• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Emergency Blood in poop, help needed

meatloaf

meatloaf

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jan 4, 2020
Messages
11
Reaction score
5
Points
75
Location
Toronto ON
Hi there, I just joined this forum to see if I could get any opinions on what is wrong with Meatloaf. She's about 5 1/2 years old and last week we noticed blood in her cage. Originally we thought it was a UTI because it seemed like it was in her pee, but the next day it looked like it was coming from her bum. We took her to the vet and he gave her a 10 day course of Baytril, and after a few days the bleeding stopped and she seemed fine. Now she's bleeding again and some of her poops are lighter in colour and covered in blood. We're not really sure what is wrong now. We sent a sample of the poop and it came back clear of parasites. Other than that she is still eating and drinking on her own but has less of an appetite (no wheeking when I open the fridge) and doesn't seem to be in pain while pooping.
This is our ninth day on the Baytril, not really sure what it could be anymore, but we're getting a little worried since it's late in her treatment and there's still blood.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tee
meatloaf said:
Hi there, I just joined this forum to see if I could get any opinions on what is wrong with Meatloaf. She's about 5 1/2 years old and last week we noticed blood in her cage. Originally we thought it was a UTI because it seemed like it was in her pee, but the next day it looked like it was coming from her bum. We took her to the vet and he gave her a 10 day course of Baytril, and after a few days the bleeding stopped and she seemed fine. Now she's bleeding again and some of her poops are lighter in colour and covered in blood. We're not really sure what is wrong now. We sent a sample of the poop and it came back clear of parasites. Other than that she is still eating and drinking on her own but has less of an appetite (no wheeking when I open the fridge) and doesn't seem to be in pain while pooping.
This is our ninth day on the Baytril, not really sure what it could be anymore, but we're getting a little worried since it's late in her treatment and there's still blood.
Click to expand...

Hi!

Bloody poos are a very serious symptom that should be seen a soon as possible, especially with increased bleeding and fresh blood - that cannot wait. It is very obviously not simply an infection so the baytril cannot work.
Has your vet checked the reproductive tract for a tumour in the womb or a cancerous ovarian cyst or the digestive tract for an open ulcer etc.? Most acute bleeding from the anus is coming from something in the reproductive tract going wrong in sows.

Are you in a place that has got out of hours cover?
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
List Of Life And Death Out-of-hours Emergencies
 
Dot had blood in poop when she had that uterine tumour. Don't know how or why. But it's something I noticed, it happened once after the op then it stopped. Unrelated? Maybe, but she's OK and no other problems were picked up by the vet.

Here is the link to the day of the op, may or may not help, incase it does il leave it here for you to see

Dots op has made cat and rabbit facebook page.
 
The only time any of mine had fresh blood like this it resulted in an emergency spay for a problem in the reproductive tract.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Bloody poos are a very serious symptom that should be seen a soon as possible, especially with increased bleeding and fresh blood - that cannot wait. It is very obviously not simply an infection so the baytril cannot work.
Has your vet checked the reproductive tract for a tumour in the womb or a cancerous ovarian cyst or the digestive tract for an open ulcer etc.? Most acute bleeding from the anus is coming from something in the reproductive tract going wrong in sows.

Are you in a place that has got out of hours cover?
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
List Of Life And Death Out-of-hours Emergencies
Click to expand...
Unfortunately the only exotic vet around is closed until Monday. Hopefully she can hold on until then. What should I ask the vet to do? Would an X-ray help?
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
Dot had blood in poop when she had that uterine tumour. Don't know how or why. But it's something I noticed, it happened once after the op then it stopped. Unrelated? Maybe, but she's OK and no other problems were picked up by the vet.

Here is the link to the day of the op, may or may not help, incase it does il leave it here for you to see

Dots op has made cat and rabbit facebook page.
Click to expand...
How much did it cost for the OP? Hopefully it won't need to be done but it's good to have an estimate if it's necessary
 
meatloaf said:
Hi there, I just joined this forum to see if I could get any opinions on what is wrong with Meatloaf. She's about 5 1/2 years old and last week we noticed blood in her cage. Originally we thought it was a UTI because it seemed like it was in her pee, but the next day it looked like it was coming from her bum. We took her to the vet and he gave her a 10 day course of Baytril, and after a few days the bleeding stopped and she seemed fine. Now she's bleeding again and some of her poops are lighter in colour and covered in blood. We're not really sure what is wrong now. We sent a sample of the poop and it came back clear of parasites. Other than that she is still eating and drinking on her own but has less of an appetite (no wheeking when I open the fridge) and doesn't seem to be in pain while pooping.
This is our ninth day on the Baytril, not really sure what it could be anymore, but we're getting a little worried since it's late in her treatment and there's still blood.
Click to expand...
Edit: The blood isn't very fresh as in bright red and liquid, it's sort of sticky and darker, and it's only on her poop. Don't really know if that helps narrow anything down though.
 
