Emergency 7 month old guinea pig - pain and weight loss

[Lazw]

Hi all,

So my lovely young piggy Holly is producing this bright yellow and orange pee this morning. I saw some orange and very dark brown stains in their hutch this morning so I put them in an enclosure on just puppy pads to see who it was, and it's Holly. . The pee is coming out this colour, this is not after it's oxidised at which point it can look almost black in colour on the walls in their hutch. I've tested the urine just now and it's negative for blood, and everything else for that matter but bilirubin is present. Just for context, she had a bilateral ovariectomy 2 weeks ago (elective preventative surgery) and has healed wonderfully from this, and was on metacam, cotrimox and cisapride for either 3 or 5 days post surgery. No issues. Her poops have been a little off since then, took her to the vet and they said it was probably just stress and as a result of the antibiotics. 2 days without veg resolved this but this morning again some of her poops are very small, but there are also normal ones in there. She seems herself, I've weighed her and she's actually put on weight since last week's weigh in (762g) which I think is adequate for a 6 month old? I'm just wondering if this odd coloured orange and yellow pee is a concern. She's not in pain when she passes it, and in honesty I got her at 5 weeks old and her pee has always been an interesting colour, but not this vivid. If anyone has any idea what might be going on with my little girl I would be really grateful for any suggestions. She's had some critical care with probiotics this morning too because of the poop issue.

 

[Lazw]

This is the colour it goes after 5 mins

 

[Siikibam]

Urine does turn a brown/rusty colour when oxidised. I think blood in urine is more distinct than the pictures above. If you’re worried there’s no harm in taking her to the vet though. Small poops can also mean she hasn’t been eating as much. Remember poo output is 1-2 days behind so this could be from a couple of days ago. How is her weight? Perhaps switch to once daily at the same time (preferably morning before feeding) and see how she is.

 

[Black piggies]

Could they be a little dehydrated? Are they managing their water bottles? One of mine at that age I discovered could only manage fairly small water bottles. You could wash their veg in water, to see if it lightens the wee.
Gorgeous avatar photo BTW! 3 happy faces

 

[Lazw]

Thanks so much for your response. So I ended up taking her to the vets in the end as I was worried about her shivering and they think this could be a stress reaction to the surgery and the recent hot weather... I hope that's it but I'm not sure. She's got cisapride, emeprid, and metacam for 5 days and a follow up on Thursday. The pee is still bright orange and a bit scary, she's quieter than normal and the vet weighed her again. She has lost weight so I'm starting with the critical care shortly. She's only a baby really, I hope she turns around soon. She's the cali with the black nose smut in my Avatar x

 

[Lazw]

Urine does turn a brown/rusty colour when oxidised. I think blood in urine is more distinct than the pictures above. If you’re worried there’s no harm in taking her to the vet though. Small poops can also mean she hasn’t been eating as much. Remember poo output is 1-2 days behind so this could be from a couple of days ago. How is her weight? Perhaps switch to once daily at the same time (preferably morning before feeding) and see how she is.

Thanks so much for this, I did take her to the vet in the end as this wee is very scary in colour. It's all over the hutch too and definitely only coming from her and not her buddy. Her stomach is quite hard as though she's tensing it, vet doesn't thunk its bloat just yet but she's on cisapride, emeprid and metacam for 5 days now. Starting with critical care shortly, she's lost 60g in around 10 days x

 

[Black piggies]

Good luck with her treatment! She's lucky you've been on top of her care needs. Hope she picks up soon.

 

[Lazw]

Good luck with her treatment! She's lucky you've been on top of her care needs. Hope she picks up soon.

Thanks I really hope she turns around. Such a strange one. She's sat all puffed up like a little porcupine squealing for veg right now. She's going to hate me when I present her with critical care instead. X

 

[Black piggies]

Aw it's hard work upsetting them, to give them meds and feeds But all worth it when they get better and love you again!

