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Advice needed for treatment after surgery.

Sappyshelly

Sappyshelly

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Hello everyone it's been a very long time. Hope you are having a good start to the new year.

Sadly, Leo has developed a stone. A little background here: Beginning of December we took him in thinking it was a UTI. Vet agreed ad gave us meds. Two weeks later he was still crying and peeing and the vet gave us stronger medication. A week and a half later, Leo is still wheeking and peeing. Took an x ray and it turns out he has a huge bladder stone. :(

His surgery is scheduled for Thursday and I'm terrified. Terrified of the fact it's possible he just won't wake up after being put under. Vet said she thinks he will wake up after the surgery since he's not old (turns 3 next month), and has been eating and drinking and acting like his normal perky self when he's not peeing.

I'm also terrified of the fact he can still develop another stone if he survives this one. That's how I lost my dear Farley a little over two years ago. Just one month after surgery he developed another stone in his urethra and hd to be put down :(. This surgery is costing $1800 I cannot afford this happening again, as I can barely afford such a surgery now. For now i'm focusing on keeping him comfy until his surgery. He's on pain meds and is getting plenty of love, attention, and chin rubs.

What can I do to prevent a stone reforming. I already feed a decently low calcium diet (Leo is not happy that he only get's Parsley like once every two months, as its his favorite). I'm so surprised this happened. Any advice will be welcomed. Definitely not a good start to the year but I'll do my best to stay strong for Leo and Manson. Also, any general small pointers on caring for pigs after surgery will be welcomed. It's been a while since I've done this and I wanna make sure I do it right.

Thank you for taking time to read.
 
I’m sorry to hear he is having problems.
There are some things you can do to go towards preventing stones, but it’s never a guarantee. Pellets and unfiltered drinking water contain more calcium than even the highest calcium veg so do you keep his pellets limited and water filtered? That will go a long way. Stopping pellets altogether could be an option if he is going to be a piggy who has problems with his bladder. Also ensuring the diet is wet (lots of veg) to keep the bladder flushed through can help.
Tips For Post-operative Care
 
I agree he needs lots of veg in his diet and would recommend cutting out pellets altogether. There is no guarantee but this approach has worked for me in the past. I once had a boar who had a bladder stone removed at age 2, I never fed him pellets again and there was no re-occurance and he lived to 7
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry to hear he is having problems.
There are some things you can do to go towards preventing stones, but it’s never a guarantee. Pellets and unfiltered drinking water contain more calcium than even the highest calcium veg so do you keep his pellets limited and water filtered? That will go a long way. Stopping pellets altogether could be an option if he is going to be a piggy who has problems with his bladder. Also ensuring the diet is wet (lots of veg) to keep the bladder flushed through can help.
Tips For Post-operative Care
Click to expand...
I was thinking about giving smaller portions of pellets in the morning. Currently they get 1/8 cup for pig but maybe I change it to 1/16. They get filtered water from the fridge but I can start using the britta if that would make a difference. Thank you!
 
Pound Shilling & Pig said:
I agree he needs lots of veg in his diet and would recommend cutting out pellets altogether. There is no guarantee but this approach has worked for me in the past. I once had a boar who had a bladder stone removed at age 2, I never fed him pellets again and there was no re-occurance and he lived to 7
Click to expand...
Do you replace anything for the pellets or would you continue with their normal diet just minus the pellets?
 
Sappyshelly said:
I was thinking about giving smaller portions of pellets in the morning. Currently they get 1/8 cup for pig but maybe I change it to 1/16. They get filtered water from the fridge but I can start using the britta if that would make a difference. Thank you!
Click to expand...

If google has converted correctly, then 1/8 of a cup is two tablespoons, which is double the amount they should have. One Tablespoon is the recommended amount. Definitely reduce it to 1/16 or less.

Or, just remove pellets entirely and just give plenty of hay, grass and veg
 
Sappyshelly said:
Do you replace anything for the pellets or would you continue with their normal diet just minus the pellets?
Click to expand...
I don't replace the pellets with anything as such but I do feed more veg than the 50g often recommended on here and make sure there is unlimited hay at all times. When I can I also feed fresh grass, as grazing animals it is what they have evolved to eat and the best thing for them.
 
So sorry to hear this bad new, sending you hugs. I hope the surgery goes well for Leo and he makes a full recovery x
 
I am so sorry to hear this. I lost Bracken to a second stone after a successful surgery. Last January Rusty had a stone removal operation and he recovered well and is still with us. I must admit I almost didn't have the surgery done after my experience with Bracken but I'm now glad I did.
 
Piggies&buns said:
If google has converted correctly, then 1/8 of a cup is two tablespoons, which is double the amount they should have. One Tablespoon is the recommended amount. Definitely reduce it to 1/16 or less.

Or, just remove pellets entirely and just give plenty of hay, grass and veg
Click to expand...
Oh my I didn’t even realize I’ve been giving so much. Thank you!
 
Pound Shilling & Pig said:
I don't replace the pellets with anything as such but I do feed more veg than the 50g often recommended on here and make sure there is unlimited hay at all times. When I can I also feed fresh grass, as grazing animals it is what they have evolved to eat and the best thing for them.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I give grass in the warmer months but sadly the winter made all the grass gross/ dry.
 
Hey everyone. Leo’s surgery has been pushed to tomorrow. They told me an emergency came in, but Leo is eating still and they’ll call after his surgery tomorrow.
Oh my I hoped it to be over with by now .
 
Aw, so glad he’s had his op and wishing Leo a sound recovery x
 
Sappyshelly said:
Little Leo update
He’s doing great so far! Stitches look good, and I’ve been able to get him to gain a bit of weight. His appetite is excellent, and he loves critical care. He just hates his medicine.
Click to expand...
Aw, so pleased Leo is doing so well, never mind Leo that nasty medicine won’t be around too long x
 
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