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Stanley - Bladder Stone

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Caviesgalore (EPGPR)

Caviesgalore (EPGPR)

Adult Guinea Pig
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Not having a good week!

One of my boarders arrived on Sunday afternoon and by the evening I was very concerned that he had a suspected bladder stone. I always have metacam/baytril in stock so gave him a dose of both and took him to see Nicola, my vet yesterday. Poor Stanley does indeed have a very large stone - the only good news is that it was sitting in his bladder, thankfully it hadn't started to move towards his urethra tube.

Can I please have some mega vibes for Stanley, he is currently with Nicola having the stone removed. His family are in the States for a month and had no idea he was unwell.:( Needless to say they now feel very guilty and are worried sick about their boy.

I have set up an indoor cage in my piggy room, made up with newspaper and fleece and I have hay in a hay rack - poor little chap is going to be feeling very sorry for himself later.

Am just waiting for a phone call from Nicola - it's been a long morning, any spare get well vibes would be very much appreciated.
 
Big vibes for Stanley! I hope that all goes well and that he will be a completely changed boy in a few days as soon as the wounds are starting to heal and the pain from the stone has disappeared!
 
How fortunate for the owners that they entrusted him in your care, otherwise it may have gone undetected for even longer. Really hope all turns out well for poor Stanley. Healing vibes winging their way now x
 
Thanks guys, just called the vets and have been told to call back in 2 hours - sounds like he is taking longer to recover post surgery than normal:(. Nicola normally gives me a ring once surgery is finished but I haven't heard anything so am now even more on tenderhooks. Keeping everything crossed for the little man.x)
 
Oh poor you, you must be on tenterhooks :(
Lots of positive vibes from Glasgow for Stanley, and for you too :)
 
I know how your feeling my rescue bour buff had loads of stones removed yesterday and is still not well today and crying so much when he wees and poos so it will be intrested to here if your boar is doing it as i dont know if its normal of not:{ and he isnt eating or drinking:0
 
Just called the vets again to check on Stanley and whilst he has come through the op ok they aren't happy with his progress at the moment - he is refusing all foods (I sent him in with a packed lunch of all his favourites to try to temp himx)) and is generally very miserable, despite having had pain killing meds to make him feel comfortable.:( Got to call again after 4pm for an update - think I could have a long night ahead of me.:(
 
clairelove said:
I know how your feeling my rescue bour buff had loads of stones removed yesterday and is still not well today and crying so much when he wees and poos so it will be intrested to here if your boar is doing it as i dont know if its normal of not:{ and he isnt eating or drinking:0
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Are you syringe feeding/offering water? I have had several piggies go through bladder stone ops and their recovery has varied. A couple have been absolutely fine, you wouldn't have known there was anything wrong with them! One of my boys was particularly slow to recover, it took him a couple of days to really get back to anything like normal.

Had Buff had problems for long? I found that the piggies who literally had shown no sign of bladder problems until the day the stone was discovered were the ones to recover most quickly. Those who had had a problem rumbling on for a while took longer to get over surgery, I guess because they were more unwell to start with.

Stanley isn't one of my piggies, he is just here for his hols. His owners hadn't noticed any signs of illness before they left him with me on Sunday - but he does live in a shed (albeit a very posh one!) so I wonder if they missed the early signs. He had only been with me a few hours on Sunday when I realised something was wrong, and having experience of bladder stone pigs I was pretty sure that was his problem.

Hope Buff is soon feeling much better.x)
 
Caviesgalore said:
Are you syringe feeding/offering water? I have had several piggies go through bladder stone ops and their recovery has varied. A couple have been absolutely fine, you wouldn't have known there was anything wrong with them! One of my boys was particularly slow to recover, it took him a couple of days to really get back to anything like normal.

Had Buff had problems for long? I found that the piggies who literally had shown no sign of bladder problems until the day the stone was discovered were the ones to recover most quickly. Those who had had a problem rumbling on for a while took longer to get over surgery, I guess because they were more unwell to start with.

Stanley isn't one of my piggies, he is just here for his hols. His owners hadn't noticed any signs of illness before they left him with me on Sunday - but he does live in a shed (albeit a very posh one!) so I wonder if they missed the early signs. He had only been with me a few hours on Sunday when I realised something was wrong, and having experience of bladder stone pigs I was pretty sure that was his problem.

Hope Buff is soon feeling much better.x)
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yes buff is having syringe feeds and water via syringe he isnt showing any interest in eating at all..

He came into me 13 days ago and from what i gather he weed blood a while the owner said,he came to me and was put on septum and metacam and seemed to pick up but saturday he went down hill and yesterday they removed 1 massive stone and loads of other tiny ones.

at the mo he is still fluffed up facing the wall and pushing to wee and whimpering like a dog when he wees he is passing small amounts of wee and tiny little poos..he is on pain meds still and septrum he is 4yrs old and was used for breeding and showing,i called the vets again this morning who said he was quiet messed up inside so he will take along time recover:0
 
Of bless him, keeping everything crossed for poor little Buff, sounds like he has had a rough time, but at least he is with you and will know a little love and kindness.
 
some thing thats puzzling me one of the stones he had removed i have here i thought they would be hard but this one is like rubber and can be squashed is that what there like?
 
