1 year old sow possibly not urinating much

[Pigmeister]

Hi, looking for some advice please.

Our 1 year old sow doesn't seem to be peeing very much.

We've been keeping an eye on her since Saturdya night when she made a small whiing noise, just a couple of seconds, while sitting in the hay. But her and her cage mate had just had one of those 'get of the nuggets, it's my turn' set tos so we weren't sure if it was from that or if she was peeing and it was a little painful for her.

She is absolutely fine apart form that. No weight change, no appetite change, been drinking some water in the evenings although she's never been much of a drinker but she gets lettuce, cucumber and celery or some combination of those every day. And clean drinking water obviously.

We let them out of their pen a couple of times a day and shye's running around as normal, popcoring and a little zoomies too.

So she seems absolutely fine.

I'm just not sure I'm being overly anxious.

I'd go to the vet but after some issues with our last pigs I don't particularly trust going there and feel like it might be wasting time.

I've put her in a little pen to see if she is peeing herself but in the 3 hours or so she's been in there I'm not seeing any signs of it. Poops are normal though and plenty of them.

She certainly isn't showing any signs of pain and she hasn't made that whiney noise again. It did sound very mich like one of those 'I'm pissed off at you now' noises they make to each other.

Oh she's also very clean in the nether regions so no signs of issues there. And no blood signs either.

Would appreciate any thoughts.
Thanks

 

[Piggies&buns]

I think all we can say is to keep an eye on her - check for wet patches, keep an eye on her hay intake with daily weight checks and see a vet if you are concerned.

Are there any other vets nearby that you can go to?

 

[Pigmeister]

Thanks for the reply

There are other vets, whether or not they're pig savvy is another thing though.

I'll keep monitoring. She looks her happy, curious usual self so hopefully I'm worrying about nothing.

Looking around it seems we've been feeding the pigs too many pellets. They'd get a small bowl between them every day. IT's not a massive amount but more than the recommend tablespoon per pig.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, looking for some advice please.

Our 1 year old sow doesn't seem to be peeing very much.

We've been keeping an eye on her since Saturdya night when she made a small whiing noise, just a couple of seconds, while sitting in the hay. But her and her cage mate had just had one of those 'get of the nuggets, it's my turn' set tos so we weren't sure if it was from that or if she was peeing and it was a little painful for her.

She is absolutely fine apart form that. No weight change, no appetite change, been drinking some water in the evenings although she's never been much of a drinker but she gets lettuce, cucumber and celery or some combination of those every day. And clean drinking water obviously.

We let them out of their pen a couple of times a day and shye's running around as normal, popcoring and a little zoomies too.

So she seems absolutely fine.

I'm just not sure I'm being overly anxious.

I'd go to the vet but after some issues with our last pigs I don't particularly trust going there and feel like it might be wasting time.

I've put her in a little pen to see if she is peeing herself but in the 3 hours or so she's been in there I'm not seeing any signs of it. Poops are normal though and plenty of them.

She certainly isn't showing any signs of pain and she hasn't made that whiney noise again. It did sound very mich like one of those 'I'm pissed off at you now' noises they make to each other.

Oh she's also very clean in the nether regions so no signs of issues there. And no blood signs either.

Would appreciate any thoughts.
Thanks

Hi

At this stage all you can do is keep a general eye out for the development of possible urinary tract infection symptoms which can develop gradually over the course of a week but please try not to hover. The more you hover, the less seems to happen. It can become a vicious circle for people with anxiety. In fact, urinary tract infections are characterised by lots but small painful pees.

Please be aware that the water intake of guinea pigs can individually vary widely from not drinking at all (they get enough fluid from the veg you feed) to drinking a bottle a day. What is important to know that all these guinea pigs are healthy in themselves. Not drinking a lot and having less but more concentrated pees is NOT concerning in itself and will not lead to kidney problems in the long term.
If there was a blockage and a backing up of urine, you would know immediately; the pain is truly intense and would lead to a decline in a matter of hours. As long as your piggy is active and behaving normally, you need not worry. The water works are working fine.

Here is more helpful information on drinking and what to look out for: All About Drinking And Bottles

 

[Pigmeister]

Great thank you, have been reading that this morning so knew it was normal for her to not drink too much, so you'd think then she wouldn't pee much either.

There's a vet near us that has some kind of rabbit certification- I know they're obviously not the same species - but would that be a better bet than other random vets maybe?

 

[Wiebke]

Great thank you, have been reading that this morning so knew it was normal for her to not drink too much, so you'd think then she wouldn't pee much either.

There's a vet near us that has some kind of rabbit certification- I know they're obviously not the same species - but would that be a better bet than other random vets maybe?

You can always ring the clinic and ask whether the vet will also see guinea pigs and is familiar with their quirks. It won't hurt having a decent vet within your reach.

Unlike rabbits, guinea pigs are classed as exotics since rabbits are classed as a commercial meat animal while small rodents are just pets. Rabbits are not rodents but lagomorphs so they differ quite considerably in some areas. Their gut for instance resembles more that of a horse.

 

[Pigmeister]

Hi, thanks for the previous input on this.

We've been keeping an eye on her and she's been fine apart from the odd squeal which again was hard to tell if ti was pain or whinining at cage mate as there were no signs of straining or pain. So maybe 2 or 3 times over the 23 weeks.

