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frequent urine infections

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Does he drink any water at all? A good amount of water going through the system can help in many cases.
 
Thats a good point he some times doesn't and i have to top him up sometimes. I do give him a lot of veg when hes not drinking a lot but i dont like giving him to much or certain veg incase it upsets his tummy. What would encourage him to drink more?
 
It is often noted that pigs who drink less can be more prone to bladder trouble. Nothing scientific to prove it (that I know of), but something a lot of owners have noticed.

One of the easiest ways to increase water intake is to leave the veggies wet after washing them. Obviously it's not the same as helping him drink more, but it does help hydrate pigs a little. A chunk of cucumber a day can help as well. It is difficult, trying to encourage a guinea pig to drink when he's just not interested - hence resorting to the wet and high water content veggies. :))
You are very right about limiting the high water content foods though, as too much could lead to diarrhea.

P.S. I will reply to your PM shortly, had a lot of catching up to do today after a couple of days off the forum!
 
no probs cc. yeh its tuff. hes in pain again and its begining to worry me. antibiotics arent working now. vets tomorrow..
 
Good luck at the vets. I really hope that your piggy is okay.
I lost my guinea pig to a UTI last year 8...

And it happened really quickly. I noticed that she wasn't eating her food and looked uncomfortable. I took her to the vet the next day, by which time there was blood in her urine. The vet put her on antibiotics, and she did seem to get a bit better the day after the vets visit (started eating and drinking). But went downhill over night. We were planning on bringing her back to the vet in the morning, but unfortunately she didn't make it.

But she was an old gal. We got her as a 3rd hand rescue, and the previous owner said she was at least 7 years old to their knowledge. She also had long fur, which I don't think helped much.

I now have two more rescue piggies, and I regularly trim their fur around their bums.
 
He has short fur but i trim the girls (which they hate lol)
He is still eating and drinking but he gets attacks from time to time, the anti biotics done nothing this time. The vets is on monday so ill print out lots of info to take with me.
What really confuses me is that before he had an absess removed i never had a probelm with him but after he now has these bladder issues. I have no idea what caused it...
 
well the vets was a pain. They again refused to give me metacam and she told me not to go on the net so much! the cheek. Apparently the calcium ratio thing is rubbish according to her and the secret is getting him to drink more water.... I was soooo not happy. I think all the good vets must have went on holiday or something. I think she was just a bit annoyed i knew more than her lol

I found this diet (I'm ignoring the vet) but theres stuff on it i cant find. typical scotland...
 
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Uti

My piggy 'Chuffy' went down with a UTI on Saturday. I picked her up to find she was soaking wet up to her tummy, her abdomen was all red and puffy and sore and her fur is balding on the sides of her belly. She was chuffing around and eating normally and pooping but was so wet. She seemed not to wee for ages then suddenly wet herslf in floods. At first i thought she was in season but was worried that she was excessively wet. I cleaned out her cage (she lives with 4 others) and yesterday (sunday) picked her up and again she was soaking wet and looking a bit sorry for herself but apart from that eating etc as normal. I decided to play it safe and took her to the vet who examined her and said he couldnt find any stones and has prescribed 0.25ml of Baytril twice a day for a week. So fingers crossed this works. Vet also said that if one pig gets it the bacteria can spread to others sitting in the same beds of hay etc. She lives with another piggy who i think also has some mild form of UTI as she has a crusty area around where she pees from am taking her to vet too.

About 6 months ago we had another piggy in a different cage with cystitis and that took ages to get rid of; two lots of Baytril over 2 weeks and lots of money and cranberry juice and lettuce finally made her better. Fingers crossed she hasnt suffered since but we feed her mainly on grass and lettuce but keep her off dark green veg and this seems to help. Poor piggies. :(

Karen
 
Eeek! A vet to stick with is one who listens and appreciates the owners knowledge. Without respecting the owner and their knowledge and efforts, the vet isn't going to make much progress in helping the animals! I am sorry you had to face such an awful vet, it must have felt terrible to have had all your effort rubbished like that.

The only thing I agree with what the vet said is that drinking more water could help. It may well be the secret or the key...but other ideas and treatments shouldn't be plainly ignored! The calcium phosphorus ratio isn't proven to work, but in many pigs it has been of some benefit. Following the ratio certainly worked with my own sow with intermittent cystitis trouble!


Karen, if the Baytril doesn't work, ask your vet about Septrin (also known as trimethoprim sulfa). It often succeeds where Baytril fails, although some vets refuse to even consider using it. Good luck with Chuffy!
 
Out of interest, what reason did the vet give for the calcium/phosphorus ratio being unimportant?
 
It wasnt nice no, she seemed annoyed that i knew so much! Apparently the cal/pho ratio is a lot of nonsence, thats all she said. I am trying to get more water into him but its not east lol
 
probably a daft question, but anyone know if guineas can have cranberry juice? I know its used for cystitis and some other UTI's in humans - so long as its not toxic to piggies, might be worth a go - nothing to lose by trying!

Tony
 
Cranberry juice is fine for pigs, natural juice, ie not made from concentrate, is best eg Ocean Spray brand.
 
Get the no added sugar too. The added sugar is very sweet. Pinapple juice is a natural anti inflamitory as well but the less sugar the better!
 
Maybe it is nonsense but it would be worthwhile to know her reasons for saying so!
 
She was showing off in front of the student vet i think. She was one of the vets that told me sam would probably die last year, the austrailian vet missed his infected tooth root. Thankfully sams doing well, not enjoying the water I'm giving him but hes happy enough lol
 
I've not been on for a while. My oldest sam seems to have pain when pooping. He is eating and drinking but its becoming more noticable. Apart from the pain all is well but its still worrying.
 
Its pooping thats the problem, he still poops but has a bit of pain. I had a good look (much to his annoyance lol) and there didnt seem to be a problem but he seemed a bit sesitive down there. I've given him some pro biotic and fresh hay and he seems ok now so I'm not sure whats going on. I'll be keeping an eye on him, hes got his hot water bottle lol
 
His poops are looking a bit odd, some are different sizes and a few are pitted. any advice?
 
He could be dehydrated, it could be diet, it could be nothing! Totally useless answer.
A lot depends on his overall condtion, I would give it a couple more days to see if it is self correcting, before becoming concerned.
 
He seems much better today, some water and pro biotics do the world of good lol He'll be the death of me this pig!
 
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