Abi_nurse
Adult Guinea Pig
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2010
- Messages
- 4,544
- Reaction score
- 1,422
- Points
- 845
- Location
- Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire.
'Help theres blood in my piggies home'
This is often a common complaint and worry from guinea pig owners. So heres a few tips to help you decipher what's going on prior to heading to the vets.
First question to ask is where is the blood - if there is some droplets up sides of the enclosure it is more likely to be a wound (often on the ear where their has been a fight or an injury to it and the pig has shaken their head) If the blood is on the sides firstly check over all your piggies for signs of wounds. Most common sites for bites are ears, around the face and the back end. But ensure you run your hands through all your pets coat from head to tail looking for any wounds or scabs or dried blood in the coat.
If the blood in on the bottom of the cage then this becomes more of a process of elimination. Firstly check all feet for any injuries to the nails or any wounds on the bottom of the feet, paws will bleed surprisingly well as they are very vascular so don't be surprised that a broken nail has bled a little.
Once wounds and feet issues have been ruled out move onto checking all piggies anal-genital areas. Check the fur around there to see if there is signs of discharge or blood.
If they are passing blood from the penis or the vaginal area then a small gentle amount of pressure above the area can sometimes cause a little bloody discharge to leak out but not always.
If all areas are clean then move onto obtaining a urine sample to check this. Placing your piggie into a plastic container that they cannot escape from is the best way to do this. Examples are an empty and cleaned out plastic cat carrier or small pet carrier, a plastic storage box or a deep cat litter tray. If you very slightly tilt the container then urine will collect down one end. Once the piggie has been kind and passed some wee (which can sometimes take some time) then you can look at the sample to see if its normal in colour and if there are signs of blood. Remember that urine can normally be pink and brown in colouration and usually has some white sediment in from calcium. However bright red or blood is not normal. If it's not normal collect the sample to take with you to the vets.
It is very unusual for guinea pigs to pass blood in their poo, however also check their poo pellets for signs of blood on them too.
The final check is to ensure you have an up to date weight on all your pigs. Weighing regularly is a vital way of monitoring for illness in piggies as much of the time they do not show any signs of being poorly.
By now you should in theory have a culprit for the bleeding and you can get them checked into your regular piggie savvy or exotics vet. If they are still eluding you then it may be an intermittent discharge (sometimes the case in females having vaginal discharge) and you may have to bide your time to see who it is.
Some reasons for blood in the cage can be the following (but are not limited to)
Wounds (from fighting or accidents)
- Nose bleed
- Broken nail
- Pododermatitis (bumblefoot)
- Urine infection or urinary stones (if in urine)
- Uterine changes or tumour (if coming from the vagina - these are commonly benign but will bleed)
This is often a common complaint and worry from guinea pig owners. So heres a few tips to help you decipher what's going on prior to heading to the vets.
First question to ask is where is the blood - if there is some droplets up sides of the enclosure it is more likely to be a wound (often on the ear where their has been a fight or an injury to it and the pig has shaken their head) If the blood is on the sides firstly check over all your piggies for signs of wounds. Most common sites for bites are ears, around the face and the back end. But ensure you run your hands through all your pets coat from head to tail looking for any wounds or scabs or dried blood in the coat.
If the blood in on the bottom of the cage then this becomes more of a process of elimination. Firstly check all feet for any injuries to the nails or any wounds on the bottom of the feet, paws will bleed surprisingly well as they are very vascular so don't be surprised that a broken nail has bled a little.
Once wounds and feet issues have been ruled out move onto checking all piggies anal-genital areas. Check the fur around there to see if there is signs of discharge or blood.
If they are passing blood from the penis or the vaginal area then a small gentle amount of pressure above the area can sometimes cause a little bloody discharge to leak out but not always.
If all areas are clean then move onto obtaining a urine sample to check this. Placing your piggie into a plastic container that they cannot escape from is the best way to do this. Examples are an empty and cleaned out plastic cat carrier or small pet carrier, a plastic storage box or a deep cat litter tray. If you very slightly tilt the container then urine will collect down one end. Once the piggie has been kind and passed some wee (which can sometimes take some time) then you can look at the sample to see if its normal in colour and if there are signs of blood. Remember that urine can normally be pink and brown in colouration and usually has some white sediment in from calcium. However bright red or blood is not normal. If it's not normal collect the sample to take with you to the vets.
It is very unusual for guinea pigs to pass blood in their poo, however also check their poo pellets for signs of blood on them too.
The final check is to ensure you have an up to date weight on all your pigs. Weighing regularly is a vital way of monitoring for illness in piggies as much of the time they do not show any signs of being poorly.
By now you should in theory have a culprit for the bleeding and you can get them checked into your regular piggie savvy or exotics vet. If they are still eluding you then it may be an intermittent discharge (sometimes the case in females having vaginal discharge) and you may have to bide your time to see who it is.
Some reasons for blood in the cage can be the following (but are not limited to)
Wounds (from fighting or accidents)
- Nose bleed
- Broken nail
- Pododermatitis (bumblefoot)
- Urine infection or urinary stones (if in urine)
- Uterine changes or tumour (if coming from the vagina - these are commonly benign but will bleed)
