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UTI advice

kerrym1980

New Born Pup
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Hello and thank you in advance.

I noticed that my piggie (male, entire, just over 2 years old) wasn't his usual self on Monday eve. I checked urination and sure enough it was pinky in colour. Took him to the vets first thing Tuesday. They're running socially-distanced appointments so they took him in for examination whilst I stayed outside. Vet couldn't feel any stones and gave me Baytril to administer orally twice a day (0.1ml diluted in water up to 0.5ml), and requested that I bring him back in a week for review. He's very challenging to get the antibiotic into, nonetheless I am trying.

He's still eating and drinking, but today is much quieter, spending more time in a corner hunched up and what he's passing is much redder. I know I need to wait for the antibiotic to kick in, but I'm feeling a bit powerless, especially as he's crying every 15 minutes. Thanks to personal experience of kidney stones and the accompanying UTI's I have a fair idea how he feels which makes me feel worse and more worried, and I'd be grateful for advice on at what point I need to go back to the vet and whether there's anything I can do to ease his discomfort.

Thanks, Kerry
 
Have you been given any painkillers to give to him? Being hunched is a sign of pain.
Be prepared to step in with syringe feeding if he stops eating. Antibiotics can upset their tummies after a few days of being on it and can stop them from eating. Ensure you switch to weighing him daily while he is unwell so you can monitor that he really is eating enough hay.
 
I second the above - sounds like he needs some pain killers too.
Is he also on a probiotic to help with his stomach while on antibiotics.
UTI's can take a few days to get under control so it is important you weigh him daily to keep an eye on how much he is eating and be prepared to syringe feed of necessary.

I hope he starts to feel better soon.
 
Metacam! Hopefully they will dispense it over the phone. If he'a fluffy it could also be some tummy upset from the abx.

Good luck. One of my piggies deals with this quite frequently. They always give pain meds with it.
 
Thanks all. I've just walked in after being out for an hour and got the customary greeting (i.e. running up to me demanding food).

Wasn't given pain meds (and I should have asked - I'll know next time but it was freezing cold and snowing so I was more worried about not falling over whilst carrying them) but I'll phone and ask for some - I thought I had some metacam but alas not. Haven't got a probiotic either but I can get RodeVit C tomorrow. I'll start weighing daily.

He's still eating and drinking but I'm keeping a close eye on it. His friend, who is usually bossy and argumentative, is leaving him alone and sitting with him in turn, which is equally a relief and quite nice.

Thanks again.
 
Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in and you can get him some metacam soon. Weigh daily at the same time just to be sure that he’s not losing weight. You can’t judge by eye how much hay he’s eating.
 
Thanks. I managed to get metacam earlier and he's had some of his own piggie volition; he'll get the rest of the dose this evening when I give him the baytril and weigh him.

He's still crying regularly but has moved around a lot more this afternoon and is still eating (hay, veg, pig food) and drinking. I'm moving hay to wherever he decides to sit (they have free range of a room and sleep in their house overnight) and he's definitely interested. The room looks like a stable though!
 
Update: piggie has been having Baytril twice daily for 6 days at the end of today, however symptoms persist with little change - he's still crying everytime he goes to the toilet and it's still bloody. He's having 0.1ml metacam once daily (am) and probiotics in his water. He hasn't lost weight and is still eating and drinking.

I'm going to get a review appointment for Monday or Tuesday, where I expect they're going to want to x-ray, which is fine by me. Is it too early to enquire about a change of antibiotics? Anything else I should be asking?

Thanks
 
I would also ask about giving the antibiotics twice daily. They have a fast metabolism. The squeaking definitely needs investigating. I would book it for Monday as your boy is clearly in pain when toileting.
 
Update: piggie has been having Baytril twice daily for 6 days at the end of today, however symptoms persist with little change - he's still crying everytime he goes to the toilet and it's still bloody. He's having 0.1ml metacam once daily (am) and probiotics in his water. He hasn't lost weight and is still eating and drinking.

I'm going to get a review appointment for Monday or Tuesday, where I expect they're going to want to x-ray, which is fine by me. Is it too early to enquire about a change of antibiotics? Anything else I should be asking?

Thanks

It may be that he needs a different antibiotic, a longer course etc, so yes I would ask At your appointment.

Is he on cat metacam? That amount is metacam a day is very low. He sounds as if he is still in pain. They need their pain meds twice a day in any event as they metabolise them within 12 hours.
 
Thank you both.

He's already having antibiotics twice daily and Metacam once daily at the dosage specified by the vet. HOWEVER, the metacam I've been given is for cats and G pigs, and the label printed by the vet specifying the dosage I am to give states Metacam Dog. Not helpful.

The dosage instructions for the cat metacam are confusing. Can anyone advise what dosage I should be giving? He's 1.09kg.
 
Thank you both.

He's already having antibiotics twice daily and Metacam once daily at the dosage specified by the vet. HOWEVER, the metacam I've been given is for cats and G pigs, and the label printed by the vet specifying the dosage I am to give states Metacam Dog. Not helpful.

The dosage instructions for the cat metacam are confusing. Can anyone advise what dosage I should be giving? He's 1.09kg.

That isn’t helpful! Dog metacam is 3 times stronger than cat/guinea pig metacam!
We can’t tell you what dose as we aren’t vets, but we can say that piggies can take their doses quite a bit higher and definitely to be given twice a day, particularly if he is still showing signs of pain. Experienced and exotic vets will know this.
 
Thanks.

I'll increase to 0.2ml twice a day and see how he responds to that, then I've room to increase a little more and still be well under the max dosage suggested. I'm tempted to look for another vet with more exotics knowledge but I have no idea where there'll be one and no transport at the moment to get there anyway. This is almost worse than dealing with unwell horses, but significantly less painful on the bank balance!
 
I checked! Nearest to me is a 100 mile round trip; if I had my car I wouldn't hesitate but it's not doable by public transport unfortunately.
 
Update 2: Took piggie to the vets first thing this morning. He had an x-ray and they found a bladder stone. Further examination whilst he was asleep indicated that there's a second one, and the two are rubbing together. They agree that he'll be in significant discomfort - I already know this obviously.

He's booked in for surgery at some point later on today. I know anaesthetic in pigs carries much higher risk, but how much higher is much higher?
 
There is a risk with any surgery but having a vet experienced with surgery in small animals really does go towards reducing the risk. I know it’s easier said than done (I’ve had all three of my rabbits have surgery since September (two elective spays and one urgent surgery for a tumour)) but do try not to worry, keep yourself busy. I hope all goes well.
 
Good news! Piglet (Dougal) came through surgery and I'm collecting him and his friend (Ted) at 4pm. The suspected stone was in fact something in his gut, but they found lots of little stones in his bladder. They've flushed it through and flushed his urethra too to ensure everything is out. He'll be getting 0.3ml metacam twice daily and a new antibio (I'll find out when I collect). I was also offered glucosamine (sp?) which I said yes to. He's been having Pro-C since Wednesday and I'll be following the post-op care guide here and the special dietary guidance. I know we're not out of the woods yet but it's a start.

Thanks for lessening my panic and giving me confidence in the right course of action. And for having a forum full of such great info. It's very, very appreciated.
 
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