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Bladder Stones

C

C.Bernard

New Born Pup
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Location
Swindon, UK
So after weeks of going back and forth to the vets, two xrays and ultrasounds later, the exotic specialists have discovered a bladder stone, they think it could be small enough for him to pass naturally, and have given me, metcam, tramadol and potassium citrate supplement to help break it down. He seems comfortable and happy, weeing and pooping fine. Does anybody have any experience of using potassium citrate and if it works? The vet is reluctant to perform surgery on him as they will likely reoccur (in her words). Could it be that he can live a normal life with a bladder stone and pain relief if he can't pass it?
 
:agr:
I’m sorry to hear he has a stone.
A stone needs to be removed, it can’t be left inside him.
For a boar passing a stone can be a very risky time - you need to be certain it really is small enough to pass. If a stone gets stuck in on it’s way out it is incredibly painful and would require immediate and emergency surgery.

have a look at the diet you are feeding him. Are you filtering the water and sticking to just one tablespoon of pellets per day? Both water and pellets contain a lot of calcium so ensuring you follow the diet guide for them really can help To reduce calcium intake.
Also ensuring you don’t feed high calcium veg often such as parsley, kale or spinach will also help
Measures with the diet will not help the current stone (as I said, the current one has to be removed), but it can go some way to reducing the risk of further stones forming.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Is your vet cavy savvy? Are they listed on our recommended vet locator?
 
Sorry your boy has a stone.
My past boar Rupert (left on my avatar) had a large stone which sadly got stuck, he couldn’t utinate at all, was in a lot of pain and he required emergency surgery for it (either that or I was advised he needed to be put to sleep). He recovered well. He was then put on cystease long term and had a low-calcium diet.
Six months ish later he had another, it was very small and I was advised by my brilliant vet, Simon Maddock at Cat and Rabbit Clinic in Northampton, that it was thankfully small enough to pass. Very much trusted his piggy opinion! I saw Rupert’s X-ray and it was tiny so we decided it was best for him to leave it as he was an elderly pig (and had a bad reaction to the anaesthetic while having xrays poor boy).
Stones don’t always return after surgery like said above.
 
Thank you for all of your responses you have all confirmed my suspicions,
The vets I have seen is a specialist in guinea pigs at Great Western exotics, she seemed to think the stone could be dissolved enough to pass with the potassium citrate, however he is due another xray the start of December to check if it has dissolved at all and then we will discuss next steps, he is only 2 so want to give him the best chance, surgery will likely be the next step from what you have all said. I feed a really balanced veggie diet, Timothy hay, low calcium pellets (only a teaspoon), filtered water and cystophan, they're always out for exercise too so feel I can't do much more to help avoid any more stones,
I will await the outcome of the next xrays and take it from there, thank you for your help guys :) and @alpacasqueak I hope your boy Rupert is doing well sounds like a very brave boy
 
My rescue piggy Patsy passed this HUGE stone 6 days ago.
Patsy Stone.webp


I didn't know it was a stone and she had been to the vets the day before for swollen genitals and it was found she had a horrendous UTI. My vet is very experienced in Guinea Pigs and she never suspected it either. She did a urine test and looked under the microscope and couldn't see any crystals so didn't suspect a stone. It took Patsy about a week to pass and it was very painful for her. The look in Patsy's eyes whenever she pooped and the fact that she stretched up on her back legs and her front legs meant the poor girl was in complete agony. She was also wet and smelly underneath while the stone was moving down the urethra. If the vet gives you the option of surgery take it.
 
Betsy said:
My rescue piggy Patsy passed this HUGE stone 6 days ago.
View attachment 158642


I didn't know it was a stone and she had been to the vets the day before for swollen genitals and it was found she had a horrendous UTI. My vet is very experienced in Guinea Pigs and she never suspected it either. She did a urine test and looked under the microscope and couldn't see any crystals so didn't suspect a stone. It took Patsy about a week to pass and it was very painful for her. The look in Patsy's eyes whenever she pooped and the fact that she stretched up on her back legs and her front legs meant the poor girl was in complete agony. She was also wet and smelly underneath while the stone was moving down the urethra. If the vet gives you the option of surgery take it.
Click to expand...
Poor Patsy, that is a large stone! x
 
C.Bernard said:
Thank you for all of your responses you have all confirmed my suspicions,
The vets I have seen is a specialist in guinea pigs at Great Western exotics, she seemed to think the stone could be dissolved enough to pass with the potassium citrate, however he is due another xray the start of December to check if it has dissolved at all and then we will discuss next steps, he is only 2 so want to give him the best chance, surgery will likely be the next step from what you have all said. I feed a really balanced veggie diet, Timothy hay, low calcium pellets (only a teaspoon), filtered water and cystophan, they're always out for exercise too so feel I can't do much more to help avoid any more stones,
I will await the outcome of the next xrays and take it from there, thank you for your help guys :) and @alpacasqueak I hope your boy Rupert is doing well sounds like a very brave boy
Click to expand...
I lost my Rupert last May sadly, just before he turned 7 though so lived a long life with his lovely wife Jess despite his bladder issues (he had UTIs on and off too!)!
Keep us updated with your lad! :)
 
Apologies I forgot to respond in this thread to say unfortunately my poor piggy Bob was pts in December the vets continued investigations, the stone had shrunk slightly but sadly his kidneys had gone into failure and so couldn't be put through the op to remove the stone there was no way back for him sadly, kindest thing to do was pts. He was such a lovely piggy and all of this came out of nowhere I still find myself wondering where it all went wrong, but his brother is coping really well without him and I am following all the guidance for veggies/pellets to hopefully avoid a repeat of what happened with poor Bob.
Thanks for the support ❤
 
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