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Mary is off to the vets on Wednesday. Suspected UTI

Hannah_xx

Hannah_xx

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One of the herd has been doing burnt coloured wee. I suspect Mary as she was the only one near the fresh puddle. And I also have dabbed her bottom with kitchen roll and seen the same colour.
I’m currently trying to get her pee whilst on my lap but she HATES lap time so won’t sit still!
She is still eating, drinking and popcorning so I hope she’s feeling okay to wait 1 day as I have to go to work tomorrow so unable to get her to the vet tomorrow. But she is all booked in for Wednesday.
Also, is it UTI or URI? as I’ve seen both posted on here.

Healing vibes for Mary :luv: 3E24BF50-5A9C-422B-9729-E30272B5B742.webp

I'm To bring her Boyfriend, Spike along on the hour journey to the vets for moral support. As he’s a calm and cool traveller and Mary is a bit hot headed about things!
 
Hannah_xx said:
One of the herd has been doing burnt coloured wee. I suspect Mary as she was the only one near the fresh puddle. And I also have dabbed her bottom with kitchen roll and seen the same colour.
I’m currently trying to get her pee whilst on my lap but she HATES lap time so won’t sit still!
She is still eating, drinking and popcorning so I hope she’s feeling okay to wait 1 day as I have to go to work tomorrow so unable to get her to the vet tomorrow. But she is all booked in for Wednesday.
Also, is it UTI or URI? as I’ve seen both posted on here.

Healing vibes for Mary :luv: View attachment 117474

I'm To bring her Boyfriend, Spike along on the hour journey to the vets for moral support. As he’s a calm and cool traveller and Mary is a bit hot headed about things!
Click to expand...

All the best!

URI is a Upper Respiratory tract Infection - if it has got the 'R' in, its about breathing. ;)
UTI is a Urinary Tract Infection.

Here are our tips for vet visits; taking what I call a 'paw holding companion' is a good idea.
Tips For Vet Visits

All the best!
 
Wiebke said:
All the best!

URI is a Upper Respiratory tract Infection - if it has got the 'R' in, its about breathing. ;)
UTI is a Urinary Tract Infection.

Here are our tips for vet visits; taking what I call a 'paw holding companion' is a good idea.
Tips For Vet Visits

All the best!
Click to expand...
Of course URI is respiratory infection, I feel silly now :coat:!

Thank you 😄
 
Good luck at the vets on Wednesday, sending Mary healing vibes x
She's a beautiful girl :love:
 
Hello everyone!
Thank you for asking about Mary :)

So. For her suspected UTI she has metacam and Baytril x2 daily for 10 days. However we are a little concerned that she may have bladder stones as when you touch her back end she gets really upset and kicks out. So if the medication doesn’t clear things up she’ll probably need an X-ray.

Secondly, I mentioned her eye. You may remember from a few months back I said about her bottom eye lid tucking in under her eyeball (inverted eye? I can’t remember why the vet called it?) she saw a vet about it back then, she was given drops and told
To keep an eye on it. And they suggested a few options like a stich to pull it down.
Anyway I’ve now changed to a different vet who are more guinea savvy. And her eye has got slightly worse so the vet today a had a good look at it and I can either, book in with an eye specialist that’s coming up from Melbourne at the end of the month or I can see to the exotic vet who works at this clinic (whom I’ve tried to book in with numerous times before for my Corella and G’pigs, But he’s always off work or busy when I want him haha) as he is the experienced small animal and exotic vet. Today’s vet, Is going to organise for him to call me next week once he’s off leave so we can discuss Mary’s eye problem. And if he’s confident to operate on it with her being a small animal and being a very rare (probably not seen before in my local town) condition on a Guinea pig.
In the meantime she’s also sent me home with drops for her eye as it’s starting to get irritated:(

Spike was a FANTASTIC travel buddy for Mary, He even fell asleep stretched out while Mary was being seen too. Then on the way home they happily munched a cauliflower leaf and had a nap :luv: Such a sweet husboar and wife:wub:

The vets is an hour away in town so it was a long day for them, But they were such good piggies!

Does the medication sound the right stuff? And good diagnosis?
I’m pretty happy with my decision to try out new vets as my old vet was more farm animal based and I wasn’t confident with previous visits with them. Today’s vet was fantastic, a really lovely lady who just loved Mary!

