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Bladder problems continued

Raymond92

Raymond92

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 1, 2021
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Location
Horsham
Hi all, just posting as my 3 year old boar Raymond has ongoing bladder problems. He had a bladder flush in Jan and his little bladder filled back up with Calcium by November. The X-Ray showed that his bladder had swelled so much with huge amounts of calcium. So we decided to go ahead and do another bladder flush in the hope that this would be the final push he needed. During the flush the calcium was so ‘stuck’ to the wall of his bladder that it took the vets an hour to clear him. When we re-looked at the x-rays it was completely clear. He was symptom and pain free for several days until we heard a dreaded cry from him when trying to wee or poo. This has slowly got worse and worse over the three weeks that he first started showing signs of pain. He will go some days where the pain appears manageable e.g a very quick cry when relieving himself to a terrible bout of pain where he can’t stop crying every few minutes.
When he is over this bout of pain it’s so quickly forgotten. He plays with his friend, runs, eats and you wouldn’t know there is anything wrong with him.
I firstly wanted to ask. Does anyone have any Guinea pigs that’s struggle with bladder pain? If so, what is deemed manageable pain, and what isn’t? We are considering putting the poor boy to sleep but when he has his ‘normal moments’ which do happen often it completely makes me think putting him to sleep is the wrong answer but I can’t bear to see him in pain.
Also who else uses potassium citrate and what dose? I got a bottle of PC from the vet after reading about peoples success of it but he’s only on 0.25ml twice a day which I dilute with water. And has it proven success?
For information Raymond is on an almost no calcium diet, we filter his water and try and encourage him to drink.
Please try to be kind in your answers. I really am trying to listen to him and understand what’s best for him but I’m just finding this so difficult.
 
I’m sorry to hear this.

Could you please give more detail on his diet.
Do note that a diet too low in calcium will cause just as many issues as a diet too high in calcium. The balance is still wrong, it’s just in the other direction. When the balance is too low it results in the calcium pees, white spots, sludge etc still forming.
 
Thanks for coming back to me so quickly.
We’ve been told to avoid all dark leafy greens - no kale, spinach etc
He has mostly hay, limited amount of pellets and we give him a variety of pepper, tomato, cucumber and lettuce each day (but not too much)
I didn’t realise low calcium was a problem!
 
Most calcium comes into the diet via pellets and water, not through veg.
(It’s oxalates which are an issue which is why you have been told to avoid those veg).

Actually, if you limit pellets then you have a bit greater flexibility in terms of giving those higher calcium veg.

To keep the bladder flushing through you need plenty of fluid intake, that can be from plenty of veg or from drinking water.
A diet which is too dry can be counter productive.

I give a lot of veg - quite a bit more than the recommended one cup per day - mostly herbs and lettuce (they also get cucumber and bell pepper every day). They get a lot of fresh grass and fresh forage. Obviously they have unlimited hay.
However, I only give pellets 2-3 times a week and even then it is less than the one tablespoon. Because of that I do give higher calcium veg at times, and also a strip of spring greens probably once a week for variety - I don’t worry when I do because they aren’t getting pellets.
So they have a very wet diet, are very well hydrated and we do not have bladder issues. I can’t help but think that it helps that they have a lot of fluid and veg/grass intake in their diet.

Of course there can be a genetic element to how their bodies process calcium and yes a diet too low can be as bad as one too high.
 
Thanks for the information - that’s really helpful. I’ll keep up with the water intake and give him lots of wet veggies and see how it goes. I do think it might be a genetic issue as we were very careful with making sure he had a wet diet after the first bladder flush and it still filled up with Calcium again ☹️
Thank you x
 
I've a piggie that currently has bladder sludge.
I was advised to give .
15mls of filtered water,syringe fed slowly in the morning and evening.
Cystease 1 to 2 capsules daily
Potassium citrate 0.3mls twice aday
Wet veg.
She was given septrin for 10 days for an infection.
We are 6 weeks into this regime,sludge has gone.is peeing normally.
We did give dog loxicom 1ml daily for 5 weeks.
Gabepentin 1mgs 3 times aday,this really helped.
Now she is on 0.5mls of dog loxicom twice w aday.
She has got bumblefoot on her back feet,where she did not move much.

