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Crying when peeing and pooing.

Snowflake

Snowflake

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Sep 1, 2021
Messages
155
Reaction score
85
Points
275
Location
Bedfordshire
Hi everyone, This is going to be a long post .... so on 6th August my boys went to my friends for 19 days . They were in a lovely shed with 30 other rescue pigs. When I got him hom on Sunday 22 August he was crying when passing urine and poos. Gave him metacam and he went to vets on Tuesday. She said his bladder was sore and said it was stress related cystitis. He has been on twice daily up to today 0.38mls of baytril, 0.35 mls metacam and 1 cystophan. His inside in a ferplast 160 with brother and out on grass few hours every day weather depending. His popcorning. Whelking for food. Eating and drinking fine. Holding weight 950g he was 1,000 but dropped weight when away. His going to vets tomorrow for a x ray on kidney and bladder. On the Tuesday when he did go to vets he passed a clot of blood and vet said could be lining of bladder wall. Since then urine is so clear. No calcium deposits, not gritty and no blood. She said it could be interstitial cystitis or May be a habit crying when weeing as he thinks it’s going to hurt. After he sees he runs off and acts normal. I’m baffled anyone on here had the same experience? Any help or advice much appreciated. I’m a nervous rack at the moment for tomorrow I’m praying it’s not stones. His 11 months old.xx
 
Poor chap. Going away from their usual surroundings can certainly cause a stress response in guinea pigs and when stressed their immunity to infections and other problems decreases.
Has his urine been tested for infection? That would also be a good idea if he is crying when weeing and passing some blood. Blood is often not visible to the naked eye but can be picked up on a dipstick test.
If the X-ray shows no stones, and his urine is clear of infection then it is entirely possible that he has sterile (non bacterial) cystitis. The long term management for that is a combination of diet (see the guide linked above), filtering of water, grain free pellets, Metacam and possibly some cystease or similar to help line the bladder. My Holly is on long term maintenance for this same issue.
 
VickiA said:
Poor chap. Going away from their usual surroundings can certainly cause a stress response in guinea pigs and when stressed their immunity to infections and other problems decreases.
Has his urine been tested for infection? That would also be a good idea if he is crying when weeing and passing some blood. Blood is often not visible to the naked eye but can be picked up on a dipstick test.
If the X-ray shows no stones, and his urine is clear of infection then it is entirely possible that he has sterile (non bacterial) cystitis. The long term management for that is a combination of diet (see the guide linked above), filtering of water, grain free pellets, Metacam and possibly some cystease or similar to help line the bladder. My Holly is on long term maintenance for this same issue.
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Thank you. I will ask vet if she can check his urine tomorrow. Is Volvic water ok to give? As all the other brands seem to have a high level of calcium in. After he has cried when weeing he then goes of as normal popcorning and eating.
 
Check the mg/L of calcium (Ca) on the bottle. If it's less than 20 it's very low, less than 60 is still low. My tap water is nearly 300 so I use bottled water too.
Be careful if you are actually syringing liquid as they can easily inhale it and that can quickly cause respiratory distress, infection and.... well we won't go there. Better to add another water bottle in the cage if he is drinking in the day anyway. They drink when they eat pellets or hay so personally I put the bottles near the pellet bowl and hay piles.

It sounds like the stress of the boarding triggered this and hopefully it will go away on it's own - he's on the baytril (antibiotic) and metacam (painkiller) in case he's picked up an infection. If he's passed a clot then his bladder might still be a little sensitive. Painkillers work straight away, antibiotics can take 2 or 3 days to kick in properly (providing there is no resistance), but the bladder support supplements I hear can take a week or two before they really take effect. His youth is on his side though! Good luck little fella x
 
Free Ranger said:
Check the mg/L of calcium (Ca) on the bottle. If it's less than 20 it's very low, less than 60 is still low. My tap water is nearly 300 so I use bottled water too.
Be careful if you are actually syringing liquid as they can easily inhale it and that can quickly cause respiratory distress, infection and.... well we won't go there. Better to add another water bottle in the cage if he is drinking in the day anyway. They drink when they eat pellets or hay so personally I put the bottles near the pellet bowl and hay piles.

It sounds like the stress of the boarding triggered this and hopefully it will go away on it's own - he's on the baytril (antibiotic) and metacam (painkiller) in case he's picked up an infection. If he's passed a clot then his bladder might still be a little sensitive. Painkillers work straight away, antibiotics can take 2 or 3 days to kick in properly (providing there is no resistance), but the bladder support supplements I hear can take a week or two before they really take effect. His youth is on his side though! Good luck little fella x
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Aww thank you for that advice you have eased my stress levels slightly.😁Just had a look on calcium level of the mineral water I just put in and says it’s 11 % so that’s good. I put 3 water bottles around the cage and he drinks out of them. I wet there veg so they get extra water intake. And sprinkle a prebiotic on them to. His been on baytril for 7 days and metacam and cystohan for 9 days. Apart from crying when weeing and pooing his fine in him self eating and drinking and popcorning. His out during the day when weather ok on grass. I’m keeping everything crossed and praying his x Ray comes back fine and no stones.😩😬🤞👍 will keep you all posted.xx
 
I have a current piggy (Sierra) that is on the same issue. She was diagnosed with IC last July. Our vet checked her pee in the microscope to see whether she has infection, but it showed no infection. So no antibiotics needed. Also had ultrasound and xray and no sludge and stones. She had some grits but nothing out of the ordinary. She still has some sign of blood in pee, but much less during the test last week compared to a couple of weeks before. So it is IC based on all the tests. She does have a very inflamed bladder so she is on high dosage of Loxicom and also on Gabapentin. We are giving her Cystease too.

