piggiemummy03x
Forum Donator 2023/24
right okay thanks for that information, its made me feel slightly better, however still getting them in to just double check!
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bladder stone in my 12 week old baby💔
- Thread starter piggiemummy03x
- Start date
right okay thanks for that information, its made me feel slightly better, however still getting them in to just double check!
piggiemummy03x
Forum Donator 2023/24
right the temperatures no more than 5 degrees different inside now, iv bought them in, should i just wait for them to wee naturally or would it be better to offer some cucumber to help encourage them to wee!
Claire W
Forum Donator 2024/25
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You can offer them a little cucumber to encourage them to wee but it really is a waiting game. They say that piggies wee every 20-30 minutes but I have found that not to be the case when waiting for a urine sample!
piggiemummy03x
Forum Donator 2023/24
this is so true, they’ve been out an hour and not weed! i’m going to try again a little later on at veggie time before our vet appointment we now have because i think they’ve got mites!
Claire W
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Good luck! I hope they have wee'd now? Sorry you think they could have mitesthis is so true, they’ve been out an hour and not weed! i’m going to try again a little later on at veggie time before our vet appointment we now have because i think they’ve got mites!
All the best for your vet visit
Abisquartet
Junior Guinea Pig
out with the girls this morning on poo patrol, just watched della have a wee and its come out a light redish colour so i’m freaking out! eating, drinking and running around as normal and this is the first time i have noticed it (i’ve seen her wee lots of times before as she prefers to spray it) is this me being paranoid or could there be something more going on?!
Hey there,
I’ve recently had a piggy who was diagnosed with a UTI with much the same symptoms I.e. eating and drinking normally but bloody urine.
We called the vet straight away and were given an appointment for the next day so like others have said I wouldn’t worry too much as long as your fur baby is still eating/drinking. We were given antibiotics and painkillers; Toffee is still taking them now - antibiotics given twice a day for 15 days and the painkiller once a day with food.
The ones we were given are both taken orally so in this case prepare yourself for needing to suck them into a syringe then put it in your guinea’s mouth. It took two of us to do it for the first few days but I’ve learnt how to do it on my own now and luckily Toffee isn’t that dramatic about it.
Wishing you and the little one all the best
piggiemummy03x
Forum Donator 2023/24
Good luck! I hope they have wee'd now? Sorry you think they could have mites
they’re in their hutch currently as had an appointment i needed to go too however on my way back now so hopefully in the next half an hour i should have wee patches (fingers crossed normal coloured!)
not sure wether its lice or mites! either way we’ve got an appointment, thanks so much!
Have you been able to put them on different bedding/a towel? Its harder to tell on shavings
piggiemummy03x
Forum Donator 2023/24
Hey there,
I’ve recently had a piggy who was diagnosed with a UTI with much the same symptoms I.e. eating and drinking normally but bloody urine.
We called the vet straight away and were given an appointment for the next day so like others have said I wouldn’t worry too much as long as your fur baby is still eating/drinking. We were given antibiotics and painkillers; Toffee is still taking them now - antibiotics given twice a day for 15 days and the painkiller once a day with food.
The ones we were given are both taken orally so in this case prepare yourself for needing to suck them into a syringe then put it in your guinea’s mouth. It took two of us to do it for the first few days but I’ve learnt how to do it on my own now and luckily Toffee isn’t that dramatic about it.
Wishing you and the little one all the best
hiya!
sorry to hear your piggie has a UTI! we discovered that not only did della have a UTI but she also had a bladder stone!
shes had a flush which appeared to remove it so fingers crossed this is the end of all bladder stones for my girl!
i hope Toffee feels better soon, if the antibiotics don’t work, i’d definitely get a scan done too see if theres any stones.. the antibiotics alone obviously weren’t working for della because she had the stone! hopefully it doesn’t come to this though and the antibiotics help her UTI!
thanks for your reply
piggiemummy03x
Forum Donator 2023/24
not in the hutch but going to go on puppy pads in a second when i give them their veggies!