However tonight I've seen her do this whine a few times with visible straining, just for a couple of seconds and then she's fine and straight back to chomping hay. Her behaviour/activity is same as always, appetite same and she's lost no weight. No visible sign of blood in urine, she is peeing and pooping although there may be some more paste like calcium deposits although doesn't seem to be gritty, and not very much of this.

So we'll be defintiely taking her to the vet but is there anything we should be or could be doing while we wait to see the vet? We're following the recommended diet from here, filtered water. We let her out and run about for maybe 10-15 mins twice a day.

She's currently curled up snoozing in teh hay so looks comfortable generally.

Thanks

 

[Pigmeister]

To add, not sure if she's straining while peeing or pooping. It's still only happening in frequently but I've visibly seen her strain now she there's a definite issue.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, thanks for the previous input on this.

We've been keeping an eye on her and she's been fine apart from the odd squeal which again was hard to tell if ti was pain or whinining at cage mate as there were no signs of straining or pain. So maybe 2 or 3 times over the 23 weeks.

However tonight I've seen her do this whine a few times with visible straining, just for a couple of seconds and then she's fine and straight back to chomping hay. Her behaviour/activity is same as always, appetite same and she's lost no weight. No visible sign of blood in urine, she is peeing and pooping although there may be some more paste like calcium deposits although doesn't seem to be gritty, and not very much of this.

So we'll be defintiely taking her to the vet but is there anything we should be or could be doing while we wait to see the vet? We're following the recommended diet from here, filtered water. We let her out and run about for maybe 10-15 mins twice a day.

She's currently curled up snoozing in teh hay so looks comfortable generally.

Thanks

Hi

Please book an appointment with your vet during regular opening hours for the coming days.

If it is an urinary tract infection or cystitis of some sort, symptoms usually take around 5-7 days to become consistent. They can be initially very off and on. It will be easier for the vet to diagnose more correctly if symptoms are somewhat more regular.

 

[Pigmeister]

Thank you, have seen vet this morning who didn't think it was anything to worry about for now but possible bit of inflammation around the bladder. Metacam for 5 days and then further monitoring.

Both pigs did very well on their first vet visit.

 

[Pigmeister]

Hi, so we're on to day 8 I think of metacam and still seeing her whining while toileting- but here's the thing it seems to only be in the evening. Maybe it's just a coincidence that's when we catch it but we spend a couple of hours around the pigs in the morning usually as well and I'm in and out during the day and both fo us think we're only hearing it at night.

What usually happens is they go through their routine of around 7 to 8 oclock they have osme hay, some nuggets and a bit of water. Then Eggs will usually be in the hay and do the whining maybe once or twice during tha period.

We also found gritty sludge this morning as well.

The vet was proposing to try another painkiller and do a urine sample.

Should we be specifically asking her to check for sludge and if so is that an ultra sound or x-ray?

I'm going to swap their nuggets today for the grain free science selective ones and have been using filtered water and trying to follow the reocmmended diet on the forum. Her eating, weight and behaviour in general is all normal still.

 

[VickiA]

Was her urine tested for infection and/or blood last time? If those were checked and not present but you’re still hearing whining while seeing I think I’d be asking for a urine test and possibly a bladder scan to check what’s going on.

 

[Pigmeister]

No didn't check urine last time. Vet did palpating(?) and said no pee came out or else she would have but didn't want to overly prod and poke her. But in following up has suggested we test urine. Vet also mentioned an x-ray but think exploring other options first. She also mentioned adding tramadol to the metacam.

 

[Pigmeister]

Vet now thinks she has sludge and has advised dietary changes plus trying to get her to drink more and move around more.
What can we do to get her to move around more? We let them run around our living room twice a day for maybe 10 mins. Their pen is in the living room so we just open it and they run out and have a good nosey around.

Anything else we can do to encourage movement?

 

[Wiebke]

Vet now thinks she has sludge and has advised dietary changes plus trying to get her to drink more and move around more.
What can we do to get her to move around more? We let them run around our living room twice a day for maybe 10 mins. Their pen is in the living room so we just open it and they run out and have a good nosey around.

Anything else we can do to encourage movement?

Hi

Let them roam for longer and entice them to come to you across the room several times during that time to take their fresh veg from your hand. Offer it from different points to keep them moving.

Up the proportion of watery veg you are feeding (lettuce which can be fed with stone/sludge piggies), cucumber and if possible fresh grass which you need to introduce slowly, but which is the best thing you can feed at this time of year. Fresh dandelion is also great when fed together with watery veg as it is mildly diuretic and encourages peeing. Please read the advice re. grass in the link below if you are introducing it in order to avoid bloating, diarrhea or dog pee poisoning.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time

Unfortunately, only an x-ray can tell. A bladder that is packed solidly with sludge needs an operation as the sludge won't come out and careful flushing may also not be enough to loosen the sludge. Too strong flushing can unfortunately back the urine up into the kidneys with fatal consequences.

 

[Pigmeister]

Thank you for that.
Our regular lettuce is Romaine, I think I saw a thread or something somewhere saying that was high calcium- should we use other lettuce?
In the last couple of months we changed our hay to meadow hay- do we need to think about this?

In terms of flushing etc we're at a monitoring stage now hoping the diet changes etc can help. What do we need to look out for as signs it's getting worse or that we need to think about flushing?

Given we're seeing the sludge left on bedding is that a good sign it's at least not packed solidly as you mention?