One of my piggies had UTI in early April. She took a 10-day course of antibiotic and seemed to be fine because she was eating more as well as gaining weight.
During the last few days, we observe that the symptom is coming back - squealing while urinating with hunched position. However, we don't find blood in her urine this time. After discussing with the vet, we decided to give her another course of antibiotic.
Can anyone tell us what is the cause of UTI and more importantly how to prevent it? This piggy is NOT a good drinker. Is lack of fluid a cause of UTI? Or is it about the kind of food they eat? My piggies are living in an open cage (the door is opened 24 hours a day). They run around on the carpet during day time. Looking forward to your sharing.
I have moved your thread to our Health/Illness section for more answers.
There are several issues that present with very similar symptoms lumped under the label UTI:
- straight forward urinary tract infection. Responds well to antibiotics, but may take a longer course to prevent return. Baytril may not cut through it. It usually presents with a soft, relaxed bladder.
- Cystitis: inflammation of the bladder walls. Does not react well to antibiotics, but many piggy savvy vets use a two pronged approach with septrin/sulfatrim and metacam (which is not just a painkiller but also an anti-inflammatory). The bladder walls may thicken and harden, especially over time. If cystitis is recurring and not responding to treatment, you talk about
- Interstitial Cystitis (IC): recurrent bouts of acute cystitis. This condition can currently only be managed but not healed. The good news is that it generally goes away on its own, but it may take a few years. It does not cause stones.
- Bladder stones or sludge: if a UTI returns or persists, it is important to x-ray to check for the presence of stones or sludge. The constant irritation from stones or sludge can also cause cystitis as a secondary problem.
Guinea pigs are prone to urinary tract problems as a species because they have a naturally alkaline urine ph. This promotes the growth of bacteria and also the build-up of calcium, especially in guinea pigs that are not good drinkers (i.e. whose bladder is not flushed well), have a high calcium diet (including hard water), a genetic disposition of some sort, problems with the calcium absorption (which is a complex, but not yet much researched process in guinea pigs).
What you can do (but it is only so much):
- if you have got a bladder problem piggy, switch from a moderate to a low calcium diet and avoid suspected IC trigger foods like carrots, tomato or fresh grass. See daily veg in our balanced diet thread or this thread here:
Low Calcium Diet For Bladder Piggies
- you can help flush the bladder once or twice daily with a UTI/cystitis piggy by syringing as much water as she will take in one session, ideally up to 10 ml, but likely less. Make sure that you piggy has always swallowed before you give more, and never give more than half a syringe in one go (1 adult mouthful is ca. 0.5 ml) and do not force any water into her if she doesn't want to.
- At the onset of an acute bout of UTI or cystitis, you might like to give mildly diuretic veg like cucumber, young dandelions or lettuce in moderate amounts (so you don't cause diarrhea) to help flush the bladder and mitigate the acute symptoms.
- With recurring and chronic bladder issues as well as bladder stone piggies we recommend to additionally support the bladder with vegan glucosamine or glucosamine-based cat food supplements like cystease or cystophan. The bladder has got a natural coating of glucosamine on the inside, but this can be beleaguered by repeated infections or stones.
Some people also swear by barley water, made from the gloopy water you have cooked pearl barley in.
I hope that that helps you? Sadly, urinary tract problems are species specific weak point. We all would like to know how to prevent or heal them quickly, believe me!
