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Guinea pig having increasingly painful wees/poos two days after bladder stone removal

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GPmum

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We had a check-up yesterday (one day post surgery) and another one is scheduled for tomorrow but I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced this. I'm hoping the bladder stone/sludge couldn't have recurred already?! It's been a worrying time as he didn't recover from surgery very fast due to a mishap with his leg. Any comments would be much appreciated. Thank you very much!

Other info that might be helpful:
  • His diet has been very low calcium.
  • He hasn't been drinking very well since surgery but we tried to make up for it by providing Critical Care in a relatively sloppy form and soaking his usual vegetables overnight in water.
  • His stools are a bit looser than normal.
  • His wee appears to be clear - no obvious white spots or blood.
 
I’m sorry to hear this.

Have you been weighing him daily since he became unwell and particularly since surgery?
This is vital so you can know you are getting enough critical care (fibre) into him

If you are giving him excess water then that could explain the softer poops.

Is he otherwise ok in himself?
Is he on painkillers?

Do keep in mind that going too low with calcium intake is actually just as bad as being too high - it can cause the same issues (sludge etc) because the the calcium balance can still be wrong, just wrong in the other direction
 
Many thanks for your reply @Piggies&buns. He lost 20g on the day of surgery and 10g the next day and we will weigh him again in the morning. His eating has definitely improved over the last 24 hours and he seems remarkably well in himself now. It's just the vocalising while weeing/pooing that is concerning and the fact it has increased today.

He is on metacam and paracetamol. We will ask about all this at his check-up of course. Thank you for the comment about not going too low on calcium - we will be less cautious soon!
 
That’s good - his weight loss is not weight loss, it is still entirely within normal daily fluctuations. Definitely keep up with the daily weight checks.

Things may just be a bit tender since surgery, and now the surgery medications have worn off, but it is obviously important to check it with the vet.

Let us know how he is.
What is his name?
 
Thank you @Piggies&buns. That is an excellent point about the surgery medications now having worn off. Perhaps that is the explanation. His name is Larry and his friend (or brother - not sure as they are rescues) is Harry 😊 I will let you know what the vet says 🙏🏼
 
I’m afraid Larry is in a worse way after he gnawed his foot during the night. I didn’t go into it yesterday but basically it was swollen from the bandage on his leg which had been too tight and/or kept on too long after cannulation during his surgery on Wednesday. The foot is in quite a bad way. He’s now on metacam, paracetamol, tramadol and an oral antibiotic and we have an ointment to deter him from interfering with it but I’m not sure that’s working at the moment - he seems to “go for” his foot whenever he’s awake and not on a lap. We’ve been told he might lose a couple of toes and at this point I can envisage a far worse outcome 😢

If anyone has any tips on deterring GPs from interacting with a wound I’d be grateful for advice.

I mentioned the painful weeing/pooing but they said as long as there’s not a total obstruction we’ll concentrate on the foot and review everything with another appointment on Monday morning.
 
Oh no! Poor Larry 🙁
Hopefully the pain relief is keeping him comfortable at least x

We had a tiny baby here once who had a similar problem, but he was so tiny we just used to put him in a baby sock! He could still walk around, but not get his foot.

But of course he was so very small!

It may be pain causing him to bite at it, or perhaps it feels numb? Does he use it to walk? Is it a front or back foot?
 
Thank you for your reply, @Wheekallweek (love the username!). I hadn’t thought of a sock or equivalent 😊 He seems to be leaving it alone while he’s on the sofa so I’m wondering about taking it in turns to stay downstairs with him tonight.

He was prescribed the large amount of pain relief on the thinking that pain would be the main reason to interact with it. However, it doesn’t smell great, it’s swollen and the skin is compromised so I can imagine the urge to lick it or whatever is strong…

It’s one of the front feet. He is moving around although not with a normal gait I think.
 
GPmum said:
Thank you for your reply, @Wheekallweek (love the username!). I hadn’t thought of a sock or equivalent 😊 He seems to be leaving it alone while he’s on the sofa so I’m wondering about taking it in turns to stay downstairs with him tonight.

He was prescribed the large amount of pain relief on the thinking that pain would be the main reason to interact with it. However, it doesn’t smell great, it’s swollen and the skin is compromised so I can imagine the urge to lick it or whatever is strong…

It’s one of the front feet. He is moving around although not with a normal gait I think.
Click to expand...
Thank you! 😁

Poor little guy 🙁
I wonder if at some point amputation may be the only option. If it's a bit smelly it may be becoming necrotic.
Hope all goes well at the vets... It could be worth asking about manuka honey ointment, I've heard good things about that. Although I don't know if it would be a suitable option in this case?
 
Thank you @Wheekallweek. The conclusion today was to see if the antibiotics and natural healing process kick in but to keep in mind quality of life while we watch and wait. Larry seems quite bright some of / a lot of the time but his leg is bothering him at times so we need to monitor closely. It’s very sad to contemplate the idea of putting him to sleep.

I’m not sure if we would put him through amputation quite so soon after the bladder stone surgery and I have to admit I forgot to ask about a manuka preparation but since they are not dressing the limb I expect it might be too delicious! Next review is on Wednesday morning and we’ll get a better picture then I think.

Thank you for the moral support. It’s hard to talk to people without guinea pigs in a way as it’s hard for them to understand the extent to which a guinea pig captures your heart.
 
Thank you @Truffolo. The leg is not great but the “majority view” of the people involved is to give it some time even though it is a hard time for Larry. I’m going to start a new thread about it to ask for advice about dressings…
 
My boy had a wound on his scrotum and I hospitalized him at the vet for four days. He wore a cone while he was there.

When I brought him home they wanted me to keep the cone on but he wouldn't. Lucky for me the wound was a bit better so I just had to apply SSD cream daily and he left it alone.

The cone was really traumatic for him.
 
Thank you, everyone ❤️ Unfortunately we felt that Larry had no prospect of improving without an amputation and amputation wouldn't have been the best thing for him considering he was in a weakened state after bladder problems, so he was helped to sleep yesterday. We are very sad indeed but it was the right decision. Thank you to Larry for being a wonderful family member and thank you all for your support.
 
Sorry for your loss. These decisions are one of the more difficult aspects of pet care.
 
I’m so sorry you have had to help Larry over the rainbow bridge. Sending you and your family hugs. Popcorn pain free Larry
 
So sorry that you had to give Larry that last gift of love.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve.
Hugs 🤗
 
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