Sneezing blood?

[Sue_P]

On three occasions now I’ve found spots of blood in my rodent pen on the newspaper by where I put the rodents food. On the second time I had suspicions some blood got splattered after my fudge coloured rodent sneezed, I heard him sneeze and saw him rubbing his nose clean but could see no blood on his fur but there looked to be fresh blood on the newspaper but I wasn’t certain it had come from the sneeze at that point but it happened again on the weekend, there was a sneeze, face rubbing and what looked like new blood so I immediately picked him up to inspect his nose and rub his nose with tissue paper but all that came off onto the tissue paper was a bit of clear wetness. Plus he’s got a light coloured face so I’d have surely noticed by now if his nose had been bleeding. I was just wondering if anyone has heard of this thing happening before? I’ve done a quick search on this forum and can’t see anyone else talking about it. I mean it’s possible I’m mistaken and that the spots of redness on the newspaper is either blood from somewhere else on the rodents or possibly tomato splattering, but am I sort of thinking it is blood being sneezed up. I'm certain it’s not from wee as all there is each time is about 2 or 3 small droplets of blood on the newspaper and no pee any where near. Any thoughts?

Also whilst I’m talking about nose contents, my black rodent with the runny eye and snotty nose has been producing black snot recently, it used to be browny, yellowy coloured but over the last few days it’s black.

I’ll take some pics of the tissue paper after I’ve rubbed his nose (I do it 2 or 3 times a day) and I’ll take pics of the newspaper with blood droplets on or else I’ll be getting accused of winding you lot up again.

 

[hazeyg]

The blood is possibly from the UTI's that cos the squeking when wee-ing. Again i advice you urge ** vett hat if they have UTI's to use septrin it is much much better for UTIs.
If its not UTIs I'm afraid I'm of no help ive never heard of piggies sneezing blood. Sounds really weird.
The black nose....have * changed ** hay, sometimes mine get black noses from borrowing in hay x

 

[piggyfan]

The blood is from their urine as the poor things have severe bladder infections or kidney stones which you have not treated since you got them.

 

[Claire W]

I agree that the blood is likely caused by UTIs. When my Eliza had it, there were small splats of blood up the walls, domes and food bowls from where she had sprayed. She didn't always have bloody urine.

As for the snotty nose, that doesn't sound normal either.

Please have your guinea pigs seen by a vet ASAP

UTIs can cause the pig great pain and discomfort and the longer it is left untreated, the worse it will get

 

[Sue_P]

I honestly don’t think there’s blood in their pee though. If there was surely I’d have seen reddish wees by now but I haven’t. Wouldn’t it be a bit odd to see blood splatters from a willy but never see any red wees?

Also the blood splatters are where my fudge coloured rodent often sits before eating, they’re at his head end rather than his back end against the pen wall.

My black rodent sometimes chews his claws a lot and on a couple of occasions they’ve been very short like they’ve snapped off and once I vaguely recall seeing a bit of blood splatters on the newspaper and checking both the rodents over to see if they were injured and found the black one had a very short claw. But the fudge coloured rodent’s claws are all long, he leaves his alone. Dunno. Maybe I’m going mad.

@ hazeyg – Suppose I am on a new bale of hay and this one’s the dustiest I’ve ever had. Weird that the snot would be black though and not brown. After I’ve shaken it heaps my fingers go brown not black. He does like burying though so perhaps you have a point.

 

[Claire W]

I still think a vet visit is in order as blood coming from any part of the body is abnormal.

 

[hazeyg]

Yeah i know a few people that have blacked nosed piggies. And we add loads of hay to our cages .

 

[Connie]

Oh those poor animals mallethead

 

[gogoguineas]

Agreed Connie.
Blood of any description is not a good sign an should be checked out by a vet immediately.
Would you like to be left bleeding, for any reason, and not treated? I suspect not so please take them to see a vet.
I really feel this animal is suffering.

 

[piggyfan]

Dusty hay should not be given to your guinea pigs at all. It is not fit for use. You need to get them a good quality hay. Anyway why are you even posting this on here? Everybody will tell you to seek a vets advice and you will ignore it. You have ignored their squeals of pain while they wee for all these years.

