Hi! I've Just Joined The Forum With My 4 Year Old Piggy

[munchmonster]

I need some advice. My piggy has had 4 years of great health and would eat for England, but he has been to the vet 6 times in the past 2 weeks and I worry about him. I was told he had a possible bladder infection and had antibiotics. The course has finished but he is very reluctant to pass urine and the vet said there is a special medicated food which may help him, but when I asked what the food was she was vague. Can anyone suggest what the food is? I love my piggy and don't want him to have pain

 

[Wiebke]

I need some advice. My piggy has had 4 years of great health and would eat for England, but he has been to the vet 6 times in the past 2 weeks and I worry about him. I was told he had a possible bladder infection and had antibiotics. The course has finished but he is very reluctant to pass urine and the vet said there is a special medicated food which may help him, but when I asked what the food was she was vague. Can anyone suggest what the food is? I love my piggy and don't want him to have pain

Hi and welcome

I am moving your thread to our specially monitored Health and Illness for best advice.

What kind of antibiotic and what kind of dosage has your guinea pig been on? Ho piggy-savvy is the vet you are using?

Personally I would strongly suggest to push for an x-ray or scan for bladder stones. It sounds like there is one stuck in the urethra.

Glucosamine or glucosamine based bladder supplements like cystease can help to protect the natural glucosamine coat of the beleaguered bladder walls, but they cannot replace a bladder stone removal.

Here is our recommended UK vets locator: Guinea Pig Vet Locator

It would help us a lot if you could please add your county to your details, so we can help you with more local recommendations if possible. Please click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. This makes it appear with every post you make. We have members and enquiries from all over the world, so our advice can vary a lot depending on what is available for that specific member. Thank you!

@Pound Shilling & Pig @Jaycey @helen105281 @Freela

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

Hi, sorry your piggy is unwell. I agree with @Wiebke that he should have an xray. Bladder stones are not uncommon in guinea pigs and are very painful and dangerous if they block the urethra . The symptoms are like those of a bladder infection and their presence can also cause infection. They can be removed by surgery. Is he on pain relief? If not please ask your vet for some.

 

[munchmonster]

Sorry to have been vague. He has had both awake and sedated x-rays and luckily no tumours or stones found. He has had 4 different lots of medication - antibiotics, one to relieve gas in his illium, one to help him poo again, and the latest, following the sedated x-ray being a pain relief medication as the last x-ray showed he has arthritis. I love him dearly and want the best for him and its heartbreaking to see him so miserable.

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

Thanks for the info @munchmonster I am glad bladder stones can be ruled out but it is hard to say what his problem might be. Is he eating normally? Piggies can sometimes start with one problem that can quickly cause others, especially if they stop eating. It is possible that pain from his arthritis caused him to eat less, or that he had some type of infection. The bloat you say he has been treated for could be the cause of his problems or it could be a result of something else, such as the antibiotics. Once they stop eating their guts can stop working as they need a constant supply of high fibre food going through, so it is good that your vet gave him gut motility drugs, is he still on these?

You say he is reluctant to pass urine. Do you mean he appears to be in pain/strains when he tries? or that he simply doesn't produce much? If he isn't weeing much he may be a bit dehydrated so offer him water rich veggies such as cucumber and celery. I would also recommend you give him probiotics to help restore the balance in his guts.


@Wiebke

 

[CheeseMommy]

Oxbow has urinary tract support supplements, my vet says they're very good for piggies. I would also make sure has has plenty of water, a low calcium veggie diet, and cucumber with his supper every night.

 

[munchmonster]

Thanks for the info @munchmonster I am glad bladder stones can be ruled out but it is hard to say what his problem might be. Is he eating normally? Piggies can sometimes start with one problem that can quickly cause others, especially if they stop eating. It is possible that pain from his arthritis caused him to eat less, or that he had some type of infection. The bloat you say he has been treated for could be the cause of his problems or it could be a result of something else, such as the antibiotics. Once they stop eating their guts can stop working as they need a constant supply of high fibre food going through, so it is good that your vet gave him gut motility drugs, is he still on these?

You say he is reluctant to pass urine. Do you mean he appears to be in pain/strains when he tries? or that he simply doesn't produce much? If he isn't weeing much he may be a bit dehydrated so offer him water rich veggies such as cucumber and celery. I would also recommend you give him probiotics to help restore the balance in his guts.


@Wiebke

Thanks for your advice! He is no longer being given gut motility medication, although I do have some left so will start him on this again, as nothing seems to be happening in that direction. I will definitely give him some cucumber when I've signed off from this site, as he really isn't eating his hay. In desperation I've given him french beans and kale which he loves as a snack, but I will try giving him anything within reason, just to ensure he eats something. He has even stopped eating pieces of carrot.

