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Urethra Stones

LeahsPiggies

LeahsPiggies

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Hi all. Some of you have been following my previous thread about my little Peruvian Barry who had suspected dental issues. He has lost half of his body weight and today he went to the vets for some investigation and it’s not dental related.

Unfortunately Barry’s x-ray shows that he has large stones in his urethra. I’ve never heard of them being here before, the vet is currently taking bloods which will show his kidney function to see if we can go ahead and operate. If not we will unfortunately have to put him to sleep.
I’m devastated as he is only 2 and I can’t help but blame myself.

Has anybody had this experience before and did your piggie get through it and recover? What causes these stones? TIA
 
@LeahsPiggies It's impossible to say exactly but it's usually a combination of genetics and calcium.

I'm sorry for your awful news. The vet could try to flush them out depending on the size but it's a harder task with boars.
 
Jaycey said:
@LeahsPiggies It's impossible to say exactly but it's usually a combination of genetics and calcium.

I'm sorry for your awful news. The vet could try to flush them out depending on the size but it's a harder task with boars.
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Thank you. He was a pets at home piggie so I haven’t got much of his history unfortunately. They’re quite large stones as the vet was telling me over the phone, I’m so upset for him. We’re on an urgent alert to get his blood results back ASAP so tomorrow at the latest x
 
Oh @LeahsPiggies I am gutted to hear this for you. I have sadly lost one boar to urethral stones. Another sow survived the removal of one small one. Barry is in the best of hands.
 
VickiA said:
Oh @LeahsPiggies I am gutted to hear this for you. I have sadly lost one boar to urethral stones. Another sow survived the removal of one small one. Barry is in the best of hands.
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Thank you Vicki. I received a phonecall from Kris minutes after getting home as she spotted the stones immediately. I’m so worried but I know he’s in the best hands with the vets. Will update you when we get his blood results tomorrow.
 
We have been given some Vetergesic pain relief for Barry to give him until we can make a decision on what to do for him. I’ll be anxiously awaiting his blood results tomorrow :(
I hope you don’t mind me asking @VickiA , how much did the surgeries cost roughly? The bills are racking up high already which is also worrying as he isn’t insured.
 
LeahsPiggies said:
We have been given some Vetergesic pain relief for Barry to give him until we can make a decision on what to do for him. I’ll be anxiously awaiting his blood results tomorrow :(
I hope you don’t mind me asking @VickiA , how much did the surgeries cost roughly? The bills are racking up high already which is also worrying as he isn’t insured.
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Poor Barry. Hope the vetergesic helps. Ask for a quote from the vets if you’re considering surgery @LeahsPiggies - they can give you one. It helps to know in advance.
 
Well it got to 4:30pm today and still no phone call, so I phoned the vets and his results are in but a vet still needs to review them. No phone call as of yet so it will probably be tomorrow now 😞 he seems so poorly, he’s on painkillers but I feel awful for the poor boy
 
Aww healing vibes for your little man :luv:

hopefully Barry can be sorted, but i know that stones in the bladder are easier to operate on than those found in the urethra.

my Grace had a bladder stone & the vets mentioned breaking up the stones & i think they meant with laser treatment from what they said, not sure if this would be an option? i think the urethra is so narrow that it would block quickly with any fragments of stone that are too big. sometimes the bladder is tied off to stop fragments of stone going into the urethra, but if they are already there i'm not sure if they can be removed?

generally stones are caused by too much calcium i think, have a look at the low calcium diet on here to reduce his intake (kale &parsley are both high in calcium so feed sparingly). if you live in a hard water area the chances of stones developing are higher too.

i think i only seen Grace drink a few times in 6yrs, so her lack of water flushing things through may have had something to do with hers too.

Hope Barry can be sorted ASAP. Chinny tickles & a Hug for you. xx
 
GPTV said:
Aww healing vibes for your little man :luv:

hopefully Barry can be sorted, but i know that stones in the bladder are easier to operate on than those found in the urethra.

my Grace had a bladder stone & the vets mentioned breaking up the stones & i think they meant with laser treatment from what they said, not sure if this would be an option? i think the urethra is so narrow that it would block quickly with any fragments of stone that are too big. sometimes the bladder is tied off to stop fragments of stone going into the urethra, but if they are already there i'm not sure if they can be removed?

generally stones are caused by too much calcium i think, have a look at the low calcium diet on here to reduce his intake (kale &parsley are both high in calcium so feed sparingly). if you live in a hard water area the chances of stones developing are higher too.

i think i only seen Grace drink a few times in 6yrs, so her lack of water flushing things through may have had something to do with hers too.

