Celine298
Junior Guinea Pig
Hello all!
Sunny has a mysterious illness and I thought I would put it out there to see if anyone else has encountered it.
Two weeks ago I noticed some red patches in the cage when cleaning it. I took Sunny and Lola out, gave them a thorough inspection and palpitated their tummy's (like the vet does) to see if they showed any discomfort that would indicate a problem. Both seemed fine. I put it down to new treats my mother bought them and that they possibly contained a dye that passed through in the urine. I stopped giving them the treats.
All was good until a week later, my friend was petting Sunny on his lap. He lifted him up to check did he pee on the cushion he was sitting on and noticed he had, and it contained blood. I immediately checked their cage and found two bloody puddles under their houses that weren't there that morning. I brought him to the vet the next day. She gave him a physical examination and found no signs of a UTI, but popped him on an antibiotic dose just to be careful. We discussed other causes and she opted for this treatment first, simply because putting guinea pigs under an anesthetic can be so risky. She wanted to rule out a UTI before going further.
The only symptoms he shows is OCCASIONAL bloody urine. Maybe once or twice a week so far.
He's still eating, drinking, bopping around the cage, chatting and popcorning. His coat is soft and shiny, eyes bright and alert and he is showing zero signs of pain. He usually lets me know if something is wrong by becoming lethargic and pettish, wanting extra cuddles and attention.
His little buddy Lola had a UTI before and squeaked when she peed, and having suffered from them myself over the years, I know there's no way he could hide that level of discomfort behind a brave face.
The vet thinks it could be anything from and internal cyst, polyp, bladder stones or tumour.
My mother suggested it could be Red Water, a disease often seen in farm livestock that causes blood in the urine and is triggered by tick bites. The pigs were out a lot this summer because of the good weather but I didn't see any sign of ticks on them (I had them shaved tight because it was quite warm so a tick would have been very visible). But again, this disease causes a lot of other symptoms and discomfort to the animals.
Has anyone ever seen this before?
He's a two year old boar by the way with a pretty healthy past.
Sunny has a mysterious illness and I thought I would put it out there to see if anyone else has encountered it.
Two weeks ago I noticed some red patches in the cage when cleaning it. I took Sunny and Lola out, gave them a thorough inspection and palpitated their tummy's (like the vet does) to see if they showed any discomfort that would indicate a problem. Both seemed fine. I put it down to new treats my mother bought them and that they possibly contained a dye that passed through in the urine. I stopped giving them the treats.
All was good until a week later, my friend was petting Sunny on his lap. He lifted him up to check did he pee on the cushion he was sitting on and noticed he had, and it contained blood. I immediately checked their cage and found two bloody puddles under their houses that weren't there that morning. I brought him to the vet the next day. She gave him a physical examination and found no signs of a UTI, but popped him on an antibiotic dose just to be careful. We discussed other causes and she opted for this treatment first, simply because putting guinea pigs under an anesthetic can be so risky. She wanted to rule out a UTI before going further.
The only symptoms he shows is OCCASIONAL bloody urine. Maybe once or twice a week so far.
He's still eating, drinking, bopping around the cage, chatting and popcorning. His coat is soft and shiny, eyes bright and alert and he is showing zero signs of pain. He usually lets me know if something is wrong by becoming lethargic and pettish, wanting extra cuddles and attention.
His little buddy Lola had a UTI before and squeaked when she peed, and having suffered from them myself over the years, I know there's no way he could hide that level of discomfort behind a brave face.
The vet thinks it could be anything from and internal cyst, polyp, bladder stones or tumour.
My mother suggested it could be Red Water, a disease often seen in farm livestock that causes blood in the urine and is triggered by tick bites. The pigs were out a lot this summer because of the good weather but I didn't see any sign of ticks on them (I had them shaved tight because it was quite warm so a tick would have been very visible). But again, this disease causes a lot of other symptoms and discomfort to the animals.
Has anyone ever seen this before?
He's a two year old boar by the way with a pretty healthy past.
