Young Guinea Pig UTI, 3 weeks old

[cola.thepig]

Hi everyone, i have not been writing to the forum for a long time. I have two guinea pigs, one named Cola and i recently got another boy named Burger (he is 3-4 weeks old, adopted) because Cola was alone. He was fine when he got home, didnt notice anything. but 5 days ago i noticed a pink-red spot. i waited a day, seperated the boys to observe. It was Burger. on that second day i noticed the red pee areas were bigger, darker and smellier. took to the vet, he has uti. he is now getting a dose of bactrim (0.125) every 12 hours. he is 200 grams. after the evening bactrim dose i give him some probiotic. he is eating hay, drinking water (less than usual but still drinking). no weight loss. his pee is in spots? smaller, still pink-red but smaller. but he is always squeaking when peeing, his butt is really low, looks almost like sitting -time to time- and in general i can tell he is in pain.
so i have questions.
vet didnt give any painkillers saying he is too small but he is in pain a lot as i can see. also i dont reaally trust him but he is the only exotic vet in my city. i read that too much pain can unalive a piggie so i am so scared. what can i do? i dont think he is getting any better. he said to me to give the bactrim mixed with water. so i take 0.125 ml bactrim and mix it with 0.8-0.9 water and give him the total 1 ml mix every 12 hours. is this a right, enough treatment? also i read that piggies with uti are given painkillers. what am i going to do? i have been giving him chamomile tea (not much, 0.5 ml mixed with water) and that seems to relax him a bit but appearently not enough as he is almost-always squeaking and crouching. his fur a little bit puffy. its just so heartbreaking at this point. this is the fourth day of the treatment plan and i have not seen any improvements except pee dots getting smaller (IF thats an improvement). his diet is only hay, water, and real small piece of green bellpepper. what should i expect? how do i know if he is getting better or worse?
ps: i was keeping the boys seperate but they were weeking to each other all the time and started to just.. not doing anything? so i put them together and at least they are more active together- eating and walking together. is it bad? should i seperate them? Also today i saw a white milky discharge on their fleece twice. (i read about calcium discharge but neither of them get calcium from anything? )i dont know which piggie's is that. Cola (2.5 years old) is not neutered so maybe something about that?
guys please help i have no idea what to do since i cant change my vet too. is he getting the right treatment? what else can i do?

 

[Truffolo]

Bumping and sending support in this difficult situation

 

[Piggies&buns]

I'm sorry to hear this

He does sound as if he is in pain. I do not have experience of such young piggies and pain meds so I cannot comment on whether he is too young for it.
All you can do here is have a discussion with your vet that you are not seeing improvement and that he is showing signs of pain.

What I can say is that at his age, he must be kept with your other piggy, please do not separate them. Babies under four months of age must never be alone.

I’ve also never used Bactrim, but my vet has always pre-diluted baytril so I only give the right dose and never have to dilute myself. It just creates so much to have to give them.
You must be very careful when syringing meds. An adult can only take 0.3ml in their mouth at any one time so such a tiny baby can only take a very tiny amount at a time.

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support

Calcium pees are the body’s normal way of excreting calcium. It has nothing to do with being neutered or not - it is about getting the right balance of intake in the diet.
The odd calcium pee isn’t a problem. It is only a problem is it happens a lot, or is the spots are gritty - it means there is something out of balance in the diet you are giving them and that can be that you are either giving too much calcium rich food or that you aren’t giving them enough calcium.
If they both are only eating hay and bell pepper then there is a possibility their diet is not balanced and they are not getting enough calcium and other nutrients. They need some calcium particularly your baby piggy
A diet too low in calcium will also produce the same issues and white spots. The balance in the diet is still out, it’s just out in the other direction.

Most calcium comes into the diet via pellets (although you don’t mention them eating them in your case) and in drinking water. Pellets contain more calcium than the highest calcium containing veg (kale) so we recommend pellets are kept limited to one tablespoon per pig per day only.
You don’t need to feed pellets (I don’t with mine) but you need to make sure the veg portion of their diet is properly balanced to ensure they get all they need.
It is also in drinking water so we recommend filtering water if you are in a hard water area.

I’ve added our guides throughout so you can read further

I hope he is ok

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Wiebke's Guide to Pees and Stones

 

[cola.thepig]

I'm sorry to hear this

He does sound as if he is in pain. I do not have experience of such young piggies and pain meds so I cannot comment on whether he is too young for it.
All you can do here is have a discussion with your vet that you are not seeing improvement and that he is showing signs of pain.

What I can say is that at his age, he must be kept with your other piggy, please do not separate them. Babies under four months of age must never be alone.

I’ve also never used Bactrim, but my vet has always pre-diluted baytril so I only give the right dose and never have to dilute myself. It just creates so much to have to give them.
You must be very careful when syringing meds. An adult can only take 0.3ml in their mouth at any one time so such a tiny baby can only take a very tiny amount at a time.