Abisquartet
Junior Guinea Pig
hiya!
sorry to hear your piggie has a UTI! we discovered that not only did della have a UTI but she also had a bladder stone!
thanks for your reply
Oh poor Della! Fingers crossed she’s on the mend and back to wheeking ASAP and Toffee passes on his thanks for your well wishes!
Our vet advised that if the symptoms don’t clear up then we’d need an X-ray to see if there’s something else going on like a bladder stone. For now we’ve got him on a lower calcium diet just to try and aid the recovery and (touch wood!) the symptoms seem to have stopped so hopefully that’s the end of it
piggiemummy03x
Forum Donator 2023/24
well they are not playing ball today! we’ve had to leave for the vets without managing to get a wee off either of them, even after wet veggies!
piggiemummy03x
Forum Donator 2023/24
Oh poor Della! Fingers crossed she’s on the mend and back to wheeking ASAP and Toffee passes on his thanks for your well wishes!
Our vet advised that if the symptoms don’t clear up then we’d need an X-ray to see if there’s something else going on like a bladder stone. For now we’ve got him on a lower calcium diet just to try and aid the recovery and (touch wood!) the symptoms seem to have stopped so hopefully that’s the end of it
thankyou! that’s brilliant then, i’ve also changed to a lower calcium diet for my girls, do you filter their water too? fingers crossed for you both!
piggiemummy03x
Forum Donator 2023/24
so.. been to the vets, was a nightmare trying to find them on their fur! after the vet had seen one she believes they are type of mite rather than lice and the girls have been treated with xeno and we’ve been given some treatment to give again in a months time!
going to give the hutch and everything a deep clean and wash (ordering some f10, however johnsons will have to do for now!) and stop using the hay bale we just bought in case the mites came from this, sadly it was the girls favourite hay!
does anyone know if mites are more common in large hay bales for horses rather than the tightly packed bags you can get from a pet shop? should i just avoid hay bales full stop or was this just an unlucky batch?
any more advice on what more i should do is greatly appreciated, thanks!
going to give the hutch and everything a deep clean and wash (ordering some f10, however johnsons will have to do for now!) and stop using the hay bale we just bought in case the mites came from this, sadly it was the girls favourite hay!
does anyone know if mites are more common in large hay bales for horses rather than the tightly packed bags you can get from a pet shop? should i just avoid hay bales full stop or was this just an unlucky batch?
any more advice on what more i should do is greatly appreciated, thanks!
Lady Kelly
Senior Guinea Pig
so.. been to the vets, was a nightmare trying to find them on their fur! after the vet had seen one she believes they are type of mite rather than lice and the girls have been treated with xeno and we’ve been given some treatment to give again in a months time!
going to give the hutch and everything a deep clean and wash (ordering some f10, however johnsons will have to do for now!) and stop using the hay bale we just bought in case the mites came from this, sadly it was the girls favourite hay!
does anyone know if mites are more common in large hay bales for horses rather than the tightly packed bags you can get from a pet shop? should i just avoid hay bales full stop or was this just an unlucky batch?
any more advice on what more i should do is greatly appreciated, thanks!
Mites, if I am remembering correctly, can resurface in piggies when they are otherwise under the weather so it could just be bad luck that you have a piggy whose immune system was compromised by the bladder sludge allowing the mites to take over.
Did the vet see the mites under microscope or by eye? What course of treatment did they suggest?
Mites are invisible to the naked eye which is why I ask this and they also need a course of treatment as xeno will only kill live mites and not eggs, therefore it is generally accepted that treatment will need to be repeated at least once more but often a third dose to ensure all hatching mites are killed with no more eggs laid
Lady Kelly
Senior Guinea Pig
Sorry didn't mention the hay. Unlikely to be any difference between hays as they all have to come from a farm somewhere. Likely just bad luck I'm afraid
Absolutely right. Mites are on most piggies most of the time anyway but are kept in check by a functioning immune system. if a piggy is poorly with something else, the mites can then take advantage of that.
My elderly rabbit has had such an issue. A compromised immune system meant he recently suffered a mite outbreak.
Abisquartet
Junior Guinea Pig
thankyou! that’s brilliant then, i’ve also changed to a lower calcium diet for my girls, do you filter their water too? fingers crossed for you both!
