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Boar with 4mm bladder stone

Pigglemama

Pigglemama

Junior Guinea Pig
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So muffin had his x-ray today. He has a 4 mm bladder stone. 😢😢😢He was absolutely fine having his x-ray under anaesthetic. The vet has referred me to an exotic specialist and I have a consultation there on Monday but I am keen to get the surgery done as soon as possible. He is a healthy two-year-old boar and other than being in pain when he Wees and poos he is absolutely fine and healthy. I really need to hear some successful bladder stone surgery stories! Thanks so much all.
 
I have had two piggies that have had stones removed, one from the bladder and one from the urethra. Both came through their ops OK. Do read this as it is really useful:

Tips For Post-operative Care

Be prepared that you may need to support your piggy with syringe feeding for a couple of days if they are not back to eating normally. I found mine were both worse the 2nd day after the op. but then started to recover well after that.

I wish your piggy lots of luck with his operation and we have fingers and paws crossed here for him.
 
YvonneBlue said:
I have had two piggies that have had stones removed, one from the bladder and one from the urethra. Both came through their ops OK. Do read this as it is really useful:

Tips For Post-operative Care

Be prepared that you may need to support your piggy with syringe feeding for a couple of days if they are not back to eating normally. I found mine were both worse the 2nd day after the op. but then started to recover well after that.

I wish your piggy lots of luck with his operation and we have fingers and paws crossed here for him.
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply and I’m happy your piggies got through it! X
 
I’m so sorry your piggy has been diagnosed with a stone. I wish him a quick recovery.
 
weepweeps said:
I’m so sorry your piggy has been diagnosed with a stone. I wish him a quick recovery.
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Thank you. His consultation with the exotic is Monday- worried that surgery will be too far away and it will grow in that time!
 
Rusty had his bladder stone surgery aged 2, he sailed through the operation. He was very sleepy for a few days afterwards and needed syringe feeding top ups but he was soon fully recovered and back to normal. Rusty lived for another 3 years, we sadly lost him aged 5 to a totally unrelated illness.
My experience with my vets when piggies need an operation for any reason is that they operate within a few days, they don't hang about!
Sending your piggy healing vibes and hugs to you.
 
George was 6 when he had his stone successfully removed. My vet prefers just to use isoflurane gas to knock them out although they also used buprenorphine for pain management. They come round from the gas very quickly - I've lost others to GA but an injectable form of anaesthetic was used which I'm not sure has such a good recovery rate. It's worth asking about. One girl had to have a tooth out so keeping a gas mask on would have been very difficult 😔

George recovered well from his op although getting him to eat anything on the bupre took careful nursing and encouragement with favourite tidbits every few hours day and night for the first day or so - try and get him in first thing for his op for max recovery time before night. You don't have to fast them beforehand. Once he'd come round (it was a scary 24 hours) he was back to normal although rested a lot. I kept him on fleece as bitty 'bedding' can get stuck in the wound.
Post op George.webp

Now for the difficult bit. It cost us £700 and my vet is not an exotic specialist. And within a few weeks he'd formed another stone just as big. But George was an old boy and had old kidneys and I'd sort of been expecting it really, but we had to give it a go. If he was 2 I'd still have done it - I'd have done it faster! Ask about whether antibiotics are given either before, during or after the surgery. George carried his stone from summer last year until Jan this year. By Feb he'd formed another. He passed in April. But in all that time he was also battling a repeated urine infection and he suffered much more acutely from that when it arose than he did his mighty stones. When clear of infection he was on 1.5mg/ml metacam twice a day and managed just fine, even with this:
George Stone pre-op 2.webp Be brave Muffin - you won't know anything about it and you'll feel much better after x
 
Thanks so much for your lovely words! Gosh I can’t believe what George went through! They just don’t deserve it so they? It’s reassuring to hear that his op went well eve if another did grow back so soon 😢. Muffin is on Metacam which he guzzles with his brekkie every morning. I am hoping surgery will be sooner rather than later and I keep telling myself that I am doing it out of love for him. Thanks for all your advice x
 
Does this mean it’s getting worse? His app with the exotic isn’t til tomorrow afternoon. X
 

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It’s hard to tell if that’s blood. My boy was also passing blood with his bladder stone so it’s good you are getting him seen tomorrow. Good luck. If they can’t operate soon definitely get him some pain medicine. If he’s not already on it.

