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Post bladder stone op

Lauraspigs

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Nov 27, 2019
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Location
Gloucestershire UK
Saffie had an operation to remove a stone on Sunday and came home from the vet on Tuesday. I’ve been syringe feeding her every 4 hours since and she’s picking at hay and veggies. She’s passing blood in her urine today and is uncomfortable. The vet wasn’t too concerned and we are going to up the metacam to twice

how can I prevent it happening again? I thought my food regime lowered the chance of stones as it was provided by a vet years ago for my holly who had a stone but never needed surgery.

I feed
Cucumber
Courgette
Bell pepper
Romaine lettuce - should I cut this out?
A few sprigs of Coriander

Timothy hay, orchard grass hay, meadow hay etc never alfalfa.

Ive swapped to Selective grain free previously they had burgess.

They have oxbow vitamin c biscuits and oxbow baked rewards as treats

I’ve bought a Brita water filter and Voss bottled water as it’s the lowest in calcium I could find.
 
I’m sure someone more experienced will be along soon. Luckily I haven’t had to deal with a guinea pig with bladder stones *touch wood* but I know with the pellets it’s best to limit each pig to 1 tsp each per day maximum. I’m pretty sure I’ve read @furryfriends (TEAS) (Hope you don’t mind me tagging you!) ask what type of metacam the piggy is getting? Whether it’s dog or cat as I’m pretty sure the cat metacam isn’t as strong so might be why your pig is uncomfortable. Hope you get some advice and your piggy gets better soon!
 
I’m sure someone more experienced will be along soon. Luckily I haven’t had to deal with a guinea pig with bladder stones *touch wood* but I know with the pellets it’s best to limit each pig to 1 tsp each per day maximum. I’m pretty sure I’ve read @furryfriends (TEAS) (Hope you don’t mind me tagging you!) ask what type of metacam the piggy is getting? Whether it’s dog or cat as I’m pretty sure the cat metacam isn’t as strong so might be why your pig is uncomfortable. Hope you get some advice and your piggy gets better soon!
Yes, the Metacam for cats is 1/3 of the strength of the Metacam for dogs. What dose have you been told to give?

I have kept guinea pigs for very many years and have never had a piggy with a bladder issue. I feed a very wet diet and you can see how I feed the piggies at TEAS here. Feeding the guinea pigs at TEAS
 
I realised I’d written tsp of pellets, I meant to write tablespoon! :doh: Time for bed I think!:))
 
Saffie had an operation to remove a stone on Sunday and came home from the vet on Tuesday. I’ve been syringe feeding her every 4 hours since and she’s picking at hay and veggies. She’s passing blood in her urine today and is uncomfortable. The vet wasn’t too concerned and we are going to up the metacam to twice

how can I prevent it happening again? I thought my food regime lowered the chance of stones as it was provided by a vet years ago for my holly who had a stone but never needed surgery.

I feed
Cucumber
Courgette
Bell pepper
Romaine lettuce - should I cut this out?
A few sprigs of Coriander

Timothy hay, orchard grass hay, meadow hay etc never alfalfa.

Ive swapped to Selective grain free previously they had burgess.

They have oxbow vitamin c biscuits and oxbow baked rewards as treats

I’ve bought a Brita water filter and Voss bottled water as it’s the lowest in calcium I could find.

Hi!

How much metacam is your girl on? Dog or cat and once or twice daily? Many general vets underestimate rather the amount that guinea pigs need because they count down from cats with their much slower metabolism and kidney problems from metacam, which is not an issue with guinea pigs.

Please have a look at our diet tips for guinea pigs with urinary tract issues. Be aware that you cannot cut all calcium because too little calcium in the diet can cause some serious health problems in the longer term, too. It is all about getting the balance right.

Please don't feed more than at the most 15 ml of pellets per piggy per day (=1 tablespoon or 1/8 cup). Even in the no added calcium pellets there is still more calcium per weight than in the highest calcium veg, kale. Water and pellets are actually the two food groups that most calcium comes from in the diet.
You can feed lettuce; it adds to the fluid intake especially in guinea pigs that are not good natural drinkers and helps create some stronger pees every day that contribute to flushing out the bladder.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

The other measure I would strongly recommend as you are likely dealing with some bladder trauma is giving glucosamine to help repair the beleaguered natural glucosamine coating of the bladder and the urinary tract; the glucosamine prevents the corrosive urine from coming into contact with raw tissue. For practical advice, it would help us if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to location in your account details (accessed by clicking on your username on the top bar), so we can tailor our recommendations to what is easiest available where you are. We have members and enquiries from all over the world. Brand names can vary enormously from country to country.

Both measures are however not quick fixes; they take time to build up and work their way through the body. The calcium absorption process is a complex one. Diet is the factor that we can really influence, unlike any genetic disposition or simply something going suddenly wrong.
 
Yes, the Metacam for cats is 1/3 of the strength of the Metacam for dogs. What dose have you been told to give?