 

[Lazw]

OK so I've been to check in Holly again and she's not pooped much at all since returning from the vets. The poops that are in there are tiny, and a few are like strings of sausages with mucus and very hard. I'm syringe feeding her critical care, probiotics, water to make sure she drinks enough, and she's also on emeprid and cisapride plus the painkiller. Is there anything else I could or should be doing for her at this point? She's still all puffy bless her, I wish I knew what was going on.

 

[Siikibam]

Puffiness could be from pain. How often are you giving her the metacam? Remember small poops are due to not eating enough 1-2 days ago. You need to weigh her daily at the same time now until she’s better. If she’s losing weight daily then you have to increase how much you’re syringe feeding her.

 

[Lazw]

Puffiness could be from pain. How often are you giving her the metacam? Remember small poops are due to not eating enough 1-2 days ago. You need to weigh her daily at the same time now until she’s better. If she’s losing weight daily then you have to increase how much you’re syringe feeding her.

Thanks for your reply. She last had metacam at 4pm so I'm not planning on giving her any more til 6am ish now along with another dose of the two gut stimulants. I've just got 8ml or so of critical care into her and she is responsive and putting up a fight to this, however I've checked the hutch for her poops and there are none-I cleaned them out 4 hours ago so this is really concerning me. In between sitting hunched up she looks herself. I'm planning on getting another critical care feed in around 11pm then again at 6am and fingers crossed she's started to poop again by then. Her stomach doesn't feel as tight now and she doesn't appear to be in pain when I touch it or prod gently. I wish I knew what was going on for her. Could this have anything to do with her ovariectomy 2 weeks ago? She appears to be healing well from this and the vet today didn't say anything about her incisions. I'm worried about her

 

[Siikibam]

I can’t say I’m afraid. Was the metacam prescribed once or twice daily? If once, perhaps speak to your veg about switching to twice daily. They have a fast metabolism and so one dose will only cover them for 12 hours. How often are you syringe feeding her during the day? I would try for every two hours and get 5ml into her. I hope she starts producing some poos and feels better soon. You’re doing great

 

[Lazw]

I can’t say I’m afraid. Was the metacam prescribed once or twice daily? If once, perhaps speak to your veg about switching to twice daily. They have a fast metabolism and so one dose will only cover them for 12 hours. How often are you syringe feeding her during the day? I would try for every two hours and get 5ml into her. I hope she starts producing some poos and feels better soon. You’re doing great

Thanks for this @silkibam, I always go worst case scenario having lost a piggy in awful and sudden circumstances a while back. I'm syringe feeding approx every 3 hours and I've given her loads of Timothy hay in the hutch but she doesn't appear to have touched it. Yes she's on metacam, cisapride and emeprid all twice a day. So she should hopefully be covered until the morning now. I've got one syringe of critical care ready to give her at 12 ish then I am going to leave her alone until the morning as she's very easily stressed and has had a horrible day. She's had about 15-20ml of critical care since we started with it at 5pm ish and I'm going to try for one more syringe soon. Should I try her on her fave veggies or is that a bad idea? I don't want to make things worse for her but I don't know if any food at this point is better than none.

 

[weepweeps]

Sounds like you are doing all you can for your piggy. Hopefully she perks up soon. It’s very stressful when they are poorly.

 

[Lazw]

Sounds like you are doing all you can for your piggy. Hopefully she perks up soon. It’s very stressful when they are poorly.

Thanks, I really don't know what else I can do. I've just syringe fed her the cc formula but we only managed 5 ml this morning so far. She has pooped overnight but they're really thin and long, definitely not normal. She acts normal at times but then goes back to being hunched up and fur stuck on end. Her pee is now bright orange, as in orange peel orange. It's this colour when it comes out of her . Anyone know if this is her liver?

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m afraid only a vet could say what the cause is.

it’s good you are seeing some poops. Due to the delay between food intake and poop output, you won’t see normal poops for a day or so after she is definitely eating enough and has normal gut function.
Dont give her veg if she is bloated - doing so could make things worse. Don’t reintroduce veg until a few days after bloat has gone.

