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Blood in Urine

A Guinea Pig

A Guinea Pig

Teenage Guinea Pig
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This is not about any of my guinea pigs. Someone I know said that their guinea pig had blood in their pee, took the guinea pig to the vet and there was nothing found. They said that some females do have menstrual cycles but it is really rare. Is that accurate? They get blood every 16 days and then quit after a while?
 
A Guinea Pig said:
This is not about any of my guinea pigs. Someone I know said that their guinea pig had blood in their pee, took the guinea pig to the vet and there was nothing found. They said that some females do have menstrual cycles but it is really rare. Is that accurate? They get blood every 16 days and then quit after a while?
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Sows go into season every 15-17 days but they do not bleed. If they do bleed then there is usually a problem with the reproductive system.

What appears to be blood in the urine obviously might be blood when tested but it can also actually be free of blood. The red colouring being porphyrins. A natural dye which tests negative for blood but can be common at the start of cystitis or infection but symptoms are not yet consistent.
 
I have never, ever heard of a sow having blood during a menstrual cycle. I would wonder how experienced that vet is. For sows it needs to be determined whether the blood is coming from the urine, the reproductive tract or the anus. Obviously all next to each other so not always easy to tell. I have had one particular piggy who was prone to looking like she had blood in her urine which was caused when I feed even a small amount of red chard. The other 3 piggies she lived with were never affected in the same way
 
A Guinea Pig said:
This is not about any of my guinea pigs. Someone I know said that their guinea pig had blood in their pee, took the guinea pig to the vet and there was nothing found. They said that some females do have menstrual cycles but it is really rare. Is that accurate? They get blood every 16 days and then quit after a while?
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I would get the person you know to take the piggy to a vet that is knowledgeable on piggies. There is a list of recommended vets on here, worth looking to see if they are near them.
 
The urine needs to be tested and a full exam carried out. In my experience (and I’m not a vet) my sows have had blood in urine from:
1. Non bacterial sterile cystitis (often called IC - a diagnosis of exclusion)
2. Urinary Tract Infection
3. Bladder stone
4. Reproductive issue (needing a spay)
 
A Guinea Pig said:
What would be the treatment for that?
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For IC there is no treatment, only management with daily painkillers, diet and glucosamine.
IC is a condition which affects the glucosamine layer in the bladder and causes pain as urine is in contact with raw bladder tissue.
IC is only diagnosed through eliminating every possible other bladder issue

Lucy is absolutely right, an x ray won’t help with diagnosis of reproductive issues though.
Bleeding when in season is not normal.

For some reproductive issues, a spay may be needed.
 
I would definitely get another opinion maybe from a more guinea pig experienced veterinarian, blood coming from anywhere usually means something is wrong especially blood in urine
 
TheLittlePig said:
I would definitely get another opinion maybe from a more guinea pig experienced veterinarian, blood coming from anywhere usually means something is wrong especially blood in urine
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I am quite new to guinea pigs so I am for sure not as knowledgeable as the other members of this forum, I would definitely recommend taking their advice very seriously they know what they are talking about
 
A Guinea Pig said:
You think the vet did not know how to read the sample?
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I’m sure you don’t mean to be rude but it’s not a matter of simply reading the sample. It’s about considering what it showed and then the potential implications. A vet with a special interest in guinea pigs may be able to more accurately interpret the tests in the context of the clinical presentation.

Instead of relaying information piecemeal and third hand it would be far better to ask your friend to come on the forum for themself and ask so that we have all the relevant information directly from them. We used to have this as a rule and to be honest I would much rather that were still the case.
Please ask your friend to post their own thread with full details and information.
 
VickiA said:
I’m sure you don’t mean to be rude but it’s not a matter of simply reading the sample. It’s about considering what it showed and then the potential implications. A vet with a special interest in guinea pigs may be able to more accurately interpret the tests in the context of the clinical presentation.

Instead of relaying information piecemeal and third hand it would be far better to ask your friend to come on the forum for themself and ask so that we have all the relevant information directly from them. We used to have this as a rule and to be honest I would much rather that were still the case.
Please ask your friend to post their own thread with full details and information.
Click to expand...
Yes, thank you @VickiA
 
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