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Strong Smelling Urine ?caus

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guinea girl

guinea girl

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Hi everyone,

I'd really appreciate some advice. My girl Brioche has really strong smelling urine at the moment. Could this be a sign of a urine infection? She's otherwise well in herself - eating/drinking well, active and seems happy. The only recent change to her diet is we've introduced new pellets.
I've set aside some money for vets fees if needed. But am I just being paranoid? I don't want to put Brioche through the stress of a vet visit if it's nothing to worry about (also it would stress Pamplemousse too as she can't be more than 5 minutes without her)

Any advice would be gratefully received. Thank you in advance :)
 
Please see a vet. It can either be the sign of a cystitis, or less often, a sign that something is not right with the uterus. In any case, she will need an antibiotic.

I call my companion piggies on vet trips "paw holders"; unless there is a very good reason not to, piggies are usually much better off if they don't go alone.
 
Thank you - I've not been to a vet with them before, are there things you recommend I ask or make sure they do? Thank you for replying so quickly :)
 
I am sure your vets will check the bladder by feel, but you can always ask for a conscious or only lightly sedated x-ray if you are worried or if the symptoms are not going down. A urine test at the vets should bring clarity on whether there is blood in the urine as well as a raised protein level (which indicates an infection).

Depending on the findings, feed some mildly diuretic foods like cucumber, lettuce, fresh grass (but not frozen blades) and dandelions when in season. Do not overfeed, or your piggy may get diarrhea. If she is a bad drinker, you may want to syringe her as much water as she will take in one go twice daily to help wash the bacteria out while the acute symptoms last.
Up the vitamin C either in the choice of veg or by supplementing with an oxbow vitamin C tablet or 1/8 of a human one.
Please ask your vet for one or get a probiotic yoursef to help counter the effect of an antibiotic on the guts; you give a pinch about 1-2 after the antibiotic. Any antibiotic can have an appetite dampening effect, but please see your vets asap if your piggy stops eating and needs hand feeding or deteriorates.

All the best!

Here is more information:
http://www.guinealynx.info/uti.html
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...vitamin-c-overview-with-product-links.115404/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/
 
strong smelling urine can be caused by cystitis as wiebke said. and i always take both piggies to the vets together. even if one needs to stay, the other stays aswell. most good vets will encourage this :)
 
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