I actually don’t filter their water but I’ve seen several people do - it might sound naïve but I can’t say I’d know how to? Would it just be a Brita filter type thing or is there something special for guineas specifically?
Filtering water is a recommended step to take to keel calcium levels down.
A Brita filter jug or an alternative brand but the same thing) is recommended. Most calcium comes into the diet via water and pellets. Therefore ensuring pellets are kept limited to one tablespoon and water is filtered goes a long way to helping reduce the risk of bladder stone formation (although there is also a genetic element to it)
piggiemummy03x
Forum Donator 2023/24
oh wow that’s interesting!
by eye, they’ve both been given xeno and we’ve been given some treatment to give again in a months time!
i saw the little things thats how i knew they had them, looked almost like flaky dandruff, but moving!
piggiemummy03x
Forum Donator 2023/24
no worries! so i’m safe to try this place again haha, my girls will be happy!
Xeno is usually given at two weekly intervals for three treatments - six weeks to cure the problem. So if they’ve had a treatment today then its another in two weeks time, then another in a further two weeks.
Double check with your vet because a month until the next treatment could be too long to break the cycle
Abisquartet
Junior Guinea Pig
Thank you for the info! I’m going to look into it now
We do limit pellets to one tablespoon too so it would be nice to be able to limit their calcium from water as well. Hopefully with a Brita filter (or similar) type jug I’d be able to keep the filtered water in the fridge for them. I’m always conscious that our tap water is never cold enough for us and I’d like to be able to cool it for them - or does it not make a difference?
Thank you for the info! I’m going to look into it now
We do limit pellets to one tablespoon too so it would be nice to be able to limit their calcium from water as well. Hopefully with a Brita filter (or similar) type jug I’d be able to keep the filtered water in the fridge for them. I’m always conscious that our tap water is never cold enough for us and I’d like to be able to cool it for them - or does it not make a difference?
They don’t need fridge cold water. My water is filtered directly from the tap so my animals water is just at the mains temperature
Abisquartet
Junior Guinea Pig
piggiemummy03x
Forum Donator 2023/24
Absolutely right. Mites are on most piggies most of the time anyway but are kept in check by a functioning immune system. if a piggy is poorly with something else, the mites can then take advantage of that.
My elderly rabbit has had such an issue. A compromised immune system meant he recently suffered a mite outbreak.
Absolutely right. Mites are on most piggies most of the time anyway but are kept in check by a functioning immune system. if a piggy is poorly with something else, the mites can then take advantage of that.
My elderly rabbit has had such an issue. A compromised immune system meant he recently suffered a mite outbreak.
wow that’s really interesting i didn’t think about that! bless i’m sorry to hear about your rabbit, hope he feels better soon!
piggiemummy03x
Forum Donator 2023/24
yes i was told a brita would be good!
piggiemummy03x
Forum Donator 2023/24
hm okay! definitely was told again in 4 weeks or 2 weeks if still itchy, then phone up if its still a problem.. sorry forgot to mention about the 2 weeks! it actually says 3-4 weeks on the prescription anyway too.
What you don’t want is to leave too big of a gap because it will just let the cycle continue with more eggs. Do check it.
The two weeks between now and the next treatment will give the current eggs time to hatch. The second treatment in two weeks time will then kill the then mites (currently as eggs they will not be caught by todays treatment).
It’s old age - he is blind in one eye and going blind in the other, and has spinal arthritis (daily dog metacam for the rest of his life)
The two weeks between now and the next treatment will give the current eggs time to hatch. The second treatment in two weeks time will then kill the then mites (currently as eggs they will not be caught by todays treatment).
It’s old age - he is blind in one eye and going blind in the other, and has spinal arthritis (daily dog metacam for the rest of his life)
Lady Kelly
Senior Guinea Pig
"Walking dandruff" is actually lice and not mites. I have had a piggy with this before, made me feel itchy just looking at it.
I'm not sure how experienced your vet is with guinea pigs, they may have referred to them as mites to try and keep things simple for you, who knows. I would definitely query that time frame for the next dose of xeno though