$203 down today which is a lot I feel. justified with the amount of medication and good service though, but anything for piggies. I am very worried about how I’m going to pay for Mary’s eye surgery and potential x-ray :(

23381F69-9520-4161-8C1E-16248D78C6A6.webp73FFC46D-842B-4667-ABF2-B00FBAE9C1F3.webp

How cute is her little medication bag she came home with!FAA776BC-4925-43F5-874D-8B13924061A3.webp
 
Actually I’m a bit confused on the Metacam bottle it says ‘give 0.3ml twice daily if appears painful’ what does that mean? Do I only give it to her if she seems in pain? Or do I give it to her as well as the baytril whivh says to give twice daily for 10 days.?
I can’t remember what the vet said about the metacam.
It’s late now, but I can phone tomorrow to ask. But what shall I do tonight?
 
I'd give her the metacam anyway. She's a prey animal, she's not going to be actively letting anyone or anything know if she's in pain.
 
Hannah_xx said:
Hello everyone!
Thank you for asking about Mary :)

So. For her suspected UTI she has metacam and Baytril x2 daily for 10 days. However we are a little concerned that she may have bladder stones as when you touch her back end she gets really upset and kicks out. So if the medication doesn’t clear things up she’ll probably need an X-ray.

Secondly, I mentioned her eye. You may remember from a few months back I said about her bottom eye lid tucking in under her eyeball (inverted eye? I can’t remember why the vet called it?) she saw a vet about it back then, she was given drops and told
To keep an eye on it. And they suggested a few options like a stich to pull it down.
Anyway I’ve now changed to a different vet who are more guinea savvy. And her eye has got slightly worse so the vet today a had a good look at it and I can either, book in with an eye specialist that’s coming up from Melbourne at the end of the month or I can see to the exotic vet who works at this clinic (whom I’ve tried to book in with numerous times before for my Corella and G’pigs, But he’s always off work or busy when I want him haha) as he is the experienced small animal and exotic vet. Today’s vet, Is going to organise for him to call me next week once he’s off leave so we can discuss Mary’s eye problem. And if he’s confident to operate on it with her being a small animal and being a very rare (probably not seen before in my local town) condition on a Guinea pig.
In the meantime she’s also sent me home with drops for her eye as it’s starting to get irritated:(

Spike was a FANTASTIC travel buddy for Mary, He even fell asleep stretched out while Mary was being seen too. Then on the way home they happily munched a cauliflower leaf and had a nap :luv: Such a sweet husboar and wife:wub:

The vets is an hour away in town so it was a long day for them, But they were such good piggies!

Does the medication sound the right stuff? And good diagnosis?
I’m pretty happy with my decision to try out new vets as my old vet was more farm animal based and I wasn’t confident with previous visits with them. Today’s vet was fantastic, a really lovely lady who just loved Mary!

$203 down today which is a lot I feel. justified with the amount of medication and good service though, but anything for piggies. I am very worried about how I’m going to pay for Mary’s eye surgery and potential x-ray :(

View attachment 117664View attachment 117663

How cute is her little medication bag she came home with!View attachment 117662
Click to expand...

Hi!

The medication is standard treatment for urinary tract problems; baytril is an antibiotic (the only officially licensed one for guinea pigs in most countries although there some other safe ones). Metacam is an analgesic (painkiller and anti-inflammatory).
There is a bunch of conditions that present pretty much with the same symptoms. A vet will work their way down the list.
Firstly they will treat for UTI or a bacterial cystitis (bladder infection); if your guinea pig doesn't react much to the antibiotic or symptoms recur soon after the end of the course, then the second step is to check for bladder stones or sludge.

Once that is not present, but the problem persists, then you are most likely dealing with an interstitial sterile cystitis, i.e. a recurring bladder infection (often better known as IC) that cannot be healed by antibiotics. It has become a lot more common in the last decade and cannot be healed; but it is not as well known yet with general vets with not a lot of experience with guinea pigs.
Key to managing the symptoms is glucosamine (usually in the form of a glucosamine based cat food supplement), but in newer research, monthly cartrofen injections seem to be even more effective (no experience with that on this forum yet as this is very new; it is basically a stronger form of glucosamine) and metacam to deal with the pain/inflammation in the bladder walls.
In many cases the IC will eventually go away on its own, but it is unfortunately more of a matter of years rather than months. Sterile cystitis can only be diagnosed by default after all other potential urinary tract problems have been excluded.

I hope that that helps you?
 
T
Wiebke said:
Hi!

The medication is standard treatment for urinary tract problems; baytril is an antibiotic (the only officially licensed one for guinea pigs in most countries although there some other safe ones). Metacam is an analgesic (painkiller and anti-inflammatory).
There is a bunch of conditions that present pretty much with the same symptoms. A vet will work their way down the list.
Firstly they will treat for UTI or a bacterial cystitis (bladder infection); if your guinea pig doesn't react much to the antibiotic or symptoms recur soon after the end of the course, then the second step is to check for bladder stones or sludge.