The 15mls of water syringe fed twice aday , will continue for life.
Along with cystease 1 capsule aday
Potassium citrate 0.3mls twice daily.
Dakotas pain and urine is under control now.
Good luck with your boy.maybe gabepentin will be good to try?.
 
wow I’m so glad that’s proved successful for your piggie! That’s amazing news.
He’s got cystease which I stopped for a bit when he was taking too many other meds so I will go back to that. He’s already got PC which is good and he’s already on gabapentin and Metacam so it sounds like I need to try the syringe feeding of water.
The cystease we’ve only been told to do half a capsule but could be because it’s cat med instead of for guinea pigs and he’s on 0.25ml of PC.
Thank you so much. This is so promising x
 
With cystease dosage, it’s not because it’s a cat med, it’s about finding the right maintenance dosage for your piggy - for some half a capsule is ok but for others one capsule a day is needed. It can be increased a bit further during times of issue and then back down to the maintenance dose).
 
Piggies&buns said:
With cystease dosage, it’s not because it’s a cat med, it’s about finding the right maintenance dosage for your piggy - for some half a capsule is ok but for others one capsule a day is needed. It can be increased a bit further during times of issue and then back down to the maintenance dose).
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Ahh I see! Thank you for clarifying 😊
 
Hi everyone, I just wanted to post to let you know we sadly had to put Raymond to sleep today.
His bladder was completely full of calcium when we took him to the vets and they were so shocked that it had filled up so quickly after flushing it clear 3 weeks ago.
we’re absolutely devastated that we couldn’t fix him but our boy was in pain and it was cruel to keep him going any longer.
Believe me, we tried everything (you can see from previous threads going back 2 years) but we couldn’t keep him going any longer.
He was the most beautiful boy and will be forever in our hearts
 
Raymond92 said:
Hi everyone, I just wanted to post to let you know we sadly had to put Raymond to sleep today.
His bladder was completely full of calcium when we took him to the vets and they were so shocked that it had filled up so quickly after flushing it clear 3 weeks ago.
we’re absolutely devastated that we couldn’t fix him but our boy was in pain and it was cruel to keep him going any longer.
Believe me, we tried everything (you can see from previous threads going back 2 years) but we couldn’t keep him going any longer.
He was the most beautiful boy and will be forever in our hearts
Click to expand...
I am so very sorry for your loss. I lost my beautiful Holly last year in very similar circumstances. You did all that you could for him and then you loved him enough to let him go peacefully. Huge hugs. Sleep tight lovely Raymond 🌈
 
VickiA said:
I am so very sorry for your loss. I lost my beautiful Holly last year in very similar circumstances. You did all that you could for him and then you loved him enough to let him go peacefully. Huge hugs. Sleep tight lovely Raymond 🌈
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thank you so much Vicki, your words mean so much and I’m so sorry to hear about your Holly x
 
I am so sorry you had to let Raymond go, sending big hugs. he will have known just how much you loved him x

Popcorn high little man 🌈
 
Hi

I am so very sorry for your loss. When the complex calcium absorption process derails there is unfortunately extremely little you can do since there is no medication and dietary changes have little to no effect at all. :(

I have been dealing with a slightly milder case of it with my Cariad but I had to let her go when she became too frail for a bladder flush every week with an emergency spay for a womb gone majorly wrong thrown in as an added complication some months in. :(

You have done your best for Raymond and have not failed him. That is all we can ever do. We can give our piggies the happy todays they measure a good life by and can cut short any suffering at the sharp end. What we can never choose is when, what from and under which circumstances the end comes. You haven't failed Raymond in any way.

