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Drugs are making him sad?

Ginger19

Ginger19

New Born Pup
Joined
Dec 9, 2020
Messages
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Location
Spain
Hello everyone! My piggie Ray (5 yo) has been with recurring UTIs since I adopted him when he was 6 mo. He had sludge on the bladder and the kidneys were fine (X-ray).
Last week he started to complain when he was peeing but just sometimes, not all times. As he was eating, drinking and behaving as always I didn't care too much. I have to underline behaving because he popcorns a lot, A LOT. I mean he popcorns on excitement when he hears food or my mum is coming to see him, he popcorns when I clean the cage and all the evenings he spends like five minutes running around the cage and popcorning until I put him in the floor or in the bed to explore and he continues to running. He is such a happy guinea pig.
On Saturday evening I noticed some blood on the pee and I called for a vet appointment. He just peed with blood three times on Saturday evening and one time Monday evening. We had the vet appointment on Tuesday and the vet made an eco and we found a little stone (less than 2 mm) in the bladder. We didn't check the kidneys and I don't know if the problem is there. He gave him an antihemorrhagic and meloxicam. He is on 0'2cc/12h of meloxicam and an antibiotic 1cc/12h. He has been on this medication before.
The point is that since we return from the vet he has been going down on his behaviour. He has stopped totally his popcorning routine, he doesn't run anymore, he used to lay on his side and know I see him trying but not doing it completly, he is also a nice and calm piggie and now he is grumpy most of the time. He doesn't use his "floor" time to explore. He walks, sniffs around a little and lay down.
In the other hand he is eating and drinkig as always (even more), the pee doesn't have any blood and he doesn't complain. I also notice that he eats more of his poop than usual.
I have tried with his favs treats and veggies but there is no way I can cheer him up more than a few minutes and not as usual, I'm sick worried. At first I thought he was mad at me because he hates the vet and the inyections but two days has passed and he is not normal.
I really really don't know what to do, tomorrow I will call his vet (today is his free day) but I don't know if have to check with another one.
 
Antibiotics can upset their gut so this is why you will be seeing him trying to eat more poops, and why they can feel a bit off. They know the caecotrophs (not the waste poops you see in the cage) can help settle their gut. However if he is esting his own poop it obviously will not help given it is his gut that is affected.
We advise that when they are on antibiotics they are given a probiotic as this can help. It is also a good idea to give poop soup made from the poops of a healthy companion. This directly replaces the gut bacteria depleted by the antibiotic.

Has the vet said what they want to do about the stone? It is sometimes possible for very tiny stones to be passed but due to the angle boars have in their urethra it is more difficult and surgical removal is usually needed.
 
In addition, make sure you switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him every day while he is unwell so you can more closely monitor hay intake. This will enable you to step in with syringe feeding if his hay intake reduces (this can happen when unwell and/or on antibiotics)
 
Thank you for your reply.

He is eating its caecotrophs and also some of the normal poop, that's why I said he is eating more poop. Sorry for not specify.

Unfortunately, his last companion suddenly passed away on July. I have to say that since then he is so much better because she was very dominant. I know that a companion for him would be the best but since he is 5yo and I work from home we had a lot of time together and I have never seen him so relieved since he is alone. He has improved his weight, his behaviour and his health.

And to be honest, I don't want more piggies, I love them but the deaths have affected me too much. I'm still coping with the last one...

I suppose that is why I'm so anxious and nervous with this...

What kind of probiotics do you recommend besides poop?

The vet said that in case the stone didn't pass, we would have to consider an intervention but that scared me to death... I lost my first piggie in a surgery.
Later we´ll have an appointment in another vet to do X-rays and analytics if necessary. I want to check that everything else is ok.

Sorry for my typos and my fear but I can't think properly this days. Any help and advice is more than welcome, so thank you so much.
 
If he's on an antibiotic it is likely upsetting his gut... give a probiotic a try. I'm not sure what he's one, but some of my pigs have responded dramatically to Baytril and have behavioral responses on it (one of my pigs obviously had an upset gut with it and would suddenly try to eat everything- pulling up the carpet, eating the walls, etc.) I'm not sure what's available in Spain but you could ask your vet if they have any probiotics for herbivores that they recommend.
 
I'm so sorry that your piggie is not well. I agree with @Freela and ask your vet which probiotics the recommend. I use a pinch of Pro-C in a teaspoon of water and syringe feed it an hour after antibiotics when my Piggies are on antibiotics. I only give them around 2ml of it though and not the whole teaspoon.
 
