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Crying with no evident source of pain

E

evelynsnow

New Born Pup
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Hi! I’m not usually active on social media, let alone on forums, but i’m desperate for help.
My english might not be very good as I’m not from an English speaking country but i really need help.
My guinea pig is an intact male, 2 years old. He’s always been an active little fella and nothing changed. He eats a lot, drinks a lot of water, enjoys playing around and is overall a good, very happy fella that lives happily with his mother and brother. However, I noticed he started crying while peeing, so I took him to the vet straight away. The vet took an R-Xay and they didn’t see anything concerning - just some gas that could be causing the pain. She started him on metoclopramide + a digestive oxbow supplement and meloxicam. He didn’t improve so we took him again - another rx and she drew some blood. He still had a bit of gas but again nothing much, and the blood came back normal - his liver values were, however, high. We started the same medications plus a liver protectant.
He kept crying while peeing. I did some strip tests and they showed white blood cells and blood on the urine. Since I wasn’t sure how accurate it was I took him AGAIN to a different doctor. His urine was crystal clear but the results on her strips came back the same. She was concern so she started him on bactrim + flavoxate (and he still kept the liver medication). We did an abdominal ultrasound and his liver was normal in dimensions, he didn’t have any stones neither on his kidneys or anywhere else. He doesn’t have any tumors that they can see - he looked perfectly healthy. The urinalysis came back negative (he had been on bactrim for 4 days when he did it though) and there’s no white cells nor anything out of the ordinary. I thought he was getting better and I was so happy to come back home with the results until i noticed he keeps crying when he pees. He finishes bactrim tomorrow.
I called my vet and i’m going there next week but I don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve tried everything and I can’t think of anything that could be causing this. He’s a big pig, at 1,5kg (we’re trying to lose weight) and he gets his perineal sac really dirty sometimes and we have to clean it a lot of times. Sometimes the skin around it gets really irritated. Could that be the problem? Has anyone ever gone through the same? I’m so concerned for him. Thank you
 
Hello and welcome!
Glad he is being taken to the vet. Does he have a friend? If the vet hasn't pointed out anything wrong with him, could it possibly be psychological that he is in need of a friend? Guinea pigs are very social animals, and my three boys will interact with each other all day. I have Finn, Bear and Ben. Finn and Bear are bonded roommates and have lived together. Ben is a baby who came later on and live right next to the two boys because my bonded boys wouldn't let baby Ben join them.
 
Seven7 said:
Hello and welcome!
Glad he is being taken to the vet. Does he have a friend? If the vet hasn't pointed out anything wrong with him, could it possibly be psychological that he is in need of a friend? Guinea pigs are very social animals, and my three boys will interact with each other all day. I have Finn, Bear and Ben. Finn and Bear are bonded roommates and have lived together. Ben is a baby who came later on and live right next to the two boys because my bonded boys wouldn't let baby Ben join them.
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Thank you for your reply!
He lives with his mother and brother - the three of them get along really well and share everything with really no problems. They really enjoy each other. They also have a lot of floor time together and their enclosure has the right dimensions. His mother and brother aren’t showing any symptoms, they behave perfectly normal.
Your baby Ben sounds really lovely! I’m sure he enjoys their company just as much - Guinea pigs are truly sassy little things with personalities 😂
 
evelynsnow said:
Thank you for your reply!
He lives with his mother and brother - the three of them get along really well and share everything with really no problems. They really enjoy each other. They also have a lot of floor time together and their enclosure has the right dimensions. His mother and brother aren’t showing any symptoms, they behave perfectly normal.
Your baby Ben sounds really lovely! I’m sure he enjoys their company just as much - Guinea pigs are truly sassy little things with personalities 😂
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Is the boys' mom still young enough to be able to have babies?
 
Seven7 said:
Is the boys' mom still young enough to be able to have babies?
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I got her when she was in the end of her pregnancy, her owner unfortunately couldn’t keep her so i ended up keeping her and the babies. she was spayed shortly after, no more babies in the family! we’ve both had enough 😂
 
There are many experts who might have some clues about your boy's condition. I have only had four piggies total, but many members have had many more. I will comment on this thread to push it to the top for more visibility.
 
:wel:

First, you are incredibly lucky to be keeping two males in the same cage with a female (it’s good she is spayed), as that is usually a complete disaster. Two boys usually fight if in the same cage as a female.

Don’t make him lose weight unless his heft (piggy BMI) tells you you need to. Simply being 1.5kg doesn’t mean he is overweight (the number on the scales doesn’t tell you what is healthy for him - it only confirms he eats enough hay each week) and needs to lose weight. He is only overweight if you cannot feel any of his ribs. One of my boys was 1.55kg in his prime perfectly healthily.

Weight - Monitoring and Management

So your vet is thinking it’s a problem with his liver? If so, then that is not something I have experience of.

The only other bladder issue which can cause pain when peeing but is not an infection (or stones) so doesn’t respond to antibiotics is called sterile interstitial cystitis. It’s a condition which affects the lining of the bladder and causes pain when urine is in contact with the bladder. It cannot be cured but is managed with daily pain relief and glucosamine (and a low calcium diet). It’s similar to a condition seen in cats and is thought to be brought on by stress.
 
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