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UTI...

luckyandsammy

luckyandsammy

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Peterborough
Hi, we need some help/advice, I will try to keep it short but it's a week worth of stuff.
Last Monday night Theo was squeaking a lot in his cage, I took him out and put him on the bed where he squeaked more and peed. There was blood in his pee.
We went to the vets the next day and he was diagnosed with a UTI, he was prescribed 0.2ml of baytril, every 12 hours - he weighed just over 1kg at the time (previously around 1,160)
The next day we called the vets and asked for some pain killers as he was squeaking when he was pooing/peeing or just randomly. He was given metacam and we were told to give him 0.2ml once a day.

Well, he's lost some more weight - he is around 950g now, yesterday and the day before he was doing hamster sized poos but they were very rare. Today we woke up to lots of poos, slightly bigger than yesterday but still not normal sized poo.
I have been giving him critical care when he will take it as he is off his nuggets. He is eating some hay and herbs today but yesterday he wouldn't eat anything himself.
I haven't seen blood in his pee the past few days but then this morning I saw what seemed like blood in pee on his bed? I will post a picture in the replies.
I was on the phone with the vets yesterday for 10 minutes talking about him, they told me to keep giving him the antibiotics and painkillers as he seems to be in pain and also to keep up with the critical care. They didn't feel they needed to see him yet and to finish the antibiotics first and then maybe bring him in on Thursday.

The worrying thing is, once in a while he will just be doing his own thing and then he stops and starts squeaking and doing a shaking type of thing, I'm not sure if I can attach a video but I will if I can. I have told the vet I spoke to about this but she just told me to give him metacam.
I forgot to add, I have also been giving him Pro-C Probiotic , either mixed in with critical care or just with some water when he doesn't feel like eating.

Also, his legs are soaked with pee, I have been trying to clean them with a wet cloth but it doesn't really help. Can I give him a bath or will it make him more sick? He smells really bad...

Has anyone dealt with anything like this before?
And can anyone recommend a good vet in Peterborough? The closest one seems to be animates but it's a bit far for us right now...
 
The first thing that I notice is being given pain meds once per day. Their bodies process pain meds very quickly so they need their pain meds every 12 hours.
If you have got that this far to the end of a course of antibiotics and if doesn’t seem to have helped then he does need to be seen again - whether it’s because the uti hasnt cleared or if it is caused by a different bladder issue such as stones
The only vet I can see on our recommended vet list is animates. here is our vet locator for you to look at Vet Locator
 
Hi, I agree he should have the metacam twice a day. Also is it the dog or cat metacam he has been prescribed? If it is cat metacam that is a very low dose and won't be having much effect. Has he had xrays to rule out bladder stones? The fact he is wet underneath is a worry. It is possible he has a bladder stone that blocks the entrance to his urethra when he tries to wee then moves away when he relaxes enabling urine to seep out. Urine seeping out in this way will soak into his fur as it is not being ejected in the usual manner. I would recommend an x-ray as a matter of urgency and in the meantime keep his rear end bathed to prevent urine scolding to his skin.
 
Pound Shilling & Pig said:
Hi, I agree he should have the metacam twice a day. Also is it the dog or cat metacam he has been prescribed? If it is cat metacam that is a very low dose and won't be having much effect. Has he had xrays to rule out bladder stones? The fact he is wet underneath is a worry. It is possible he has a bladder stone that blocks the entrance to his urethra when he tries to wee then moves away when he relaxes enabling urine to seep out. Urine seeping out in this way will soak into his fur as it is not being ejected in the usual manner. I would recommend an x-ray as a matter of urgency and in the meantime keep his rear end bathed to prevent urine scolding to his skin.
Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for your reply. It's guinea pig metacam he is on. He has not had any x-rays.
I ended up washing him yesterday and he has actually stayed dry since, he has also been eating greens amd hay but is still not interested in nuggets. His poos have also gotten bigger and more regular...
He hasn't been squeaking when he goes to the toilet but his pee does still seem red
 
Piggies&buns said:
The first thing that I notice is being given pain meds once per day. Their bodies process pain meds very quickly so they need their pain meds every 12 hours.
If you have got that this far to the end of a course of antibiotics and if doesn’t seem to have helped then he does need to be seen again - whether it’s because the uti hasnt cleared or if it is caused by a different bladder issue such as stones
The only vet I can see on our recommended vet list is animates. here is our vet locator for you to look at Vet Locator
Click to expand...

