• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Choco Cries At Pee

Status
Not open for further replies.
K

kheops

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Dec 4, 2013
Messages
57
Reaction score
23
Points
185
Location
Milton Keynes, UK
Hi there!

Choco, my 10 months old boy cries when he pees, and he seems to be struggling with peeing.
There is no visible blood in his pee, but if I use a test strips, there is some blood in there (the microalbumin level is high anyway, but nothing else).
The strange (and good thing) this is the only sign of some sort of illness.
Anyway he is definitely him, wheeks and chews on grid for food, does small popcorns at cleaning, his weight nearly the same in the last 3-4 weeks (1190g -1220g -1210g).

We were at the vet last friday and we got some antibiotics and metacam as well, although the vet was a replacement vet but she did a couple of examinations, teeth, lungs, etc.
He doesn't show any improvements in the last week, so I think I'll go back on next week (we are at the Cat and rabbit care).

I am trying to find out the problem, and I think it's maybe some sort of stone or sludge, but the strangest thing is sometimes he doesn't cry...
I peed on me in the morning with cry after I put him back and he peed from the bed, his bum was outside and he clearly peed onto the floor :) without any problems...

Is there someone who met with something like this before?

Thanks,
Thomas
 
Most vets will start by treating with antibiotics . It may be a urine infection .
 
The guys at the Cat & Rabbit Clinic (Simon Maddox) are very good, I can't offer any assistant really but I would discuss with the vet about possible causes. A stone or sludge / calcium build up could be an option.
 
Unfortunately Simon and Kim are on holiday (but they deserve it, I'm sure), so there was a replacement vet, who done the standard procedure, but unfortunately still no change after a week, that's why I thinking another option and solution (to help the vets with ideas).
 
Keep up with the Metacam and antibiotics as it's better than not using them.

It still could be an infection as it can take a few weeks to cure.

But, it could be sludge or a stone. My boar cried sometimes and not others, I think it hurt more when he was weeing out more sludge (the crystals are quite sharp). I would recommend getting an appointment with Simon or Kim when they're back. They will check him over and give him an xray or scan to check for sludge/stones.

When he wees does he leave any white gritty patches on his bedding?

Does he cry when he poops?
 
Keep up with the medication, but if things are not better in a week, you may have your guinea pig scanned for stones or bladder sludge. Any vet will first and foremost treat for bacterial urinary tract infection (UTI). There are however several urinary tract problems that present with with very similar symptoms, so it is often a working down the list if symptoms persist or keep returning despite antibiotic treatment.

Please keep an eye on the weight by switching from weighing weekly to weighing daily at the same time. Any overall weight loss over 50g should be reported to the vets and you may want to start offering additional syringe feed. A weight loss of 50g or more within 24-48 hours needs to be seen promptly by a vet.
 
Thanks,
I still give him the medication (10 days course will be finished on tuesday), and we will see.
I had a piggie with uti before, he had visible blood in his pee, and he was fine after the antibiotic course, so fingers crossed.
I am doing the daily weighing, he eats and drinks fine, his poops are ok (compared to the medications) - I give him bio-lapis after the antibiotics as well.
I wouldn't say his pee is different to the others, there is no remained stuff, its a whitish colored pee, I can't see any difference to the others.
 
kheops said:
Thanks,
I still give him the medication (10 days course will be finished on tuesday), and we will see.
I had a piggie with uti before, he had visible blood in his pee, and he was fine after the antibiotic course, so fingers crossed.
I am doing the daily weighing, he eats and drinks fine, his poops are ok (compared to the medications) - I give him bio-lapis after the antibiotics as well.
I wouldn't say his pee is different to the others, there is no remained stuff, its a whitish colored pee, I can't see any difference to the others.
Click to expand...

The white in the pee is excess calcium, which is normally excreted this way. As long as it dries to a powdery dust, it is fine. If it is gritty, then you have crystals or sludge in the bladder.
 
His pee is on me on a couple of places (and it was my palm in too), I can't see any difference to the others pee-remaining.
But I'll try to test them on this long weekend.
They have versele-laga cavia complete and burgess excel, I think the burgess has a lower ca amount, but I am not sure there is any super low ca- food in the UK
 
kheops said:
His pee is on me on a couple of places (and it was my palm in too), I can't see any difference to the others pee-remaining.
But I'll try to test them on this long weekend.
They have versele-laga cavia complete and burgess excel, I think the burgess has a lower ca amount, but I am not sure there is any super low ca- food in the UK
Click to expand...

A lot of people are not aware just how much calcium come into the diet via unfiltered water. If you have a piggy with recurring or persisting urinary tract problems, you may want to consider this.

It can also be that you may need another round of antibiotic. UTI can sometimes be difficult to clear. But that is for your vet to decide.
 
Hi,

Update on Choco:
We were at Simon on Thursday, and he got an X-ray and a full bladder flash.
They saw nothing on the X-ray, no stone, no spine problems probably it's a strong infection, so we are still on meds.
I give them bottled water until I can get a water filter (probably in a week), and I tried this very low calcium vetcare plus multi-modal food.
The problem is nobody cares of this food :) so they still get their normal food.

My question is:
Bio-lapis or vetark probio c? Which is better for antibiotics?
I am giving him bio-lapis but I have the vetark too. Any pros-cons?
 
kheops said:
Hi,

Update on Choco:
We were at Simon on Thursday, and he got an X-ray and a full bladder flash.
They saw nothing on the X-ray, no stone, no spine problems probably it's a strong infection, so we are still on meds.
I give them bottled water until I can get a water filter (probably in a week), and I tried this very low calcium vetcare plus multi-modal food.
The problem is nobody cares of this food :) so they still get their normal food.

My question is:
Bio-lapis or vetark probio c? Which is better for antibiotics?
I am giving him bio-lapis but I have the vetark too. Any pros-cons?
Click to expand...

Any of these probiotics is fine; there isn't a huge amount between them to be honest. I prefer avipro plus for guinea pigs with ongoing/chronic bladder problems as it doesn't contain extra calcium, but if you are only dealing with an infection caused by irritation of crystals/sludge in the bladder, then it really doesn't matter and is not worth ordering. All the best!

Most piggies don't like changes to their pellets. At the worst you have to go cold turkey for a month and sit it out. Since pellets should make only 5% of the food intake and can survive very well on a pellet-free diet with a double serving of pepper and coriander/cilantro in the meantime, I would not be very worried if they are on strike.
 
Ok, thank you, I'll look around the avipro plus, where I can get it.
I haven't change their pellets, I know they tummy can be upset from a sudden change, so I put a small amount to their bowl (these new stuff are 10 cm long sticks) to the old stuff, but they sniffed it, licked it and left it.
Thank you for your help :)
 
Update on Choco... he has now visible blood in urine (pinky) but he hasn't got any red fruit, so I am booking an appointment to Simon...
But still no change in his behaviour, I had a bladder infection piggie before and he wasn't himself, so I just don't understand what's going on.
He lost a small amount of weigh, but nothing else.
 
EDIT:
I'll need some sleep and get my mrs to decide if there is any visible blood or not, now I can't see it on the fleece...
 
Sometimes it's really hard to tell if it's blood or oxidisation.

Give him some lap or floor time on a white towel or kitchen roll. It's easier to see on something white.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top