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Update - Sheamus has had his xrays. he has two bladder stones, so much for his weight loss being his metabolism as another vet said..... *rolls eyes* He's having an op to remove them on Wednesday.
 
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Thanks @Wiebke

Just a quick question, I've been looking at the Oxbow vitamin C tablets, but I'm a bit confused as to which to get, theres

http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/products/type/detail?object=10829 and http://www.petdrugsonline.co.uk/sma...9&cadevice=c&gclid=CPWW_8OX6cQCFRHLtAodtkUAMA

or are the both the same thing. Also we need to keep hand feeing him, we've been mushing down his science selective pellets, would he benefiit more from having something like

http://www.petmeds.co.uk/Supreme-Sc...8&cadevice=c&gclid=CMKojuyX6cQCFXKWtAodOy8AeA

I'm just about to order them and don't want to get it wrong and waste money.
 
Ahh nevermind @Wiebke just re-read your post and have seen you kindly link me with the right thread for hand feeding, thanks very much :) I'll get onto ordering those things now.
 
Kerrie74 said:
Ahh nevermind @Wiebke just re-read your post and have seen you kindly link me with the right thread for hand feeding, thanks very much :) I'll get onto ordering those things now.
Click to expand...

All the best!

You may find that you want to stick to a low calcium diet from now on.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/low-calcium-diet-for-bladder-piggies.105930/
Alternatively, you arrive at a balanced low calcium so-called IS diet if you stick to just the daily veg diet and amounts in our diet guide, filter your water and switch to low calcium Bunny pellets (5 pellets per day).
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...or-a-balanced-general-guinea-pig-diet.116460/
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/food/guinea_pig/bunny/195679

I would also recommend to also source either some vegetarian or vegan glucosamine or some cystease (which is mainly glucosamine-based). This is a food supplement, not a medication, that coats the bladder walls and helps to protect them and it is prescription-free. if in doubt, speak to your vet, but many piggy-savvy vet use it for urinary tract issues piggies.
 
Ok thanks @Wiebke

I just went to buy some of the Oxbow Daily C tablets but it says they have non so I went on to the Oxbow site and it says as of last year they were discontinued :( So what would be the next best thing to give Sheamus?

It says on their site that this one would do but I wanted to get someone opinion first.

http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/products/type/detail?object=10829
 
Kerrie74 said:
Ok thanks @Wiebke

I just went to buy some of the Oxbow Daily C tablets but it says they have non so I went on to the Oxbow site and it says as of last year they were discontinued :( So what would be the next best thing to give Sheamus?

It says on their site that this one would do but I wanted to get someone opinion first.

http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/products/type/detail?object=10829
Click to expand...

You can get that or in a pinch, give 1/8 - 1/4 of a human vitamin C tablet.
 
Ok thank you :) I was just reading the low calcium diet thread... I tend not to give mine veg with calcium in it but I never thought about the water before.. duh. I'll also check their food, they have science selective and ings hay. Going to have to find out about the water as well, don't want the other piggies getting ill.

Thanks for the help Wiebke, I really appreciate :)
 
Kerrie74 said:
Ok thank you :) I was just reading the low calcium diet thread... I tend not to give mine veg with calcium in it but I never thought about the water before.. duh. I'll also check their food, they have science selective and ings hay. Going to have to find out about the water as well, don't want the other piggies getting ill.

Thanks for the help Wiebke, I really appreciate :)
Click to expand...

Depending on what is causing the stones, you can't control all the (not yet well understood or researched) factors that are causing them, but by switching to a consquently low calcium diet with minimal pellets (another source of calcium) and fltering water you can hopefully go a long way towards preventing another formation. Filtering the water can go quite a long way towards minimising stones.
 
Ok, I'm get a filter jug, I've asked my son to ask about the food he's on atm. It said it has calcium in it but it looks low. I'll get the hang of it! :) See I don't give them things like broccoli because I know it has calcium in it, I'll also have a look at the ings hay and change it if need, I was considering it anyway because the last batch seems a bit weird.
 
All the best! You will get there! It is often a matter of figuring out what works for your piggy and what not.

