Bladder Crystals

[Willow-Malone]

Hello . my piggy has had bladder crystals for around 2 years and has been having cartrophen injections to help the pain. i have no idea how to help get rid of them as i keep going for injections once a month just for pain. can anyone help

 

[Merab]

Sorry I can’t help but wanted to welcome you to the forum and offer support.
It’s worrying when you feel helpless with a poorly piggy.

One of the health experts will be along and will offer more help than I can

 

[rudent]

Hiya. How many pellets do you feed your guinea pig daily? Does your pig drink and urinate frequently? Has your vet sent a sample of the crystals off to determine what they consist of? Most guinea pig bladder crystals are primarily calcium carbonate and can be prevented partially by adjusting diet and water. You might want to look into filtering your pig's water to remove calcium from it. Also, make sure you're only feeding them 1 tablespoon of pellets per pig per day -- pellets are pretty high in calcium and the absolute majority of a pig's diet should be timothy hay. Timothy specifically, as it's lowest in calcium. Are you feeding any fresh veggies to your pig regularly? Sorry for all the questions but the more info, the better. :^)

 

[Wiebke]

Hello . my piggy has had bladder crystals for around 2 years and has been having cartrophen injections to help the pain. i have no idea how to help get rid of them as i keep going for injections once a month just for pain. can anyone help

Hi and welcome

Which country are you in? We have members and enquiries from all over world.

Has your vet ever considered a very, very gentle bladder flush? Or is the bladder so packed with sludge that an operation would be needed?

Please consider some crucial diet adjustments like filtering water and reducing the amount of pellets you are feeding to 1 tablespoon or less; most calcium in the diet comes from these two food groups. This is something not many people are aware of. Even low calcium pellets have more calcium that the highest calcium veg, kale. These two measures are the the most important as our long term members have found; many of us haven't had any major bladder issues with our piggies since we have taken those measures some years back.

Make sure that you feed a mix of a little calcium and nutrient rich veg like fresh herbs or a little greens or a pinch of kale in combination with some low nutrient high fluid veg like cucumber, celery or lettuce to encourage plenty of urination and minimising the build up of further crystals and sludge. You do not want to remove all calcium as that is as detrimental to long term health as too much.

You can find more details in our diet guide; it contains a chapter with diet recommendations for guinea pigs with urinary tract issues: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Diet changes are not a quick fix; it usually takes several weeks for them to come through but they are crucial fot the longer term. Calcium absorption is a complex process and there can be other factors in play but diet is the one angle that you can control.