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Worried about piggies!

Nadsgirl75

Nadsgirl75

Junior Guinea Pig
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Jun 28, 2018
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Location
Ryton, Tyne & Wear
Hi... so I came down this morning and was doing poop patrol and replenishing hay etc and I heard one of the boys whimpering, I think it’s donald and he is doing it when standing still, so either weeing or pooing. It’s not loud just a low level whimper. I held back their veggies today and just replenished hay but both are popcorning, zooming and behaving as normal. So I observed for a few hours and it was still happening. I’ve called our vets for advice, they asked if there was any blood and there isn’t. Everything other than the whimper is normal. She advised me to remove veggies as poos were a little soft and to monitor. She said if he continues to whimper to bring him in. She seemed quite knowledgable about guinea pigs and said for me to bring him in if there were any changes. Does this sound reasonable? I have the pet carrier ready to go and our vets are only 10 minutes away but she sounded confident that I could monitor for a little longer?
 
For me, I would go. I am a worrier. Better to be safe than sorry. It could be anything. UTI, stones, or beginning of bloat. Who knows. Better to catch something early.
 
After Puggle got so sick so fast over the last 24 hours I would say head straight to the vets, she was only whimpering to start with but when we touched her tummy she was in agony but trying to hide it... hopefully Donald is fine but the vet can do very quick tests to make sure, our vet had a dipstick urine test that told her 6 different things including if there was tiny amounts of blood you couldnt see in pee, and a quick xray ruled out any injuries or stones and confirmed serious acute bloat that could have been fatal if untreated...
Good piggy vets are awesome, I would pay the money every day I have it (or even sell my car if I had to!) to have somebody rush in with pain relief and diagnostic tests so I know my piggies are getting everything they need and not suffering.
Puggle could have died... in fact she still could die realistically but she's got a diagnosis and meds and a treatment plan and a vet seeing her again tomorrow which makes me feel much better!
But sorry if that's melodramatic and sounds exaggerated that's just how our weekend has gone, your piggy is probably fine, mostly piggies are fine, but if they aren't they get sick really fast so if you can afford the vet checks its good to make sure!
 
I agree that I would take him to the vets. Piggies can have blood in their urine that can’t be seen by the nakied eye. It could be anything but whimpering is a sign of pain somewhere in the body
 
So after our first visit to vets, not happy with response, we’ve now been to great vets a little while away from home... Donald has suspected UTI and we’ve been prescribed antibiotics and he’s had some painkillers. Back Wednesday for check up. We took Mickey in too for a quick health check and he’s all clear! But their bond becasme really clear today when we had to separate them so Donald could have an injection. He went crazy! Is it worth me moving to low calcium diet just to try and minimise reoccurrence if this?
 
Poor Donald, glad you found a good vets and got some treatment! Puggle says to tell Donald to get well soon and vets can be really helpful but watch out for the unexpected bum thermometers :)
 
He got home from vets and spent approx 20 minutes doing zoomies! Up and down the ramp to their new loft!! But Mickey was really concerned about him and spent ages nibbling ears and snuggling with him! So lovely to see their little bond!
 
We are back at vets today for check up... the whimpering is less but is still present when he pees, but generally he’s fine. Zoomies and popcorning all over, however he’s lost about 50g since the weekend. I’m picking up some critical care today, and have put him in a separate part of the cage at feeding to make sure he gets fed cos Mickey is a guzzler! I’m weighing daily and keep on with his antibiotics. Is there anything else I can do ?
 
Do you have any pro C in? This helps alot with the gut flora. You can either sprinkle onto his critical care or add a pinch to a small amount of water and syringe feed it an hour or 2 after the antibiotics. 2-3ml is enough. Pro C is available from Pets at Home and costs around a fiver I think.
 
Great thanks will get some. He’s eating lots do I think he should start to put the weight back on again. We’ve been back to the vets today and he’s got some more metacam. He’s currently sitting with me having cuddles and haven’t noticed as much whimpering whic is great. Isn’t it awful when they are poorly 😟BCD01353-B7C0-4710-BF46-BE58D126E7CD.webp
 
Nadsgirl75 said:
So after our first visit to vets, not happy with response, we’ve now been to great vets a little while away from home... Donald has suspected UTI and we’ve been prescribed antibiotics and he’s had some painkillers. Back Wednesday for check up. We took Mickey in too for a quick health check and he’s all clear! But their bond becasme really clear today when we had to separate them so Donald could have an injection. He went crazy! Is it worth me moving to low calcium diet just to try and minimise reoccurrence if this?
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If you have hard water in your house, buy a water filter , if you are worried about calcium this is a huge help. But dont cut it out too much.
 
How long does it usually take a piggie to recover from a UTI? He’s been on antibiotics and metacam for 3 days
 
Nadsgirl75 said:
How long does it usually take a piggie to recover from a UTI? He’s been on antibiotics and metacam for 3 days
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it varies with different pigs and how far it has gone. But i see a difference with old boar when he was about 4 after roughly 2 days. Oops I'm thinking uri. My sow dot was about 4 days with a suspected uti
 
They can take weeks or months. I havnt much experience with guinea pig uti's but members will be along soon to give you better info I'm sure. Wiebke is the one you want lol you just wait
 
Well he only got medication Monday afternoon .... so fingers crossed i will start to see an improvement soon. He’s also fine from being 765g to 730g in a week. I’m weighing daily and he’s eating well from what I can see. I must add he’s still a baby so that weight may well be ok. They are approx 6 months old. But his brother is currently weighing in at 865.
 
Hoping your piggie makes a full recovery. Glad you took him to the vets (and a second vets). Unfortunately, I now know how quickly they deteriorate when ill. Fingers crossed for you. 💕
 
I’m just not convinced he’s recovering quickly enough... so I’ve used the recommended vets and found a cavy savvy vet close to me, Judith Brown. She is on holiday until next week but as soon as she’s back we are going there. In the meantime I have the rest of his antibiotics and metacam to keep him going. He won’t have anything to do with critical care! Going to mush yo some pellets and make sure he gets some of that. What a worry it is 😢
 
Nadsgirl75 said:
I’m just not convinced he’s recovering quickly enough... so I’ve used the recommended vets and found a cavy savvy vet close to me, Judith Brown. She is on holiday until next week but as soon as she’s back we are going there. In the meantime I have the rest of his antibiotics and metacam to keep him going. He won’t have anything to do with critical care! Going to mush yo some pellets and make sure he gets some of that. What a worry it is 😢
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I don't know what to suggest. But if you're concerned, speak to the vets about your concerns. Even if the cavy savvy vet is away, do they have anyone covering for her that can speak with you, check your guinea pig, put your mind at rest? They may just say continue as you are. Hope he's better soon.
 
Yeah I spoke to another vet and they said that it definitely sounds like UTI and I have the right medication. It’s more the weight loss that’s worrying me. I’ve just managed to get him to take 5ml of mushed up pellets though a syringe but he was also trying to eat it out of the bowl!
 
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