• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Guinea Pig Uti

Status
Not open for further replies.
Could be a sign of a developing skin problem; it is a secondary issue, caused by a lowered immune system. Poor you! It is so frustrating when you do not know what you are up against!

One of my piggies has been rushed to the vets about three weeks ago with sign of acute heart failure; it turned out that her laboured breathing is neither due to pneumonia or a failing heart, but the build-up of fluids in her chest (which is causing her breathing problems) prevents us seeing what is going on, so we can only treat the symptoms. She's also started to bloat every 2-4 days (likely caused by some internal pressure on the guts), so I am very short on sleep by now! She is seen by one of the best piggy vets in country, but the remaining likely causes are all pretty nasty. Sometimes, all you can do is your best. :(
 
Beano may need to be put to sleep :'( I will only have her and Poppet, at least for many, many years and no more pets after. I can't take it when they get sick and die suffering like this.
 
I'm sorry about your little guinea. It proves, even with the very best of care, they get sick with these terrible illness. I hope she'll get better soon.
 
No, she didn't tell me to put her to sleep. She is still struggling with going to the toilet - is much worse. I noticed pink in her urine today for the first time. She has had multiple x-rays and urine analysis. All have come up clear of bladder stones and the uti is clear, her bloat has also cleared up. Don't know what to do anymore. She has no stones and her uti has cleared up, yet she is in worse pain than ever.
 
Has the vet considered ovarian cysts? These are very common in females & if there is no urine infection present may cause the pink wee, especially if they burst. They also would not show up on an X-ray being soft tissue. They can be treated by hormone injections given 2 weeks apart, usually successfully. The other alternative is that the pink wee is being caused by inflammation of the bladder wall, which is what my piggy has. She has monthly Cartrophen injections & a low dose of Metacam daily as anti-inflammatories. Is she getting pain relief meds still?
 
I agree with Poppy's Mum. Ovarian cysts are definitely something to consider as is Interstitial Cystitis (inflammation of the bladder).

Could you provide a brief summary of her diet?

I think pain relief is the most important thing at this stage if she is not on any.
 
Yes, she's on pain medication - tramol and medicam. But I'm going to the vet tomorrow and don't know if this will change. Since seeing the tiny bit of pink, I haven't seen any. She is having trouble doing droppings (straining and little sqweeks). I'm handfeeding her about 30-40 mls of water a day (the vet said it will help flush out the bladder). She is chasing the other female (Poppet) around alot lately though, and jumping on her. How does the vet check for ovarian cysts? I'm currently up to $1000 in vet bills, and only work part time :(
Her diet: Oaten Hay constantly
Pellets: half small handfull of pellets (she has both Peter's and Oxbow, but only eats the Peters)
Cup of vegetables a day such as capsicum (she loves the seeds), celery leaves, carrot, tomato, slice of apple or pear, slice of bannana. At the moment I'm not giving her vegetables that cause gas as she still has a bit of bloat. She is also having a vitamin c tablet atm mixed with critical care.
 
Btw, she has been palpitated many times by the guinea pig vet, who hasn't felt any cysts. :)
 
Aww sorry to hear youre having problems with your lil piggy. :(
i had my Ellie checked for Ovarian cysts, she had an ultrasound scan (same as pregnant humans) that showed up a walnut sized mass, i think it was on her right side. she had kept getting UTI's &they would clear up then reappear shortly after the Baytril had finished.
Ellie was 6+ yrs old when tested & the vet told me the only option was spaying her, but she was not prepared to do it on such a mature piggy. So after a bit of research on here, i suggested Chorulon injections (Hcg) its actually a cattle hormone, but i was happy to give it a go although unlicensed on piggys (which many of the effective ones seem to be)the vet did a bit of research & contacted the manufacturer for dosage guidance, she then had 2 separate injections 7-10 days apart & touch wood no bleeding since March.

i think the ultrasound was a bit extra on top of my consultation fee but not much & the hormone injections were about £20 each (although i think some members have paid about £50 each for theirs) my vet is not a specialist exotics vet but does have a large practice with 2 vets that i prefer to see as they are more guinea savvy than the others & i think the vet was interested to see the results as she had never tried it before. which may have made it cheaper for me.

i did have a thread going for Ellie so you can read it if you like? i will try & find it for you if you're interested?
Ellie did at times make more of a fuss when pooping than weeing & also bled more at times when pooping.

i agree with Poppy'sMum it could be inflammation of the bladder wall. but i also Think i read somewhere that guineas on grass at first can give them pink or red wee, some kind of chemical reaction to the grass apparently!

Healing vibes & good luck with your furball baby. xx:luv:
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top