At the moment, she is doing good. It can be up and down for her some days but we don't have to do extensive intervention at the moment yet (like bladder flush or getting a bladder wall sample to know why it is very inflamed).

Hopefully your piggy will be fine and therr will be no stones.
 
Hi everyone, update on snowflake. His been to the vets today.... need a glass of wine celebrate 🎉👩🏽‍🦰🍷🎊. His had x rays of the abdomen showing bladder, kidneys, penis and no stones present. No blood in urine or infection. Out come intitsisual cystitis. Had a cartrophan injection and needs one once a week for 3 weeks. To help bladder wall as still very inflamed. Cystophan everyday for 2 months.0.35mls twice daily of metacam then to be decreased.on mineral water now as less calcium. And a low calcium but high vitamin c vegetables.vet said this may last a month or longer then suddenly go then come back if his stressed again.vet has gone above and beyond for him. Talking to specialists with what we can treat him with. And being on the phone when I need advice. I feel shattered now as I’ve been so stressed and worried to what it could of been and not sleeping. Feel a weight has been lifted off my shoulders! Blizzard his brother is now guarding him whilst he sleeps. I also took his brother in this am to stop with him at vets for company. Nothing phases blizzard a bomb outdoors could go off and he would sill be eating.🤣🤣 Thank you for all of your kind advice. So glad I joined this forum.xx
 
Snowflake said:
Thank you. I will ask vet if she can check his urine tomorrow. Is Volvic water ok to give? As all the other brands seem to have a high level of calcium in. After he has cried when weeing he then goes of as normal popcorning and eating.
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I use Voss water as that had the lowest calcium when I went through them all. I buy in bulk from Amazon.
 
Hi everyone, only me again. Snowflake is still on cystophan everyday and 0.35mls of metacam twice daily. His still crying but faintly. The thing I just released is they only like coming out in the run if it’s warm. I’m still putting them out in the run for 6hrs a day but all they do is sit inside there box of hay. This can be all day. Then snowflake isn’t drinking or eating as his not pooing hardly. Today I put them out for an hour only to sit in box again. When they come inside there 160 ferplast cage all day they have been eating and drinking and loving life. This probably isn’t helping snowflake as his not having enough fluids when out. How much excersize do they need? They are always running around there cage. And always choose to be together and not apart. Always groom each other. They come out for cuddles. They have an indoor playpen in winter. I kit it out with hay etc only again for them to sit in igloos. It’s confusing as other forums say boys have to have so much space but my 2 are the opposite.xx
 
George has always sat on his big fat a** all day and I don't worry. If they're not happy in the run for whatever reason and they seem better in the Ferplast I'd just stick with that - you can always get the indoor run out early just for a change of scene. Maybe Snowflake just needs a little home comfort at the minute and a piggy feeling under the weather is often 'looked after' by the cage-mate. Is he eating normally and maintaining his weight? If yes, and they're happy together, that's great 💕
 
Yes he is eating and drinking fine. Has to go to vets for 4 weeks to have a weekly cartrophen injection. Snowflake was 990g but now 910g and his brother was 1,000g but now 990g. The vet has checked all there back teeth and are fine. She said snowflake could be stressed with coming to vets and unwell at mo and blizzard also could be stressed as he comes to vets for company for snowflake. She said pigs weight fluctuates. She’s not concerned. Also snowflake has lost some of fur on his back also to stress. Both are on a course of xeno. They have also been on a low calcium diet in case snowflake had stones for his crying but x Ray came back clear. I’m now giving them oats which they love.xx
 
There is fluctuation between piggy weights and it can mean the difference between a full or empty bladder etc so it's good to weigh at the same time... I do mornings as they are expecting veg so they are easy to catch (mean piggy mummy!) Week on week if it's within about 50g I don't worry - if it's smaller but continual losses over the weeks it's a red flag, but for Snowflake you know he has an issue which is likely affecting him so it can be explained by that. I'm not surprised vet visits are causing him stress! Never mind Snowflake - it's not forever - and it's great news about your x-ray!