Calcium absorption in the body is a very complicated process and if it is in some way not working right, there is only so much you can do.
Another factor is that guinea pigs that are not natural great drinkers are often at a somewhat higher risk of infections, sludge and stones as their bladders don't get flushed as much and there can be a build-up of calcium, minerals and bacteria.

Take your time to suss things out. it is quite a lot to take in right now!
 
Ahh I didn't realise that about the drinking because one of our younger boars drinks for England lol.
 
I'm glad that you finally found what was going on with him. I hope his surgery goes well. Much strength to Sheamus!
 
Hi, just a quick question.

The vitamins turned up for Sheamus, we ended up getting him http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/products/type/detail?object=10829

On the site it says 1 tablet per day for guinea pigs, would this be ok or should we be giving him less? We are still hand feeding him, his recovery stuff turned up as well, we got him the supreme one.

He does try and eat veg but he can't seem to chomp it properly so ends up throwing it around.

Thanks in advance

Kerrie
 
1 tablet should be fine for the moment, especially if he can't eat much veg yet. Have you tried grating the veg?
 
No I didn't think of that, thanks. He's eating 0 veg :/ he just doesn't seem to have the energy to rip into it. That's why I thought I'd get him the vit c's after reading those guides you linked for me :)

Do I need to split the tablet, half in the morning and half in the evening or? and is it ok to add to his mushy pellets?
 
Supreme recovery is fine for him and does contain vitamin C. furryfriends is talking about a different brand Oxbow critical care which doesn't contain vitamin C.

Hope this helps.
 
He's just been hand fed again, but with his mushy pellets because when we gave him the recovery stuff he wanted it at first but turned his nose up but when we offered him the mushy pellets he wanted them. He's sat next to me on a mattress pee pad atm with some fleece over him.

I was a bit worried last night, he kept making a weird noise, my son said it's probably because he's in pain, we're giving him .2ml of the cat metacam per day, .1 in the morning and .1 at night, my son said he would try and call the PDSA before his next dose just to explain what's been happening for the past couple of days and see what the vet says about the hand feeding and how much metacam to give.

Going to change the food they eat as well, we've also started filtering the piggies water as suggested by @Wiebke going to have to buy another jug though lol.

Thanks for asking @flintstones
 
If it sounds like a whimper it's likely to be pain. My Patrick when he had his bladdetstone would whimper when urinating. It's good he has painkillers, your doing a very good job.

I used to make my Patrick barley water, I wouldn't do so at the moment as you know he has stones. I always worry about them getting blocked but after surgery it's a very good idea to increase his fluids to try and prevent future stones developing. Patrick would drink loads of Barley water. In the end we had an amazing bond. He was a real trooper he was over 6 and still recovered well after surgery.

Barley water is made by adding one cup barley to 3 cups of water. Bring it to boil and leave it to simmer for between 30 and 45 minutes. Adding water if necessary, to prevent burning. Don't forget about it, as you'll need to restart. Drain off the barley gloup, let cool and syringe to piggy. Patrick loved it, I could get about 30mls into him at a time. Even the healthy pigs loved it.

Good Luck for your little one on Wednesday.
 
That sounds good about the barley water, I'll have to give it ago when he's had his op. I was also reading something about Uriflow and how that can help a guinea pigs with stones, was wondering if anyone on here had tried it?

My son's just called the PDSA and explained about Sheamus making noises for the past two days, they have asked my son to bring him in.
 
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Uriflow has worked in a few cases, but obviously not reliably enough to be prescribed regularly by piggy savvy vets. Sadly, may of the alternative treatments and medications that have been thrown into the ring in the last few years have not stood the test. :(

I know that some people have had success with barley water. Like glucosamine, it coats the bladder walls and has also a healing quality on them.
 
It's bad news, I opted to have Sheamus put to sleep after speaking to the PDSA vet over the phone, she said if he was her guinea pig she would have him put to sleep, he had lost another 100 in weight leaving him at 740, she said he probably wouldn't have survived surgery and even if he did that he might not heal because he doesn't have enough protein.

I am not one for keeping animals alive for myself, Sheamus was my little mate and along with my dog did a good job of cheering me up. RIP Sheamus.
 
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