Has anyone ever had any experience with FLUTD in guinea pigs? Since around November I've had my little milo at the vet a few times about squeaking while peeing. Nothing was done because around dec1jan they did a dip test on a urine sample and it showed no infection. The squeaking wasn't constant throughout that time. About 3 or more weeks ago I noticed he sounded really sore and had peed a little bit of blood, so I took him straight to the vet. X rays showed there was no stones or anything else so he was given a week worth of anti biotic. It didn't stop the squeaking completely but there was no more blood. Last week he started peeing blood again, quite a few times in one night so I took him straight back to the vet. They have given him another anti biotic and pain relief. There hasn't been any more blood but occasional squeaking while peeing. One of the exotic vets has owned guinea pigs herself and has come to find that they seem to be able to get a condition mostly common in cats known as FLUTD. They said it can be triggered by different things, infection, stress or basically the bladder can get irritated for no reason at all. They suggested separating him from his brother incase that could be a stress factor but my boys don't fight, just the normal dominance behaviour (they are both 11 months old). He's still eating and drinking and hasn't lost any weight. He doesn't seem stressed to me but I'm so worried and stressed I just don't wanna miss anything and want to be able to help him. I'm not sure what to do and was wondering if anyone has had any similar situations and could give me some advice? He's squeaking quite a lot today again but no blood. He's still getting his meds and has another vet check up on Tuesday.
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Guinea pig squeaks while urinating
- Thread starter Nikkib90
- Start date
I was going to say l had never heard of FLUTD but l see it means feline lower urinary tract disorder. In piggies we call it interstitial cystitis or IC. It's very common in piggies, an inflammation of the bladder which usually responds to antiinflammatories like metacam and drugs that protect the bladder wall, such as glucosamine.
Adjusting the diet may help as it is thought to be related to excessive calcium in the urine
Low Calcium Diet For Bladder Piggies
Oh OK I didn't know the piggy name! I have come to realise I feel my pigs parsley daily for their green veg and I've just read on Google it is high in calcium, I'm wondering if that could be a factor? I'm worried because I know my being anxious and stressing over him is probably making him worse. He seems like a happy boy apart from when he pees. I don't really know much about this condition as I was only told about it on Thursday. The antibiotic the vet has him on is called enrocare and I can't remember the name of the pain relief as I'm not at home but I think it begins with an L and it's actually for cats.
D
DMS260820
Parsley is what gave my boar 3 bladder stones when i didnt know i was over feeding it. Feed coriander instead, only 2 sprigs a day, feed red bell pepper too for higj vit c low calcium
The pain relief i bet is called loxicom
Parsley is what gave my boar 3 bladder stones when i didnt know i was over feeding it. Feed coriander instead, only 2 sprigs a day, feed red bell pepper too for higj vit c low calcium
The pain relief i bet is called loxicom
Yes it's loxicom! Oh wow ok I'm 100% stopping the parsley. I used to give curly kale but once he got the taste of parsley he's refusing to eat kale. Thank you so much. A diet change is definitely in order.
D
DMS260820
Wet veg uder the tap, and use a brita filter if you have hard water in your area aswell. But guinea pigs do need calcium, just not loads
Luckily I live in a soft water area thankfully. I already wet the veg before they get it. I will be buying bell peppers and some coriander first thing tomorrow. Hoping to see an improvement in my baby. Thanks again for your help
piggieminder
Forum Buddy
Avoid kale and spinich too, that's the two the vet told me to avoid at all costs! It's a good idea to keep an eye on what veg you are feeding when he has an episode. I have two piggies with bladder problems one is triggered by corriander (the other won't eat it) both are triggered by celery. The diet thread pig in the city linked above has gots lots of useful information. Stress can also be a factor in triggering IC, Peanut has a flare up whenever he gets stressed and as he's an anxious personality that's quite often!
It's always been kale and parsley for him along with the occasional carrots and brocoli and stuff. The parsley and kale isn't affecting my other piggie but I will be removing it from both their diets completely.
I'm not even sure Milo gets stressed, he can be a bit skittish but he seems to be a very happy boy, that's what was so confusing. After joining this forum and learning about the calcium issue though I feel like it explains a lot and it's definitely nice to have this support and advice available. I was going out of my mind before.
Hey I just got a brita filter, it's a jug with the filter inside. Is that OK for them?
