I'm a little concerned about Rodney

[Charl]

Hi all,

As many of you know I have a 5 year old guinea pig called Rodney

And this morning I went to check him, pip and hamish and he seemed to be squecking (sorry spelling I'm in a rush), and arching his back slightly. Now I've only heard him do this about 4 times, and he also seems to be running around his pen alot and drinking more.

I'm a little concerned so I thought I'd ask do you think he's ok?

Charl

xxxxx

 

[Wiebke]

It looks like he's coming down with UTI (urinary tract infection).

Give him unsweetened cranberry juice (Ocean Wave is the easiest to get hold of, as it's sold in supermarkets). If necessary, mix it half/half with water and give by syringe - up to 40ml a day. Until you can get hold of it, give him as much water as he'll take to flush out as much as you can of the infection. Peeing might hurt a bit more at first.

Have Rodney seen by a vet. Ideally, he should be prescribed 0.5 ml of septrin twice daily (which is the antibiotic that works best), or if your vets insists, 0.4 ml of baytril. Make sure that he also gets some painkiller and some probiotic to counter the effects of the antibiotics on his guts.

If your vet is prepared to have Rodney x-rayed without general anesthesia, have it done. (Wrapping a piggy in a towel and placing him on a soft surface is enough to keep him still). This is to make sure that bladder stones or sludge are not the cause of the infection).

If you place Rodnay on a (OLD!) white towel or sheet of paper, his pees will be probably reddish (not all, but some)! You can get a urine sample yourself, if you have a syringe at home. Place Rodney onto a clean plastic surface after feeding him some juice cucumber and wait for a good half hour until he has made several pees. Suck them up with your syringe, place the syringe in a freezer bag and keep it in your fridge until you go to the vets.

Here is the link to the guinealinx website. If necessary, print out this page and take it with you to your vet. Peadiatric septrin is the only form of bactrim that can be given orally and has a banana flavour, so most piggies actually like it! http://www.guinealynx.info/uti.html

 

[Charl]

Thanks so much Wiebke your a real help! I am just about to check my boys now so I will report back in about half an hour x

 

[Charl]

I've just been to see him and I couldnt hear him squeking, but then again, I didnt see him have a pee so I won't know.

I will check him in the morning

Once again thanks so much

xxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Farquhar]

Sending my best wishes to Rodney.

 

[Charl]

Aww thankyou so much x

 

[Kira]

poor Rodney whatever he's got I really hope he's better soon!
x

 

[Charl]

Thanks x

 

[Wiebke]

My very own home test for UTI is to sit a guinea pig on some hay. If the peed-on hay turns a bright yellow, it's an early warning sign for me that the urine is infected.

So far, I've never been wrong!

 

[alcesterpigs]

What proof is there that a colour change indicates an infection?

 

[Wiebke]

The pudding (?)...

Inevitably, I've had the smelly pees afterwards whenever I noticed yellow hay patches on two or three successive days.

 

[alcesterpigs]

Proof, the pudding?

I hope you don't carry out the complete saying!

 

[pompypigs]

Hope Rodney is ok pip xx

 

[Laura-CCC4]

I think monitoring him closely for a day or two to find out exactly when he does this is worthwhile, it will help the vet understand more what is happening. Good luck, will keep my fingers crossed for him. x

 

[Charl]

Thankyou so much for your kind support and tips x I will update later