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Poorly Pig Squeaking When Urinating :(

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lewpylew

lewpylew

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone,

I have not posted on here since last summer when I lost Sammy, my white piggy. Tonight I noticed Peppa my brown & white piggy was squeaking and in pain when trying to wee. I managed to get a vets appt and it turns out her bladder is rock hard :( She's had some medicine(3 different types - Baytril, Metacam and I can't remember the other one) and she is home with me. I have to take her back tomorrow late morning and I am so so upset and can't stop crying as I fear we are going down the same path.

Sammy had recurrent bladder infections, and eventually had to be put to sleep due to bladder stones and her body had a few other things wrong. Could this just be a uti or as the bladder is that hard is it likely to be a stone again? Peppa has no blood and is eating ok, albeit she's a little quiet now as probably sore and feeling sorry for herself after a trip to the vets.

She is such an amazing piggy and I can't imagine life without her :( Sorry for the sad post. This has just come out the blue as i've been so lucky with her. She will be 4 in April x
 
I am very sorry that you are going there again. The hard bladder can either be due to a stone (which can be 'silent' and grow to quite a size without causing any symtpoms, as a couple of my sows have proven), bladder sludge or interstitial cystitis, but thickened walls are usually due to irritation in the bladder and not just a urine infection.

The good news that bladder stone operations in sows are generally a lot more straightforward and that the success rate is very high. You were unlucky that Sammy had additional underlying issues. None of my sows has ever died from a stone op, and I have had a few over the years! The oldest was a five year old sow.

Unfortunately, it takes a major leap of faith if you have lost a previous piggy to a particular issue, so I feel for you! I had to jump off the cliff when my frail Cariad needed an emergency spay after Fflur had not woken up from the same op a few years ago and only half a year after a bladder stone op. Cariad lived over a year afterwards until last summer to a respectable age of 5 years.

What you can do is:
- put your piggies on a low calcium diet, which includes pellet management and filtered water.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/low-calcium-diet-for-bladder-piggies.105930/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...or-a-balanced-general-guinea-pig-diet.116460/
- put your girl on glucosamine or glucosamine based bladder wall coating cystease/cystaid food supplement
- ask for a conscious or only lightly whiffed x-ray to get confirmation about what is going on
- how piggy savvy is your vet? https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-vet-locator/
- please make sure that she is drinking plenty; if necessary syringe her wice daily with as much as she will take in one go. Bad drinkers are at a higher risk of developing bladder problems, as their bladder is not sufficiently flushed and bacteria, minerals and crystals can build up.
 
I'm sorry to hear Peppa isn't very well but until you have a firm diagnosis from your vet try not to think the worst.

By her bladder being rock hard do you mean swollen? It could just be a UTI, a stone or cystisis.

Try do everything Wiebke has suggested in the mean time!
 
After a restless night for me and being awake over an hour I've just been to check the piggies. Peppa has now gone from a dry bottom to a very wet one and is leaking wee. I know this isn't great but maybe the drugs have helped the blockage? Trying to stay calm. She was responsive, was having a drink and took some cucumber from me. My vets appt seems hours away at 11.20 : (
 
It sounds like a full blown cystitis to me. I call it the smelly pees, for obvious reasons. Hopefully, you can get to th bottom of it with an x-ray and get her better again. Thankfully, there is a lot more information, skill and experience around today than even a few years ago.
 
I've been to the vets, went at 8:45am as I was so worried. He wasn't overly concerned as no blood in urine and bladder not as hard but still inflamed. We've got 4 days of Baytril 0.2 @ 2.5% to take twice a day and I am to go back Monday.

She had been looking very sorry for herself but put them in the run on some carpet and she's been moving around, chewing wood and cardboard tunnel and had a bit of kale, cucumber and celery throughout the day.

I'm just making some pearl barley water as read that may help so worth a try x
 
I would go easy on the kale, as it is very high in calcium and a good food for bladder piggies.
If she is still looking sorry for herself, please ask for metacam, which is a painkiller/anti-inflammatory.
 
Hope she will get better soon.
And yep, kale is high in calcium, maybe you should change her diet a bit? To keep the calcium income at its minimum. It might help in the future.
 
I just bought something I knew she would like as wanted to see her eat : ) will ease off it for a few days now thanks x
 
I am very sorry you are going through this :( I have lost two piggies myself who had bladder problems so I can understand your concerns.

I can't add anymore as you have already been given some fantastic advise.

My boy Enoch was in the same position back in November. He had blood in his urine and was treated for a UTI with Septrin and metacam. After two days, he took a turn for the worse so we had him x rayed for stones. Unfortunately a very small stone smaller than a pin head showed up on the x ray but due to the size and position, my vet wasn't confident in operating. They referred his x ray to a specialist who was happy to attempt to operate and remove it but she advised against it at this stage so we made the decision to leave it and see how he goes.

Thankfully Enoch showed improvement after a week on Septrin and metacam and another two weeks on, his was completely free of blood and is back to his cheeky self.

If Peppa doesn't improve, I would definitely advise that you have an x ray taken if only for peace of mind and I can't stress how important pain relief is. It may be worth giving Peppa a probiotic an hour after the baytril as baytril can upset the gut.
 
Please keep us updated and definitely consider getting some metacam as it acts as pain relief and anti inflammatory so can sooth inflammation in the bladder. Lots of healing vibes
 
An update from me.... i came down this morning just after 7am and checked the piggies.... hoping all was ok and no worse I couldn't believe my eyes when I picked up Peppa and her bottom and belly were dry :) It was better than I could have hoped for. She seems so much happier today. She's been climbing the bars, eating and still chilling a little with some soft poos but know that is common on antibiotics.

I will take her back to the vets tomorrow as they want to check her but fingers crossed she's on the mend. So so weird. She must have had something making her bladder sore or maybe cystitis. Just worried as she's dried up so so fast but she is a strong pig so hoping we've turned the corner x
 
Hi my guinea pig squeals when urinating is this something to be worried about ?
 
Yes, it could be a urinary tract infection, or even stones, so they will need to see a vet for a diagnosis. How long has it been going on? if you start your own medical thread we can advise you there.
 
helen105281 said:
Yes, it could be a urinary tract infection, or even stones, so they will need to see a vet for a diagnosis. How long has it been going on? if you start your own medical thread we can advise you there.
Click to expand...
It's been going on a couple of months now it goes sometimes and then comes back again? Is this normal. .
 
It could be a sensitivity to.something she is eating. Have you noticed any kind of pattern?
 
I'm glad she's doing well! Both of my pigs have bladder issues (Sundae has since her young days, Linney seems to have more issues with recurrent UTIs now that she is a senior.) Sundae is a trooper with them, but Linney gets very out of sorts and depressed and doesn't eat well with UTIs, so I feel your pain! I am glad she is making a recovery. Linney is much better when she is on a long-term dose of antibiotic. As she is now age 6 and definitely acts like an elderly piggy, I suspect she may be on this for most of the rest of her life, as it seems to make her so much more happy/comfortable.
 
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