Please follow the after care tips above and also if you are at all worried after the operation please don’t hesitate to call your vets for reassurance.
 
Stones can scratch their bladder a bit, having some blood in their pee is normal unfortunately. Two of my boys had stone removal surgery and recovered well, one took only a few hours to get back to normal, the other a couple of days. Good luck on monday and with the surgery, he will be so relieved after!

I am sorry to tell you this though, stones can reform even after a surgery and even if you follow the guidelines perfectly. Sometimes it's just genetic. Hopefully he won't have to deal with this anymore, but in the next few days do keep an extra eye on him before the surgery, and if you see he can't pee and cries more than normal while straining, do contact your vet asap. I'm sorry if I scared you with this, but stones can also get stuck and that's an emergency situation. However, in most cases piggies do recover well from this surgery and it shouldn't last more that an hour. It's going to be ok! ❤️
 
LunaticPoodle said:
Stones can scratch their bladder a bit, having some blood in their pee is normal unfortunately. Two of my boys had stone removal surgery and recovered well, one took only a few hours to get back to normal, the other a couple of days. Good luck on monday and with the surgery, he will be so relieved after!

I am sorry to tell you this though, stones can reform even after a surgery and even if you follow the guidelines perfectly. Sometimes it's just genetic. Hopefully he won't have to deal with this anymore, but in the next few days do keep an extra eye on him before the surgery, and if you see he can't pee and cries more than normal while straining, do contact your vet asap. I'm sorry if I scared you with this, but stones can also get stuck and that's an emergency situation. However, in most cases piggies do recover well from this surgery and it shouldn't last more that an hour. It's going to be ok! ❤️
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Thank you so much! What a reassuring answer. I am in bits as I feel it’s my fault for having the wrong veggies even tho I barely ever fed spinach, kale etc. so glad your piggies were ok afterwards x
 
weepweeps said:
It’s hard to tell if that’s blood. My boy was also passing blood with his bladder stone so it’s good you are getting him seen tomorrow. Good luck. If they can’t operate soon definitely get him some pain medicine. If he’s not already on it.

Please follow the after care tips above and also if you are at all worried after the operation please don’t hesitate to call your vets for reassurance.
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Yes it’s definitely blood. He is on Metacam. Thanks for all your help and kind words x
 
Pigglemama said:
Thank you so much! What a reassuring answer. I am in bits as I feel it’s my fault for having the wrong veggies even tho I barely ever fed spinach, kale etc. so glad your piggies were ok afterwards x
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Don't beat yourself up, you're doing right by your piggies by continuing to learn. In the beginning I used to give them a ton of veggies, and kale every day as they are crazy about it! Then I found this forum and was horrified at how wrong my feeding habits were. It takes time to adjust their diet and see the effects.
 
LunaticPoodle said:
Don't beat yourself up, you're doing right by your piggies by continuing to learn. In the beginning I used to give them a ton of veggies, and kale every day as they are crazy about it! Then I found this forum and was horrified at how wrong my feeding habits were. It takes time to adjust their diet and see the effects.
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Both of them now have green pepper, cucumber and a bit of lettuce and only a tablespoon of pellets a day plus unlimited hay of course. They sometimes have a bit of baby corn and coriander. I guess it is a learning curve isn’t it? X
 
LunaticPoodle said:
Don't beat yourself up, you're doing right by your piggies by continuing to learn. In the beginning I used to give them a ton of veggies, and kale every day as they are crazy about it! Then I found this forum and was horrified at how wrong my feeding habits were. It takes time to adjust their diet and see the effects.
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Me too. They just love kale and spinach. It must be like our cake and chocolate. Things we love to eat but need to only have in moderation 🤣🤣
 
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