D
DMS260820
Yea thats the one
you can give kale , spinach and parsley. Just do them once a week in small portions. I'm worried youll take too much calcium out of their dietYea thats the one
Thanks. I will but the problem is once milo gets parsley he refuses other greens lol I will limit it to once a week and give bell peppers daily as he seems to like those aswell for his vit c
Hi again I feel annoying for asking so much, today is day 2 with no parsley for my baby and there's still a bit of squeaking while urinating. How long do these episodes last? I'm trying to remember that he's had parsley daily for a long time and it might just take some time for his system to adjust.
Firstly you are doing a good job so try not to worry too much.
It is good you are addressing the diet and also using filtered water for your boys now.
It make take a few days for things to settle down as you have only just changed his diet.
For now I would try and avoid all high calcium foods until he has stopped squeaking and seems more comfortable.
He will get enough calcium from his pellets and other fresh foods.
For some sensitive piggies even a few pieces of their 'trigger food' can set them off again, so try and keep the number of fresh foods you feed limited until you can work out what sets off the squeaking.
A food diary with details of how he is doing each day would be a good idea to help you work this out.
You may also want to consider adding a supplement such as glucosamine to his diet to help protect the bladder wall.
I know of several people on here who use Cytease which is designed for cats, but I haven't tried it so can't give specific advice.
It is good you are addressing the diet and also using filtered water for your boys now.
It make take a few days for things to settle down as you have only just changed his diet.
For now I would try and avoid all high calcium foods until he has stopped squeaking and seems more comfortable.
He will get enough calcium from his pellets and other fresh foods.
For some sensitive piggies even a few pieces of their 'trigger food' can set them off again, so try and keep the number of fresh foods you feed limited until you can work out what sets off the squeaking.
A food diary with details of how he is doing each day would be a good idea to help you work this out.
You may also want to consider adding a supplement such as glucosamine to his diet to help protect the bladder wall.
I know of several people on here who use Cytease which is designed for cats, but I haven't tried it so can't give specific advice.
I'm just panicking so much incase I miss something and the calcium isn't a trigger. Although after everything I've read I don't see how it couldn't be. My other pig is perfectly fine but I guess like humans, everyone is different.
He has a vet app later today so I'm gonna speak to them about it more and explain I've been researching. Is glucosamine something my vet needs to prescribe? Or is that something I can purchase myself. I've never heard of it. I've had 3 other piggies before the two guys I have now and none ever had any bladder problems so this is new territory for me. My anxiety has had me thinking all sorts and terrified incase I miss something and the little guy dies. The vet reassured me that he's not losing weight, he's bright and eating so they said that's excellent. Hard not to panic when it's our babies though right?
It is very hard not to panic, but you are doing a great job making sure you find a solution for your little guy.
Where are you based?
UK, US, elsewhere?
This will allow people to make more specific recommendations for you.
Where are you based?
UK, US, elsewhere?
This will allow people to make more specific recommendations for you.
Update, I spoke to my vet about cystease and she's given me the go ahead for it, my only problem is I seem to be having trouble getting it mixed with water and back into a syringe 
any tips on the best way to get it to our piggies?
any tips on the best way to get it to our piggies?
D
DMS260820
Make it as a batch for 4 days max. I syringe 4ml of water into a well washed out shot glass, then open up 4 cystease capsules and tip them all in the water. Give it a stir and leave it for a few hours, it then mixes lovely. You can keep it in the fridge, i say only do 4 days worth because it wont keep after that (apparently)Update, I spoke to my vet about cystease and she's given me the go ahead for it, my only problem is I seem to be having trouble getting it mixed with water and back into a syringe
. The key is to make it ahead of time.A shot glass was all i had, no the best idea, but you might have something similar to use.
@ClaireW teached me this, i asked the same question as you last year
Make it as a batch for 4 days max. I syringe 4ml of water into a well washed out shot glass, then open up 4 cystease capsules and tip them all in the water. Give it a stir and leave it for a few hours, it then mixes lovely. You can keep it in the fridge, i say only do 4 days worth because it wont keep after that (apparently)
A shot glass was all i had, no the best idea, but you might have something similar to use.