All you can do is continue to syringe feed her as much as is necessary in a 24 hour period to keep her daily weight checks stable, and continue to stay in touch with the vet

 

[Lazw]

So just an update, Holly was admitted to the veterinary hospital this morning . Her pee is still a vivid bright orange and she was hunched up again this morning and the vet said she is obviously in a lot of pain. They want to stabilise her as she's dehydrated and isn't eating then they'll run some tests thisafternoon providing she's well enough for the GA. I've no idea what's going on with her but I'm now thinking the gut issues are secondary to her not eating because of pain. If anyone has any words of advice or things I should be asking for then please share, I don't know what to do.

 

[Lazw]

She had an elective ovariectomy almost 3 weeks ago which has healed well, I hope the two aren't linked.

 

[eileen]

I'm sorry your lady is unwell.its good she is at the vets.the ovarectomy is a big operation.ive no sure reason for why she is poorly.sometimes adhesions can develop from surgery,but is not common.i hope your piggie gets well soon.xx

 

[Lazw]

I'm sorry your lady is unwell.its good she is at the vets.the ovarectomy is a big operation.ive no sure reason for why she is poorly.sometimes adhesions can develop from surgery,but is not common.i hope your piggie gets well soon.xx

Thanks for your response I really appreciate it . If it was an adhesion is there any chance this could cause the orangey wee? Whatever is causing this is definitely linked to her feeling off as it started at the same time. I'm just waiting for an update from the vets thisafternoon now but she is in overnight until the morning at least. Xx

 

[eileen]

I'm not sure what can cause orange wee,sometimes medication or food can cause orange wee.i would wait until your vet is able to reach a diagnosis .

 

[Black piggies]

I can't answer any of that but you're doing the right thing having her at the vet hospital and fingers crossed she'll be OK xx

 

[Lazw]

Thanks both for your responses. I have to admit I was relieved when the vet said she needed to be admitted for IV fluids and further tests as I wouldn't have felt happy bringing her home not knowing how to help her. Still not heard anything from the vets so I'm in a call queue trying to get through now.

 

[Lazw]

Thanks both for your responses. I have to admit I was relieved when the vet said she needed to be admitted for IV fluids and further tests as I wouldn't have felt happy bringing her home not knowing how to help her. Still not heard anything from the vets so I'm in a call queue trying to get through now.

So I've just called the vets, she's doing OK that's all they could tell me. They've drawn bloods and they're being sent off this evening. They've switched her pain meds from Metacam to buprenorphine because she's in a lot of pain and this seems to be the main issue but they're not sure what's causing it. She's taken some critical care and they've given her fluids. The vet on night duty will call me later on, and I'm going to take her some of her fleecy bedding up as I hate to think of her and her buddy in a stark cage overnight

 

[Black piggies]

Aw what a worry for you. Sounds as though she's getting good treatment with them focusing on helping the pain and she'll be pleased to get home comforts brought to her. Hope you get some good news about her. Are you in the UK?

 

[Lazw]

Aw what a worry for you. Sounds as though she's getting good treatment with them focusing on helping the pain and she'll be pleased to get home comforts brought to her. Hope you get some good news about her. Are you in the UK?

Yes we're in Leeds, I'm just waiting for the vet to call me with some sort of update. They were supposed to be doing xrays too so I'm hoping they can share some information of some sort with me. I've still got no idea what's causing all of this and I'm not sure how long it will take to get blood results.

 

[eileen]

i hope the vet can get to the bottom of this.good to hear she is getting stronger pain relief.such a worry for you.your piggies will love having some home comforts.I'm thinking of you at this difficult time,but I'm sure that the vet will be able to sort it out.it sounds like your vet is very competent.

 

[Black piggies]

Good luck. Vet does sound great.

 

[weepweeps]

I hope you get some news soon. It’s awful waiting for news. Sending healing vibes.