 

[2280CLAIRE]

Sorry to be so blunt here...I know I will probs get a backlash for this, but really, stop faffing around and just get to a vet! There are some things that are possible to treat at home, this is quite obviously not, and the bleeding needs to be investigated-who knows where it is even coming from!

There is no use coming on here, asking for advice, not taking it, and then just sitting at your computer expecting your animal to miraculously get better-you need a vet!

 

[Claire W]

Dusty hay should not be given to your guinea pigs at all. It is not fit for use. You need to get them a good quality hay. Anyway why are you even posting this on here? Everybody will tell you to seek a vets advice and you will ignore it. You have ignored their squeals of pain while they wee for all these years.

All these years ?/ I thought this was new?

 

[piggyfan]

All these years ?/ I thought this was new?

I saw a thread when she first got them. The week she got them she said they were making noises of pain when they wee and people told her to seek help.

 

[Claire W]

I saw a thread when she first got them. The week she got them she said they were making noises of pain when they wee and people told her to seek help.

Poor poor piggies :0

 

[hazeyg]

I tihink she did egt a course of baytril for the crying when wee-ing and it didnt work andher vet is one of those ones that wont prescribe anything but the lienses antibiotic that isnow resistant to must infections. Correct me if I am wrong Sue?
is there another localish vet that would prescribe septrin?

 

[piggyfan]

I can understand that but it did not clear up and should not have been left. The possibility of kidney stones was mentioned but never investigated.

 

[Niki]

I have heard of a pig bleeding from the nose, the cause was thought to be a burst blood vessel & this may be what's happened with Fudge when he sneezed.

Sue's way of writing may not be as you would wish her to write & her writing may give the impression these boys aren't cared for but I have seen these pigs in person & they were both big, chunky boys who showed no symptoms of a UTI.
No, I am not a vet but I have had pigs for many years & know the symptoms of various illnesses having experienced them with my own.

To say she doesn't take the pigs to a vet is wrong. Fudge was operated on last week to remove the polyp from his ear & Rumball has been more than once with his suspected URI.

You may not like the way she writes but surely unless you know her (or anyone else who writes on this forum) & how their pigs are kept you can't make an informed judgement.

 

[becciwales]

I have heard of a pig bleeding from the nose, the cause was thought to be a burst blood vessel & this may be what's happened with Fudge when he sneezed.

Sue's way of writing may not be as you would wish her to write & her writing may give the impression these boys aren't cared for but I have seen these pigs in person & they were both big, chunky boys who showed no symptoms of a UTI.
No, I am not a vet but I have had pigs for many years & know the symptoms of various illnesses having experienced them with my own.

To say she doesn't take the pigs to a vet is wrong. Fudge was operated on last week to remove the polyp from his ear & Rumball has been more than once with his suspected URI.

You may not like the way she writes but surely unless you know her (or anyone else who writes on this forum) & how their pigs are kept you can't make an informed judgement.

The thing is, she doesn't help herself. She doesn't listen or take advice and doesn't really talk fondly about her "rodents"!

If mine were as sick as hers sound they'd be in the vets and I'm not one to run to the doctors/vets every 5 minutes.

 

[Claire W]

I didn't mean to judge and am only going from what I have read on this thread.

I am in no doubt that Sue doesn't care for her piggies. I was just giving my own experience from when one of my own had a UTI and 'sprayed' blood.

I just think that Sue should see a vet if in doubt as to what is wrong with Fudge.

 

[*Nibbles&Nugget*]

Sounds like your poor boys are really in the wars! I'm going to give you a couple if links. If you check through and print out appropriate pages it really helps to get a vet to do something (I should know. I was practically taking a novel when I went to my crappy local vets!)

Also if your vet isn't treating your piggies and curing them it might be worth seeking out another one.

Fingers crossed a vet can help and your little boys are feeling better soon.

Amy
x

UTI's - http://www.guinealynx.info/uti.html
Bladder Stones - http://www.guinealynx.info/stones.html
A sort of Symptom Checker - http://www.guinealynx.info/emergency.html

 

[Pebble]

Sue - I think Fudge is the one that had the surgery to remove the ear polyp recently and also had pus/infection in that ear?

