abirmingham
New Born Pup
My guinea pig recently had surgery to get a bladder stone removed that was partially obstructing his urethra. I’m so worried about the stone coming back (I think he’s just genetically predisposed to urinary issues because he’s had a few utis in the past) I’m trying to do everything I can, everything that’s in my control anyway, to prevent them from coming back. I’ve done a lot of research and tried to make those recommended changes. I bought a brita filter and I’ve been filtering his water, I’ve switched to kms pellets and drastically reduced his pellet intake, and I’m trying to follow a low calcium diet. I also purchased the feliway cystease cat capsules and have been implementing those into his daily regimen. The problem is he hates drinking. He barely will drink on his own so I have to syringe him a mL of water here and there throughout the day and try to wet his veggies as much as possible. He’s still probably not getting enough though. I’ve tried putting more water bottles in the cage, tried a water bowl (he could care less about it). My vet is starting him on Potassium Citrate and Hydrochlorothiazide to hopefully help with his urine pH and increase his intake. She’s an exotic vet with a lot of experience and has said that every guinea pig she has encountered that’s had this surgery their bladder stones have come back at some point down the line. Which makes me sad. I’m just not entirely sure what to follow in terms of his diet. I’ve seen mixed things in terms of whether lettuce is something that should be fed daily or avoided. I had been feeding a leaf of red or green leaf lettuce daily. Something I’ve seen recommended over and over on the forum is the sample diet for piggies with urinary tract issues posted by the user Wiebke. I’m a little hesistant although I have seen good things about it because it recommends a sliver of spring greens (collard greens here in the US) daily, and most everything I’ve seen on the internet about collard greens is that they have a ton of calcium and should be avoided. I do know about the calcium:phosphorus ration chart on guinea lynx too. If anyone has any tips or advice or even success stories I would welcome them. I’m a little discouraged because despite all the positive changes I’ve made I’m still seeing calcium deposits in his urine and he still squeaks when he goes to the bathroom despite daily meloxicam.
