Should I Put My Guinea Pig Through Surgery?

[Topaz]

Hi everyone i really need some help...
my guinea pig scooby has been peeing and pee is light pink! I took him to the vet to see whats wrong and she said it was a bladder infection. So i gave him antiboitics like the vet suggested i should and it didn't really help... Scoobys pee was still pink and he was sqeaking and arching his back when going to the bathroom.
I think it might be stones because my other guinea pig had stones and acted like this but much sicker.. scooby is still eating and drinking but he still looks in pain, i phoned the vet and she confirmed my suspicions: scooby most likely had stones or was developing stones. i know i can't do much other than surgery to remove the stones. my other guinea pig Lucky who died from stones we had to put down, because he was to sick to survive surgery.
but scooby still has a chance of having surgery and making it threw.... but I'm really scared, should i put him threw surgery and risk it? has anyone ever done surgery with their guinea pig and its turned out fine?
i really would like an opinion on what to do!

 

[Mackers]

If you have a piggy-savvy vet who has said that surgery is the only option then I don't think you have a choice. It's either a pig in pain or surgery, and you can't leave him in pain. A good piggy vet has probably operated on hundreds of piggies so you will be putting him in good hands. I've no experience of stones so can't give any advice but just wishing your little fluff well.

ETA - one of my piggies had 3 operations and came through each one well. The first op was a spay, which is a big operation for a sow, and the 2nd two were for huge lumps on a back leg. Again she came through well. If yours live outdoors, I would bring them in, which probably means you'd have to keep them in all winter then as I wouldn't put them back outdoors again once we're in October.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone i really need some help...
my guinea pig scooby has been peeing and pee is light pink! I took him to the vet to see whats wrong and she said it was a bladder infection. So i gave him antiboitics like the vet suggested i should and it didn't really help... Scoobys pee was still pink and he was sqeaking and arching his back when going to the bathroom.
I think it might be stones because my other guinea pig had stones and acted like this but much sicker.. scooby is still eating and drinking but he still looks in pain, i phoned the vet and she confirmed my suspicions: scooby most likely had stones or was developing stones. i know i can't do much other than surgery to remove the stones. my other guinea pig Lucky who died from stones we had to put down, because he was to sick to survive surgery.
but scooby still has a chance of having surgery and making it threw.... but I'm really scared, should i put him threw surgery and risk it? has anyone ever done surgery with their guinea pig and its turned out fine?
i really would like an opinion on what to do!

Hi and welcome!

Your vet can do an x-ray with minimal sedation first to check whether there is a stone and surgery is needed.

Bladder stones are sadly not at all uncommon in guinea pigs because they have naturally very alkaline urine and are therefore prone to urinary tract issues. If there is a stone in the bladder, then the operation is hopefully straight forward; it is stuck in a boar's urethra, then things can get more iffy. Boars have got a longer urethra with an inglenook where passed stones can get stuck. Unfortunately, if there is a stone, the only option is to operate.
Generally, it depends on how good your vet is with operating on small animals. Overall, operation survival rates have improved massively in the last 5 years. We see quite a number of bladder stone piggies on this forum and most make a good recovery.
My own piggies have always come through bladder stone ops well.

Here are our tips for post-op complications: Tips For Post-operative Care

Here are our tips for guinea pigs with urinary problems: Low Calcium Diet For Bladder Piggies
@helen105281 can give you further tips.

Since we have got members from all over the world, we find it helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county, so we can tailor any advice and recommendations to what is available and relevant for you straight away. Please click on your username on the top, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you.

We have got a recommended UK vets locator on the top bar, but can provided a link for recommended vets in some countries if wished.

All the best! Is your boy on painkillers/anti-inflammatory for the time being? What antibiotic has he been on and for how long?

 

[Tiamolly123]

I would put him through surgery, on here there are some many piggies who have had this surgery & the piggies have come through it fine. I think the fact that your piggy was poorly before the op, she didn't really have chance. Good luck, not that you need it.

 

[Topaz]

Hi and welcome!

Your vet can do an x-ray with minimal sedation first to check whether there is a stone and surgery is needed.

Bladder stones are sadly not at all uncommon in guinea pigs because they have naturally very alkaline urine and are therefore prone to urinary tract issues. If there is a stone in the bladder, then the operation is hopefully straight forward; it is stuck in a boar's urethra, then things can get more iffy. Boars have got a longer urethra with an inglenook where passed stones can get stuck. Unfortunately, if there is a stone, the only option is to operate.
Generally, it depends on how good your vet is with operating on small animals. Overall, operation survival rates have improved massively in the last 5 years. We see quite a number of bladder stone piggies on this forum and most make a good recovery.
My own piggies have always come through bladder stone ops well.

Here are our tips for post-op complications: Tips For Post-operative Care

Here are our tips for guinea pigs with urinary problems: Low Calcium Diet For Bladder Piggies
@helen105281 can give you further tips.

Since we have got members from all over the world, we find it helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county, so we can tailor any advice and recommendations to what is available and relevant for you straight away. Please click on your username on the top, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you.