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support

Calcium pees are the body’s normal way of excreting calcium. It has nothing to do with being neutered or not - it is about getting the right balance of intake in the diet.
The odd calcium pee isn’t a problem. It is only a problem is it happens a lot, or is the spots are gritty - it means there is something out of balance in the diet you are giving them and that can be that you are either giving too much calcium rich food or that you aren’t giving them enough calcium.
If they both are only eating hay and bell pepper then there is a possibility their diet is not balanced and they are not getting enough calcium and other nutrients. They need some calcium particularly your baby piggy
A diet too low in calcium will also produce the same issues and white spots. The balance in the diet is still out, it’s just out in the other direction.

Most calcium comes into the diet via pellets (although you don’t mention them eating them in your case) and in drinking water. Pellets contain more calcium than the highest calcium containing veg (kale) so we recommend pellets are kept limited to one tablespoon per pig per day only.
You don’t need to feed pellets (I don’t with mine) but you need to make sure the veg portion of their diet is properly balanced to ensure they get all they need.
It is also in drinking water so we recommend filtering water if you are in a hard water area.

I’ve added our guides throughout so you can read further

I hope he is ok

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Wiebke's Guide to Pees and Stones

Thanks so much for your reply. I will add some different veggies then for the white thing. Do you know what can i do with the pain issue? I made a hiding spot for him and put a fluffy towel. but it doesnt seem to help. seeing him like this is literally crushing my soul.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thanks so much for your reply. I will add some different veggies then for the white thing. Do you know what can i do with the pain issue? I made a hiding spot for him and put a fluffy towel. but it doesnt seem to help. seeing him like this is literally crushing my soul.

Please do read the diet guide I added - it explains a good range of veg: they can have lettuce, cucumber, bell pepper and cilantro every day.
However you must introduce new veg slowly, carefully and one at a time. If you give too much too soon then you will cause a tummy upset.

You will need to discuss pain management with your vet - legally they are the only ones who can tell you what to do

 

[cola.thepig]

Please do read the diet guide I added - it explains a good range of veg: they can have lettuce, cucumber, bell pepper and cilantro every day.
However you must introduce new veg slowly, carefully and one at a time. If you give too much too soon then you will cause a tummy upset.

You will need to discuss pain management with your vet - legally they are the only ones who can tell you what to do

Thanks a lot! And update: his recent pee is light-yellow and havent seen any red pee today! so i guess thats an improvement? still eating hay and veggies, i gave him some cucumber! he loves it. i gave a real small piece. but the squeaking continues from time to time and laying in his house. but comes out of there too. no weird-milky stuff too.
is it good?

 

[Piggies&buns]

You will need to complete the full course of antibiotics before you can be reassured that the UTI has been cured. How long is his course?

Light yellow urine is good. It means he is hydrated well.

It will take several weeks for changes in the diet to have an effect on calcium levels in the body of your older boy.
Your younger boy is very young to have calcium issues.

 

[cola.thepig]

You will need to complete the full course of antibiotics before you can be reassured that the UTI has been cured. How long is his course?

Light yellow urine is good. It means he is hydrated well.

It will take several weeks for changes in the diet to have an effect on calcium levels in the body of your older boy.
Your younger boy is very young to have calcium issues.

he will be getting the bactrim treatment for 7 days. and he has a visit on 11'th. after that visit we will see i guess. older boy is looking and acting fine, active and hungry as always lol. i thought maybe the milky fluid was due to some... boy hormone stuff? is it possible? or calcium like you said? maybe i can take him to vet too on 11'th.
in general i am concerned about Burger's pain level and if the treatment is going right as i dont have another vet option wanted to double check from you guys' experiences!

 

[Piggies&buns]

he will be getting the bactrim treatment for 7 days. and he has a visit on 11'th. after that visit we will see i guess. older boy is looking and acting fine, active and hungry as always lol. i thought maybe the milky fluid was due to some... boy hormone stuff? is it possible? or calcium like you said? maybe i can take him to vet too on 11'th.
in general i am concerned about Burger's pain level and if the treatment is going right as i dont have another vet option wanted to double check from you guys' experiences!

Sight unseen we cannot know whether it is calcium or semen. You would have to attach a photo for us to comment.

I’m afraid we cannot comment on his pain level, how treatment is going nor advise what to do -
We can only advise you to stay in touch with your vet, and keep up with the routine weight checks (to be done daily while a piggy is unwell) to check enough hay is being consumed

 

[cola.thepig]

Sight unseen we cannot know whether it is calcium or semen. You would have to attach a photo for us to comment.

I’m afraid we cannot comment on his pain level, how treatment is going nor advise what to do -
We can only advise you to stay in touch with your vet, and keep up with the routine weight checks (to be done daily while a piggy is unwell) to check enough hay is being consumed

oh okay, thanks! i will attach a photo here if i see it again then