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Urine Testing

  • Thread starter Thread starter lisar
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lisar

Has anbody used litmus paper to test for blood in their guinea pig's urine. If we buy the litmus paper ourself, what do we look for?
We have been to the vets a lot and had 4 lots of baytril. We can't visibly see any blood in the urine, and just wanted to test for ourselves before we stress her out with an xray.
Thanks
 
Hi Lisa, welcome to the forum.

I have not heard of litmus paper being used to test guinea pig urine, I believe designated urine test strips are needed to show specific values.

Does your guinea have suspected cystitis? An x-ray is a good step to rule out/confirm stones, but there are other treatments for cystitis:

1) Septrin - the ideal antibiotic for urinary infections, dose is usually 0.5ml twice daily, if your vet will prescribe it.
2) Anti-inflammatories - if pain seems to be the main problem, Metacam or Rimadyl can help reduce the pain and inflammation.
3) Fluids - flushing the bladder through with plenty of fluids can be helpful, with either plain water or cranberry juice.
 
Litmus paper will only show the ph of the urine. The normal ph is around 9.

You need Multistix 10 sq for other urine tests.
 
I've looked online for them and even the cheapest are fairly expensive, £40+ for a box of 100.
 
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