What would you suggest for probiotics? where can I get them?

 

[munchmonster]

Oxbow has urinary tract support supplements, my vet says they're very good for piggies. I would also make sure has has plenty of water, a low calcium veggie diet, and cucumber with his supper every night.

 

[munchmonster]

Hi CheeseMommy thanks for replying to me. Where can I buy urinary tract support suppplements? He has completely gone off his hay and although I know he should have it he is only interested in french beans and kale. I will give him some cucumber as soon as I've posted this.

 

[CheeseMommy]

Hi CheeseMommy thanks for replying to me. Where can I buy urinary tract support suppplements? He has completely gone off his hay and although I know he should have it he is only interested in french beans and kale. I will give him some cucumber as soon as I've posted this.

First of all, do NOT feed your piggy kale. Kale is like a once every few weeks treat. It has a lot of calcium. Good foods for your piggy (low calcium diet), are red/green leaf lettuce, cilantro (coriander in the UK), cucumber, and red/yellow/green bell pepper. Your piggy should be getting 1 cup of all those veggies every day.

I can't seem to link where to get the supplements in the forum. However, you can find them on Amazon UK. They're called Oxbow Urinary Support.

I strongly suggest you please feed your piggy the veggies I listed above as his daily food. Then do some research on what he can have as treats. (Attached is a good reference). Your piggy is probably having urine issues because of all the calcium you're putting in his diet.

Guinea Lynx :: Bladder Stones

Guinea Lynx :: UTI

This is a very serious issue and should be properly addressed ASAP.

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

What would you suggest for probiotics? where can I get them?

I use Avipro plus. you can buy it on line from Vet UK. I would mix some in a little water and give it to him directly by syringe to guarantee he gets it rather than putting it in his water bottle,

As he is not eating you need to be syringe feeding, I recommend you use Oxbow critical care for this. which is also available from Vet uk. While waiting for it to arrive mash up some nuggets with water and start syringe feeding these. There is a syringe feeding guide on the forum. I am tagging @Wiebke to point you to this thread and any others that may be useful.

Please also take him back to the vets as if he is getting very dehydrated he will need some subcut fluids, also they can re access him and see if he still has bloat. He really needs to see a cavy savvy vet urgently to try and get to the bottom of what is causing his problems. Please check out our vet located to see if there is a recommended vet near you.

 

[Wiebke]

I use Avipro plus. you can buy it on line from Vet UK. I would mix some in a little water and give it to him directly by syringe to guarantee he gets it rather than putting it in his water bottle,

As he is not eating you need to be syringe feeding, I recommend you use Oxbow critical care for this. which is also available from Vet uk. While waiting for it to arrive mash up some nuggets with water and start syringe feeding these. There is a syringe feeding guide on the forum. I am tagging @Wiebke to point you to this thread and any others that may be useful.

Please also take him back to the vets as if he is getting very dehydrated he will need some subcut fluids, also they can re access him and see if he still has bloat. He really needs to see a cavy savvy vet urgently to try and get to the bottom of what is causing his problems. Please check out our vet located to see if there is a recommended vet near you.

You can find our syringe feeding guide with some useful information on first aid kits, medicating piggies, looking after ill piggies, freshly operated and impacted piggies etc. in your Caring For An Ill Guinea Pig undersection.

Here is our illustrated step-by-step guide. When you feed mushed up pellets in an emergency, you need to prep the syringe tip as shown as otherwise the fibre will not come through. You can get a 1 ml syringe without needle from a pharmacy. The guide tells you what to do in an emergency, how much and how often to feed depending on how ill your piggy is, how to cope with an uncooperative piggy etc. In short, all the tips and tricks of the trade to help keep your piggy alive to get it through a rough patch until medication can kick in and your piggy is well enough to eat on its own again.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

 

[munchmonster]

OMG thank you so much for your post. I've just opened the post after getting home from work and feel guilty as I did leave him a bit of kale to find and eat. I have given him a french bean some days, but not every day. I will not give him any more kale. I will do my homework and order what he needs tonight.

Thank again for your in depth post

 

[Wiebke]

OMG thank you so much for your post. I've just opened the post after getting home from work and feel guilty as I did leave him a bit of kale to find and eat. I have given him a french bean some days, but not every day. I will not give him any more kale. I will do my homework and order what he needs tonight.

Thank again for your in depth post

A bit of kale every now and then won't hurt, but if you want to feed it regularly, you need to either feed no pellets at all or grain and calcium-free pellets in small amounts.