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Red Urine

squeaksandcarrots

squeaksandcarrots

Adult Guinea Pig
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I just noticed when Cocoa urinated her pee is red, I’ve never seen this before. She’s acting normal, eating and drinking like usual. Why could her urine be red? I’m calling the vet in the morning but I’m curious to know any possible answers
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Taken a minute after she urinated
6ECF8715-3AB9-4919-90F4-38F018DFCF34.webp
Taken right after she urinated
 
A vet is definitely the right call. It could be something simple like a UTI which are very common in piggies bit could also be down to other urinary or reproductive tract conditions
 
I took Cocoa to the vet a couple hours ago and am currently waiting for a phone call. They want to do a urine test and an ultrasound. I hope everything turns out alright, I just want her back home already!
 
Update! The vet said she found nothing wrong. Cocoa's urine was normal while she was there and she's still acting like her regular self. The vet suggested that since Cocoa is in season the urine and blood could've mixed together. I'm keeping an eye on her yet but I'm relieved to hear she's okay. I'm happy she's home :)
 
squeaksandcarrots said:
Update! The vet said she found nothing wrong. Cocoa's urine was normal while she was there and she's still acting like her regular self. The vet suggested that since Cocoa is in season the urine and blood could've mixed together. I'm keeping an eye on her yet but I'm relieved to hear she's okay. I'm happy she's home :)
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How knowledgeable with piggies is your vet? Piggies don't have periods and there should be no blood when they are in season. What tests did the vet do? Did they do a dip test for the urine?
 
Oh dear yes that vet doesnt sound too knowledgable about piggies, there should be no blood from their reproductive tract!
Ideally they should have done urine dip sticks tests for both blood and for protein, and also taken a fresh urine sample to check for bacteria. They could also have swabbed the opening of the reproductive tract for bacteria if they suspected an infection there... I would expect to see all these tests done first, and maybe a course of baytril antibiotics given to rule out a simple easily treated infection, before suggesting the stress, sedation and expense of an ultrasound scan to look for stones or anything more complicated...
 
Hm, interesting. I originally thought that sows didn't bleed when in season but when my vet told me that then I assumed she was right. I'm not sure how the test was done since I couldn't be there, but she told me that they waited for Cocoa to urinate and then did a test from that. I haven't seen any blood since Tuesday night and Cocoa is behaving normally. I admit I'm a bit worried since my vet didn't know that sows don't pass blood when in season. I really don't have the money to take her back for another appointment, should I just keep an eye on her urine?
 
I'm glad she's home and hope it's just a one-off, but as others have said, guinea pigs do not bleed while in season so this is a strange diagnosis for me. I would definitely keep a close eye on things and look for further off-color urine, squeaking or raising up while peeing, lethargy, lack of appetite, sitting hunched over and ruffled up- these are signs that another vet consult is urgently needed. Urinary tract infections and bladder sludge/stones are not uncommon in guinea pigs, I would think that a UTI would be a much more likely diagnosis than something related to being in heat.
 
I called the vet today and left her a message. Of course I had my phone on me all day and the minute I walked away from it she called. Since it was after vet hours I couldn't call her back, but in her voicemail she left me an email I can send a message to! Hoping to get to the bottom of this
 
Update: I talked with the vet today. I told her how I read that guinea pigs are not supposed to bleed when in season. She said that some sows do and some do not. Luckily since Cocoa hasn't had any red urine since last week I'm not worrying too much. I'll still keep an eye on her, though
 
I would suggest you find another vet (if possible) who knows more about guinea pigs than your current vet seems to. There is no bleeding during season, and any bleeding is a sign of something else going on.
 
Siikibam said:
I would suggest you find another vet (if possible) who knows more about guinea pigs than your current vet seems to. There is no bleeding during season, and any bleeding is a sign of something else going on.
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There's only one animal clinic in my city that looks at guinea pigs, but there is another small animal vet who works there and has more experience. I see both vets, it just depends on who is working when I have appointments. I trust everyone's advice here that there's no bleeding involved in seasons
 
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