In that case the most likely cause of drops of blood is in connection with his recent surgery.

it is entirely possible the wound is bleeding (why it is bleeding is not clear - maybe he scartched his ear too vigorously or maybe the infection isn;t clearing up properly) and blood is getting into his nose from the middle ear via the Eustachian tube which connects the two. In that situation he would sneeze out the blood. Alternatively he is shaking it out of his ear.

(I had a piggie who banged his nose and had nosebleed in both nostrils - I was alerted to it by his sneezing....his cage looked like a massacre had taken place! Sneezing is the way they get rid of foreign matter in their noses. He was rushed straight to the vets and thankfully he stopped bleeding within half an hour.)

Bleeding from one nostril - I have had this and again it was associated with sneezing and due to an aggravating hay seed. In Fudge's case the amount of blood is small, sounds like a one nostril occurrence, which would agree with the theory on the ear wound bleeding.

Of course the blood could be associated with urinary issues but your description of finite number of small drops and the sneezing would suggest that your best course of action is to take him back to the vet to check the wound in his ear is healing properly - because it sounds like it might not be.

As for Rumball's snot........you need to be aware of the fact that Fudge's ear infection could have spread to Rumball (in view of him shaking the pus all over the place!) and so there is a possibility that Rumball might now have developed an infection in his sinuses/respiratory tract. Alternatively it could be hay dust. Without wishing to get too gross - any animal's snot (including our own) changes colour when exposed to dust/debris as any of you who have had major building works done in your house might be be aware.

Bottom line here then is better safe than sorry - get them both back to the vet for a check up to make sure there is nothing sinister going on for either of them. Vet shouldn;t charge you for a follow up visit (hopefully)

x

 

[Sue_P]

Here’s some of the blood I was talking about, the two red splodges under the black rodent. The tomato bits to the side of it appeared last night and weren’t in the area when the red droplets appeared.

& here’s the black rodent’s snot contents of last night. Not the best picture I know.

After listening to what’s been said here and what Niki’s said I think the blackness to Rumball’s snot is due to the hay being dusty on this bale. So case solved with that one.


Not too sure about the mystery suspected blood though. The first lot of red droplets on the newspaper appeared actually before Fudge’s operation.

I don’t think it’s come from his ear as I’d have seen blood in his ear. (BTW Pebble when he had puss in his ear it wasn’t getting splattered everywhere when he head shook, also he only had a lot of visible puss for one night, the night before the op.) But you may have a point about it possibly being related to his ear problem though, - maybe. I had wondered myself. If it happens again and I see him sneeze at the time I’ll give the vets a bell and speak to my vet and ask him what he thinks. Thought I’d try here first though to see if anyone else has had rodents with nose bleeds. It’s gotta be possible, I occasionally get them like with most people I suspect but it doesn’t mean necessarily anything sinister is going on. Oh and I also considered if it’s possible there’s a polyp up his nostril because my dad was telling me that in humans they tend to develop up noses, which made me wonder if Fudge’s might not only be confined to one ear. Although I don’t see how a vet would get a look up his nostrils or even be able to operate if there was a problem because rodent nostrils look miniscule. But his breathing is in no way compromised so perhaps it’s been nothing more than a small nose bleed/burst vessel like Niki said. & the vet examined him on Friday night and was very pleased with how he’s doing and there’s nothing to see in his ear now. In fact the vet was concerned that there may have been bleeding from his ear as when he operated he couldn’t see for blood but since I picked him up I’ve seen no blood in his ear at all. https://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g17/sue_p/sub/a078.gif[/img


& regarding the squeaking whilst peeing thing; my vet is fine with taking no action. He thinks they can live with the problem and seeing as I’ve had them 3 years and they haven’t died I guess he’s right. Actually when Rumball was being examined a few weeks ago it was around the time he’d been getting soggy stinky fur and lying in his pee which I was beginning to suspect could be a UTI and I mentioned it to the vet (although his fur had been perfectly soft and nice for the last two weeks before the vet visit) and the vet said it could have been a UTI which has cleared up by itself and he said not to worry about it.


@ hazeyg – I think with a lot of persuasion I think I could get my vet to prescribe Septrin one day, he’s always said the first call of action is Baytril but if that fails then he can start looking at other stuff.


