Concerned about guinea pig and possible UTI/stones

[LauraHG]

Hi everyone,

I posted a few weeks back as my guinea pigs calcium deposits in his cage were very yellow compared to usual and I was a little worried why. Recently I noticed that his urine has become very dark, I'm not sure if its blood, and that he is squeeking slightly when pooing.

I took him to our local vet (who is not an exotics vet) and they did a scan and said he could not see any bladder stones. I did ask if an x-ray would be better, and he said that 99% of the time they would show up on a scan. He said he could see some sludge in his bladder, and has prescribed me 0.8ml each day of trimoxazole for a suspected UTI.

I started the treatment yesterday, so he has had 2 doses so far, but I feel my piggy has gotten worse since then. He appears very sluggish and tired, and doesnt seem to be eating as much.

I plan on going to the vets Monday to get some fibreplex to try help alleviate any adverse effects on his system from the antibiotics, and I'm keeping an eye on him to make sure he is eating and drinking enough.

I'm not sure wether I should book an appointment with an exotics vet, I know one around 1 hour drive away, to get a second opinion, or wether to trust in what the current vet says. I am just very worried, I know my guinea pig, and he just isnt himself at the moment. I would just like to know your opinions/experiences.

Thankyou

 

[DougalandDiego]

Someone more experienced will be along soon but pets at home sell probiotic in powder form if you think it would help to get it in his system sooner! People also recommend poo soup if you have a healthy guinea pig and syringe feeding the mixture to your guinea pig that needs a boost (I think it’s literally just poop and warm water - cool it before it’s given to your piggy!). I would also monitor weight daily when giving medicine to check if you need to step in with syringe feeding. Antibiotics can be horrid things - one of mine has had two lots over the last few months and it’s such a worry when they don’t eat as much. Hope your little piggy perks up soon!

 

[LauraHG]

Thankyou for your suggestions DougalandDiego! Yes he had some antibiotics last month for a URI and now he is on more. I have just tried to feed him some carrot (his favourite) and he just turned away, so I'm very concerned now! Normally the fridge door opening would have him climbing the cage...
Unfortunately I have ran out of critical care too, so I will try to make my own out of pellets in the meantime if he doesnt get back to eating.

 

[DougalandDiego]

Thankyou for your suggestions DougalandDiego! Yes he had some antibiotics last month for a URI and now he is on more. I have just tried to feed him some carrot (his favourite) and he just turned away, so I'm very concerned now! Normally the fridge door opening would have him climbing the cage...
Unfortunately I have ran out of critical care too, so I will try to make my own out of pellets in the meantime if he doesnt get back to eating.

Ah sorry to hear that. Some people add mashed banana to make the pellet mixture extra enticing! I would definitely recommend getting some probiotic as soon as possible. The pets at home powder version you can add to a ml syringe of water and give it to them like that - it says on the back of it to add to water but the forum advise against it (rightly so!) as it can stop them from drinking the water. I also bought some oat hay for one of my Guineas when they seemed to go off their food during antibiotics and they really enjoyed the change of hay and ate that!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone,

I posted a few weeks back as my guinea pigs calcium deposits in his cage were very yellow compared to usual and I was a little worried why. Recently I noticed that his urine has become very dark, I'm not sure if its blood, and that he is squeeking slightly when pooing.

I took him to our local vet (who is not an exotics vet) and they did a scan and said he could not see any bladder stones. I did ask if an x-ray would be better, and he said that 99% of the time they would show up on a scan. He said he could see some sludge in his bladder, and has prescribed me 0.8ml each day of trimoxazole for a suspected UTI.

I started the treatment yesterday, so he has had 2 doses so far, but I feel my piggy has gotten worse since then. He appears very sluggish and tired, and doesnt seem to be eating as much.

I plan on going to the vets Monday to get some fibreplex to try help alleviate any adverse effects on his system from the antibiotics, and I'm keeping an eye on him to make sure he is eating and drinking enough.

I'm not sure wether I should book an appointment with an exotics vet, I know one around 1 hour drive away, to get a second opinion, or wether to trust in what the current vet says. I am just very worried, I know my guinea pig, and he just isnt himself at the moment. I would just like to know your opinions/experiences.

