Treatment dosages for UTI

[Castaway]

Hello all,

This evening, I noticed Griff making that familiar squeaking noise when weeing. It's been quite some time since I've had a pig with a urine infection, but I remember it well.

Fresh out of cranberry juice, but syringed in some water, although he is drinking and eating as normal. He weed on a puppy pad and I couldn't see any frank blood and it was quite clear in colour. He had a bit of fluff stuck in his urethra so it's possible that was the problem.

I'll get up early in the morning to check, but I'm minded to take him to the vet hospital as soon as I can get an appointment. I've got a pot ready to collect some urine to take with me.

I'm still missing Mark Bridges in Cardiff, who was a vet I completely trusted. The Vet hospital are probably the best where I live now. They have a small animal clinic and the local rescue use them, but I'm just not 100% confident.

So, if the urine test shows sign of infection, what dosage of antibiotic should I expect to be given for a pig that ways 1.15 Kg, and would it be Baytril or something else? What about the probiotic? That wasn't something commonly given "back when," so I'm not too familiar with it. Also, should I expect metacam to be given as an anti-inflammatory, and if so at what dose?

Sorry for the blast of questions, but I want to make sure if my little fluffball is poorly that he gets the right meds and it will be a way to sort of check and see if the vets are on the right track.

Huge thanks in advance to anyone and who can advise.

 

[Salt n Peppers mum]

This is the advice I was given by a Rodentologist

Urinary tract infection in guinea pigs

I suggest you take your guinea pig to your vet and ask if they would consider treating her with one of the following treatment regimes.

Option 1 (as recommended by Cambridge Cavy Trust- CCT)

Septrin paediatric suspension (Borgal) 240mg/5ml – antibiotic, ideal for urinary tract infections. Dose 0.4ml twice a day for 10-14 days.
Plus:-
Rimadyl tablet 20mg – anti-inflammatory- the CCT find this works well and is well tolerated by guinea pigs. Dose half a tablet (10mg) twice a day for 2 days then quarter of a tablet (5mg) for 5 days.

Option 2 (more likely to be used by vets who are not members of CCT)

Baytril 2.5% suspension –antibiotic, not quite as effective for urinary tract infections as Septrin. Dose 0.5 ml twice a day for 10-14 days.

Metacam 1.5mg/ml suspension- anti-inflammatory. Dose 0.4ml daily for 5 days.

*Please note the relatively high doses of drugs are calculated to account for the guinea pigs high metabolic rate*

General advice

Encourage a good fluid intake - 40ml / day is ideal- you may need to syringe feed fluids if your pig will not drink by herself. Avoid dried foods that have EC colourants as these can cause bladder irritation. Avoid foods containing oxalic acid such as spinach and watercress as this can increase the chance of bladder stones.
If the symptoms persist or recur then your pig might have a bladder stone, in which case your vet may wish to X- ray him. Please ask them to not use a general anaesthetic for an X-ray. The CCT can advise how to X -ray a guinea pig safely and effectively without a general anaesthetic. The CCT can also advise you about vets who are experienced in bladder stone surgery in guinea pigs.


Hope Griff recovers from a swift course of Septrin. Septrin is known to be more effective for treatment of UTI. And it is very kind on the stomach and very tasty for piggies to happily take.

 

[Shauna]

i know this isnt my thread.. but that information is really usefull thankyou

 

[Tani]

Spot on advice there. My vets didnt use septrin but I insisted - and with the rymadyl, so if you print the information out to show them & say it came from a good source, the they should have no probs giving it to you.

If the wont, and you get the bog standard baytril & metacam, make sure you ask for some Bio Lapis which is the pro biotic as the above are known to cause bad bellys
X

 

[Pigmad]

Rose has just got over a UTI after having a bladder stone removed she had septrin 0.5ml twice a day for ten days and she is fine now (fingers crossed!)

I hope Griff gets better soon :rose

 

[PopcornPigs]

I've just been to the vet for Terry and he has a suspected UTI and I've been given Septrin and told to give 1ml twice a day. Terry is a big boy though 1.2kg +.

 

[sport_billy]

We were also given a higher dose of Septrin 1.2ml twice a day for 5 days for Putt who had a suspected UTI, again she is a bigger piggle at 1.15kg +

 

[Castaway]

Hello all and thanks for the fantastic advice.

This morning, Griff seemed much better. He was weeing just as I was about to take him out to get a sample (typical!) but didn't express any discomfort. I sat with him on my lap, gave him about 10 mls of water by syringe and he finally passed urine on the upside down puppy pad after about 30 minutes, again, without any discomfort.

I'm wondering if the bit of fluff caught in the urethra was the source of the discomfort and I'm wary of him having antibiotics unnecessarily. He's a good drinker and is still drinking plenty and eating as normal. So, I'll be going home early to give him diluted cranberry juice and will observe him closely. At the first sign of any further discomfort, I'll take him off to the vets with the recommended treatment printed out.

It's very frustrating because my previous vet in Cardiff respected the fact that rodentologists and "lay people," often had more up to date knowledge of the correct treatment for piggies and he was also much more au fait with the latest treatments than any other vet I've known. I'm not entirely convinced that the Vet Hospital will be so receptive. The local vet where we take our cat would be more convenient, but I'm even less convinced that they know enough about piggies to order the right treatment.

If I could fly Griff back to Cardiff, I would. However, having the up to date information at is a huge help and if the vet won't listen, I'll just have to take him further afield to a vet that will.

When I lived in London, I was fortunate to be able to take piggies to CCT. Unfortunately my first 2 boars both had bladder issues (one a bladder tumour, the other a problem with grit in the urine,) and after that, I started using a water filter as I couldn't help but think that the hard London water might have contributed to the problem. When I moved to soft water areas, my pigs had no urinary tract problems, which could have been coincidental of course.

Thanks again everyone and I'll keep you posted. Glad to know the thread may also be of use to others facing the same concerns.

 

[Salt n Peppers mum]

I've just been to the vet for Terry and he has a suspected UTI and I've been given Septrin and told to give 1ml twice a day. Terry is a big boy though 1.2kg +.

Actually my boy was given this dose too to try and kill the infection and he is 1.5 kg (my own vet said 0.5mls to 1ml twice a day would be fine)

 

[Castaway]

Just to let folks know, Griff lapped up some cranberry juice via syringe yesterday afternoon and evening, but he hasn't squeaked or shown any signs of discomfort while passing urine for 48 hours now. He's eating and drinking normally so I think it was probably just the minor obstruction in the urethra that was causing him bother. I'll keep this thread for future reference though so again, thank you to everyone for your contributions and support.