Hope Barry can be sorted ASAP. Chinny tickles & a Hug for you. xx
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Thank you so much for your comment. He has stopped taking his recovery food (which he normally loves) tonight, trying to tempt him to eat with low calcium herbs and his favourite veggies. He’s not looking well, I’m going to monitor him and call the vets tomorrow. I’m not happy that they haven’t given me his results today :(
 
Yes i would be a bit miffed if i didn't have the results too, as i think time is of the essence shall we say?!

is he still weeing, although squeaking when he's doing it? if he is weeing then at least he's not completely blocked, which i believe is the main concern with boars stones.
maybe try him with some washed off grass, he's still getting some fluid & grass is usually a winner when it comes to tempting piggies to eat :)
has he had his increase in pain meds? xx
 
GPTV said:
Yes i would be a bit miffed if i didn't have the results too, as i think time is of the essence shall we say?!

is he still weeing, although squeaking when he's doing it? if he is weeing then at least he's not completely blocked, which i believe is the main concern with boars stones.
maybe try him with some washed off grass, he's still getting some fluid & grass is usually a winner when it comes to tempting piggies to eat :)
has he had his increase in pain meds? xx
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Exactly. I appreciate that emergencies can crop up at the vets but it doesn’t take much to read some blood results and give me a call really. It’s really a matter of life and death for him. He weighs 700g and is on 0.04ml of vetergesic 3 times a day. I haven’t actually seen him wee but I assume that he is. I just feel awful for the little mite, I’ll definitely try the grass, thank you :)
 
LeahsPiggies said:
Exactly. I appreciate that emergencies can crop up at the vets but it doesn’t take much to read some blood results and give me a call really. It’s really a matter of life and death for him. He weighs 700g and is on 0.04ml of vetergesic 3 times a day. I haven’t actually seen him wee but I assume that he is. I just feel awful for the little mite, I’ll definitely try the grass, thank you :)
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good luck, hope the results are given to you first thing & he gets on ok :wub:
xx
 
LeahsPiggies said:
Thank you so much for your comment. He has stopped taking his recovery food (which he normally loves) tonight, trying to tempt him to eat with low calcium herbs and his favourite veggies. He’s not looking well, I’m going to monitor him and call the vets tomorrow. I’m not happy that they haven’t given me his results today :(
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Aww. Sorry they are making you wait! How frustrating! Hoping you get some answers soon!
 
LeahsPiggies said:
Exactly. I appreciate that emergencies can crop up at the vets but it doesn’t take much to read some blood results and give me a call really. It’s really a matter of life and death for him. He weighs 700g and is on 0.04ml of vetergesic 3 times a day. I haven’t actually seen him wee but I assume that he is. I just feel awful for the little mite, I’ll definitely try the grass, thank you :)
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It is a matter of life and death! It should be taken seriously.
 
Bad news. We have received his blood results this evening and unfortunately his kidneys are damaged and are too far in advance to be saved, so he more than likely wouldn’t survive the removal of the stones, and even if he did he would still die young. I’m not going to put him through that, he has stopped eating and is deteriorating fast. My partner is on his way to the vets to put him to sleep.
Thanks so much for all of your support x
 
Thanks all! He’s gone now. It never gets easier to lose them but we did all we could. Now his poor brother is on his own :(
 
I’ve just caught up with your thread. I’ve been going through something simalar this week, so I understand how traumatic it is.
I’m very sorry for your loss, you did the best for your boy and now at least he is free of pain XX
 
So sorry your little man didn't make it. It's always so heartbreaking to have to make the final decision. But it sounds like you did the right thing for him, if he had dysfunctional kidneys maybe they were the cause of his stones in the first place?
Just remember he had a good quality of life, although way too short,he knew he was loved &cared for. You ended his pain &suffering when he needed you to.

RIP popcorn pain free over rainbow bridge little man.:wub:

Give his brother extra cuddles &attention as he'll be grieving too.
There are some good threads on here to help look after a lone piggy &help you both through the grieving process.
Big hug for you at this distressing time. Love the girls &I. Xx
 
GPTV said:
So sorry your little man didn't make it. It's always so heartbreaking to have to make the final decision. But it sounds like you did the right thing for him, if he had dysfunctional kidneys maybe they were the cause of his stones in the first place?
Just remember he had a good quality of life, although way too short,he knew he was loved &cared for. You ended his pain &suffering when he needed you to.

RIP popcorn pain free over rainbow bridge little man.:wub:

Give his brother extra cuddles &attention as he'll be grieving too.
There are some good threads on here to help look after a lone piggy &help you both through the grieving process.
Big hug for you at this distressing time. Love the girls &I. Xx
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Thanks so much for your comment, I appreciate your kind words x
 
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