Once that is not present, but the problem persists, then you are most likely dealing with an interstitial sterile cystitis, i.e. a recurring bladder infection (often better known as IC) that cannot be healed by antibiotics. It has become a lot more common in the last decade and cannot be healed; but it is not as well known yet with general vets with not a lot of experience with guinea pigs.
Key to managing the symptoms is glucosamine (usually in the form of a glucosamine based cat food supplement), but in newer research, monthly cartrofen injections seem to be even more effective (no experience with that on this forum yet as this is very new; it is basically a stronger form of glucosamine) and metacam to deal with the pain/inflammation in the bladder walls.
In many cases the IC will eventually go away on its own, but it is unfortunately more of a matter of years rather than months. Sterile cystitis can only be diagnosed by default after all other potential urinary tract problems have been excluded.

I hope that that helps you?
Click to expand...

Thank you so much! That really helps, I hope it’s just a UTI and clears up well with her medication. Only time will tell. It’s difficult because she’s acting and eating perfectly fine, and is full of energy always running and popcorning about. And she doesn’t squeak when she pees. I’m also finding it very difficult to get her to piddle during lap time so I can keep an eye on the colour of her urine. Therefore I’m going to find it difficult tracking if she’s improving or not?
 
David Piggie Lover said:
How's the little love doing. x
Click to expand...

She’s happy as ever! Munching on hay and napping with her boyfriend.
She wasn’t impressed having her medication AND eyedrops. She’s the only guinea pig I’ve know that bites when she’s annoyed :))

Here she is with the last teeny bit of coriander being gobbled up after her medication
45B91649-FAFE-42D8-8D69-2886F9DD8B0C.webpA3865F83-B347-4AE1-B9D0-B3FC3A45C610.webp

I am really stressing about her eye now though. It’s probably going to cost thousands 😭
 
Hannah_xx said:
T


Thank you so much! That really helps, I hope it’s just a UTI and clears up well with her medication. Only time will tell. It’s difficult because she’s acting and eating perfectly fine, and is full of energy always running and popcorning about. And she doesn’t squeak when she pees. I’m also finding it very difficult to get her to piddle during lap time so I can keep an eye on the colour of her urine. Therefore I’m going to find it difficult tracking if she’s improving or not?
Click to expand...

Don't worry; it's abviously very early stages yet. Any coloured pees should ideally disappear within a few days on the antibiotic anyway. Be glad if it stays at this level!

If you find that the baytril is doing more than causing soft poos and is impacting on the appetite, you may find probiotic products via this link here helpful. However, the old fashioned 'poo soup' (made by soaking totally freshly dropped poos from a healthy companion in a little water and then syringing the water to transfer the live gut biome) is actually more effective than any probiotics if done properly.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

PS: Here is the information on entropion (inward turned eyelid): Guinea Lynx :: Eyes
 
Aw, glad she has been seen, the vets sounds very thorough, which is good, although costly x Hope she recoveries quickly from UTI, try not to worry too much about her eye, this eye problem can happen in humans too, they usually put a temporary stitch in to correct it from turning inwards and making the eye inflamed and if that doesn’t work they cut a slither of skin from under or above the eye and then restitch it. My mother’s neighbour had this problem some years ago, it worked and he had no further problems.
 
Wiebke said:
Don't worry; it's abviously very early stages yet. Any coloured pees should ideally disappear within a few days on the antibiotic anyway. Be glad if it stays at this level!

If you find that the baytril is doing more than causing soft poos and is impacting on the appetite, you may find probiotic products via this link here helpful. However, the old fashioned 'poo soup' (made by soaking totally freshly dropped poos from a healthy companion in a little water and then syringing the water to transfer the live gut biome) is actually more effective than any probiotics if done properly.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

PS: Here is the information on entropion (inward turned eyelid): Guinea Lynx :: Eyes
Click to expand...

Thank you, I’ve been finding it difficult to find anything online about her eye so that link is SUPER helpful and I can now understand what the vet is saying.
And that’s great to know about the poop probiotic trick, thanks!
What would we all do without you wiebke!
Bill & Ted said:
Aw, glad she has been seen, the vets sounds very thorough, which is good, although costly x Hope she recoveries quickly from UTI, try not to worry too much about her eye, this eye problem can happen in humans too, they usually put a temporary stitch in to correct it from turning inwards and making the eye inflamed and if that doesn’t work they cut a slither of skin from under or above the eye and then restitch it. My mother’s neighbour had this problem some years ago, it worked and he had no further problems.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much that’s very reassuring :D

So happy I’ve found a good vet!
 
I understand what you mean about vet telling us things which in a few mins get lost or not understand . . I struggle because when I see my pigs I just want to cuddle them. x
 
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