UTI/cystitis help

[Piggielover5]

Been to the vets today and was prescribed with antibiotics and pain meds to treat my boys UTI/cystitis (I say both as the vet was unsure of which it could be). He’s eating hay, veg and nuggets as per usual and still his normal self, but I cannot for the life of me get him to drink. He will every so often but he won’t drink as much as needed to and therefore won’t wee which is essentially what I need him to do in order to flush out any bacteria that’s in his bladder. I don’t know if it’ll come with time? And as the pain goes down if he’ll start drinking again? But I’m worrying that he’s going to become dehydrated and make matters worse, if anyone has had similar issues or just some general advice/helpful tips it’d be very much appreciated

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome!

Are you feeding more veg or more watery veg than normal? Please be aware that a guinea pig will only drink as much as it individually needs and not drink more because you provide more fluid in edible or drinkable form. You cannot force a piggy to drink more than it feels the need for - some piggies don't drink at all and others drink a whole bottle in a day.
If you haven't changed your veg, you can offer your piggy water by syringe once or twice daily, as much as it will take voluntarily in one session in order to make one large bladder flushing pee. Please never force any water down a piggy's throat just because you think they should drink more! Guinea pigs that are still eating normally don't usually dehydrate.

UTI (bacterial urine infection), bacterial cystitis (inflammation of the bladder walls), bladder stones/sludge and sterile (i.e. non-bacterial) interstitial (i.e. recurring) cystitis, or sterile IC, all present with very similar symptoms.
Your vet will generally work down the ladder from the most easily to cure bacterial infections (which react to antibiotics) to bladder stones/sludge (which require an x-ray) to a sterile cystitis, which is a persistent or recurring infection that cannot be cleared with antibiotics. Sterile IC cannot be healed, only managed with analgesics and glucosamine until it goes away on its own very eventually. Unfortunately it has become rather common over the last decade.

You can additional support the natural glucosamine coating of the walls of the urinary tract with additional glucosamine (we recommend a cat glucosamine based bladder food supplement like cystease capsules - cats are the other species prone to urinary tract problems) to help ease the dicomfort. Dissolve the contents of one capsule with 2 ml of water, shake well and wait until it has dissolved then syringe either the whole once daily or half twice a day.

Here are our diet tips for guinea pigs with with urinary tract issues: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Could you please tell us the medication details your piggy has been put on?

Since we have members and enquiries from all over the world, it would help us if your please added your country to location in our account details (accessed via clicking on your username on the top bar) so we can tailor any advice straight away to what is relevant and available where you are. Climate, background, access to vets/exotics vets and especially medical brand names vary quite a lot from country to country.
Thank you!

 

[Piggielover5]

Feeding him normal to what I usually do, kale and carrots etc nothings really changed, I’d never force him to drink if he didn’t voluntarily do so when I offered him water.

The vet had prescribed him with Baytril 2.5% twice daily and Loxicom 1.5mg once daily and said we’ll use this as a starting point and go from there depending on whether he stays the same or gets better/worse

Thankyou for the tips, hopefully on the road to recovery

 

[Piggies&buns]

Feeding him normal to what I usually do, kale and carrots etc nothings really changed, I’d never force him to drink if he didn’t voluntarily do so when I offered him water.

The vet had prescribed him with Baytril 2.5% twice daily and Loxicom 1.5mg once daily and said we’ll use this as a starting point and go from there depending on whether he stays the same or gets better/worse

Thankyou for the tips, hopefully on the road to recovery

Please note that kale and carrots are not suitable to be fed regularly. Kale is high in calcium and can contribute to bladder issues and carrots are too high in sugar. Neither of these foods should be fed more than once a week.

 

[Black piggies]

My guinea pigs hardly touch their water bottles but they have cucumber and romaine lettuce leaves washed in water and so holding a lot of water. If I don't give them lettuce leaves at each meal they stand up against the side of their cage and tell me I've forgotten something!