Edit #2: I just took her out for a bit to cuddle and she left a pile of perfectly normal looking poops (ON ME!) The blood was only found this morning... My aunt is a doctor, and suspects it -might- be old blood that she's trying to get out, but still hoping to get her in for a checkup on Monday.
 
meatloaf said:
How much did it cost for the OP? Hopefully it won't need to be done but it's good to have an estimate if it's necessary
Click to expand...
Around £200, my sow was spayed at the same time, so I think but I'm not sure that my vet removed the uterus and removed her ovaries. But that link should tell you what happened. The whole price included a scan first, then the op, all the day care from nurses, and then a post op checkup a week later to make sure the wound was healing Ok. If anything does come where you need to have you're sow operated on, make sure the vet is 100% confident in what he or she is doing. My sow sailed through like nothing had happened and was eating as soon as the anaesthetic had wore off. But this is all down to the skill of the vet doing the op and nurses assisting.

Just to add my sow weighed around 960g at the time, and was 3 years old
 
meatloaf said:
Unfortunately the only exotic vet around is closed until Monday. Hopefully she can hold on until then. What should I ask the vet to do? Would an X-ray help?
Click to expand...
I'd say a scan but they are pretty expensive, my sows tumour could actually be felt by examining her, when it had grown enough, it took alot of vet trips to finally get to the bottom of the problem.
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
I'd say a scan but they are pretty expensive, my sows tumour could actually be felt by examining her, when it had grown enough, it took alot of vet trips to finally get to the bottom of the problem.
Click to expand...
Last time we went he did feel around but said he couldn't feel anything, but it might be bigger now... that was last week :(
I spent over 200 already so hopefully I won't need to spend too much more because I only work part time.
 
I think you will need a scan and/or X-ray for a real answer if there is still blood. Your vet can discuss this with you.
 
meatloaf said:
Unfortunately the only exotic vet around is closed until Monday. Hopefully she can hold on until then. What should I ask the vet to do? Would an X-ray help?
Click to expand...

Hi!

It depends on your vet's findings; but a scan or x-ray can help if a problem with the uterus or an ovarian cyst is suspected.

The spaying operation cost can vary enormously, depending on the vet; but it is usually amounting to £150 - several hundred pounds/dollars, depending on the clinic. A lot depends on any extra investigations and on the length/complexity of the operation and on how extensitive a recovery care service the clinic is offering.

You can enquire at the clinic. Most UK clinics offer a payment plan while US clinics demand up-front payment and generally higher fees.

Please contact the vet as soon as they start answering their phone tomorrow morning in the hopes of bagging an emergency slot if they have them or an appointment as soon as possible.

But it is a relief that there is no new blood, so your girl should be OK to wait until you can set up an appointment tomorrow. However any bleeding is serious and needs to be followed up.

PS: Please try to save up for a vet fund on a regular basis as part of your weekly/monthly pet budget so you are not caught out by an emergency or serious illness and can see an out of hours vet or afford a life-saving emergency operation or even a middle of the night pts/euthanasia at any time. Unfortunately vet cost are the life long biggest budget post in any pet's life but many people are not aware of it.
Insurance for guinea pigs (which are classed as exotics pets) is sadly thin on the ground in the UK and nonexisting in the US.
 
Welcome to the forum.
I can't add to the advice but wanted to offer support.
Hope the vet can find an answer for you and it's nothing too serious.
 
So I'm actually in Canada, but this forum seemed really useful. (the exchange rates are crazy, so I'm guessing it will be more expensive than expected) I checked her this morning and she was up and jumping around, and looking a bit more energetic than usual. No new blood, but she only seems interested in her hay and pellets at the moment. She'll still have to hold until tomorrow and hopefully nothing takes a turn for the worst in that time
 
meatloaf said:
So I'm actually in Canada, but this forum seemed really useful. (the exchange rates are crazy, so I'm guessing it will be more expensive than expected) I checked her this morning and she was up and jumping around, and looking a bit more energetic than usual. No new blood, but she only seems interested in her hay and pellets at the moment. She'll still have to hold until tomorrow and hopefully nothing takes a turn for the worst in that time
Click to expand...

