• PLEASE NOTE - the TEAS facebook page has been hacked, take extreme care when visiting the page, for further information visit here
  • Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Specialist Some Update About Hoppsan

Status
Not open for further replies.

Hoppsan

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jan 31, 2015
Messages
96
Reaction score
271
Points
290
Location
Sweden
Hello there! It's been a while since my last post and I thought it will be easier to start a new thread. Hoppsan's whimpering issue didn't get a conclusion and I wonder if any one has encountered a similar case...

Our boy whimpers while peeing/pooping, first we thought it was his bladder (providing many guinea pigs has bladder issues), but after many visits to the vet and lots of tests (x-ray, ultrasound, urine samples..) nothing was found. We were ensured by the vet that it was not an UTI nor bladder stone. Now we suspecting it's not peeing that caused the pain but pooping... Here is an video I just took of him whimpering while doing his business:


Sorry for the messy background, I caught this right before cleaning :p
Hoppsan is currently on Metacam, any thoughts?:eek:
 
Has your vet considered Interstitial Cystitis? although this is inflammation of the bladder it can cause pain when pooing too as everything is so tightly packed together.
 
I'm so sorry to hear this. I thought we hadn't heard from you for a while. I hope our specialists can help spread some light on the situation.
I'm sending healing vibes to Hoppsan
 
Has your vet considered Interstitial Cystitis? although this is inflammation of the bladder it can cause pain when pooing too as everything is so tightly packed together.

Hello Helen! After the ultrasound, the vet said that she really tried to look for lumps or other irregularities but found nothing... She gave us following suggestions:
1. Cystease pill (1/4 pill for Hoppsan per day)
2. keep giving him metacam if he still sounds like he's in pain
3. encouraging drinking more water
4. avoiding calcium (which we've already tried our best to avoid)
5. Find him a friend, as the stress could also be the cause of pain like it could happen to cats...

We are buying a bigger box this month and going to look for a friend for Hoppsan, hopefully also could happen in this month, but in the mean time, we still think he whimpers the most when he's passing stool...
 
Did you try the Cystease?
Ummm...not yet, we just got the direction today and haven't got the medicine yet, I guess I'll keep you updated tomorrow when he actually gets to try it... The reason why I ask today is because it seems like he whimpers more and louder while he's passing stool, so I want to make sure he's not taking unnecessary medication...So you think this still could be the bladder issue huh? :)
 
It can still be a bladder issue. Interstitial cystitis can cause these symptoms; it is cause by an inflammation of the bladder walls rather than an acute infection and it tends to flare up every few months. It usually doesn't react to antibiotics. Unfortunately, it is something that you rather manage than cure even though it often disappears on its own after some years. I have been through it with several sows of mine.

I would back you up on the cystease, which is a bladder wall coating food supplement and not a medication. Metacam, which is both an anti-inflammatory and a painkiller will help to manage the acute symptoms.

We can recommend keeping Hoppsan on this restricted but balanced low calcium diet here. Please also filter the water and see whether you can get some low calcium pellets; a couple of German brands seem best, if not cheap. @helen105281 has researched this issue and may help you on that score.
Veg and fresh herbs that can be fed daily:
1 slice of bell or sweet pepper/capsicum of any colour; 1 slice of cucumber; 1-2 chunks of celery; 1 French bean; 1 sprig of coriander/cilantro; 1 one inch strip of spring greens (lower calcium cabbage, important source of magnesium)
 
It can still be a bladder issue. Interstitial cystitis can cause these symptoms; it is cause by an inflammation of the bladder walls rather than an acute infection and it tends to flare up every few months. It usually doesn't react to antibiotics. Unfortunately, it is something that you rather manage than cure even though it often disappears on its own after some years. I have been through it with several sows of mine.

I would back you up on the cystease, which is a bladder wall coating food supplement and not a medication. Metacam, which is both an anti-inflammatory and a painkiller will help to manage the acute symptoms.

We can recommend keeping Hoppsan on this restricted but balanced low calcium diet here. Please also filter the water and see whether you can get some low calcium pellets; a couple of German brands seem best, if not cheap. @helen105281 has researched this issue and may help you on that score.
Veg and fresh herbs that can be fed daily:
1 slice of bell or sweet pepper/capsicum of any colour; 1 slice of cucumber; 1-2 chunks of celery; 1 French bean; 1 sprig of coriander/cilantro; 1 one inch strip of spring greens (lower calcium cabbage, important source of magnesium)

Thank you very much for your kind explanation Wiebke! Now that I've learnt that Cystease is just a food supplement, I would gladly let Hoppsan try it. I'll follow the suggested veg and herb list and keep you and @helen105281 updated, thank you again! :)
 
It could also be a gut sensitivity issue - I have one piggie who had terrible whimpers/sqwauks on pooing 4 years ago........we changed his diet to one of "no leafy green veggies". He is only allowed baby corn, peppers, celery, parsley, apple, carrots, fresh grass and dandelions. NO further problems....Repeated Xrays/scans/bloods over the next 4 years have never shown any developing urinary issues.
In his case it was "veggie sensitivity"
HTH
x
 
It could also be a gut sensitivity issue - I have one piggie who had terrible whimpers/sqwauks on pooing 4 years ago........we changed his diet to one of "no leafy green veggies". He is only allowed baby corn, peppers, celery, parsley, apple, carrots, fresh grass and dandelions. NO further problems....Repeated Xrays/scans/bloods over the next 4 years have never shown any developing urinary issues.
In his case it was "veggie sensitivity"
HTH
x
Thank you Pebble! Nice to know another possibility! Maybe it's a good thing to record what he eats everyday and see on which day he whimpers less! :D
 
Good idea - once we withdrew everthing for 2 weeks...and then started re-introducing very slowly..it did become pretty obvious
x
 
The pellets I recommend are available from Zooplus (if they ship to you?) and are these ones:

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/food/guinea_pig/bunny/195679

These are also good, though not ideal for pigs with Interstitial Cystitis due to the fruit content (though better still than a lot of others):

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/food/guinea_pig/vitakraft/262148

Both pellets are very big in comparisson to what you may be used to, and I only feed about 5 per day to each pig.
Thank you very much Helen! Hoppsan's now on timothy based pellets with added vitamin C, the pellets you recommended looks interesting but zooplus seems don't ship to Sweden...We'll look for it on ebay or amazon, thanks again! :)
 
Hello! Just a quick update :) After giving Hoppsan Cystease, the whimper has been significantly reduced and shortened! (The whimper only occurs after the pill has been worn off) We've also found the recommended pallets from zooplus.se, it is a huge bag but Hoppsan seems to enjoy it :D We'll keep making sure he has the right food and right medication, hope the pain will go away soon! Thank you @helen105281 and @Wiebke and all who cared about Hoppsan!

2015-06-24 11.30.58.jpg 2015-05-15 18.32.02.jpg
 
That is great news!

Now that you know that cystease is working, you can play around a bit to get it perfect for Hoppsan. Perhaps split it into two and give it twice daily? Or up the dose a little bit?
 
@PiggyOwner Thank you very much for the love :D
@Wiebke Split the dose into 2 sounds like a good idea, but I wonder if I can give him more than the dose recommended by the vet, we'll check with the vet later :)
 
pleased to hear that he has improved and you are figuring out ways to keep him comfortable :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top