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Furio has a UTI :(

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Jojoba

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My poor piggie Furio, who has only just got over having mites and an allergic reaction which caused swelling and balding round his privates, has now got a UTI :(.

Yesterday in the evening I went to check on my pigs and found a bright red patch of wee in one of their tubes. Guinea inspection showed some watery blood on Furio (luckily he had obviously only just done the wee). I got him out and he pee'd a little on the carpet and it was pinkish :(. I cleaned them out thoroughly, put him back in and he did another little pee, pinkish again. Both times he squeaked as he was weeing.

So I went online, looked up UTI's and then rang my vet's 24hr line for advice. I made an appointment for first thing this morning, sat up with him til 1.30, got up again at 4.30 to check on him, then again at 8 to take him to the vet. Needless to say I'm rather tired!

Vet agrees with the UTI diagnosis, though strangely after the 3 wees I mentioned he started peeing normally - no squeaking and no blood. He is eating and drinking fine and perky in himself. Though less so now after his trip to the vet! He had an antibiotic injection :( which he screamed about, and is on antibiotics each morning for 10 days.

Poor Furio (on the right).

x
 

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We are in UTI season at the moment, so don't panic!

How old is Furio?

Make sure that Furio get lots to drink, ideally syringe him unsweetened cranberry juice, (mixed with water if he doesn't drink it pure) syringed several times a day. He can have up 50ml a day, although he won't drink more than 10ml in one go; which is about a bladder full. Cranberry juice is supposed to keep the bacteria from clinging to the bladder wall. The more he drinks, the more bacteria he flushes out, even though it may hurt more at first. You should be able to get it in any bigger supermarket (the British brand is called Ocean Wave light). Not all pees contain blood, and a guinea pig can have UTI without blood showing up in a test.

Here is more info about UTI: http://www.guinealynx.info/uti.html

What dosis of antibiotic is Furio on? Ideally, he should be on pediatric septrin 0.5 ml twice daily (that is an oral form of the bactrim that guinea lynx is talking about) and get probiotics to buffer the the effect of an antibiotic on the guts in order to keep his appetite up.

The correct dose for baytril for an adult guinea pig is 0.4 ml twice daily. Baytril is a lot harsher on the guts and can make the poo soft, so try and get hold of a probiotic.

Make sure that Furio has an x-ray on his next visit to the vets in order to exclude a bladder stone. He does NOT need a general anaesthetic for that!
 
Yup i second Wiebke's advice :)
I am actually teaching my girls now to take a syringe i am giving them cranberry juice (also called Ocean Spray Light) every few days or so.
Whee wish little Furio heaps of healing wheeeeeeeks and loves from us all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
I will pop across the road to the supermarket in a bit and pick up the ocean spray :). The vet reccomended mixing his antibiotics with that anyway. He is on 0.5ml per day but surprisingly the bottle doesnt actually say what the antibiotic is (and the vet didnt tell me). Since he had his first dose as an injection today I dont start until tomorrow with that. He is drinking plenty himself and eating, I will get watery snacks like cucumber for him too :).
I read that guinealynx link last night - the only problem with it was that it didnt say how urgently he needed the vet! I wasnt sure if I was okay to take him today or if I should be rushing him there last night! But luckily seems I made the right call by going first thing this morning.

x

ETA - sorry forgot to say, he is about 9 months old I think. I will go check now (I got him off here!).
 
Just looked and he is about 10 months old.

No sugar, got it. Does sugar do something terrible to them? I'm assuming the sweeteners in it are okay? (if it has them)

x
 
Jojoba said:
Just looked and he is about 10 months old.

No sugar, got it. Does sugar do something terrible to them? I'm assuming the sweeteners in it are okay? (if it has them)

x
Click to expand...

Yeah they shouldn't have the sugar one :{
I know of many many people who've used this often and had piggies for years
Good luck x
 
Sweeteners are better than too much sugar which can trigger diabetes.

Please ring up your vet and ask for the name of your antibiotic; I assume that it is baytril (which is the only antibiotic officially lincenced for guinea pigs), but the dose is too low and will not work out in my experience.

At 10 months old, your boy should be around a kilo, am I right? Which means, he can have the full adult dose; your vet was too cautious!
 
Oh wait the bottle does say, small at the bottom. Thought it was a bit odd that it didnt! Its Baytril 2.5%.

x
 
Jojoba said:
Oh wait the bottle does say, small at the bottom. Thought it was a bit odd that it didnt! Its Baytril 2.5%.

x
Click to expand...

That is the usual antibiotic, but the dosis is wrong. It should be 0.4 ml TWICE daily, unless your boy is still below 700 or 800g.

Plus he can do with a probiotic to make him feel brighter and keep his guts working well.
 
The vet weighed him before deciding the dose - he is a small pig, both of mine are - not skinny but both quite petite. I'm always surprised when I meet other people's giant pigs! I havent got access to scales right now as I'm in my bf's house but I wouldnt say he is much over 800g - I havent weighed him recently though which I know is very bad!

x
 
You've had lots of great advice already. Only other thing I would add is to not hesitate to give a painkiller if you feel it's needed; the vet should agree to give Metacam or Rimadyl if Furio continues to squeak when peeing (pain), and the anti-inflammatory effects would also be useful, given the inflammation that occurs with cystitis.
 
I am going through a similar thing with Gertie. She's been treated and now sounds less like a quacking duck.
 
I hope that Furio gets better soon.

I too think that my Gizmo has a UTI and he is going to the vets at 4.50. I'm so glad you posted this as I'm going to write down the meds i need and mention them to the vet as the normal cavy vet isnt in until thurs so I'm seeing the regular vet.

Sorry to hijack your thread, but is it best to ask for septrin rather than baytril?

:)
 
Best treatment for cystitis is Septrin and Rimadyl. Septrin to treat the infection, Rimadyl to reduce the inflammation and pain caused by the cystitis.

And of course, plenty of fluids. :)
 
Hmmm did the vet recommend a probiotic? 10 days is a lot of antibiotics, he could really do with a probiotic...perhaps you could have a look if you could get a VetaFarm Probiotic?
 
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