Guinea Pig With Bladder Stones For The Second Time. Any Other Options Other Than Surgery?

[Allyautumn]

Hi this is my first thread. I have 2 male guinea pigs who are about 2 and a half years old. In January one of my pigs got bladder stones, and we did the surgery to correct it, though it cost over £500. They were both doing fine and happy until a few weeks ago I noticed him squeaking again like he did before and blood in his wee. I took him to the vets and they gave him inflammation and pain killer medicine. I haven't took him back but the squeaking has still continued, so I am guessing it is stones. My parents won't pay for another opp which is understandable, but he is a lovely young guinea pig and I don't want to let him go just yet. What should I do? I can't expect my parents to pay but I don't want to let him go or be in pain.

Plus at the moment I am in the middle of exams and we are about to go on holiday in 2 weeks and leave the pigs with a family friend.

 

[TAN]

I would suggest taking pig back to vets first as that is a legal responsibility under some sort of act ( can't remember which though someone is bound to come on here and tell you ) If you still have any metacam that was previously used for pain relief you can give that to piggy - it could just be a urine infection which can be treated with an antibiotic called septrin ( this usually produces the best results if it is a urine infection ) An xRay would show if it is a stone again - don't panic - get pain relief and appointment for piggy first to find out what is going on - try to feed extra cucumber and syringe feed extra water if you can ( look up the syringe feeding guide on here ) - if it is a stone then depending on the size there may be other options - let us know how you get on once you have been to the vets and what vet says - if it is a stone sometimes if the stone is small enough it can be weed out ( my vet prescribes something for this - she can tell your vet what dose age and how long to use for ) - there are also pigs on here who are living with stones and it is being managed - but it all depends on what the vet says - good luck with your exams - sorry this has come at the worst time for you- I have a bladder stone pig myself and my daughter is doing her A level exams so I know what you are going through.

 

[Allyautumn]

I would suggest taking pig back to vets first as that is a legal responsibility under some sort of act ( can't remember which though someone is bound to come on here and tell you ) If you still have any metacam that was previously used for pain relief you can give that to piggy - it could just be a urine infection which can be treated with an antibiotic called septrin ( this usually produces the best results if it is a urine infection ) An xRay would show if it is a stone again - don't panic - get pain relief and appointment for piggy first to find out what is going on - try to feed extra cucumber and syringe feed extra water if you can ( look up the syringe feeding guide on here ) - if it is a stone then depending on the size there may be other options - let us know how you get on once you have been to the vets and what vet says - if it is a stone sometimes if the stone is small enough it can be weed out ( my vet prescribes something for this - she can tell your vet what dose age and how long to use for ) - there are also pigs on here who are living with stones and it is being managed - but it all depends on what the vet says - good luck with your exams - sorry this has come at the worst time for you- I have a bladder stone pig myself and my daughter is doing her A level exams so I know what you are going through.

Thank you so much!it has made me feel a bit more relieved knowing there may be other options so thank you. I think I will try and get him in at the vets on Monday if possible because on top of all that it is my birthday over the weekend so I have no free time! Along with revising. I will continue giving him the pain relief until then and hopefully the vets will be able to sort something out for him. Thanks again for the advise.

 

[sport_billy]

Hello, would advise getting an xray done, find out if stones have returned. Hopefully a stubborn infection that can be cleared up with antibiotics. Let us know how he gets on. Good luck!

 

[TAN]

In the meantime you can syringe 1 ml of fizzy water 3 times a day - no more at this stage as you do not want to cause bloat - if piggy then has any small stones in the tube running from the kidneys to the bladder the fizzy water should help to blow them through - we have done this 3 times with Bumble now - it was hoped he would then be able to we them out of the bladder as the tube that runs from the kidney to the bladder is narrower than the tube that they wee out of - unfortunately twice they then just sat in the bladder - but we did have success once when a stone was pushed out of the kidney itself and he managed to wee it out - it is the gas in the fizzy water that helps to push it through- this was laughed at by my general vet ( one of the partners in the practice ) - but my piggy specialist vet has proved him wrong 3 times now and knows her stuff - especially as she has kept pigs herself for years.But as stated no more than 1 ml of water 3 times a day.Hope you have a good birthday.