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Probiotics?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chubby11
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Chubby11

Hey guys, so my guinea pig has a bladder stone, but the vet suggested we just keep him on antibiotics to control any UTI or anything unless the stone starts causing him pain. Anyway, i was just reading some posts and noticed alot of them suggest giving a probiotic as well? Does anyone know where i can order some offline (I'm in the US)? And how much should i give him? Oh, and the antibiotics he is on are SMZ-TMP and he is given .15ml twice a day.

Thanks!
 
Hi. Yes some people do choose to give probiotics especially if the antibiotics stops the pig from eating. I'm not sure where you can get some offline though. Could you not get some from your vet? I currently have a guinea pig who is having bladder troubles and she was x rayed for a stone but luckily it came back clear. I do not understand why your vet has chosen to leave the stone as when my Connie was x rayed, the vet was going to remove it the same day if she had one. How did the vet find out that your guinea had a stone in the first place if you don't mind me asking? I'm just interested as like I have said, my Connie is having bladder troubles too :( Good luck and I hope someone else can advise further xx
 
I think Bio-Lapis is a good probiotic. I think sometimes if the stone is small boars can pass them which may be why your vet said to wait. I had a sow with 3 bladder stones which were successfully removed. Cut down the amount of calcium in your piggie's diet as too much calcium is the cause of bladder stones.
 
I got a suggestion for using Bene-Bac (which is from the US) when I was looking into the probiotic issue. I ultimately decided to go with Bio-Lapis, which I ordered from the UK, but if you don't want to order online, you could just call around to your vets and ask them if they had or could get in some Bene-Bac for your baby.
 
He was x-rayed about a month ago and they saw the stone, he was squeaking when he was peeing a bit. Then vet gave him a catheter and it must have dislodged the stone a bit and he's been fine ever since. The stone is about medium size i would say, but not small enough that he can pass it though. She gave him some pain killers and the antibiotic. I don't know, she suggested that since the stone wasn't that big and considering his age (he's about four and a half, so she didn't want to put him through surgery unless it was absolutely necessary), she said to just keep him on the antibiotics until he was in any pain. If he was, she said, we could consider surgery, although I believe it might be rather expensive where i live....she's still supposed to call me with a quota incase. Anyway, I guess i can ask the vet about the probiotics or just order benebac offline. If i do end up ordering it, anyone know how much i should give him each day?
 
It should come with instructions as to how much for body weight. It's a gel form for small animals, and I was told just one little squeeze per dose.
 
Since the stone is not small enough to pass, regardless of age, I don't see why they haven't operated?
 
Antibiotics will do nothing to help a stone problem. There is a risk of the stone adhering to the wall of the bladder, thus causing damage when it needs removing, and if it does slip into the urethra again - causing a blockage - it would mean emergency surgery anyway. If your vet is not confident enough to operate on a 4 year old pig I would try to find a vet who does have the skill to. Given that pigs aged 4-6 years quite commonly have surgery, and even pigs aged 7-9 years have been operated on, you need to have a vet handy who will treat this problem properly.

Re probiotics, Bene-bac is the best one I have used. I am in UK but have a US friend who sends 30gm tubes of Bene-bac, and it is the easiest thing to use. Just a small blob on your finger and wipe it in the pigs mouth, and it's done.
 
Thanks for all your help! I called the closest exotic vet to get another opinion/quota, but their small animal specialist wasn't so i guess ill try again tomorrow. Also, what brand of pellets would be recommended for a stone pig? I saw some people that recommended Oxbow Cavy Cuisine (calcium min .35%, calcium max .85%, phosphorous min .25%), so i just bought that, and now i'm reading in some other forums that this isn't good? My old kind of pellet was called Health Diet Guinea Pig (i got it from my small local pet store, so its probably just some random brand, although i did note that its made with alfalfa, so I'm guessing the calcium is pretty high?), but it doesn't offer any information on the calcium or phosphorous percentages. Does anyone know if the calcium/phos ratio in Cavy Cuisine is ok, or should i switch to KM, which i also read is recommended (i think i read the calcium in .75%...)? Thanks so much!
 
Cavy Cuisine is fine, it is made with Timothy hay so is great for adult pigs. It is Cavy Performance (alfalfa based) that should not be fed to stone pigs. If you can switch to Kleenmama's that would be fine also; the general consensus is that KM's hay and pellets are of better quality than even Oxbow's products.
 
So the exotic vet called me back, and the surgery would only be $285! It was such a relief, i thought it would be much more! I'm going in on friday, so I'll let you know what she suggests!
 
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