@ClaireW teached me this, i asked the same question as you last year
Thank you. I tried a full capsule but I found the water just dissolved into it and then it was hard to get into the syringe
need to keep at it I guess. The vet I'm seeing isn't exactly specialised in exotics (the male vet who worked there knows more) she's spoken to an exotic vet who moved their piggies outdoors and it apparently stopped the issues because of stress so that's all she's clinging to, for me to try moving him outside. My little man doesn't seem stressed to me but then again, do you know if piggie stress signs are noticeable? He's still squeaking but then 2 seconds later he popcorns away lol
Stick to your gut feeling on this one.Thank you. I tried a full capsule but I found the water just dissolved into it and then it was hard to get into the syringe
If your piggies are indoor pigs then moving them outside is more likely to cause stress than cure it!
Plus living in Northern Ireland having them outside is certainly not ideal weather wise.
Hopefully the Cytease and change in diet will start to help soon, and please remember that very little is really known about the causes of urinary problems in guinea pigs. I don't doubt that stress may be a factor for some piggies, but I imagine there are lots of other triggers too.
D
DMS260820
When you make it as a 4 day dose in one, you can just keep syringing 1ml up per day, trying to suck 1ml of water up with these capsules mixed in alone is quite hardThank you. I tried a full capsule but I found the water just dissolved into it and then it was hard to get into the syringe
Hey everyone how much cystease is safe to give our piggies per day. Since I started milo on it I was giving him a full capsule for a few days, hadn't heard a squeak out of him while going to the loo which was amazing and the longest he's went in months, he seemed so much happier, the vet said give him 1/4 tho so yesterday I cut him down to that and today I've had a squeak. I wanna put him back on a full capsule but I'm just wondering is it safe?
I use half a capsule twice a day for a week then reduce to half a day long term. It's not likely to do any harm. Glad he is improving
Thanks. It's just with him getting the full capsule for a few days then yesterday he got half and today he was squeaking again so I feel like he needs the full capsule for now. Just worried about over dosing.
So milo has started squeaking again while peeing even though his diet has been changed (we had 3 - 4 silent days recently) I don't know what to do. He's been on cystease for 6 days and I'm just worried.
The last few days the other piggie has been trying to mount him and stuff again and I'm wondering if that could be a factor. He loves his brother though but sometimes I think that the other one annoys him, then there's times they are snuggling.
Can anyone tell me how to know if my Milo is stressed? He makes noises when Charlie is trying to mount him and stuff and there's sometimes some mild teeth chattering that lasts a few seconds. And a bit of arguing.
To me Milo seems like a happy boy he doesn't hide away. He wheeks at me when the fridge opens. He still popcorns, he's eating and everything. Most times after he squeaks while going to the toilet he popcorns away or runs away happy. It's a very confusing time and I want to make sure I'm doing my best for him.
Any advice would be really appreciated
The last few days the other piggie has been trying to mount him and stuff again and I'm wondering if that could be a factor. He loves his brother though but sometimes I think that the other one annoys him, then there's times they are snuggling.
Can anyone tell me how to know if my Milo is stressed? He makes noises when Charlie is trying to mount him and stuff and there's sometimes some mild teeth chattering that lasts a few seconds. And a bit of arguing.
To me Milo seems like a happy boy he doesn't hide away. He wheeks at me when the fridge opens. He still popcorns, he's eating and everything. Most times after he squeaks while going to the toilet he popcorns away or runs away happy. It's a very confusing time and I want to make sure I'm doing my best for him.
Any advice would be really appreciated
I have a piggy just like this who squeals intermittently if something upsets him, and then is fine again. It's very puzzling. You are doing all you can. I assume he is still on a painkiller as well, l tend to keep mine on metacam long term as it helps with inflammation in the bladder as well as pain.
The piggy behaviour doesn't sound too serious, ok would watch and see for now
Yeah he's getting 0.7ml of loxicom daily and I have him on 1 full cystease tablet. I don't know what it is the past few days with the squealing while going. I've seen him pee without a peep in this time and then not long ago tonight he was squeaking during it like he was sore. Is this normal for this condition? Those 3 or 4 days of silence was great I really felt like I got somewhere with him and now I feel like I could be back to square one.
Yes it's not uncommon for symptoms to be intermittent but with time things should gradually settle. Obviously if it persists pop him back for a review by your vet
He has to go back next Tuesday because they wanna see him. Trouble is my anxiety and waiting so long. I just wish there was a quick fix for my little man. My anxiety kicks in and I'm over thinking and worried incase there's something serious wrong with him and stuff. My mum keeps reassuring me that if it was anything serious he would of lost a lot of weight and not be eating and stuff. I just can't help myself with worrying.