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Helping A Pig With A Uti Get More Comfortable

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Fweeper

Fweeper

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Today is not a good day. Got the boys up this morning to discover out of the blue blood stained bed from last night so 2 and a half hours in the vets later, Praline is on the usual metacam & baytril combo for a couple of days, to go back in if he shows no improvement. They have given him an ultrasound, there's no obvious stones, the vet suspects it's more sludge than anything else, with a UTI in there to make sure he feels really awful, poor little lad. They did say they'd x-ray to make sure there were no stones if he showed no improvement by tomorrow morning, but he'd have to be sedated, he's not the kind of pig willing to just lie still, sadly, so I'm hesitant to put more stress on his obviously poorly body.

He's had todays dose of drugs, but he's clearly struggling to get comfortable still, so I was wondering if there was anything else I could do to help him get some rest? Should I change his diet to help? Give him more pillows? Any help from more experienced piggy nurses gratefully taken here, I feel for him, he's obviously in pain, bless him.
 
With an xray, see if the vet can give it with just a quick whiff of gas as opposed to a full GA.. I would certainly go ahead with the xray though if he is still struggling just to rule out stones.

What does he weigh and what dose metacam is he on? If there is no change it may be worth asking your vet about septrin another antibiotic that can be used for UTI's quite successfully.

Sending him lots of love
 
:agr: with sportbilly.i have recently had a boar who had urine infection,and ear infection at same time.Lewis was on Sulfatrim 0.4 mls twice aday.he also had xrays under GA to rule out stones.He was on this for three weeks.I'm happy to say his urine infection has cleared,and his head tilt has mostly gone.I have started him on a low calcium diet,changed his pellets to grainless pellets.The vet has also suggested to use cystease,as it has glucosamine in and this helps to line the bladder and enable the bladder walls to have less irritation.I hope your piggie gets better soon.x:)
 
@sport_billy I'll suggest those options, thank you! He weighs 1200g, and he's on a dose of 0.15ml metacam once every 24 hours.

@eileen Thank you for the suggestions, I've currently got these two on excel burgess, the mint one, which they love, but I'm wondering if I should switch it out now? I think I need to find the undoubtedly awesome thread on low calcium diet eh!
 
It usually takes 2-3 days for the meds to kick in.

If you are worried about stones or sludge, please ask for a scan or an x-ray with as little gas as your vet can get away with. Usually two pictures from different angles are needed.

In order to help flush out the bacteria and ease the discomfort, you can feed mildly diuretic veg like dandelion, cucumber or lettuce (but not so much as to cause diarrhea). Make sure that he is drinking well.

How big a dose of baytril is he on? The metacam can be given safely twice daily; guinea pigs have a much faster metabolism, so metacam wears off rather quickly. Has your boy got repeated UTIs and how piggy savvy is your vet?
 
@Wiebke The vet did tell me to give him 48 hours before we decided if the x-ray was needed, he's already had an ultrasound and it looks more like sludge in the bladder, no obvious stones. He's definitely still eating well and luckily really adores lettuce and cucumber, so we'll try those. He is drinking well too, he's always been quite a thirsty pig, so hopefully he continues with that. He's currently on 0.9ml baytril once a day. This is his first UTI/bladder issue, but he was a rescue and he's only been with me since October last year, so I'm not sure of any health issues before then. The vet, mercifully, is very pig savvy, and all the nurses there have their own, so he's in good hands.
 
Fweeper said:
@Wiebke The vet did tell me to give him 48 hours before we decided if the x-ray was needed, he's already had an ultrasound and it looks more like sludge in the bladder, no obvious stones. He's definitely still eating well and luckily really adores lettuce and cucumber, so we'll try those. He is drinking well too, he's always been quite a thirsty pig, so hopefully he continues with that. He's currently on 0.9ml baytril once a day. This is his first UTI/bladder issue, but he was a rescue and he's only been with me since October last year, so I'm not sure of any health issues before then. The vet, mercifully, is very pig savvy, and all the nurses there have their own, so he's in good hands.
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Please split the baytril dose for the same reason I have cited for the metacam.

