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Not again... :(

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minnie_moo

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Some of you might have read my thread about my piggy Flapjack- I lost him on Friday to what was possibly a UTI or bladder stones. Now his companion Cracker has started squeaking when he urinates and he seems to be peeing an awful lot. Last night his urine was normal but I've just cleaned him out & now he's passing blood- not frank blood like Flapjack was, but his urine is definitely bloody. He's still quite bright- he stays in his house most of the time, but he is eating hay and picking at some veggies. I'm also syringe feeding him water & a probiotic.

He has an appointment at the vet this afternoon, but what should I do? I know the vet will give him Baytril (they don't prescribe Septrin) but should I ask for an xray now rather than wait? Flapjack went downhill so quickly (went to the vet on Saturday, lost him on Friday) & I'm terrified the same thing will happen to Cracker. I can't face losing another baby :(
 
I haven't any helpful advice. Just wanted to say good luck at the vets and get well soon to Cracker. Big hug for you too. x
 
You can give him cystitis treatment powder from the supermarket; make it up as for humans and give him it by 1ml syringe. An adult guinea can take up to 30ml at one sitting, however he may refuse to take that much. Warm the water (eg, heat 200ml for 45 seconds in the microwave) before adding the powder. Repeat every few hours during the day until he no longer has blood in his urine.

To make him more cooperative, get some of his favourite herb, eg mint, and give a small bit between each 1ml of treatment - make him really sniff for it so he is thinking more about the herb than the medicine.
 
Get unsweeteend cranberry juice from the supermarket (Ocean Wave light will do and is usually available from all bigger chains). You can give it pure or mixed with water. The more fluid you can get into your boy, the better! You can give up to 50ml in one day, but mostly you'll be only able to get up to 10 ml in at each sitting - that's about a bladder full. It might be more painful at first, but the more bacteria you can flush out, the better. If he doesn't take cranberry juice, try water.

You can use diuretic food like dandelion leaves that have guarnateed not been peed on by a dog to help flush out the bacteria, as long as you are aware that he needs to drink more.

Make sure that you insist on an antiinflammatory/painkiller like metacam or rimadyl to give alongside the baytril, also on a probiotic. The best one for UTI's is Avipro plus, as it doesn't contain any extra calcium. Change the water you give to either filtered or low calcium bottled water if you live in a hard water area.

Cracker sounds like normal UTI/cystitis, so please do not panic! If baytril doesn't do the trick, you can always print out the page from guinea lynx or find another vet; perhaps he is more open after the standard treatment has failed! That is how I got my vet to prescribe me septrin; and he is a lot more open to suggestions since then! Spring is always cystitis time - if it is any consolation, I have two of my girls on treatment for bloody pees right now!

Here is a link to more info: http://www.guinealynx.info/uti.html

Here is a link to a balanced calcium:phosphorus diet as recommended by guinea lynx, which can help prevent bladder stones: http://www.store2go.net/shop/planetguinea/ratewatchersrainbowdiet.pdf
 
Sorry, the edit time ran out on me: Laura has also done a diet on the base of the guinealynx recommendations.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=37030

Again: Please do not panic - Cracker does NOT have stones and a guinea pig doesn't die from UTI.

I would recommend having an x-ray done if the the UTI persists or comes back. If you CAN, ask you vet not to use a general anaesthetic.
 
Thanks everyone for your advice.

Well just got back from the vet- it was a vet I hadn't seen before and I certainly won't be seeing him again. There had been an emergency come in & as there was only one vet on, they were running over an hour late. I don't know if he was in a rush because of this or if he isn't a very cavy savvy vet, but he had a quick (rough) feel of his bladder, said it felt inflamed and that was about it. Cracker has had an injection of the usual Baytril & Metacam, but the vet wouldn't give me any painkillers to bring home as the injection is supposed to last for 48 hours. He's been prescribed 0.25ml of Baytril once a day which I thought was too low- Flapjack was on 0.4ml & I thought they could have this amount twice a day?

I've got some unsweetened cranberry juice so hopefully he'll take that without too much trouble!
 
The baytril dose is certainly too low!

As you say, 0.4 ml twice daily is the standard dose for an adult guinea pig. Many vets who are not used to treating guinea pigs (they do not feature highly on the curriculum) tend to err on the side of safety.

Best have you boy seen again in two days time; my vet usually tells me to start treatment 24 hours after an injection.
 
I hate it when vets do not listen :( Septrin is the best antibiotic for a UTI. A probiotic should also be used as baytril can be harsh on a piggies tummy.

Sending healing vibes Crackers way and I am sorry that you lost Flapjack :( xx
 
Just an update on Cracker... he has had a couple more checkups at the vet & she is pleased with his progress! He is still squeaking but he's not peeing so often- on Sunday he went about 8 or 9 times in an hour, but now it's only a few times a day. His bladder was still quite sore on Tuesday & he squeaked alot when the vet had a feel, but last night he didn't make a sound. No more blood & he is much more like his old self- he has been out & about most of today & even wheeked when I rustled a bag of lettuce! He has antibiotics to last until about Sunday, fingers crossed he continues to improve :)
 
I have just read this thread, I'm sorry you lost one of your guineas :(

I am pleased that Cracker is on the mend you must be so relieved.
 
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