Red Wees

[Madge Woollard]

we've noticed our girls doing the odd red wee. Think it's cos they've been chewing cardboard and consumed rather a lot of it! Or it could be the newspaper in their hutch that they also like to munch on which has some red pictures on sometimes. They are healthy in every other way. Is there any cause for concern?

 

[VickiA]

Certain food such as beetroot, red pepper and carrot, if eaten in largish quantities discolour the wee. However red staining wee can be indicative of bladder stones or UTI. It would be worth testing by placing them on a white flooring eg towel or similar after they've had none of the above veg. If their wee is staining red then I would actually recommend taking them to the vets to get them checked over.
Similarly it could be a gynaecological issue. Again the vet is the best person to rule this out.

Most problems caught early enough can be treated by the vets quite easily.

 

[Wiebke]

we've noticed our girls doing the odd red wee. Think it's cos they've been chewing cardboard and consumed rather a lot of it! Or it could be the newspaper in their hutch that they also like to munch on which has some red pictures on sometimes. They are healthy in every other way. Is there any cause for concern?

Hi! If the red wee is not a one-off, please see a vet for UTI (urinary tract infection). It is pretty common in guinea pigs due to their rather alkaline urine, which makes them particularly prone to bladder and urinary tract issues.

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[Madge Woollard]

hi, we've taken Alice to the vets and she's been given some antibiotics for 10 days. In case she's got a urine infection. But we're still not sure if that's what it is. We know red wees can be caused by grass/change of diet. She's been going out on the grass again recently now the weather's got better, having had 6 months indoors, and she eats grass ferociously while out there, unlike our other pig who hasn't been doing red wees. How will we know if the antibiotics have worked? We don't want to put her through the trauma of any unnecessary procedures at the vets.

 

[sport_billy]

Is the wee coming out red or turning red?

 

[Madge Woollard]

Is the wee coming out red or turning red?

It comes out red but dries a neutral color. Not all the time, they do some normal weeks too. In fact we're not quite sure now which girl is doing them or maybe it's both!