Off to the vets with ginger again!

[gingersusie]

off to the vets at 10.30 with ginger pig,
i noticed when she was out yesterday that on her fleece bed there was a white mark where she had peed , i am guessing its a uti ? or it could be bladder sludge?
she was in the vets a few months ago with a uti & was put on baytril, it seemed to clear up & the white mark felt creamy
but this time i felt the white and it felt gritty so i hope she hasnt got a stone :...
or does this mean she has bladder sludge and is clearing it on her own?
i have put cranberry juice in her water to see if it helps , it cant do no harm i suppose
my other pig is fine
ginger is eating & drinking & popcorning as usual so she must be okay in herself , she did whine a little yesterday though & thats when i found the white mark on her bed
will just have to wait and see what the vet says :...

 

[gingersusie]

should i maybe change to fleece instead of woodshavings?
will that help a pig that has re occuring bladder infections?

 

[Lilly]

Good luck to Ginger at the vet's. Hope it will be something very sortable.

I don't know whether any beddings are worse or better for UTI. Many people use woodshavings just fine (I'm not one of them ).Hopefully someone else can advise on this.

I think one of the main contributors to UTI is wetness so bedding kept dry is important. The cranberry juice is a good idea and can be given regularly. I did read somewhere that piggies are very prone to UTIs being so low to the ground and that once a piggy develops one they are likely to keep having them.

However, Ginger's gritty white urine sludge suggests too much calcium which can lead to bladder stones. This is different from an UTI. You might need to reduce the amount of calcium rich foods she gets.

 

[gingersusie]

It's not a uti thank goodness.but the vet said it is bladder sludge.she suggested a dietary change of low calcium foods & Veg like you said. she wants to try that first before going down the surgery route. ginger is fine in herself & doing the usual piggie stuff. she told me to keep using cranberry juice for now. she couldnt feel any stones or sludge in her bladder so that's good. i am happy to try the diet change to see how she goes as i don't really want to put her through surgery.bless her.my poor baby.x

 

[Lilly]

Good news then. She'll come good with a diet change and not need surgery. Think positive! You too Ginger.

 

[chriscundy]

Good luck to Ginger

 

[sport_billy]

Here's a link to guinealynx to a sortable food chart. It'll give you a good idea on low Calcium foods http://www.guinealynx.info/chart.html#chart

Glad Ginger is ok

 

[piggyfan]

Phew glad Ginger is okay.

 

[gingersusie]

thanks everyone , i am just glad i don't have to go down the surgery route with her
i took back 2 unopened bags of selective nuggets to the pet shop & exchanged them for burgess excel which has no alfafa in . so we will try that
then it was off to asda for more cranberry juice & peppers !
thanks for the chart sport billy