Thankyou

Hi!

Please have him seen by a vet asap!

It is most likely that a stone has fetched up in the urethra and blocking the urine flow if you notice a sudden deterioration in a suspected bladder piggy. Boars have got an awkward inglenook in their urethra where a stone usually fetches up.
This counts as a life or death emergency that cannot wait until Monday. You need to look for an out-of-hours vet service.

Please read the information in this guide here: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
It covers everything from finding vets in an emergency, what constitutes as an emergency care and how to safely improvise (adding fruit is NOT it) while looking after a very ill guinea pig until it can be seen and it is recovering. The guide also contains a link to our first aid kit of easily available support products.

Please be aware that your boy is likely in massive pain. Adding a little fruit is not the solution.

 

[Wizzy]

I always find giving them a tiny bit of apple perks up quite sick piggies... i do think it’s best you see a vet as soon as possible though.

 

[LauraHG]

Morning everyone. I went to see Fred this morning and he seems to have perked up a lot. He is now eating vegetables, eating hay, pooping and actually popcorn a few times.

Is it possible that it was a bad reaction to the antibiotics rather than a deterioration in his condition?

Thankyou for your advice Wiebke, ofcourse if you still think this is an emergency situation, I will try to book an emergency appointment, but I would ideally like to see the exotics vet in Exeter rather than my usual vet here where I live, so I'd have to see if they are available.

Thankyou!

 

[Jesse's pigs]

Morning everyone. I went to see Fred this morning and he seems to have perked up a lot. He is now eating vegetables, eating hay, pooping and actually popcorn a few times.

Is it possible that it was a bad reaction to the antibiotics rather than a deterioration in his condition?

Thankyou for your advice Wiebke, ofcourse if you still think this is an emergency situation, I will try to book an emergency appointment, but I would ideally like to see the exotics vet in Exeter rather than my usual vet here where I live, so I'd have to see if they are available.

Thankyou!

Did the vet give you any probiotics while on the antibiotics? My boy has literally just had the same bad reaction to the antibiotic (though he was on Baytril) and I had to stop the course -more so because my boy developed bloat as a result of the medication.

If you do not have a probiotic definitely seek one out and give it an hour before administering the antibiotic. If he stops eating again, step in with syringe feeding. When I had to do this, I used ‘Selective Recovery Plus’ and again added some more probiotic to it.

Xrays can be good for viewing the stones also. In my case Steve had Xrays first and then an ultrasound. Both of which were clear and did not show sludge either. The next step if no improvement would be a bladder flush. This would involve a catheter going up his urethra to try and dislodge or clear whatever is causing his pain. I have not yet reached this step myself, but if Steve continues I likely will.

 

[LauraHG]

No the vet did not give me any probiotics, but I have noticed Fred has been having 'bad' poops this morning and he has had that before on antibiotics. I am going to go to pets at home today to try to get him some, but I do prefer the fibreplex I can get from the vets, so I will likely get some of that aswell. I just dont know whether to stop with the antibiotics for now or keep going. They're obviously making him bad, but I know the problems caused with not finishing treatments of antibiotics.

I think I am still going to contact Livia at CityVets tomorrow again and see if I can get a consultation with her. I always struggle to take the advice of a regular vet when I just feel there is something more going on, even in my inexperienced opinion!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Don’t stop giving antibiotics unless a vet tells you to do so. Experiencing an upset tummy due to antibiotics can happen hence syringe feeding and giving probiotics. It’s not the same thing as having an adverse reaction to antibiotics (which would require immediate vet care and advice).
Either way, if he isn’t eating, then he needs to be syringe fed and do contact your vet if you think something else is going on.

 

[LauraHG]

Thankyou all. Like I said, he has perked up, he isnt himself 100% but he is eating his hay and has had some cucumber and lettuce this morning. He wasnt moving at all after his antibiotics last night, but he is now plodding around and moving his cage accessories to where he wants them to be!

