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Spots of blood in urine- very stubborn mum!

Wizzy

Wizzy

Junior Guinea Pig
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This recently was on another thread about my other pig(have had no issues for 3 years, then all at once!) My very beloved guinea pig pepper is a female, 2 1/2 years old and has spots of blood in her urine. I first saw it on sunday night, and thought it was my other guinea pig as she is on medication for a uti(Baytril and loxicom) but today I saw pepper wee, and took her out of the cage and had her on my lap all evening and its definitely her who is peeing with blood. It is not all the time, quite a few wees are a normal dark yellow colour, but a lot are pink and/ or have red spots. and there are some just spots of pure blood on the towel :(. She isn't eating as much as she usually does, and isn't really herself. Now if it were up to me, she'd be at the vets right away, but my mum is very stubborn and says 'vets are only after our money' and'she'll probably be fine'. I Know a lovely woman who is very experienced with guinea pigs and runs a guinea pig rescue, and she told me to give pepper some antibiotics and painkillers that the vet prescribed for rexy, and adjust them according to her weight. Rexy is going for her check up on Monday, and my mum refuses to take pepper to the vet because shes says that pepper can just go with rexy then. Its quite a long wait though... and i'm worried about pepper so much. I am only a minor though, so I don't know what to do :(
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wizzy said:
This recently was on another thread about my other pig(have had no issues for 3 years, then all at once!) My very beloved guinea pig pepper is a female, 2 1/2 years old and has spots of blood in her urine. I first saw it on sunday night, and thought it was my other guinea pig as she is on medication for a uti(Baytril and loxicom) but today I saw pepper wee, and took her out of the cage and had her on my lap all evening and its definitely her who is peeing with blood. It is not all the time, quite a few wees are a normal dark yellow colour, but a lot are pink and/ or have red spots. and there are some just spots of pure blood on the towel :(. She isn't eating as much as she usually does, and isn't really herself. Now if it were up to me, she'd be at the vets right away, but my mum is very stubborn and says 'vets are only after our money' and'she'll probably be fine'. I Know a lovely woman who is very experienced with guinea pigs and runs a guinea pig rescue, and she told me to give pepper some antibiotics and painkillers that the vet prescribed for rexy, and adjust them according to her weight. Rexy is going for her check up on Monday, and my mum refuses to take pepper to the vet because shes says that pepper can just go with rexy then. Its quite a long wait though... and i'm worried about pepper so much. I am only a minor though, so I don't know what to do :(
Click to expand...

Hi! UTI (urinary tract infection), which is caused by faecal bacteria getting into the urinary tract, can in some cases be transmitted to a companion (by sitting in pee and by wiping the scent gland on the ground).

How is Roxy and have you got enough medication left for her to finish her course and prevent a come back? If that is the case, then I agree in your specific case with the advice from the rescue lady as far as any extra painkiller goes. As all humans with cystitis know, a bladder infection is painful and unpleasant.
Please do not risk Roxy's recovery by cutting her medication short and provoking a return of the symptoms! UTI can be pretty persistent; stopping a course of antibiotics too early is NOT a good idea!

I would also recommend these measures to help ease her issues (they do not replace a vet trip and an antibiotic plus painkiller/anti-inflammatory):
- Switch from weighing weekly to weighing daily at the same time to keep an eye on her food intake. Over 80% should be unlimited hay, which you cannot control otherwise. Start with top up syringe feeding mushed up pellets when she has lost over 50g/2 oz of weight. If you feed pellets and not any recovery formula brand, you need to cut off the tip of the syringe as shown in our guide in order to allow the fibrous bits to come through.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

- Also offer her as much water as she will take in one go 2-3 times daily to help her make a large pee and to flush as many bacteria out that way. Never force it down; it can go the wrong way and cause more harm than good!

- Feed a little more watery cucumber, lettuce or dog/fox pee free young dandelions as part of their daily veg mix; they are mildly diuretic, i.e. encourage emptying the bladder. However be careful to not overdoing it, as you can cause diarrhea or bloat. Cold herbal bladder tea (from a pharmacy so they have that) can also help to ease the symptoms if you offer it by syringe by encouraging your piggy to pee more.

- You can syringe 1/8 of a human vitamin C tablet dissolved in 1 ml of water to help boost her immune system. Do that for no longer than 2-3 weeks.

However, the sooner she can be seen by a vet, the better, as you know yourself. The discomfort in her bladder can impact on the appetite. It is still important that she eats enough fibre, especially if you give a little bit more watery veg to help keep the guts balanced. The good news is that while your poor girl won't be happy at all, UTI is not a killing disease. ;)

PS: I have removed your exact age from your post for your own protection. This is a public place. Please be careful to never give any more personal details out than your country or state.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi! UTI (urinary tract infection), which is caused by faecal bacteria getting into the urinary tract, can in some cases be transmitted to a companion (by sitting in pee and by wiping the scent gland on the ground).

How is Roxy and have you got enough medication left for her to finish her course and prevent a come back? If that is the case, then I agree in your specific case with the advice from the rescue lady as far as any extra painkiller goes. As all humans with cystitis know, a bladder infection is painful and unpleasant.
Please do not risk Roxy's recovery by cutting her medication short and provoking a return of the symptoms! UTI can be pretty persistent; stopping a course of antibiotics too early is NOT a good idea!

I would also recommend these measures to help ease her issues (they do not replace a vet trip and an antibiotic plus painkiller/anti-inflammatory):
- Switch from weighing weekly to weighing daily at the same time to keep an eye on her food intake. Over 80% should be unlimited hay, which you cannot control otherwise. Start with top up syringe feeding mushed up pellets when she has lost over 50g/2 oz of weight. If you feed pellets and not any recovery formula brand, you need to cut off the tip of the syringe as shown in our guide in order to allow the fibrous bits to come through.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

- Also offer her as much water as she will take in one go 2-3 times daily to help her make a large pee and to flush as many bacteria out that way. Never force it down; it can go the wrong way and cause more harm than good!

- Feed a little more watery cucumber, lettuce or dog/fox pee free young dandelions as part of their daily veg mix; they are mildly diuretic, i.e. encourage emptying the bladder. However be careful to not overdoing it, as you can cause diarrhea or bloat. Cold herbal bladder tea (from a pharmacy so they have that) can also help to ease the symptoms if you offer it by syringe by encouraging your piggy to pee more.

- You can syringe 1/8 of a human vitamin C tablet dissolved in 1 ml of water to help boost her immune system. Do that for no longer than 2-3 weeks.

However, the sooner she can be seen by a vet, the better, as you know yourself. The discomfort in her bladder can impact on the appetite. It is still important that she eats enough fibre, especially if you give a little bit more watery veg to help keep the guts balanced. The good news is that while your poor girl won't be happy at all, UTI is not a killing disease. ;)

PS: I have removed your exact age from your post for your own protection. This is a public place. Please be careful to never give any more personal details out than your country or state.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much. I might be able to get pepper in on Saturday- and get her the right medication. Oh and sorry about putting my age on the post- I won’t do that again :)
 
Think I may have overdone it a bit with the cucumber... as pepper just farted! Nevertheless- I won’t give any veg until tomorrow morning. But plenty of hay. I was just thinking... when I pick up the pigs, I notice around there bits there is white stuff. I notice this on both pigs. Is this normal? I haven’t given them any specificly high in calcium veg, and the only thing I can think of is their pellets, which have calcium carbonate in. They eat the natural science grainless brand- but they only get 1/8 of a cup.
 
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