Oh really? The vet said to give it once a day and the metacam leaflet also says to give it at 24 hour intervals.
He seems to have improved since I posted this (details in my other reply) but his pee still looks red to me?
We will go to thevets tomorrow,I think it wilk have to be our normal vet as I don't drive and it's hard to get to animates at the moment
 
There’s no guinea pig metacam. If you check the box/bottle it should say whether it’s dog or cat though, I think.
 
Odd 🤷🏾‍♀️ far as I know there’s only dog or cat metacam. What’s the concentration per 10ml or whatever measure?
 
@luckyandsammy thankyou, that's very helpful. That is the cat metacam, I don't think the dog metacam mentions guinea pigs on the box. The dog metacam is three times stronger and is often used by exotics vets and piggy savvy general vets. The dose description in your post relates to post surgery where it is being used to minimize possible post opp pain. Pain resulting from other causes often requires higher doses at the vets discretion especially as piggies metabolize drugs very quickly. I am pleased to hear your piggy is improving but if his pain worsens again I would ask your vet about increasing the dose or at least giving it twice daily.
 
Pound Shilling & Pig said:
@luckyandsammy thankyou, that's very helpful. That is the cat metacam, I don't think the dog metacam mentions guinea pigs on the box. The dog metacam is three times stronger and is often used by exotics vets and piggy savvy general vets. The dose description in your post relates to post surgery where it is being used to minimize possible post opp pain. Pain resulting from other causes often requires higher doses at the vets discretion especially as piggies metabolize drugs very quickly. I am pleased to hear your piggy is improving but if his pain worsens again I would ask your vet about increasing the dose or at least giving it twice daily.
Click to expand...

Oh okay, that makes sense. It is just a normal vet so they might not know that much about guinea pigs. Unfortunately I can't go anywhere else right now.
I am planning to take him for a check up tomorrow, do you think he should be on antibiotics for another week?
He doesn't seem to be in so much pain anymore but some of his pees look a bit red so I'm worried it hasn't cleared up yet.
 
Hi, I'm here with an update.
So Theo got prescribed more baytril on Thursday the 30th, for another week. He finished the course last Thursday. The whole week on antibiotics he was perfectly fine, no squeaking, no blood in urine.
Last night he had blood in his urine again, but no squeaking. The night before that he was squaking when peeing.
What is going on?
 
Piggies&buns said:
Tell the vet that he his still having problems, further investigation and treatment may be necessary
Click to expand...
Well I can't actually go in as they only allow phone consultations and to be honest I can't afford x-rays or whatever right now especially if they are not necessary.
I thought it could be stones but why would he be okay and then get bad again a few days after stopping antibiotics...
 
I’m afraid we can’t tell you. Call them up and tell them what’s going on. Perhaps send an email as well and mention it when you call. We can’t tell you what may be wrong either. Only a hands on examination or further tests can do that.
 
luckyandsammy said:
Well I can't actually go in as they only allow phone consultations and to be honest I can't afford x-rays or whatever right now especially if they are not necessary.
I thought it could be stones but why would he be okay and then get bad again a few days after stopping antibiotics...
Click to expand...

Yes they may only be having phone consultations but they absolutely will administer further treatment where it is required.
If issues come back after antibiotics have been stopped then it can be because any infection hasn’t been completely cleared up and a longer course is necessary, or perhaps it is the wrong type of antibiotic for the bacteria you are dealing with.
We can’t say if x rays are necessary only a vet can
 
Piggies&buns said:
Yes they may only be having phone consultations but they absolutely will administer further treatment where it is required.
If issues come back after antibiotics have been stopped then it can be because any infection hasn’t been completely cleared up and a longer course is necessary, or perhaps it is the wrong type of antibiotic for the bacteria you are dealing with.
We can’t say if x rays are necessary only a vet can
Click to expand...

I will see what I can do, last time we asked for a different antibiotic the vet was really against it and gave us more baytril.
I wish we could get to a better vet but ufortunately that is impossible due to the current situation and I only have about £20 in my bank 😟
 
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