Thank you so much.
Probably is the antibiotic as you said what is making him so uncomfortable.
I just weight him and he has lost some weight indeed (Tuesday 980 gr - Today 930 gr).
He is still eating hay, pellets and the urinary supplement of oxbow but i do not trust him anymore.
I have Critical Care so I'll start syringe feeding if the vet says it's ok and I'll ask for a reduction of the treatment if it's possible.
This is the same antiB he had taken in the other UTIs so I didn't expect this secondary effect but now I'm aware.
 
UPDATE:
I'm so glad we went to the vet, he has gas in the stomach and this is making him really uncomfortable.
Also he has a lot of poop so it was imposible to see the kidneys or the bladder.
The vet has stopped the antibiotics and now I'll only give him 0'2 ml of meloxicam a day.
Also she has prescribed simeticone and Animal Strath, and infusion of diuretic and digestive herbs and Critical Care.
I have to check the he can still pee because he pees less.
Ray has lost a little bit of his appetite, now he is only interested in hay and even I offered him his favs veggies he refused to eat them.
Any adittional advice?
 
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
He is doing fine.

Yesterday I fed him 3 ml of CC and 2 of an infusion when we came back from the vet, also I did a tummy massage and he pooped 25 poops in less than an hour (it was non stop). I think this alleviated him a little because then he spent a lot of time munching on hay. He also peed without blood or pain so this part is fine.
He pooped 8 poops while he was on his enclosure but he didn't drink. Also he was trying to munch on some oxbow cookie supplements but it's like he couldn't.
Then I fed him againg before went to bed (4ml of CC and 2 of water) and he pooped 18 poops but with tear shape. He also munch on some hay but less.
We went to bed really late and today we got up really early. I fed him again 3 and 2 respectively and he pooped 12 poops with weird shapes.
He is more alert now and he complains more when I touch his belly, which to me seems less bloated.
Now I have fed him again 5 ml of CC and 3 of water because this morning hasn't eat a lot of hay and hasn't drink at all. He pooped 7 poops and also peed without blood. He is now resting on the cage and eating some hay.

I'm following the guide to feed him and keep him hydrate.
Also I read that guinea pigs poop around 100 poops a day so I don't know If I have to worried about that even he has pooped 70 poops in 17 hours.
As he keeps trying to munch on the cookies I'm suspecting that there is anything rong wih his mouth or teeth.

I don't know maybe I'm already paranoid.

P.D.: We have another vet appointment this evening but I would like to hear someone experience on this issue.
 
You need to use daily weight checks to know he is eating enough in each 24 hour period.
Poop output is too far delayed (a delay of 1-2 days) to be useful for you to know he is eating enough, there is little point in counting them. Ie by the time you see a reduced amount poops, they’ve already not eaten enough for a few days.
Use weight checks to know he is getting enough food - his weight will go down each day if you havent syringed enough food to him
 
Piggies&buns said:
You need to use daily weight checks to know he is eating enough in each 24 hour period.
Poop output is too far delayed (a delay of 1-2 days) to be useful for you to know he is eating enough, there is little point in counting them. Ie by the time you see a reduced amount poops, they’ve already not eaten enough for a few days.
Use weight checks to know he is getting enough food - his weight will go down each day if you havent syringed enough food to him
Click to expand...

I have check his weight and it is the same as yesterday so... it is fine?
 
PUPDATE:
We had the vet appointment and everything went fantastic. Gases were gone, yay!
He was eating almost as usual and we checked his mouth.
The vet didn't see anything wrong and during the weekend he has been improving and gaining weight.

Today when I was feeding him with CC, I noticed an upper incisive was missing! It's not the first time, he is a little bit clumsy, so I know I have to keep an eye on him. Maybe it was a little bit loose and bothered him to eat, plus if the antibiotics upset his stomach...
Summarising, he is eating waaaay better. And drinking a lot.

Now I'm a little bit concerned because I noticed he has a little bit of blood in his pee and complains a little. He is still on meloxicam, CC and supplements.
BUT NOW HE IS POPCORNING AND LOOKING FOR FOOD AND CUDDLES. HE HAS GAINED WEIGHT. HE IS BETTER THAN ON ANTIBIOTICS FOR HIS UTI.
He is himself again. He is not ill and tecnically he is. Seriously, I don't understand this guinea pig...

I'm going to wait a few days to ensure he is fine and maybe we'll ask again about this and if I have to do something with it.
 
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