If your boy is found to have sludge, be aware that it will not come out by itself, but that any bladder flush needs to be done ever so carefully to prevent things from backing up into the kidneys, which is fatal.
The symptoms are likely to stem from a cystitis (inflammation of the bladder walls), caused by irritation from the sludge.
Please discuss giving either glucosamine or a glucosamine-based cat food supplement like cystease to support the natural glucosamine coating of the bladder walls.

You will also want to adjust the diet:
- The first thing is to switch to filtering the water to remove any calcium and minerals that can contribute to the build-up of sludge. that can really make all the difference, especially in a hard water area, but it is recommended for all guinea pigs with urinary tract issues.
- Check your pellets and move to a low/no added calcium and ideally timothy hay based brand. Reduce the pellets to a teaspoon per day until then. @Flutterby can advise you on that score.
- Stay off any calcium rich foods as well as root veg. You may find our sample diet picture (minus the lettuce for the longer term) helpful as a sustainable balanced low calcium diet. Most of our experienced owners feed a similar daily diet and have much less problems with bladder stones/sludge as a result. You can never eliminate all factors that play into the complex process of calcium absorption, but you can go a fair way to minimise any factors that you can actually influence.

Generally, septrin or sulfatrim (both Sulfamethoxazole-Trimethoprim brands) are usually considered the most effective antibiotics for urinary tract problems in guinea pigs. Baytril is still the only officially licensed antibiotic for guinea pigs but it has its limits.

We have got a recommended vets locator on the top bar if you feel you would like a second opnion at any point.
 
@Wiebke Thank you so much for the advice, I've made some notes and I think I'll take him back in tomorrow to request they look at further treatment earlier rather than later. He's done that classic pig thing of hiding this for long enough that it came as a total surprise to me, so I'd like to be proactive about it from now on. He's very precious to me, I nursed him up to weight and health after rescue and this is heartbreaking to see, so thank you for the help, it's very much appreciated. I think I need to go and be an emotional wreck for a bit now!
 
I'm sorry that your little one is under the weather, sending lots of healing vibes. As for foods that are low in calcium you lowest ones are Versele Laga Cavia Complete or Bunny Guinepig Basic. They are both from Zooplus.
 
So not good news today, this morning, Praline was much worse, and I took him straight in to the vets, they x-rayed him, and found no stones, but what they suspect to be crystals lodged in his urethra, which they did their best to clear, but couldn't entirely. They basically said his options are to try him on very strong antibiotics and painkillers overnight to see if he could pass whatever blockage is left, or be put to sleep. I felt I had to let him try, and the vet reassured me his pain relief would help, so I brought him home. I'll be staying up with him tonight so he can have another dose at 1am, and then see how he is in the morning.

I am utterly heartbroken, I cannot describe what that pig means to me but I think that his time might be very close. His brother is at once crying for him, but also attacking anything that smells of him because they've had to be apart for the first time since birth. I have no idea if I made the best choice or not, generally, I have no idea what happened for most of the day when I wasn't in the vets. I'm sorry for this ramble, I just really needed to tell some people who get it, I guess.
 
@Fweeper As long as he's still able to pee then it's not a life or death thing that needs to be dealt with this very second.

Depending on where the crystals are lodged the vet could either do a bladder flush and push it out. Or if it's too big they could attempt to push it back into the bladder (which is more tricky).

But as they're saying "crystals" and not "stone" then it sounds like it could come out.

As you're staying up with him I would recommend trying to get more water into him. Try to syringe some into him (tiny amounts by syringe so he doesn't swallow too much in one go) and offer him wet veg and a bit more cucumber than he would normally have.

Has he been given a higher dose of Metacam for tonight? A one off higher dose won't harm, you could ring the vet or emergency vet for advice on that.

Tomorrow, I would definitely discuss the option of a bladder flush with your vet. There have been quite a few people on the forum that it has worked on their piggy for.

If they're happy to try it, there are supplements such as Cystease which lines the bladder and pipework so it doesn't get as irritating for the pig.

My last boar had sludge (crystals) for about 3 years and 2 bladder stone surgeries. He was fine and I hope your boy is too.

Unless he is unable to pee then there are options. In the meantime try not to worry, and give him lots of loving and water.
 
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