I have kept guinea pigs for very many years and have never had a piggy with a bladder issue. I feed a very wet diet and you can see how I feed the piggies at TEAS here. Feeding the guinea pigs at TEAS
I’ve been given loxicom 1.5mg/ml and she’s on 0.25ml originally once a day but now twice a day.
I have one pig that’s obsessed with the pellets so she probably eats her share and everyone else’s. Do you have any advice on how to manage this as the 3 live together and don’t like to eat separately.
 
Hi!

How much metacam is your girl on? Dog or cat and once or twice daily? Many general vets underestimate rather the amount that guinea pigs need because they count down from cats with their much slower metabolism and kidney problems from metacam, which is not an issue with guinea pigs.

Please have a look at our diet tips for guinea pigs with urinary tract issues. Be aware that you cannot cut all calcium because too little calcium in the diet can cause some serious health problems in the longer term, too. It is all about getting the balance right.

Please don't feed more than at the most 15 ml of pellets per piggy per day (=1 tablespoon or 1/8 cup). Even in the no added calcium pellets there is still more calcium per weight than in the highest calcium veg, kale. Water and pellets are actually the two food groups that most calcium comes from in the diet.
You can feed lettuce; it adds to the fluid intake especially in guinea pigs that are not good natural drinkers and helps create some stronger pees every day that contribute to flushing out the bladder.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

The other measure I would strongly recommend as you are likely dealing with some bladder trauma is giving glucosamine to help repair the beleaguered natural glucosamine coating of the bladder and the urinary tract; the glucosamine prevents the corrosive urine from coming into contact with raw tissue. For practical advice, it would help us if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to location in your account details (accessed by clicking on your username on the top bar), so we can tailor our recommendations to what is easiest available where you are. We have members and enquiries from all over the world. Brand names can vary enormously from country to country.

Both measures are however not quick fixes; they take time to build up and work their way through the body. The calcium absorption process is a complex one. Diet is the factor that we can really influence, unlike any genetic disposition or simply something going suddenly wrong.
I’m in the uk, she’s on loxicom 1.5mg/ml 0.25ml once per day originally and now upped to twice a day.

is it likely that she is genetically disposed to them as I don’t feel I’ve been giving them anything I shouldn’t have and she’s not a big pellet eater either. Her sister Lexie is obsessed with the pellets so is probably eating everyone’s share which is a bit worrying now.

where can I get the glucosamine from - will the vet be able to help with that?
She’s still crying when weeing today and there is still blood although she seems a bit brighter and was eating for herself in the night when I got up to feed her. Am slowly easing off on the amount/regularity of the syringe feeds so she has an appetite for hay etc
 
I’m in the uk, she’s on loxicom 1.5mg/ml 0.25ml once per day originally and now upped to twice a day.

is it likely that she is genetically disposed to them as I don’t feel I’ve been giving them anything I shouldn’t have and she’s not a big pellet eater either. Her sister Lexie is obsessed with the pellets so is probably eating everyone’s share which is a bit worrying now.

where can I get the glucosamine from - will the vet be able to help with that?
She’s still crying when weeing today and there is still blood although she seems a bit brighter and was eating for herself in the night when I got up to feed her. Am slowly easing off on the amount/regularity of the syringe feeds so she has an appetite for hay etc

Hi!

Is that cat or dog strength loxicom? Dog strength is three times stronger. Both are being prescribed for guinea pigs but while it would be a good dose for a guinea pig in major pain on dog strength, it would be a low dosage on the cat metacam (loxicom is one of the UK brand names). Unfortunately, it is the cat metacam that has been licensed for guinea pigs, hence why we see it prescribed a lot.

Please manage the shift from syringe feeding support to eating on her own (as well as the full syringe feeding) by weighing daily at the same time, so you give exactly as much support as needed. If I were you, I would put out only one tablespoon of pellets; as long your bladder stone girl is on syringe feeding top up, she won't need the pellets. They are the disposable part of the diet. Otherwise, mush them up with some hot water and see how they go down in that way.
Weight - Monitoring and Management

If the screaming when peeing continues despite the recovery, I would contact the vet re. a bacterial cystitis. This can result as a secondary complication from the damage to the bladder wall by the stone banging into it. An antibiotic should be able to sort it out.

For our UK members we recommend to mix the contents of 1 Feliway cystease (for cats) capsule with 2 ml water and then give either 1 ml every 12 hours or 2 ml every 24 hours. You won't see an immediate effect as it needs time to build up and repair the damaged wall coating but it goes a long way in terms of overall comfort. Glucosamine is not classed as a medication but as a food supplement and is therefore not often prescribed by vets; it is also widely availabe online. But it is in our long term experience a very helpful measure to deal with the pain in the urinary tract as it is often the crucial glucosamine coating that is affected in stones, sludge or either variety of cystitis (sterile or bacterial).

All the best! Right now, you are playing for time until your dietary and your glucosamine support are kicking in.
The UK is mainly a hard water country, so filtering the water is the most important measure; I haven't had any major stone trouble since I switched to it. In the very worst areas or with piggies with several contributing factors coming together, using bottled water may be the trick; but as that is not exactly an environmentally sound long term measure, I would see how you get on on the filter first.
 
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