I will syringe feed to make sure he is getting enough through his gut, and also get some probiotics if I can.

 

[Wiebke]

Morning everyone. I went to see Fred this morning and he seems to have perked up a lot. He is now eating vegetables, eating hay, pooping and actually popcorn a few times.

Is it possible that it was a bad reaction to the antibiotics rather than a deterioration in his condition?

Thankyou for your advice Wiebke, ofcourse if you still think this is an emergency situation, I will try to book an emergency appointment, but I would ideally like to see the exotics vet in Exeter rather than my usual vet here where I live, so I'd have to see if they are available.

Thankyou!

It could be an adverse reaction; it can happen to any antibiotic although sulfatrim/septrin/bactrim (which you have been given under another brand name) is generally well tolerated.

If it had been a stuck stone, your boy would be either dying or already dead by now - and he would have done so in agony!
However, when anybody reports a sudden massive deterioration with these kind of symptoms, then it is vital to exclude that first and foremost because it really is a life or death emergency that cannot wait. You always start with excluding the potentially life threatening issues first and foremost

 

[LauraHG]

It could be an adverse reaction; it can happen to any antibiotic although sulfatrim/septrin/bactrim (which you have been given under another brand name) is generally well tolerated.

If it had been a stuck stone, your boy would be either dying or already dead by now - and he would have done so in agony!
However, when anybody reports a sudden massive deterioration with these kind of symptoms, then it is vital to exclude that first and foremost because it really is a life or death emergency that cannot wait. You always start with excluding the potentially life threatening issues first and foremost

Thankyou Wiebke. It's strange as he had Baytril for a URI at the start of May and he didnt have any adverse reactions to that like he has had with this one!

I appreciate you alerting me to the possible urgency though as I would never forgive myself if he died in pain. I even went down to check on him in the middle of the night as I was so worried. I managed to get some ProC probiotics today so I will give him that an hour after his antibiotics.

 

[Josie_lg]

My piggies went on Baytril in April. I asked the vet about probiotics but he told me I wouldn’t need any but if I do just to calltwo of my piggies reacted so badly to the Baytril, diarrhoea, lethargic, not eating much at all and not wanting to move. Was a terrifying experience. And I’ve had to go to quite a few different vets because there are so many that don’t have the knowledge on guinea pigs. It’s always better to pay slightly more or drive for a bit longer in order to get them seen by someone who knows what they are talking about! And I used fibreplex with my girls when they had a bad tummy from the Baytril. And it worked really well for us so I always have some to hand.
I really hope your piggie feels better soon xx

 

[DougalandDiego]

No the vet did not give me any probiotics, but I have noticed Fred has been having 'bad' poops this morning and he has had that before on antibiotics. I am going to go to pets at home today to try to get him some, but I do prefer the fibreplex I can get from the vets, so I will likely get some of that aswell. I just dont know whether to stop with the antibiotics for now or keep going. They're obviously making him bad, but I know the problems caused with not finishing treatments of antibiotics.

I think I am still going to contact Livia at CityVets tomorrow again and see if I can get a consultation with her. I always struggle to take the advice of a regular vet when I just feel there is something more going on, even in my inexperienced opinion!

I take my pigs to CityVets and Christina is brilliant too if you can’t get in with livia. She has seen my boy twice in the last few months and has been fantastic at calling back and checking in on him or asking me to call to see how he’s getting on!

 

[anyar.dris]

I take my pigs to CityVets and Christina is brilliant too if you can’t get in with livia. She has seen my boy twice in the last few months and has been fantastic at calling back and checking in on him or asking me to call to see how he’s getting on!

Oh good to know Kristina Hunter is at CityVets now. She's very good and she used to see one of my past guinea pigs. She used to be in Cheshire Pet in Holmes Chapel and told us she'll be moving in Exeter last December.

 

[DougalandDiego]

Oh good to know Kristina Hunter is at CityVets now. She's very good and she used to see one of my past guinea pigs. She used to be in Cheshire Pet in Holmes Chapel and told us she'll be moving in Exeter last December.

Yeah she’s fantastic! Very lucky to have her only 30 mins away!