spain, so want the best for my piggies.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you, I've done that now but says my nearest vet is in the UK! I M definitely going to persist with the hay, I'm looking g into buying online. I'll try posting photos of the blood spot's.

Sadly, no vets listed for Spain in that link.