Bonding For Ill Piggy

[ilovepets]

Hello. my female guinea lost her friend around 7 months ago and since that time she has suffered with her bladder. after many trips to two separate vets and numerous tests they are unable to determine the exact cause of her squeaking when she passes poop. she also lost weight but has recently gained some after a course of septrin, although she seems to have good and bad days with her bladder health. Anyway my reason for posting is do you think her illness is stressed related? and should i go ahead with bonding her and another piggie? or leave it as she is not well. . i did try bonding her a few months ago but the other piggie got aggressive towards her. Would a baby piggie be better? thanks all.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello. my female guinea lost her friend around 7 months ago and since that time she has suffered with her bladder. after many trips to two separate vets and numerous tests they are unable to determine the exact cause of her squeaking when she passes poop. she also lost weight but has recently gained some after a course of septrin, although she seems to have good and bad days with her bladder health. Anyway my reason for posting is do you think her illness is stressed related? and should i go ahead with bonding her and another piggie? or leave it as she is not well. . i did try bonding her a few months ago but the other piggie got aggressive towards her. Would a baby piggie be better? thanks all.

Hi and welcome!

I am sorry for your problems! Where in Wales are you? Would you consider dating at a rescue (provided you can get there) and/or a neutered boar to make sure that the bond is OK.
We have got a recommended good standard piggy savvy rescue locator on the top bar.

As to the bladder issues: has your girl had an x-ray to check for stones/bladder sludge and has her womb been checked, too?
You may want to consider switching to a low calcium diet, filtered water and low calcium pellets etc. and also think of using glucosamine or glucosamine-based cystease to help coat the bladder walls.
Low Calcium Diet For Bladder Piggies
For a balanced daily low calcium diet see comments on IC diet: Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
for pellets: @helen105281

 

[helen105281]

Hi, for bladder piggies I recommend either of these brands, they can take a bit of getting used to as they are much bigger than standard pellets and are grainless. I am still trying to transition my 2 newbies onto them. They have a lot less fillers and sugar than normal pellets so pigs can take a while to adjust to the taste.

Bunny GuineaPigDream BASIC | Free P&P on orders £29+ at zooplus!

Vitakraft Emotion Professional Prebiotic Guinea Pig

JR Farm Grainless Complete Guinea Pig | Free P&P £29+ at zooplus!

 

[ilovepets]

hello. thanks for the replies. my guinea (Boo) has had all test possible and nothing has shown up so its a bit of a mystery! i have spent over £300 having her checked out. i have looked into IC as a possibility because i suffer from this myself and i have noticed that when Boo is stressed ( ie vet visit) or after eating spinach she starts squeaking again. i looked into diet changes also, she has filtered water and eats mainly romaine, carrot and cucumber. she is terribly fussy though. i have tried lots of pellets but she won't eat much of them. she dislikes being handled although she enjoys being stroked in her cage. she really hates being around strangers and becomes very stressed, so i am reluctant to leave her at any guinea bonding place as i feel this will only make her condition worse.

i also have her on cystease and i do believe that its helping.

Would she bond with a younger piggie if i tried that? Thanks!