Poor boy is losing fur now too? A course of xeno should cover him for anything picked up,,, possibly in the holiday piggy shed(?) but who knows where these things appear from. Even if the stress of IC is the cause it sounds like your vet is taking a wise precaution and covering all the bases. You've had a long haul so far but hopefully are coming out of the end. Well done boys! x
 
Aww thank you so much.xx His been on metacam and cystophan for a month now. Still crying when passing urine and poos. But completely fine afterwards. I know intisual cycstitis can go on for months even years then suddenly go. Also maybe the lining of his bladder wall is still healing as some of it came away at the start which he passed in urine. Maybe the urine when passing through is stinging the bladder as it’s not healed yet. But when he has his medicine and I’m holding him and passes a poo he doesn’t cry. I thought maybe has this crying become a habit like a child would do as they think it will hurt when they wee? His had 2 injections of cartropen and due another 2 more. Good thing is his putting on weight now. I’ve been given them oats at night to help with weight ( which they love) . Will it bung them up if they have a couple of teaspoons of oats each day?xx
 
My piggy has IC.. she has cystease once a day and this helps.. I gave her a bit of melon when it was really hot which triggered it for her.. a few days of metacam and she was ok.. it can be trial and error.. Good luck to snowflake xx
 
artcasper said:
My piggy has IC.. she has cystease once a day and this helps.. I gave her a bit of melon when it was really hot which triggered it for her.. a few days of metacam and she was ok.. it can be trial and error.. Good luck to snowflake xx
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Can different foods trigger of IC?
 
In people there are sometimes trigger foods and I think there can be in piggies too but I don't know if it is the same ones for all pigs (or even all people). The nhs website tips tomatoes and alcohol as common people triggers but there may well be others. I suppose if there is some fruit or veg you feed to piggies every day (or nearly every day) you could try cutting it out for a while or replacing with something else to see if it makes a difference. Is this what you do @artcasper ?
 
Snowflake said:
Can different foods trigger of IC?
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I believe so, if you check the link I gave earlier on, there’s a section on special diets including IC 😊
 
To @artcasper, no I haven’t tried this. Will start a diary of eliminating different veg. They have been on a low calcium veg in case it was stones but x Ray come back fine. Is it best to start on one type of veg first for 2 days then a different veg and so on?
 
Sorry everyone for rabbiting on tonight but I get these thoughts in my head that I have to share incase someone on here has experienced this. Snowflake will cry when weeing and pooing faintly. But when his on the worktop whilst I give his medication he can do 4 to 5 poos without crying.
 
It's tricky to rule out their natural prey animal instinct to not show pain - even if he is uncomfortable he might not cry because you are there and he's still a bit scared! My girl Louise knows I don't hurt her when she's picked up and when she realises what is happening she'll sit quietly on my knee - but it takes her some time to relax and eat her snack. If hubs comes and sits near us she's terrified - even though she knows he's the one that brings her grass every day! She doesn't change her position at all but I can feel waves of trembling over her and I have to cover her up completely before it stops.

Is Snowflake wet underneath as if he is trying to hold in his pees but is dripping urine? Or is he dry. I don't know the IC condition but in people it is described as causing 'pelvic pain' rather than just stinging when you actually pee, like normal cystitis. Perhaps it is not his pee stinging him but the contraction of bladder or movement of bowel that causes the discomfort. I shouldn't be giving you more things to ponder about though!

It's going to be tricky doing an elimination diet at this stage as his bladder might still be recovering from the initial bout that caused you all these problems. If he is getting gradually better, and doesn't have ups-and-downs, you might consider if cutting something from his regular diet for 2 or 3 days and see if it makes a difference. But it'll be tempting to think "ahh, I cut out lettuce and he seemed even better" when it might just have been a coincidence. It is supposed to take the poops about 2 days to pass though a piggy which is why I said 2 or 3 days. @artcasper might now be in the position where piggy is well so offering an unusual 'treat' food clearly triggers something.
 
No his not wet a tall underneath. Will mention to vet about contraction of bowel and bladder movements and pelvic pain. Seeing the head vet on Tuesday for his catrophen injection. Cutting out kale for a few days. His putting on weight now and eating and drinking well . Maybe he needs a lot longer to heal. His well in himself been purring on my shoulder this am and popcorning in his cage. They are a worry.xx
 
eileen said:
maybe his metacam dose could be increased until pain/discomfort,vocalising on weeing and pooing diminishes.
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I will ask vet what she says about increasing pain relief. Since the 19th August his been on twice daily 0. 35mls metacam. 👍
 
Vet has spoke to specialist this morning regarding snowflake crying when weeing and pooing. His now on twice a day 0.35mls metacam, 0.18mls childs calpol and gabapentin. Hopefully this new pain management will give home some comfort. She thinks he will be on metacam for a long time. Good thing is I’ve weighed him today and he still is 930 g so his holding his weight. Anyone on here had experience on gabapentin? Xx
 
Hi everyone, my male has been put on 0.46 mls twice daily gabapentin for pain. Has anyone used this drug on there guinea pig before? His also on twice daily 0.36 mls metacam and 0.18 mls of calpol infant( I haven’t given him the calpol yet seeing how he goes with the metacam and gabapentin) first.xx
 
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