Be kind with yourself as you go through the grieving process. It is OK to not be OK for a while but please seek support if your pain/mental distress is so great that you struggle to function. We have to grieve as much as we love; they are the two sides of the same coin - but the darkness is what is making the light of our love shine so much stronger. A rather traumatic end can result in a stronger initial stage grieving.
Human Bereavement: Grieving, Processing and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children
 
@Wiebke it was just so frustrating that it filled up so quickly. I just can’t believe he only had a few days before the sediment filled back up again ☹️
I’m so so sorry to hear about Cariad. These little creatures just steal our hearts 💔 I hope you are ok. It sounds like you did everything you could.
Thank you so much for your kind words. It really does mean a lot to me. He had alot of happy days which I will look back on and treasure.
And thank you for your advice on grieving. The first few days I couldn’t stop crying but I’m processing it all now and I know deep down this was the only thing we could have done.
Thank you for working so hard on this forum. It’s thanks to you that people like me have a community to turn to, all supporting one another x
 
Raymond92 said:
@Wiebke it was just so frustrating that it filled up so quickly. I just can’t believe he only had a few days before the sediment filled back up again ☹️
I’m so so sorry to hear about Cariad. These little creatures just steal our hearts 💔 I hope you are ok. It sounds like you did everything you could.
Thank you so much for your kind words. It really does mean a lot to me. He had alot of happy days which I will look back on and treasure.
And thank you for your advice on grieving. The first few days I couldn’t stop crying but I’m processing it all now and I know deep down this was the only thing we could have done.
Thank you for working so hard on this forum. It’s thanks to you that people like me have a community to turn to, all supporting one another x
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When the calcium absorption process totally derails, the very speed of it can be frightening and leave you feeling so very helpless since there are no medications and care measures that can keep pace or even come close to it - and there is comparatively little we can do in the first place. Runaway illnesses are unfortunately part of ownership of small pets with a much faster metabolism. :(

Thank you for your appreciation! You cannot hurry on the grieving process. It has to run its due course. But it is not all just sad and bad; we grow and mature as a person through these experiences and become ultimately stronger and more sensitive for the plight of others through overcoming the challenges that life throws at us.
Roots grow in the dark. The experience of deep love and learning to live with a loss allows you to grow your own roots deeper and to widen the base of your self on which you stand. That is the ultimate gift that our short-lived pets give us and why they never leave us truly because they become an integral part of who we are when we emergence again from the dark.

Cariad 'Darling' passed away in July 2014; I adopted her and Ceri 'Love' in November 2009. They were some of my first Tribe piggies. My current Carys 'Love' is named in memory of her. If you are interested, you can find out a bit more about her in the link in my signature: Wiebke's Tribe Photo Gallery


It has been hard work in the early years to make our shared dream of a friendly community come true to and to make it strong and secure enough to survive without sliding in all sorts of directions or being taken over by people with their own agenda when @sport_billy and I took over as the new mod team with @BossHogg riding the guns. We'd all been members before.
These days we are blessed that our community is actually more carrying us in many ways and that it is strong enough to so, even in the face of the massive rise of social media. I may be the most visible face but it takes everybody posting on here to keep it going. And we have a much bigger team to look after the forum.
 
It’s totally frightening - I just can’t believe how quickly he went downhill.
That’s a really beautiful piece that you’ve written. I’ll save it and read back through it but you are so right about loss making us stronger. I feel honoured to have had Raymond in our life.
Thank you so much for sharing your tribe - you’ve had, and currently have some beautiful piggies 🥰
Well you’re all amazing! I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful support unit and to be amongst fellow guinea pig lovers.
Sadly I am now left with a bit of a lonely Guinea pig now Raymond has passed. It feels a bit soon to think about getting him a friend but I’ll start another thread to get some advice on this.
Once again - thank you for all your help x
 
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