& cheers for stepping in Niki and defending me. Remember not to give anyone on here my home address though cos I’ll be getting the RSPCA knocking. [url=http://www.cheesebuerger.de/smilie.php][img]http://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/smilie/froehlich/k015.gif[/url]


Thought I’d post a recent Fudge photo for everyone. Niki’s right by saying they’re chubby.

 

[Claire W]

I shall be keeping everything crossed that the blood is coming from a burst vessel in the nose. I guess it can happen.

It may still be worth asking your vet for a course of septrin though just in case. My vet gave me a weeks supply of septrin once as a precaution as we were going away and I didn't want to be with out any. It did my Eliza no harm what so ever.

As for the black snot, I would stop using the dusty hay and keep an eye out to see what happens.

I would just like to apologise to you for making assumptions but you never wrote in your previous posts that you had already seen your vet.

Fudge is lovely

 

[helen105281]

I always find that my vets are happy to prescribe non piggy licensed medication if I offer to sign a disclaimer or can give the name of another vet that uses it.

 

[guinea77]

His wee nose Hope he is okay x
Fudge is dreamie

 

[Claire W]

I always find that my vets are happy to prescribe non piggy licensed medication if I offer to sign a disclaimer or can give the name of another vet that uses it.

My vet wouldn't prescribe it at first but I nagged and nagged even stood in his consultation room with this forum loaded up and he finally agreed but he wanted to do his own research first.

Now, they always have it in stock and is the number 1 antibiotic they prescribe to guinea pigs with UTI's

 

[primrose]

I mean this kindly, but have you tried taking them to another vet for a second opinion, as you seem to have multiple problems that aren't really clearing up? That is my reading of the situation - sorry if I have misinterpreted things... Just because an animal hasn't died from a problem doesn't mean that it's not causing them pain/distress.

I think the problem is that when someone is posting on a forum, their style of writing and choice of words is the only thing that you've got to go on - Sue seems to choose to be provocative, which I don't understand.

 

[Sue_P]

It may still be worth asking your vet for a course of septrin though just in case. My vet gave me a weeks supply of septrin once as a precaution as we were going away and I didn't want to be with out any. It did my Eliza no harm what so ever.

The vet told me that trying antibiotics on the off chance they work isn’t advised as it can lower the rodents immunity to it which could cause more harm than good if ever the rodent gets proper sick and needs the antibiotic. Just thought I’d let you know in case you’re under the impression that using drugs can’t do no harm to your rodents.

I would just like to apologise to you for making assumptions but you never wrote in your previous posts that you had already seen your vet.

It’s ok, I’m used to being pelted by people who haven’t got the full story.

Fudge is lovely

Fudge is dreamie

He is rather good looking isn’t he?

I like the other rodent more though as the black one is far more friendly.

Now, they always have it in stock

Bet my vet doesn’t have Septrin in stock. They often don’t have what I want in stock.

 

[Sue_P]

I mean this kindly, but have you tried taking them to another vet for a second opinion, as you seem to have multiple problems that aren't really clearing up? That is my reading of the situation - sorry if I have misinterpreted things... Just because an animal hasn't died from a problem doesn't mean that it's not causing them pain/distress.

The rodents have seen different vets at the practice over the years but I haven’t taken them to a different vets surgery. I tried a different surgery with my rabbit (now dead rabbit) and wasn’t keen on that one. But I’ve actually found a vet at the nearest one which I like and think is rather good and I’m happy with his anaylsis'. To be honest some ailments you just have to live with. My back’s hurting me right now but it’s something you’ve just gotta deal with. Life innit?

I think the problem is that when someone is posting on a forum, their style of writing and choice of words is the only thing that you've got to go on - Sue seems to choose to be provocative, which I don't understand.

Meanie Mummy is trying to get me tested for Aspergers, she reckons I’ve got it. Should be seeing a shrink in the next month or two.

 

[Claire W]

In my case with Eliza, she was on Septrin and then the infection cleared up. As we were going away, I was paranoid about the blood returning again so he prescribed me a week worth just in case. The blood returned whilst we were away so I was pleased he gave it to me

He told me it wouldn't harm her if she took it and there was no infection present but that could be wrong.