Elsa Has A Bladder Stone

[Toots33]

Hi all,

After having no success in treating Elsa with antibiotics due to having blood in her urine, she's had an x ray today and the vet has found a small stone.

I've already done some research on the forum about changing her food due to her having recurrent uti's and I've started to gradually change both Sven and Elsa over to JR Farm Grainless which they seem to be responding well to. Their previous food was Burgess Exel and the other reason I'd decided to change it was because the Burgess Exel bags recently seemed to be made up of more dust than pellets!

Could anyone recommend the best vegetables to feed her? We've already cut out things like spinach and parsley quite a while ago as we noticed an increase in calcium deposits when the piggys ate these. Any other advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Corinne

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

There are a few things you can do when you have a bladder stone piggy:

Water:
- filter any water, even if you don't live in a hard water area. It is not just the calcium in the water, but also minerals that can contribute to the formation of bladder stones.
- offering extra water by syringe if your piggy is not a big drinker. Institute one or two syringing sessions in which you offer as much water as your guinea pig will voluntarily. Make sure that you never give more than one mouthful (ca. 0.3-0.5 ml for an adult) at a time and wait until that has gone down. This will hopefully help to produce 1-2 larger pees that help wash out the bladder and prevent/slow down the build-up of debris and bacteria. many bladder stone piggies are not great drinkers; it can be one of the contributing factors to the formation of stones (amongst a number of others, as calcium absorption is a complicated process in guinea pigs).

Veg:
- feed low calcium veg. @helen105281 can advise you on a nutritionally balanced diet, as there need to be some compromises to ensure long term health.
Here is a list of low calcium veg: Low Calcium Diet For Bladder Piggies

Hay:
Timothy hay is lowest in calcium, but meadow ororchard hay is also still fine.

Treats:
The one thing that you should really avoid is high calcium alfalfa/lucerne in any products, especially in pellets or treats, too. Also on the no no list for treats is forage that contains calcium-high herbs (which include dandelions). Dried forage is generally higher in calcium. We also recommend to use readigrass only sparingly as a small treat (a pinch).

Bladder support:
- support the irritated bladder walls by giving a glucosamine based supplement (not a prescription-only med) like cystease, cystophan etc. or vegan/vegetarian glucosamine. The bladder walls are naturally coated with a glucosamine layer, but the stone scraping against them all the time is usually what leads to the UTI symptoms. You can discuss it with your vet.
- Some people also report that syringing barley water (as much as a piggy wants) can also help the bladder. Barley water you make by boiling pearl barley in a little water for 20-40 minutes. Strain the gloopy water into a suitable dish, adjust the consistency if necessary by adding a bit more filtered water for use.

Here are our post-op recovery tips: Tips For Post-operative Care

 

[Toots33]

Hi!

There are a few things you can do when you have a bladder stone piggy:

Water:
- filter any water, even if you don't live in a hard water area. It is not just the calcium in the water, but also minerals that can contribute to the formation of bladder stones.
- offering extra water by syringe if your piggy is not a big drinker. Institute one or two syringing sessions in which you offer as much water as your guinea pig will voluntarily. Make sure that you never give more than one mouthful (ca. 0.3-0.5 ml for an adult) at a time and wait until that has gone down. This will hopefully help to produce 1-2 larger pees that help wash out the bladder and prevent/slow down the build-up of debris and bacteria. many bladder stone piggies are not great drinkers; it can be one of the contributing factors to the formation of stones (amongst a number of others, as calcium absorption is a complicated process in guinea pigs).

Veg:
- feed low calcium veg. @helen105281 can advise you on a nutritionally balanced diet, as there need to be some compromises to ensure long term health.
Here is a list of low calcium veg: Low Calcium Diet For Bladder Piggies

Hay:
Timothy hay is lowest in calcium, but meadow ororchard hay is also still fine.

Treats:
The one thing that you should really avoid is high calcium alfalfa/lucerne in any products, especially in pellets or treats, too. Also on the no no list for treats is forage that contains calcium-high herbs (which include dandelions). Dried forage is generally higher in calcium. We also recommend to use readigrass only sparingly as a small treat (a pinch).

Bladder support:
- support the irritated bladder walls by giving a glucosamine based supplement (not a prescription-only med) like cystease, cystophan etc. or vegan/vegetarian glucosamine. The bladder walls are naturally coated with a glucosamine layer, but the stone scraping against them all the time is usually what leads to the UTI symptoms. You can discuss it with your vet.
- Some people also report that syringing barley water (as much as a piggy wants) can also help the bladder. Barley water you make by boiling pearl barley in a little water for 20-40 minutes. Strain the gloopy water into a suitable dish, adjust the consistency if necessary by adding a bit more filtered water for use.

Here are our post-op recovery tips: Tips For Post-operative Care

Thanks so much for your help, Elsa's had the stone removed today and is happily walking around and eating . I'm definitely going to buy a water filter as she drinks a lot a of water!

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks so much for your help, Elsa's had the stone removed today and is happily walking around and eating . I'm definitely going to buy a water filter as she drinks a lot a of water!

So at least you do not have to worry about the not drinking angle!

Glad that all has gone well with her op!

 

[Toots33]

Here is Elsa's xray and the stone that's been removed......It looks huge to me! The vet couldn't believe how far it had travelled.

Lots of Elsa cuddles required tonight

 

[Wiebke]

View attachment 54530 View attachment 54531


Here is Elsa's xray and the stone that's been removed......It looks huge to me! The vet couldn't believe how far it had travelled.

Lots of Elsa cuddles required tonight

It is a good-sized stone, but it was still small enough to wander down the urethra, so it was actually a much easier and smaller op, as your vet only needed to make a small incision to manipulate it out, compared to a full-on bladder op.

 

[TheCavySlave]

Yay! Elsa's a lovely name, too. Is filtering water important? I think we live in a very hard water area, so after a short while I stopped using the tap and use the filter jug. Well, we rinse with the tap but fill with the filter jug.

 

[Wiebke]

Yay! Elsa's a lovely name, too. Is filtering water important? I think we live in a very hard water area, so after a short while I stopped using the tap and use the filter jug. Well, we rinse with the tap but fill with the filter jug.

Filtering can make a difference, especially in a hard water area.

 

[Toots33]

Filtering can make a difference, especially in a hard water area.

I've just ordered a water filter jug.... I'll do anything that's recommended to try and prevent her getting another stone . Don't want her to go through that again!

 

[helen105281]

I have a pig with recurring bladder issues (interstitial cystitis) and she has minimal pellets (grainless where possible) and unlimited hay. I feed the following veg twice a day:

Slither of spring greens
Sprig of coriander
1 green bean
Small piece of pepper
Piece of cucumber
Piece of celery

 

[Toots33]

I have a pig with recurring bladder issues (interstitial cystitis) and she has minimal pellets (grainless where possible) and unlimited hay. I feed the following veg twice a day:

Slither of spring greens
Sprig of coriander
1 green bean
Small piece of pepper
Piece of cucumber
Piece of celery

Thank you, that's really helpful

 

[Toots33]

Elsa is thoroughly enjoying her filtered water but the new pellets are a different story . We're currently having a battle of wills but I'm definitely not giving in first .

 

[Wiebke]

Elsa is thoroughly enjoying her filtered water but the new pellets are a different story . We're currently having a battle of wills but I'm definitely not giving in first .

Shifting pellets can take a few weeks of battling and sitting it out...

 

[Toots33]

Shifting pellets can take a few weeks of battling and sitting it out...

Especially with a piggy diva like Elsa

 

[Wiebke]

Especially with a piggy diva like Elsa

Been there, have that t-shirt too...