Keep weighing her daily at the same time instead of weekly to monitor her food intake. Unlimited hay should make over 80% of the daily foot intake (veg just about 10%), it is impossible to control the intake by eye.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
If you find that she is losing weight rapidly, here is our collection of tips, help and information for emergency, crisis and bridging care to get your piggy through a rough time until you can see a vet and medication can kick in. I have packed everything relevant into just one link to give owners in a panic a chance!
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Unfortunately, Canada has the worst wage : vet fee ratio of all countries. :(

We have other Canadian members (and indeed enquiries from all over the world). For this reason, we would find it very helpful if you please added your country and province/large city to location in your account details (accessed via clicking on your username on the top bar). this makes it appear with every post you make and allows us to tailor any advice to the availabilities and situation in your country, including using US brand names and not UK ones where there is a difference straight away. Thank you!
 
Wiebke said:
Keep weighing her daily at the same time instead of weekly to monitor her food intake. Unlimited hay should make over 80% of the daily foot intake (veg just about 10%), it is impossible to control the intake by eye.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
If you find that she is losing weight rapidly, here is our collection of tips, help and information for emergency, crisis and bridging care to get your piggy through a rough time until you can see a vet and medication can kick in. I have packed everything relevant into just one link to give owners in a panic a chance!
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Unfortunately, Canada has the worst wage : vet fee ratio of all countries. :(

We have other Canadian members (and indeed enquiries from all over the world). For this reason, we would find it very helpful if you please added your country and province/large city to location in your account details (accessed via clicking on your username on the top bar). this makes it appear with every post you make and allows us to tailor any advice to the availabilities and situation in your country, including using US brand names and not UK ones where there is a difference straight away. Thank you!
Click to expand...
I'll start doing that, thanks! She's perked up right now, just caught her in a nap and now she's nibbling on her cage trying to get my attention lol
 
Hi again!

So after two trips to the vet, Meatloaf has returned to normal, but lost a little weight from being so sick. It's been a week since her antibiotics (baytril) have been given, and she'd been fine until this morning when she fell over and struggled to get back up, and seems to be walking with a little wobble to one side. She's eating and pooping fine, but she walks a bit funny which is concerning. She also looked a little puffed up when she was laying down.
 
I’ll merge this into your other thread so people can get context.
 
Has she completed the course of antibiotics? And has the vet done a re-check?
Being puffed up is a sign of illness or pain. And falling over is definitely not normal, so I think I would call the vets and ask for advice.
 
VickiA said:
Has she completed the course of antibiotics? And has the vet done a re-check?
Being puffed up is a sign of illness or pain. And falling over is definitely not normal, so I think I would call the vets and ask for advice.
Click to expand...
Yep, she'd been done for a week and was improving quickly. It was only today I noticed her acting differently. I can't get her to a vet until tomorrow afternoon. Not sure what to do in the meantime but I'm praying she'll be ok.
 
Vet visit was today in a few hours, but she didn't make it. I don't know what happened :(
 
meatloaf said:
Hi there, I just joined this forum to see if I could get any opinions on what is wrong with Meatloaf. She's about 5 1/2 years old and last week we noticed blood in her cage. Originally we thought it was a UTI because it seemed like it was in her pee, but the next day it looked like it was coming from her bum. We took her to the vet and he gave her a 10 day course of Baytril, and after a few days the bleeding stopped and she seemed fine. Now she's bleeding again and some of her poops are lighter in colour and covered in blood. We're not really sure what is wrong now. We sent a sample of the poop and it came back clear of parasites. Other than that she is still eating and drinking on her own but has less of an appetite (no wheeking when I open the fridge) and doesn't seem to be in pain while pooping.
This is our ninth day on the Baytril, not really sure what it could be anymore, but we're getting a little worried since it's late in her treatment and there's still blood.
Click to expand...
MAKE SURE YOU GET THE RIGHT TYPE OF VET. A VET TRAINED TO HELP RODENTS. THIS IS SERIOUS.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top