Aaarrrgh bladder stones seem to be everywhere at the moment, I hate them with a passion.

Sorry to hear about Stanley, how awful for his owners being away.

Hope he picks up soon

Sarah x
 
Thank you all for your healing thoughts. Stanley is now home with me again, it took him ages to get going again after his op, even with his pain relief he was loathe to move or eat poor little chap.

He ate a little bit of his veggies whilst at the vets but has refused all foods since he has been home so I have been syringe feeding him - it's going to be a long night. The critical care seems to have kick started his appetite a little bit and I have just left him nibbling some fresh hay so fingers crossed this is a good sign.

Claire all the stones I have seen have been hard not rubbery, some are smooth whilst others look a little pitted a bit like a pumice stone. I wonder whether the strange bits are crystals which haven't yet formed into stones or even sludge that has been washed out of the bladder, that has an almost chalky feel to it - Stanley also had a bladder flush whilst he was under.

I totally agree with you Sarah, far too many bladder stone piggies around at the moment. Over the years that we have been keeping piggies, some 13 years or so now without a break, we have had 3 with stones, plus I know of at least 4 others locally. I wonder whether it has anything to do with food stuffs and water? We have switched all our pigs onto Excel pellets and Cavy Cuisine as I found the muesli mix made things worse for my gang and I have also tried to change their fresh food diet - rate watchers has been a big help. I also use filtered water.

Thank you all once again for your well wishes, I will keep you posted about Stanley's progress. I have emailed his owners tonight to inform them about the days progress and have had a lovely reply, they are feeling very helpless at the moment, bless them.

Fingers crossed Buff is feeling a bit better tomorrow Claire.

Sandra
x
 
Guinea pig urine is very alcaline, so bladder stones form easier in guinea pigs than in other species.

My bladder stone piggy was one of the ones that would just not drink - not that she hadn't figured out the bottle, she simply didn't want to. It didn't make things any easier.

I hope that Stanley will come round soon and start eating again!
 
Morning all, just a little update.

Stanley had an ok night, still refusing to eat his pellets or veggies but he will take the CC and is nibbling on a tiny bit of hay and excel dried grass. We have had some poos overnight and a few small wees, these are tainted with blood (which I expected) and he still seems a bit uncomfortable when he has to "go". At least things are moving through his system, I just wish his appetite would return. He was able to have his Baytril and Metacam by mouth this morning so hopefully he will be feeling a little more comfortable now, his wound is looking good. If his appetite hasn't improved by the end of the day I will consider adding in some Metatone - he is already having Biolapis via syringe when I give him his CC.

Thanks again for the vibes.:)
 
glad he is ok..buff had a night the same really he had a little bit of lettuce last night but that was it,he still wont eat or drink :(

good luck with stanley x
 
Glad Stanley finally started rallying round after his op, how is he this afternoon?

Claire, re stone quality, maybe Buff's stones are of a different composition? Not all stones are calcium carbonate, it may be that there's some different compounds than usual that led to his.
xx
 
Thanks Laura. Stanley is still very quiet, I am just about to give him another syringe feed and I also have a selection of veggies for him - I am keeping everything crossed he finds something he likes.

I know how you feel now looking after some of Vedra's patients - it's bad enough when they are your own pigs, but crumbs the pressure mounts when they belong to someone else! I keep telling myself I have done this all before, too many times to remember unfortunately, but it doesn't seem to be helping much!
 
It took me a few days to get used to looking after someone elses pig, sometimes you feel overwhelmed with responsibility but you do settle into it pretty quickly and you just accept that you're doing your best, exactly as you would your own pigs, and sometimes your efforts pay off and sometimes nothing can be done.

How much longer is Stanley due to stay with you before his owners get back? Any improvements this morning on his condition - and appetite?
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
It took me a few days to get used to looking after someone elses pig, sometimes you feel overwhelmed with responsibility but you do settle into it pretty quickly and you just accept that you're doing your best, exactly as you would your own pigs, and sometimes your efforts pay off and sometimes nothing can be done.

How much longer is Stanley due to stay with you before his owners get back? Any improvements this morning on his condition - and appetite?
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I know what you mean Laura! One minute I am nurse Sandra in full control, not too emotionally attached and getting on with the job in hand, the next minute I am a jibbering wreck thinking about the "what ifs"!

Stanley seems a little more comfortable this morning, his poo output has increased so obviously all the syringe feeding is doing the trick, weight stable. He ate his veggies last night by himself :) and has tucked into some more grass this morning, but hasn't touched his pellets and has eaten very little hay, just has the odd nibble.

I have got Stanley until the 12th July - he literally had been here for about 3 hours when I realised something was seriously wrong! I am in constant contact with is owners via email - I think they feel horribly guilty knowing I am dealing with their sick piggy. They shouldn't though, they probably just hadn't read the early warning signs, and unfortunately I have far too much experience of bladder stone piggies so watch them all like a hawk!

Stanley is such a sweetie (will try to get some pics), I think he is enjoying being near my gang too as he can hear them all wheeking. He doesn't have a piggy friend, he lives next door to a bun - complicated story, the family thought they had the animals interests at heart, but they have separated them and they can still see and "chat" to each other through their mesh divider etc.

Just off to give him some more food now.:)
 
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