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Wet bottom and weight loss?

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Elitah

Elitah

Junior Guinea Pig
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We noticed in June that our guinea pig Basil, who is quite big, was losing a bit of weight. We gave him extra food, weighed him weekly and he then seemed to maintain his weight and seemed otherwise healthy, eating, running around and just generally being a normal guinea-pig. he was very slim, but still above 1 kg and since he was then maintaining, we thought it was fine.

We then have had to move recently and that wasn't easy for all our guinea-pigs. During the first days, they all seemed quite anxious, hardly leaving the houses they have in their cages. Basil has always been especially shy anyway and is easily affected by that kind of stress, but eventually, they all have gotten their place with their cages in the corner of our sitting room and seemed to be recovering from the shock of having been moved, coming out more often, eating and just behaving normally. Unfortunately, we did not weigh Basil during that time because we couldn't find the scales, but he seemed fine.

Last night we wanted to take him and his mate Spotty out and when I picked him up, my hands became wet with urine. I first thought he had peed on my hands, but his whole behind and legs were wet and it smelled weird, somewhat spicy, as my bf described it. We washed his behind and, since we had just found the kitchen scales that day and weighed him and he had lost a little more than 100 g. He is 1117 now which does not seem low, but he is a big guinea-pig and his behind looks quite bony now. It could be worse and he is not yet dangerously skinny, but if this continues, he will be. He still seems normal, he is eating and he is active. We're not sure if the weight loss is maybe due to the stress of moving, but the urine thing isn't normal either so we are going to take him to the vet this afternoon. Still, I'd be happy if anyone on here maybe had a few ideas. I'm so incredibly worried and I'll be away, working for most of the day, my bf will be here and take care of him. Any ideas?
 
I can not comment on the weight loss but the wet smelly urine could be a UTI or cystitis so the sooner you see the vet the better.

If it is a UTI / cystitis ask your vet for Septrin as this is the better antibiotic for them. If your vet insists on Baytril, ask for a probiotic too as Baytril can be harsh on the tummy.

Try and take a urine sample if you can.

I had a piggy with the same condition a few months ago. She was soaked in urine which smelled horrible and leaked out of her. Sadly we lost her but she had another problem too so do not let this put you off.

Try the antibiotics first which should hopefully clear it. If not, you may like to ask for an x ray or ultrasound to check for bladder stones.

Good luck x
 
Please have your boy checked for potential UTI (urinary tract infection); I call this variant "the smelly pees".
Ask your vet for septrin, which is the recommended (if unlincensed) antibiotic for urinary tract problems as well as some metacam (Painkiller/anti-inflammatory) for the first 2-3 days until the acute symptoms will hopefully start to subside again.
You can help with flushing out the bacteria by feeding mildy diuretic dandelion and plenty of fluids. As you are in Germany, you could also get some herbal bladder tea from the pharmacy and syringe that cold. That is what I do when faced with an acute UTI; I have a little stash which I bring over from Switzerland, but you can't get it in Britain.

The weight loss can be well down to the stress of moving as well as to a UTI, or a combination thereof. Please weigh any ill piggy daily, at roughly the same time in the feeding cycle. Illness can strike after your piggies have been through a period of stress and their immune system has been lowered.

Here is more information on UTI. Due to the wild temperature swings we are into UTI season a bit earlier than usual. If the symptoms persist or return, please have an x-ray done in order to exclude the possibility of bladder sludge or a stone.
http://www.guinealynx.info/uti.html
 
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So my bf took Basil to the vet today and the whole situation is a little more complicated. He has gall stones, one big one and a few small ones and one of his kidneys isn‘t working properly. The vet explained that they could do surgery, but it would be very complicated and difficult, especially for such a small animal as a guinea-pig and the chances of him surviving it aren‘t that good. So we decided against it. We don‘t want to make him suffer for an outcome that is extremely uncertain.

The vet did explain that diet could help as well. We‘d have to put him on a very, very low calcium diet. Does anyone have any advice in that direction? We‘re in Germany but, if necessary, could probably oder things from Great Britain. Does anyone have any experience in that direction?
 
Great, thank you very much.
I hope you all don't think we're cruel that we don't want to try surgery, but since it's basically too complicated for such a small animal and it is not likely he will survive, we feel that it would be nicer to let him go when it's time. Even though it would be hard for me. He might well have quite a bit of time, though, he is still eating and moving around and seems to be feeling quite well, so we want him to stay that way for as long as possible.
 
Basil died recently. Things went downhill very fast. We were away for eight days since my sister was getting married, but friends took care of them. He seemed alright at first, but then lost more weight. We came back on August 23rd and still thought he might just need a bit more time, but two days later, he was suddenly really weak and cold and not eating. I held him on my lap for a while to warm him a little and shortly after we'd put him back in the cage, he died. We didn't take him to the vet because it just happened so fast and then we realized there was nothing that could be done and just hoped he would manage to die quickly, on his own, so we wouldn't need to take him to the vet for them to put him down. And he did and at least that was a relief. I'm glad now that we didn't put him through that big surgery, because he would not have survived that. We might have noticed things earlier if it hadn't been for our move and the fact that all piggies were a bit scared and quiet and traumatized after that.
Now we have to find a friend for little Spotty, his partner who is by herself now.
 
I'm sorry to hear about your poor piggy. It's hard when they go they leave such a big hole in your life. It's going to be hard on his cage mate too.
 
Thanks. It isn't easy and we miss him badly. We tried to introduce Spotty to Mr. You and Cotton, but it didn't work out. I think Spotty needs to be with a single male again, it doesn't work with another female. So we're going to contact the animal shelter, maybe we can give an abandoned male a nice home and Spotty a new friend. He won't replave Basil, though.
 
This is so sad and I'm so sorry Basil didn't make it :( I understand your reasons for keeping him at home, we made that decision when Sheila was so ill that the stress of the journey to the Vets would have ended her life earlier - she left for the Bridge later that evening with her huspig next to her, warm and dignified on her favourite blanket 8... Broke our hearts but I knew she hadn't got long left in this world...
You knew Basil better than anyone and what was better for him.
Hope Spotty finds a new friend soon, piggies grieve too and another piggy doesn't replace the lost one but it does help your grief knowing Basil's partner is happy.
Hugs x x>>
 
Just a quick update - we fund someone for Spotty. He was in the animal shelter and he is a long-haired, castrated boar whom we named Gilbert. He had to stay by himself first because he had just been castrated, but we paired him up with Spotty 2 1/2 weeks ago and now they are best friends.
 
sorry for your loss but fantastic news about gilbert. Another piggy in a fantastic home. Looking forward to pics cos love long haired piggies - the scruffier the better
 
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