We have got a recommended UK vets locator on the top bar, but can provided a link for recommended vets in some countries if wished.

All the best! Is your boy on painkillers/anti-inflammatory for the time being? What antibiotic has he been on and for how long?

Thanks for your reply it means a lot to me! i will try what you suggest!

 

[Topaz]

If you have a piggy-savvy vet who has said that surgery is the only option then I don't think you have a choice. It's either a pig in pain or surgery, and you can't leave him in pain. A good piggy vet has probably operated on hundreds of piggies so you will be putting him in good hands. I've no experience of stones so can't give any advice but just wishing your little fluff well.

ETA - one of my piggies had 3 operations and came through each one well. The first op was a spay, which is a big operation for a sow, and the 2nd two were for huge lumps on a back leg. Again she came through well. If yours live outdoors, I would bring them in, which probably means you'd have to keep them in all winter then as I wouldn't put them back outdoors again once we're in October.

thanks for the reply and your support!

I would put him through surgery, on here there are some many piggies who have had this surgery & the piggies have come through it fine. I think the fact that your piggy was poorly before the op, she didn't really have chance. Good luck, not that you need it.

thank you for the reply and your support !

 

[Topaz]

Hi everyone, thanks so much for your replies and your support for me in this tough time!
cheers,
Topaz

 

[DM030819]

Definitely get an x-ray first, you don't want him to be opened up in surgery if he doesn't have stones. If he does have a stone then they might be able to follow it straight up with surgery.

If you have a guinea pig specialised vet I'd say you should definitely go for the operation, as there's no other way of getting a stone out of a male piggy and it'll only cause him pain otherwise, and it could get stuck and kill him.

If you don't have a guinea specialist vet then it might be worth trying to find one. I have a boy pig who has had 2 bladder stone surgeries and he made it fine through both. Thanksfully a change in diet had helped him since and he's be okay for 2 years.

 

[Topaz]

Hi and welcome!

Your vet can do an x-ray with minimal sedation first to check whether there is a stone and surgery is needed.

Bladder stones are sadly not at all uncommon in guinea pigs because they have naturally very alkaline urine and are therefore prone to urinary tract issues. If there is a stone in the bladder, then the operation is hopefully straight forward; it is stuck in a boar's urethra, then things can get more iffy. Boars have got a longer urethra with an inglenook where passed stones can get stuck. Unfortunately, if there is a stone, the only option is to operate.
Generally, it depends on how good your vet is with operating on small animals. Overall, operation survival rates have improved massively in the last 5 years. We see quite a number of bladder stone piggies on this forum and most make a good recovery.
My own piggies have always come through bladder stone ops well.

Here are our tips for post-op complications: Tips For Post-operative Care

Here are our tips for guinea pigs with urinary problems: Low Calcium Diet For Bladder Piggies
@helen105281 can give you further tips.

Since we have got members from all over the world, we find it helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county, so we can tailor any advice and recommendations to what is available and relevant for you straight away. Please click on your username on the top, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you.

We have got a recommended UK vets locator on the top bar, but can provided a link for recommended vets in some countries if wished.

All the best! Is your boy on painkillers/anti-inflammatory for the time being? What antibiotic has he been on and for how long?

hi, right now he is on painkillers and anti-inflaammatory he has been on them for about ten days

 

[Sue and Smartie]

Panda had a second surgery last month to remove a stone. His previous operation (for the same thing) was a year before that. He recovered slower this time round but he is now quite old so I wasn't surprised that he was slower to bounce back. Now he is happy and healthy again so it was more than worth it.
The vet I use isn't a piggy specialist by any means but they do have skill and a very good nursing team.
Good luck, we'll be keeping fingers & paws crossed for you here

 

[Topaz]

Panda had a second surgery last month to remove a stone. His previous operation (for the same thing) was a year before that. He recovered slower this time round but he is now quite old so I wasn't surprised that he was slower to bounce back. Now he is happy and healthy again so it was more than worth it.
The vet I use isn't a piggy specialist by any means but they do have skill and a very good nursing team.
Good luck, we'll be keeping fingers & paws crossed for you here

Hi
thank you for telling me this story, it makes me hopeful that scooby can make it threw this!

 

[GPTV]

If its any consolation my 5yr old girly had a largish stone removed about a month ago. I could see it at her opening &I could feel it easily as it was so far down.
The vet did an xray with light sedation, found there was just the one stone &removed it immediately afterwards. She had general anaesthetic for that bit. She was a bit spaced out when I got her home but after 24hrs you wouldn't have known she'd had an op. She bounced back really well.

Boys however can have a more complicated &risky problem all according as to where the stone actually is.
Their tubes are narrower than the girls &unfortunately complete blockages are more common.

I would check the experience of your vet with these type operations &if you're not happy with their ability, have a look on the recommended vet locator. But I would advise you try &get him seen &sorted ASAP by a vet.

As they are very painful its good that you have a painkiller &antiinflammatory sorted for him

Healing vibes &speedy recovery to your little man
Xx